# Fantastic Plastic my arse! (Mirena, TMI) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 3, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644 "2007-05-03T18:52:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Barrels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Barrels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrels)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/1 "2007-05-03T18:52:37Z")
OK so I know that in the long run this may be the best thing ever but DAMN IT THAT HURT! I swear I have a high pain threshold but this was really nasty! Especially the when dude was dilating my cervix and mentions that he’s got it cranked open to about 8cm :eek: I called my fiancee when I was done with the appointment and told him that he has 5 years to get good and comfortable with the idea of a vasectomy. FWIW I have never had a kid and although they suggested having it inserted while you have your period, that was not an option for me. Barrels ---
**Author:** ![LVgeogeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b19c9b/32.png) [@LVgeogeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVgeogeek)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/2 "2007-05-03T19:35:22Z")
Back in November when I had my IUD put in :eek: The pain was pretty much indescribable. My GYN said it was because my cervix had never been dilated like that before and when I got home to take some additional ibuprofen and rest. The pain does go away. I found myself at the bar that afternoon- Vodka & Tonic is a pretty good pain reliever 😃 I told Mr. Geek that I should have made him go and get the ol’ snip snip done and have him sit on the couch with an ice pack for two days and be done with it. That is what is next after the IUD is done, he has about 5 years or so as well. My only fear now is if it hurt that much going in, what the heck is it gonna feel like when it gets removed? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/3 "2007-05-03T19:49:34Z")
When did IUDs make a come back? I thought they were stopped being used in the 1980s after some deaths due to toxic shock or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/4 "2007-05-03T20:09:54Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] When did IUDs make a come back? I thought they were stopped being used in the 1980s after some deaths due to toxic shock or something like that. [/QUOTE] I remember just one IUD that had major problems, the [Dalkon shield](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalkon_Shield). This particular design was not only scary-looking, it was dangerous. That brand of IUD tainted the public’s perception of all IUDs. I had one put in (a copper 7, I believe) after I’d had a baby. Even so, the dilation and insertion was quite painful enough, thankyouverymuch. I shudder to think how badly it would hurt with an unstretched cervix. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/5 "2007-05-03T21:07:20Z")
Chalk this up as another reason I am glad to be male. The things you women have to endure would turn most men into whimpering babies PDQ. ---
**Author:** ![Barrels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Barrels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrels)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/6 "2007-05-03T22:55:48Z")
[QUOTE=LVgeogeek] The pain does go away. I found myself at the bar that afternoon- Vodka & Tonic is a pretty good pain reliever 😃 My only fear now is if it hurt that much going in, what the heck is it gonna feel like when it gets removed? [/QUOTE] The bar sounds like a fab idea! I don’t even want to think about it coming out! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/7 "2007-05-03T23:01:44Z")
8 cm? That makes no sense at all, it takes women in labor hours to get to that point. Are you sure he didn’t say 8 mm? That’s really all the bigger around the insertion device is. FYI–after the hurty insertion, then some pretty high-grade cramping that lasted about an hour, I had what felt like medium strength menstrual cramps the rest of the day. The next day I was fine and dandy. Then came the 4 weeks of spotting, :eek: but since then I’ve and no menstrual cycle what so ever! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 You will be so so so happy with this IUD, just remember that while your body adjusts to it. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/8 "2007-05-03T23:11:08Z")
[QUOTE=Little Bird] 8 cm? That makes no sense at all, it takes women in labor hours to get to that point. Are you sure he didn’t say 8 mm? That’s really all the bigger around the insertion device is. [/QUOTE] I was wondering about that also. 8 cm is a little over 3". 3" is about the diameter of a baseball or a hockey puck. No openings that I have can get that big, except maybe my mouth when it is getting ready to accommodate my foot. I have looked at some pictures of IUDs but I have no idea of the size of an average one. There has been nothing to put them in perspective, size wise. How big exactly is this Mirena thing? ---
**Author:** ![Lynne\_kilii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lynne\_kilii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynne_kilii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/9 "2007-05-03T23:30:12Z")
Ok, I officially heart my doctor-guy from tuesday. My regular gynocologist said “I’ll do it for you, but you really want this guy to do it”. And he numbed me up all sorts of great, dialated me, which I didn’t really notice, and put it in while I was wondering what in the world was going on down there. Now I’m just waiting for my uterus to get used to the idea of having this foreign object up in there for the next five years. It is currently putting up a bit of a fight in the form of cramps, but I’m not letting some stupid little organ try and argue with me when I just spent a ton of money on it. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/10 "2007-05-03T23:37:38Z")
[QUOTE=Lynn Bodoni] I remember just one IUD that had major problems, the [Dalkon shield](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalkon_Shield). This particular design was not only scary-looking, it was dangerous. That brand of IUD tainted the public’s perception of all IUDs. [/QUOTE] My mother had a Dalkon Shield implanted after she gave birth to my (younger) sister. She said that later that night, she had a lot of pain and some bleeding. She went back to her gynecologist, who examined her and found that the IUD wasn’t in her uterus any longer. Whoops, looks like it got expelled. Fast-forward a couple decades, and my mother is having a hysterectomy due to fibroids. After she wakes up from surgery, the doctor has some news for her, which I’m gonna spoiler for the weak of stomach: The Dalkon Shield wasn’t expelled out of her body - it actually got forced - probably by uterine contractions at the painful object inside - **through** the wall of her uterus and implanted in the outside wall! There were many other instances of those “spikes” on the IUD piercing the inner lining of the uterus and causing a lot of problems, infections, etc. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/11 "2007-05-03T23:42:53Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] I was wondering about that also. 8 cm is a little over 3". 3" is about the diameter of a baseball or a hockey puck. No openings that I have can get that big, except maybe my mouth when it is getting ready to accommodate my foot. I have looked at some pictures of IUDs but I have no idea of the size of an average one. There has been nothing to put them in perspective, size wise. How big exactly is this Mirena thing? [/QUOTE] Can’t find a video for it, but the commercial showing in my part of the US has a moment where a woman’s hand opens up and there’s the Mirena IUD in her palm. It looks to be smaller than an OB brand tampon. ---
**Author:** ![Barrels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Barrels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrels)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/12 "2007-05-03T23:49:59Z")
Ok so maybe they said 8mm, but it sure as hell felt like they dilated it to around 8ft! At the time I was trying to breath and telling the nice med student to tell me a story, anything to keep my mind off of what was going on down there. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/13 "2007-05-03T23:50:29Z")
[QUOTE=nashiitashii] Can’t find a video for it, but the commercial showing in my part of the US has a moment where a woman’s hand opens up and there’s the Mirena IUD in her palm. It looks to be smaller than an OB brand tampon. [/QUOTE] [This page](http://www.mirena-us.com/whatismirena.html?C=&c=) has a video link explaining the device; slightly over halfway through, the doctor holds one between her fingers. It looks like it’s an inch, inch and a half long and that the crossbar is about that wide. ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/14 "2007-05-04T01:38:13Z")
Yeah. Getting the IUD in (never had a kid, was on period) is still the highest on the pain scale I’ve been. Holy shit that hurt. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/15 "2007-05-04T02:22:44Z")
I had an IUD after I had two of my three kids. I don’t recall a lot of pain upon insertion (I do remember pressure and some cramping). This was years ago, though, so I might be wrong. I loved my IUD-best form of birth control I ever used (and I have used condoms, the sponge, the diaphragm, the Pill, abstinence,pulling out-because I was young and stupid–NOT recommended, and finally, tubes tied). Motrin and rest do wonders. Removal did not hurt as badly as insertion, if memory serves. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/16 "2007-05-04T02:31:48Z")
I had a copper 7 IUD after I’d had my first child years ago, and as I recall, insertion was uncomfortable but not agonizing, and removal was really a piece of cake. So don’t worry about pain on removal – just contrast it with the possible pain caused by removing a full-grown infant through that same opening and you’ll be grateful that it’s only an IUD. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/17 "2007-05-04T02:50:39Z")
[QUOTE=Little Bird] but since then I’ve and no menstrual cycle what so ever! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 [/QUOTE] You have one the OP does, not the copper one, right? Or so I guess since a frequently cited drawback of the copper is heavier periods. ---
**Author:** ![Layla01](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/layla01/32/15552_2.png) [@Layla01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Layla01)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/18 "2007-05-04T07:34:34Z")
I had a Mirena put in a few months ago - it was a weird feeling, but not painful. I’ve had 2 kids, however - I’m sure that had something to do with it. At least it’s good for 5 years… ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/19 "2007-05-04T12:17:23Z")
Implant - local anaesthetic, injected by needle. Doesn’t even hurt once the anaesthetic wears off. Only 3 years but to get it out is just another local, slice, slip it out and inject another one in a different site. 15 minutes including the time it takes to get completely numb. Yay implanon! ---
**Author:** ![Terrorcotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@Terrorcotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrorcotta)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644/20 "2007-05-04T13:52:07Z")
I had my IUD replaced every three or so years as recommended by my regular OB and he would have the nurse give me a sedative/pain reliver while I was still in the waiting room. We’d been through that many times. But he did say he curious how tightly I could curl my toes up during the procedure. And while we’re at it, this guy also had a theory that the more extroverted a lady was, the more she wiggled her toes during exams. Any input on that one? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-plastic-my-arse-mirena-tmi/402644.md?page=2)