mirena iud?

[RainRaven]

I have noticed thay a couple of you have said in post that you are geting the mirena iud. I have been considering doing this MW said it will not effect BF but I am lerry. what info do you have on this that made you decide it was safe? please let me know what you think of it. I am not quite 3 weeks pp so I still have time to decided any info you can share will be veary aprecated.

[tatgurl]

I thought about this after my last baby was born. It seemed like a good solution for us untill I read the patient insert that is on their website.

http://berlex.com/html/products/pi/m...ent_insert.pdf

under possible side effects this is what made me change my mind:

Cyst on the ovary. About 10% (1 out of 10) of women using
MIRENA® will have a cyst on the ovary. These cysts usually
disappear on their own in a month or two. However, cysts can cause
pain and sometimes cysts will need surgery.

10% is just too high of a risk for me. Something that causes ovarian cysts that frequently is too scary for me to put in my body.

[iris0110]

I just had one placed a week ago. Truthfully I am thinking of having it removed. The cyst on the ovary thing didn't bother me (these are super common, and I have had several in the past with no birth control). But since it went in I keep having this feeling like something is scratching me. Now it may just be that the strings were left too long, but I am not so thrilled. I have also been having spotting. I knew going in that some spotting could be a side affect, but I don't want to spot for the next 5 yrs. I thought this would be a good idea, it has no effect on nursing, it is super effective (I have gotten pregnant on BC pills and with condoms and we don't want to be suprised any time soon) and it lasts for 5 yrs. But now I am just not so sure I like it. I was hoping to talk with some one else who had one to see what they had to say about it.

[xkoliex]

I just got mine on Monday. So far, no complications, but I haven't really done anything. The cramps suck and I got it inserted during my period but now I'm not bleeding at all. It was EXPENSIVE but we can't afford to have another child. I'm not much help, but I thought I'd chime in.

[kofduke]

I really seriously thought about it, but decided I'm not comfortable with it yet. I decided to go with the mini-pill for now, and think about it again when DS starts solids/my periods resume.

[MistyB]

I had one after my son was born and LOVED LOVED LOVED it. The first 4-6 weeks are wonky, weird and may make you think you do not like it but wait it out and I guarantee you will like it. And if you feel the strings...they are too long or too short. I will get one when I start cycling again. I have tried every BC and this is my HG.

[DesireeH]

I thought about this awhile ago but I honestly didnt know what an IUD did. I knew it was birth control but after looking into it, I knew the option was out because the way it prevents pregnancy is by changing the lining of the uterus so that a fertilized egg cant implant. If my egg accidently gets fertilized I dont want to stop it from growing.

[DesireeH]

I also read that the Mirena one does pass synthetic progesterone on to the baby via breastmilk.

Breastfeeding women should be aware the synthetic hormone in the Mirena IUD will be passed to the baby in her breast milk.

http://www.fwhc.org/birth-control/iudinfo.htm

[StarCat]

i was supposed to get one on Tuesday but it turned out they didn't have any so I have to go in for it next week. I knew I wanted some sort of bc and all of them have risks/problems...i really just don't like what the pill does to me and I always forget to take them. I talked to several people who had the mirena as well as read through the literature and talked to the mw's and thought this would be our best bet. If we want to take it out in a few years & have another baby then we can or after 5 yrs DH can go get neutered!

The people I talked to had no probs with bf'ing with the mirena. My mw said the hormones are low dose and don't have as much of a systemic affect as the pill. I suppose that some would cross to milk but it would with the mini pill as well.

[mkoontz]

I'm planning on getting an IUD, but one without the hormones - just one of the old fashioned normal ones. I don't like the idea of hormones in my body, and though it's not as effective as the Mirena, it's still better than condoms, which is the other option. And of course you don't have to pretend to find them sexy so it doesn't ruin the mood.

[atozmama]

I have been watching this thread as after hearing, or seeing, the name mentioned several times on this board, I am now considering this. I don't want a suprise baby and we always seem to get these on anything but the pill. DH is not willing to get the vasectomy. My dr thinks it is a good option for me. I also looked at the package insert someone posted and saw what I was going to use, sponge, has the worst rates, even worse than withdrawl.

The drug is the same as in the Norplant. In Hale's book Medications and Mother's Milk, norplant is listed as lactation catagory L1, the safest and the AAP approves it for breastfeeding mothers. Several studies have shown it to produce little if any affect on milk volume or quality. Another study has suggested that infants exposed to the trace amounts via milk have a normal sexual development as compared to controls.

My family dr who took care of me through my pregnancy will not put it in (her last two tries resulted in perforations so she now refers to gyn to do this) so I have an appointment for next week to do this.

[kris10s]

I am getting a paragard copper iud put in tomorrow. No hormones, nothing to pass to breastmilk and it lasts up to 10 years!

[anniegirl]

I just got a Mirena put in monday. So far so good. Getting it put in was a little uncomfortable, but the whole thing only takes about five minutes, so all in all not really a big deal. I feel fine about the hormone. My midwife told me it's a tiny amount compared to the pill since it's delivered directly to the uterus. Also my midwife tucked the strings around my cervix for me and neither dh or I can feel them.

The only thing I don't like so far is the spotting. My postpartum bleeding had just finally tapered down to an occasional brown trickle and now it's red again. I've been wearing pads or panty liners for two freakin' months! : I probably could have waited to get it inserted since I didn't get af back with ds1 until he was one, but I just don't want the pregnancy paranoia.

I'm tandem nursing and no supply problems so far.

ETA: I forgot to add that I haven't had any cramping with it at all. I think that's the advantage to having it put in when you're pp.

[MinnieMouse]

I'm contemplating this and spoke to my midwife about this and the copper one at length.

Mirena has a "side effect" of reducing the amount of flow in your period and the copper iud does the opposite. Since I have EXTREMELY heavy bleeding during my period (overnight pad AND tampon heavy) the copper isn't an option and mirena seems to be the one to go w/.

I am hesitant however as to how it will impact on my milk supply. I will be pumping once again (I pumped from 3mo to 1yr w/ Bethany) once I return to work and I have HORRIBLE output when pumping..although my supply is fine when nursing.

We are holding off on anything "permanent" for a while yet and will opt for condoms until we decide on something.