Intro and IUD question

MsUnorganized · September 2011

Hi everyone! I've been lurking for a bit and wanted to finally introduce myself. I have 14-month-old boy/girl twins and a 3-month-old son. Life is a little nuts, but thankfully all three are pretty easy kids. And the twins play with each other which is nice.

That said, though, we do not want to have another baby right away (we may be done...we're not sure yet). I'm looking into an IUD because I'm terrible at taking a pill. Do you have an IUD? If so, what kind? Do you like it?

I wanted the Mirena, but my insurance doesn't cover it. It does cover ParaGard. I'm willing to pay for Mirena if it's better; I just don't know.

Thanks in advance!

mrsseguin · September 2011

I just had a conversation about this with a doc at work...I'm an L&D nurse. I was contemplating an IUD as well. The way she explained it was asking me questions about my cycles and such. If you have very heavy painful periods you may want to consider the mirena cause with the paragard, people tend to have heavier periods. If you want lighter periods, go with the mirena. If you are someone who 'needs' to have a period every month get the paragard. Also, if you don't want hormonal bc, go with the paragard. For me, that made the decision easier as to which one I would choose if I were to get an IUD. I'm actually going to try the nuvaring. I have always done good with the pill, I'm just bad at remembering to take it. The nuvaring has the same hormones as the pill, it's just a different way of getting it into your system.

Just thought I'd share even though I have no real experience with it. Just some info I found out. I do know a lot of people with the mirena and they like it.

xtencornfield · September 2011

I had a paragard before we TTC #2. I was very happy with it. I didn't find my periods to be much heavier than normal but I know that's a concern for some. I also have wackadoo cycles because of PCOS, so I was "lucky" in that my cycles are really long--sucks for TTC but works fine for other times. Personally, I made that choice because I didn't want hormonal BC at the time--frankly, I don't think I want it again at all. However, I may give Mirena a shot only because for many, it stops your period entirely or you just have light spotting. Although, there is generally a "waiting period" with Mirena where you will spot for quite a long time. Many have reported 3, 6, 12 months of unpredictable spotting, which is making me consider just getting the paragard again. The good thing about the hormones in Mirena is that they are not systemmic like BCP's, meaning the hormones are mostly contained to your reproductive organs.

earthboundmisfit · September 2011

I've had both so I feel like I should put in my 2 cents lol

mirena- I had mine for 9 months. After the 1st month I didn't have a period on it..LOVED that! I have normally really heavy and long periods so that was heaven sent. Every month around when AF would be due I would have a tiny bit of spotting and some cramping. The tiny amount of hormones had no affect on my libido but DH feels like it made me a little moody [which I think has more to do with the fact that I had a new baby and wasn't sleeping]. I will say that I had cramping pretty frequently..every week if not more and it was more annoying that painful. It was painful around AF though. We took it out to TTC and I got pregnant the next month. If I had to get a IUD again I would get the Mirena.

Paragard..Nope I hated it. It was terrible. It is cheaper, yes. BUT I had it for 7 months and literally spent most of that time bleeding. Think 2 week long periods sometimes [usually 10 days] and it was heavy the entire time. The first few days I would bleed through jumbo tampons and heavy pads. And that's considered normal! crazy. I removed it because it was slipping out of place [rare] and because of the bleeding. My iron got so low from all of the bleeding that I had to take vitamins. There are no hormones..that is nice I guess. But I can't justify paying 500 to not have to worry about BC..but I'm bleeding so much that we can't ever have sex. This doesn't happen to everyone mind you, but bleeding and pain [oh yeah..PMS cramps were brutal, make me want to cry painful] are the most common reasons for removal.

of the two, I think Mirena is better. Far better. GL with your decision..not everyone hates their Paragard as much as me lol.

Also as a sidenote..I've known more than a couple of woman on this site who have gotten pregnant on the Paragard, but none who have gotten pregnant on the Mirena. Just something else to think about.

CaitlinJ22 · September 2011

I had the paraguard for 8 months and the only think I liked about it was that I didnt get pregnant I had gross discharge for MONTHS, and HEAVY periods. My periods are normally 5 days start to end, and 1-2 days of super tampons, well this was changing a super tampon every 1-2 hours for 3-4 days and then more days of regular. I started getting bad ovarian cysts which my ob says its not from that, but who knows.

I got it out and went on the nuvaring. LOVED it. Only took it for 2 months and now we are TTC. DH never felt the ring, it was great and I had no mood swings etc. I was on the BCP for 6 years and it was fine, but I did have some mood swings at period time. this was better. the one thing I didnt like was my sex drive went down a bit....but since I wasnt choosing it for a long time BC I was fine with that.

I didnt want mirena bc of the $$ and the hormones. I was BFing and yes I went on the nuvaring which has homrones, but i was only on it for 2 months of nursing and that was at 11-13 months when she wasnt nursing more than 2-3 times in a day.

asubarbiegirl · September 2011

As a side note...I too loved the nuvaring. I used it for years before TTC. When I did stop using it, we got pregnant within 2 cycles.

That said, after I had my first and the doctor asked what I'd like to do about BC and I told him Nuvaring. Since I was breastfeeding, he suggested to not use that since it can lower your milk supply.

Just wanted to add that, in case Nuvaring became an option. I totally recommend it though.

Azrayla · September 2011

I will tell you this take it how you will.. After DD I got mirena. I was 5lbs from prepg weight at 6 weeks.. In two months with Mirena I gained 20lbs without diet change etc. So I was back up 25 total.. I took out mirena at the three month mark got pg four months after that and lost 20+ bs without morning sickness or diet change. I assume what I gained was water weight but I wont be getting mirena again. I will be trying paragard this time..

Lynn07 · September 2011

I haven't had a bad experience with my Paragard so far at all. Yes, af was a little heavier, but I expected that pp anyway. But it was nothing like others have talked about - maybe one or two days of heavy, then 4 days of light bleeding. I've had no complications so far, and I've had it 9 months. I hated hormonal bc, so I knew I wanted to try Paragard first before mirena. I haven't regretted my decision once!

sweetpea2003 · September 2011

I have a Mirena. I had it placed at my 6w post pardum appt after I had my son.

Aside from the first 6ish weeks of spotting, everything has been great. No side effects at all.

MsUnorganized · September 2011

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your input and experiences. I think I may try NuvaRing for a bit and see how it goes. I'm nervous about getting Mirena (and paying almost $1000 for it) and then hating it and needing to have it removed.

Want a personalized experience?

Intro and IUD question

Re: Intro and IUD question

Choose Another Board

Search Boards