MemberMy best friend wanted Mirena, she went by herself, they didn’t give her any reason she couldn’t other than maybe feeling crampy afterward. It didn’t work out, they couldn’t get it in after two providers attempted they abandoned it. They told her sometimes it’s not possible if you havne’t had kids yet….if your uterus is really tiny. Just a heads up, I think for most, it works out fine.
MemberHello Bees! I’m back with an update after getting my Mirena inserted Monday! Overall, I had a very positive experience, and it wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be. Here’s a play by play for those bees who are gearing up for their insertions (
BEFORE:
My wonderful friend picked me up at my house. I packed a snack, a water bottle, and thermacare heating pad. We got to the local Planned Parenthood, and I read some info on IUD’s, filled out some paper work, and waited. They called me back, took my blood pressure, and went over the IUD information with me. The medical assistant who did this was wonderful, and she told me that all the girls who work in the clinic have IUDs, and that they really believe in them. That made me feel better. I was a smidge nervous, but everyone was wonderful. I had to pee in a cup for pregnancy test, and then I was left to undress from the waist down in the exam room. Then, the PA came in, and the medical assistant brought my friend in to sit by me. The PA was awesome (I might be biased because I want to be a PA eventually). I asked her to show me all of the tools (which they had kept covered so I wouldn’t have to look at them), and she told me all of their names and functions, so that was exciting to me. Then I was in the stirrups. The PA inserted the speculum and swabbed me with betadine. Then they applied some lidocaine (numbing) gel to the cervix, which caused the same light cramping sensation I get when they do a pap smear.
DURING:
The PA described the procedure as “three big ouches”. The don’t remember the what the first ouch was, but it felt like a pinch deep inside, weird but not super duper painful, maybe a 4/10 pain scale. The second ouch was when she measured my uterus by inserted a plastic measuring stick up into it, it triggered some cramping, which wasn’t any worse than my worst period cramps while on the pill, maybe a 5/10. The worst was the third ouch, which was when she actually inserted the Mirena. That one triggered cramping like my worst cramps before birth control (6.5-7/10). I felt a wave of warmth and nausea pass over me. Then it was over. The PA showed me the left over strings that she had cut off to demonstrate how stiff they were and how they would eventually soften and curl up.
AFTER:
The medical assistant brought me juice and snacks (even though I brought my own!). I ate my snacks, got up and cleaned up with some wipes they provided, put on my clothes, and I was out! My friend drove me home, and my Fiance ordered us all take out and we watched Netflix. The conversation and netflix kept me from focusing too much on the cramps, which were uncomfortable, enough to make me feel kind of out of it and decrease my appetite, but nothing worse than normal awful period cramps. I took a couple iburpofen before bed, fell asleep, and woke up with no cramps! I ran some errands on Tuesday, the walking around triggered some moderate cramping, but nothing bad enough to take more ibuprofen. Wednesday morning, I feel great with no cramping again.
Things that made my experience so great were: having a good, talkative friend to distract me during insertion (it hurts more when you anticipate each step, so being distracted is key, the medical assistant was also awesome for this), having one of those stick on heating pads which really helped during the car ride home (and I was able to fall asleep with it on at the end of the night), and being able to lie down at home for the rest of the evening(I found my cramping got worse when I was bent over or sitting). The medical assistant at the clinic said that people who don’t or can’t schedule the procedure while on their period, or who don’t take the full 800mg of ibuprofen beforehand tend to be the people who report more pain during insertion, so take that ibuprofen if you can, bees! I scheduled my insertion on one of my heavier flow days, so my cervix was more open, and you bet I took that suggested amount of ibruprofen. Just do your best to relax, and take it easy after. If this Mirena is low on side effects, I would get another in heart beat! Thanks again to everyone who responded to this thread and shared their stories with me.
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MemberMemberMy appointment is this friday and I’m more excited than nervous! I’m excited to not have to take the pill anymore, and not have to worry so much about pregnancy. One thing I AM nervous for is the possibility of lots of pain for a few days… I really hope all goes smoothly
MemberI had mine inserted on my lunch break. Went right back to work afterwards, and had no cramps ever (never had period cramps before though). I forgot to take Ibuprofen, but only had one painful cramp during insertion. The cramp itself lasted about 10sec. That was it! I have a high tolerance for pain and gave birth without medications, soo I may not be the norm. I kinda think it’s funny to hear about people taking the entire day off from work to “rest” afterwards, as if it’s major surgery.
For the most part I like it. It’s been 6 mos and my periods are mostly gone, but I spot CONSTANTLY…here and there…all month.
Also, has made me prone to a bacterial infection that’s being a bear to get rid of.
But, it’s the only birth control that I trust myself with. I was super bad about remembering to take the pill (even with the reminder app on my phone). I’ve used condoms and diaphragms, but those interupt the mood. This just seemed like a good option.
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