Weddingbee boards

I've had both (I've never had a baby)... I would NEVER get another one.. The insertion was awful, the second time around they took me in for an inpatient procedure. I gained weight on the mirena, felt like I had period cramps the entire time. The paraguard gave me wretched cramps, and I read about stories about girls bleeding for months and losing their hair.. ugh. 

Never again.. 

But it's not like that for everyone you need to decide what is best for you! 

I worked at a Drs office and they did not recomend it unless you have already had kids, you can get infections and have complications that could possibly make you infertile.  (one of the reasons I stuck to the pill)   For most people it is a painful procedure and you can have discomfort for a while after.  We have had people come back to get it removed after a few week due to really bad cramping.  I also know 2 people who got pregnant with the IUD.  I would talk to your dr or obgyn, but personally I would not get it, I would stick to the pill for now.   

I had Mirena inserted after I had my daughter and it fell out within three days :(. My doctor said I was the first person in her ten years that has happened to, though! So apparently I'm just odd. She thinks that I hadn't healed completely from birth. I could have had it reinserted when I got my next period but I opted not to. I wouldn't recommend it based on my experience. 

I've had the Mirena IUD (the one with small amounts of hormone) for about 14 months now, and I love it.  I joke that if I weren't already married, I'd marry it.  My periods are just about non-existant, no cramps and I just recommend it so much.  I've never had kids, but my gyno was fine giving it to me. (I think there is a slightly higher rate of expulsion in those who have not given birth, but it's still very low.).

I got the Mirena because I didn't like what I was reading about heavier periods with the Paraguard (the non-hormone one)... my periods were already heavy enough!  The mirena has about the same amount of hormone or less than the nuva ring - it doesn't need much, because it's located where the homones are needed.  (ie, you don't need as much as birth control pills, etc, give you because they don't have to work their way through your entire body.)

And IUD's are cheaper than pills.  My portion after insurance was less than a years worth of pills would have cost me, and the IUD is good for 5 years. (I think of it as buy one year, get four free! hehehe)

I had an IUD for 3 years, had no kids at the time, and wanted kids in the future.  They did warn me about the small risk of not being able to concieve later in life.  I opted for the copper-T version, I didn't want anything hormone related (I am a CRAZY person on the pill).  The insertion was painful, and there were definitely cramps after the procedure, but I was happy with the decision at the time.  The monthly cramps were WAY more painful than before, however.  Near the end of the 3 years, I started having periods that lasted 14-15 days, obviously not normal.  When I went to my obgyn, she said that it wasn't working properly anymore, and I had it removed - that part was painless.  

I just had my Mirena removed, but I still recommend IUDs overall. My Mirena expelled for no reason I can think of (the literature I read up on them said that if they do expel, it most commonly happens in the first few weeks after insertion - I'd had mine for several months). While I would have preferred non-hormonal, Paraguard was not a good option for me as I have some health issues, including endometriosis (Paraguard *may* make your periods heavier, longer, or slightly more crampy but YMMV). The reason why some practices either won't or prefer not to insert IUDs in women who have not had children is for a few reasons. Obviously, as a PP mentioned they can potentially cause complications that can impact fertility (rare, but obviously worth mentioning). Next, the cervix of a woman who has not had children is smaller than one who has - so insertion will be easier (also why they tend to recommend insertion during your period - your cervix is more open). Also, for whatever reason, women who have not had children are slightly more likely to expel (well, I've read a few reasons, but no matter). My insurance didn't cover a single cent, but if my reproductive endocrinologist still thought i'd be okay with one, I'd give it another shot.

That said, insertion was VERY painful. VERY. I've had friends say it was uncomfortable and friends who took a week off of work. I took that day off. I will say with as painful as it was, it was REALLY QUICK. So taht's gotta count for something, right? I think the sounding of my uterus (measuring) hurt worse than insrting it. Legit, after the sounding, I had to take a minute to breathe and consider if I could deal with insertion after all. I feel like sounding took longer than insertion. Then I had cramps pretty bad for the rest of the day, and mild for a few more days. I had some spotting for about a week (a pantiliner was enough).

Can't answer as to how periods are since I was on Medroxyprogesterone for the whole time I had the Mirena. Whenever I tried to slowly scale back my dose, I got ovarian cysts. (FWIW, I now am back to 10mg taken twice a day. Noticed cysts when I went to 10mg every day - my RE had me go from 10mg 2x/day to 10mg 2x/day every other day & 10mg once a day every other day). Expelling is uncomfortable for sure, and also for a few weeks before my RE knew it was expelling my cervix felt REALLY tender. not sure if that's related or not. For a few post insertion my cervix also felt really tender.

If you have any other questions that I can help with, just PM me. Also, I'm driving a friend to get a Mirena in a few weeks.

Pinkandsparkley.. (I have no clue how to tag) I gain 10-15 lbs on Mirena I ate no differently and lost it mostly when it was taken out. 

Was it painful? YES! Extremely. But they said if you havent had a child that it is very painful. and they arent lying. i almost threw up it hurt so bad.

How are your periods? Great! Maybe 1 full day. Usually just a few hours. I still get PMS symptoms though. But it's just for a few days. And no cramps-which is awesome.

Have you noticed any discomfort? maybe a little at first. But they check on it every 6 months so if anything wrong is happening they know about it right away.

etc... The only thing is YOU have to check it monthly as well. Just making sure you can feel the strings. They say to check after your cycle. My DH did say he could feel the strings at first which is normal until you have had it for some time and then they kind of wrap around themselves and get tucked away.

I would recommend it! The pain is totally worth the payoff for not having to worry about it for 5 years.

Glad I came across this forum!  I was thinking about getting Paragard, but since I don't have any children, I was thinking that might be an issue.  Not to mention, accidentially getting pregnant!  I am currently on the NuvaRing and L-O-V-E it!  I hate the cost, ~$25 a month on my insurance, but it sure beats having to remember to take a pill every day!!!  Hopefully, the cost will be a little better when I get on my future hubby's insurance!