Mirena Coil V Implant.... Not used contraception for 8y, need advice!

[lissiethelover]

Off to docs today to arrange contraception, and Ive narrowed it down to the Mirena or the implant, I want something that will be easy to remove/stop and that wont affect my fertility in 3y if we decide to ttc again. The only things that worry me are:

The mirena, im worried that it might increase the risk of ep

The implant, worried about side effects. I get migraines.

help me please oh wise mn-ers!

[scorpio1]

i loved my coil; but yes, i think ep's are more common with one in. my friend had this happen only last week .

have no exp of implant though. my friend is pg after having one in so must be fine.

[lissiethelover]

im just worried, im already high risk of another ep.

sorry about your friend, is she ok? did they catch it in time?

[scorpio1]

no, she has lost a tube she is only 21. she didn't know until taken very ill apparently.

[OracleInaCoracle]

how awful! thankfully, its unlikely that her fertility will be reduced by that much (look at me!) but its still a big thing to happen, especially at 21!

[LilRedWG]

I didn't realise that you'd decided not to try again Are you okay?

[OracleInaCoracle]

i think so, it was a horrible decision to make, but my poor body's been through so much and im tired of putting my life on hold, just in case. its the right dercision for all of us i think

[LilRedWG]

I think it is sweetheart, your body and soul need a break. You can always try again later - you're hardly old!

[OracleInaCoracle]

i know. we are having a 2-3y break while i'm studying, then will review the situation.

[pinky36]

The mirena coil, was great for me, i had mine in for 5 years, and have recently had it removed! I hardly had any bleeding or cramps, which was great, now havin to get used to them again, which is crap!

[missmama]

Lissie I saw your anouncement on the other thread and wish you well and peace of mind.

I used the implant for 7 years. All the time I had it in I felt fantastic, no periods, but significant weight gain which I refuse to blame on the implant, but think it might be worth mentioning.
When I had it removed my periods returned straight away and settled into a more regular pattern than I have ever had before.
But I also noticed that my sex drive is now a lot higher than when I had the implant in. But I dont know if that is because of my age or because the implant was slowing me down.

[MissusH]

I had a Mirena for 5 years with no nasty side effects (bit uncomfortable going in though!). The lack of periods is a bonus!

I had it removed back in June and it took a couple of months for my cycles to regulate.

My friend has recently switched from the implant to Mirena due to the weight gain and is now a lot happier.

[stuffitllama]

I wish you well. I had a Mirena coil and it gave me a large homonal ovarian cyst. It wasn't dangerous but I didn't like it so had the coil removed.

[stuffitllama]

er hormonal not homonal

[EiWishFor3MoreWishes]

i had the non-hormone coil in for nearly 2 years and i didnt like it really. great for contraception (for me anyway) but the heavy periods and cramping was a bitch!! my friend had the implant and got preg whilst on it. it seems the person who fitted it didnt implant it quite deep enough and it had less effectiveness than usual. the only thing i would think about with the hormone type contraception is that they have a high likelyhood of weight gain. if this doesnt bother you that much i would go for the implant myself due to the risks of EP with the mirena coil i hope you make the best decision for you and that you do well on your course
xx ei xx

[OracleInaCoracle]

Ive gone with the implant, gp agreed that the risk of ep was just too high, so going next week. does it hurt?

[Livvigirl]

lissisthelover, can you tel me wha the ep means? i am new to mumsnet and have had the coil removed last june so just wondered what the ep was? Oh and I loved the coil it was great no periods or PMT but trying for another baby now, not with much joy though.

[OracleInaCoracle]

no probs, an ep is an ectopic pregnancy, it is rare tho.

[Livvigirl]

thanks for that, is there anywhere where you can find out what all the abbriviations are?

[OracleInaCoracle]

the ancronym list is at the top of the page, but you get used to them after a while!

[Pofacedandarrogant]

Lissielou, I just want to clarify something-the Mirena coild is extrememly effective and the pregnancy rate is very low: 1-2 per 1000 woman years IIRC.
However if you do have a coil in utero, IF you conceive the relative risk of an ectopic pregnancy is greater than if you don't have a coil in.
So the chance of an EP with Mirena is vanishingly small and a Mirena would still have been a valid choice-either is.
I also would like to add that statistically the implant does not make you gain weight.

[OracleInaCoracle]

the gp did mention that. one of the reasons we settled on the implant was that I wasnt comfortable with the coil. we have had lots of problems maintaining pg.

[Pofacedandarrogant]

I am not questioning your decision Lissie, I hope you know that,it's just that I wanted to correct any apparent ambiguity-I read it as if a coil increases the absolute risk of an ectopic pregnancy-which is definitely not true.

[OracleInaCoracle]

i know

i think, tbh, that im so scared of another ep that any suggestion that a form of contraception might not prevent rather than might cause an ep is still enough to send me running. we took my entire obstetric history into account, as well as the possibility of future ttc

[fishie]

lissie i have not posted on your threads but have been reading, so hello

as i understand it a coil will allow an egg to be fertilised but prevents implantation. don't know whether this makes another ep possible. know nothing re implants but myself would not fancy buggering about with hormones. what about good old barrier methods, a cap?

[OracleInaCoracle]

tbh i dont trust myself, i have no will power and i want another baby. so it'll only take 2 glasses of wine before i say "oh bugger it"