I searched and found a few past threads on this, but I would like more experiences from women who are using this. I am pregnant now but I am thinking about asking for this after I have my baby. This is our second and we are not sure if we want more kids later or not, and I am tired of the pill even though it works pretty well for me. Is it ok to get it and have it taken out after 2-3 years if we do decide we want another one? Also, my health insurance does not cover birth control, anyone know about how much it costs?
Does anyone know how long you have to wait after having a baby to get it? Does it interfere with breast feeding? Of course these are all things I will discuss with my own Dr. first but I like real first hand opinions about it. Especially interested if you like it compared to the pill.
I had my first child in April. There’s no way in hell I’m even going to think about having another child as long as I can remember delivering my first. My OB/GYN recommended Mirena for me. It was done eight weeks post-partum, right in the office in a couple of minutes. Very simple and painless. It did cause some spotting for almost a month but nothing since then. She said I can have it removed just as quickly whenever I’m ready to start trying for a second child, and I can keep it in up to five years. There are no hormonal side effects, which eases my mind since breast cancer runs in my family. The one downside is it’s cost. I believe the doctor’s visit was $200 and the Mirena itself was close to $500. However, my insurance covered it even though it won’t cover birth control pills. I found it to be a great choice for birth control since I don’t even have to think about it.
My wife has had one for over 2 years now, so I relayed your questions; all answers are from her. On a side note, we do not have children, nor are we planning to do so.
According to her, yes.
When she got it, between $600-700 for the device alone. Doctor’s bills are extra. She said that if there is a reason other than BC, your insurance may cover it – make sure and ask.
Not sure and don’t think so.
My wife loves it. Reduced flow (almost none, actually), less monthly emotional affects, low/no maintenance, and no side affects (other than the initial adjustment period – she had pretty wicked cramps for a while). She also said to mention that while insertion is generally an out-patient procedure, it hurts. She had to be put under; I’d ask her why, but she’s replacing a light fixture and I don’t want to interrupt – IIRC, it was because she has an unusually narrow…cervix? birth canal? Sorry, it’s been far too long for me to remember.
If you have more questions, ask and I’ll pass them along.
Mirena’s typically recommended for people who have already had a child. That’s why your wife probably needed to be put under. After your cervix has dilated 10 cm to let a baby through, it’s still soft. It was nothing to have the thing inserted even eight weeks after delivery. I forgot to add above that I’m breastfeeding with no problems and this is heaven after nine years of BC pills.
Thanks so much for the info. $600-700 is a little high, but I have to pay $35-40 a month for the pill when I’m on it, so really if I stayed on Mirena for even just 2 years it would still be cheaper. I wonder if I ask for it early I can combine a Dr. visit with a postpartum one or something and save a little on the office visit…Ibut maybe the six week checkup would be too soon?
It’s good to hear that women seem to like it. I don’t know much about IUD’s other than the bad ones from the past. It doesn’t sound like there are many downsides once it’s in, it seems comparable at least to downsides of any other birth control. My other choice would be to go on something like Seasonale or one of the other period eliminating choices, but last time I breastfed I could only be on the mini pill and that actually made me a little nervous with it’s failure rate. Mirena seems much more reliable.
-The string. I hear it ‘pokes’ a bit, but then softens up after a while. Is this true? DS?
-How are the hormones? I know the dosage is supposed to be low, but are they okay for people who have bad experiences with BC pills like Yaz and Ortho?
-Can Mirena perforate a uterus or travel up a tube like the copper IUD? (copper IUDs are actually way more common outside of North America, even for women who’ve never had kids. Probably because finding a pharmacy, paying for pills and taking them every day would just be too much of a hassle in some countries)
I realized I was a bit vague above WRT the insurance aspect. My wife said that reasons your insurance might cover a Mirena include: excessive monthly bleeding, hormone control, and some others. She stressed that your doctor may be able to influence whether or not it’s covered by the insurance – again, make sure to bring it up with your physician.
Oh, I totally forgot about that. Which means it couldn’t have been that bad, right?
There was a period of time after she got it that we had to forego sex (2 weeks? 1 month?). Honestly, I don’t recall any issues beyond the wait.
Prior to getting it, my wife was on the pill. She was periodically switching, trying to find one with the right balance. Some would result in major mood affects, others would lead to excessive bleeding (more than 7 days). One resulted in spotting throughout her cycle to the extent that, IIRC, she was effectively having two periods per month (that is, she’d have to wear a pad for 2-3 days at least twice a month). She was really unhappy with the number of underwears she was relegating to the “rag-bag” because of it – it was very unpredictable.
With all that said, I know that one of the above was Ortho, not sure about Yaz (maybe she was; I just don’t recall the various brand names). None of them were satisfactory to her. As I said, she loves her Mirena – I can’t really convey the animation of her response when I told her about this thread.
Although I read all the literature the doctor supplied at the time, I don’t know / don’t recall any details. I paid really close attention, and if there were any hint of the risk being as bad as older IUDs, I’d have protested her getting it at all. I think I remember being a little uncomfortable about it being a fairly recent product (at the time), not too long out of clinical testing. But nothing that gave me a legitamate reservation.
Sorry to add to this semi-zombified thread, but I have a few questions about Mirena and didn’t think it necessary to start a whole new thread.
I just had a baby about 9 weeks ago and am currently nursing, so my options are somewhat limited for birth control. I’d really like to get Mirena, but am scared about the insertion.
How exactly does the doctor get the cervix to open up? I’m probably a little “soft” still as someone mentioned upthread, but what if I’m not? Do they put some cream on it to make it open or just - ahem - shove the tube up there? :eek:
I asked my wife and, unfortunately, I don’t think your situations are comparable. She said that she was having a hysteroscopy done when she had the Mirena inserted. So, she was dilated for something else, which made the procedure much easier for her.
