Mirena coil if Implanon is no good?

[26minutes]

I had an implant a few years ago and I hated it. It worked as a contraceptive, but then you're not going to conceive through abstinence either. I spent the 1st 3 months with 2 week long severe headaches followed by 2 week long heavy periods, then after the 3 months I had about 6 weeks of no bleeding and no headaches before the bleedig started. It then didn't stop until 3 months later when I had it removed.

I was told at the time that all the low dose contraceptives would have the same affect on me, i.e. depo, patch (I think) and mirena coil.

In the meantime I've had conflicting advice with the mirena, some say it'll be fine despite the problems caused by the implant, others say stay away. I'm confused.

I've tried a multitude of mini pills since dd was born and haven't found one that was any good. The latest being Cerazette which had the exact same effect as the implant only this time I've fallen pregnant.

I have a termination booked for a couple of weeks and am struggling to know what to do for contraception. I know the Cilest combined pill suits me really well but until dd is no longer bf that's out of the question. They're really trying to push the mirena coil again and my concerns about it having the same efect as the implanon have been brushed aside, it almost feels as though they're on commission for flogging the mirena.

I just want to know if anyones had the implant but been ok on mirena or if there are any experts out there who could advise me.

[redexpat]

Sorry to hear about all of this. I'm not surprised you're confused.

I don't quite fit your description as I havent tried mirena, but the implant never worked for me either. The patch has been wonderful. Regular periods and I mean clockwork, no headaches, weight gain, mood swings...

I think they are trying to push you onto mirena because the NHS is generally trying to get more women onto long term contraceptives because they cost the NHS less in the long run.

Who are you talking to? Your HV? GP? Practice nurse? I found the family planning clinic listened to what I needed and gave appropriate advice. An organisation like terrence higgins might give you more independent advice because they are not under the same constraints as the NHS.

[sleeplessinderbyshire]

the patch has exactly the same hormones as cilest so not suitable when breastfeeding. irregular bleeding is very common with an implant. Mirena is usually well tolorated and leaves people with no priods or very light periods. I'd give it a go (you can always have it tsken out)

[wobblyweeble82]

I of course can only speak from personal experience, but a year, the mirena coil ruined my life. I know that sounds far fetched but it was horrific. I piled on 2 1/2 stone in 3 months, I had headaches, dizziness, lack of refined motor skills, lack of concentration. I lost all libido and basically walked around feeling like I had my head buried in cotton wool. My GP insisted it would settle down, but 11 months on I had it taken out.

Since my negative experience I had a shufty about to see if anybody else suffered with it and there's actually a lawsuit in the USA ongoing, trying to get it banned over there. It would seem it's the luck of the draw - some people report no problems, but those of us who do, well it really was horrific. Needless to say, my advice is give it the widest berth possible I'm afraid.

[26minutes]

redexpat - this is the family planning clinic. She didn't really seem to listen to what I said I wanted. I know my choices are very limited as the thing I want I can't have and I've tried most other things with bad results, but she almost laughed off all of my reservations about the mirena coil instead of going into detail about it. I just really feel I'm pretty much being forced into having it even though I'm totally unsure about it.

Sleepless - that's nice to know, in that case I could have a long term contraceptive that I know will be agreeable with me once dd stops bf. But why has noone ever told me this? Even before I had dd I wasn't informed of this and they knew I wanted something long term (hadn't planned on anymore when I first went onto cilest). This is information the fpc should be giving me, I shouldn't be finding it out from an internet forum.

wobbly - I've also read a lot of negative things about the mirena coil but was unsure if it's just that people don't post positive experiences online, although I didn't know about the attempts to ban it in the US.

[Claireboo1]

Hi 26m, I am in the same predicament now that you were in, what did you decide to do? Tried implanon but horrid bleeding constantly... Will mirena coil do the same as is progesterone based? Would appreciate any advise!