In light of all the conversation surrounding intrauterine devices after the recent US elections.
I feel I need to write about my experience with IUD’s, specifically the Mirena coil.
It’s not been fun games definitely and I’d hate for other women to rush to it without knowing about all the side effects and potential drawbacks. Prepare for some TMI, sorry but I need to do my duty to fellow uterus owners
(sorry mum)
For me a life with a Mirena coil is better than what I used to suffer from before. Those that are close to me know the ordeal I went through on a monthly basis. Half my life was spent preparing for my period, and I missed so much school due to my cramps.
It got so bad and affected my attendance so much my secondary school had a dedicated room set in the school nurse area that I used to make use of regularly every month.
I’d be vomiting and crying. I was on the highest dose of codeine for six years. It was that bad.
The Mirena Coil has reduced this pain so much, and given me a new lease on life. I never knew a life without chronic pain could be possible.
My parents cried when my first period came after the Mirena was inserted and I did not shed a single tear. It was painful still but, I have a high pain threshold now and I could deal with this pain.
Health wise, I have a very close relationship with my parents, I mean I have no choice, after going through all I’ve been through for the past two decades, they know everything.
It helps that they’re also both in the Healthcare industry with mum being a nurse for almost 40 years and dad having a PhD in immunology.
Dad used to be my main supplier of trifles and McD whenever I had my periods. And he kept track and used to remind me to get new prescriptions whenever he guessed they were running low. He knew my cycle like the back of his hand, probably also because he used to leave work early many many times to come pick me up whenever school called to tell him I was crying on the corridor or was passed out in the nurse’s office. So he learnt to anticipate.
*Honestly I could never repay my parents for all they have done*
However the Mirena coil has still got me on tramadol and naproxen for those random times I get debilitating cramps. After I got it, I was put on oral morphine for breakthrough pain. Yes the pain can get that bad once in a while.
And there’s also been the horror of the never ending period. Yes, you read that right. I had a heavy period for one and a half straight months after insertion. I lost so much nutrients I ended up with angular stomatitis.
And even till now I’m getting periods that have no business appearing at the time they’re coming, basically my cycle is drunk and I cannot make head or tail of it. Planning is impossible and I get no warnings, I have one day periods, 3 day periods, one week periods, 5 periods a month… Or as the medical community calls it (lies I tell you), ‘spotting between periods’ . I refuse to call it spotting though as I don’t know when it stops being spotting and becomes a period. Whatever it is, it’s heavy and unplannable.
For some women, Mirena coils can cause debilitating period pains where there wasn’t before. For others it stops their periods.
For me, a week after implantation I was taken in an ambulance to the hospital for unbearable pain like I’d never experienced before and I got admitted. I was on gas, IV paracetamol, morphine, tramadol and diclofenac.
My family was horrified and I was delirious enough to say some unrepeatable things to my poor long suffering dad.
But in the grand scheme of things, my pain now is on average a million times less than it used to be
Months after this, I still get pain, I’m still on pain killers, my period hasn’t disappeared but my cramps have lessened.
And for me it’s a price worth paying.
For other women not used to the cramp life, it’s gonna come as a shock if you’re unlucky enough.
Also insertion can be a bitch, I got mine done under general anaesthesia after a minor procedure but more often than not IT IS A PAINFUL MINOR PROCEDURE that involves widening the cervix but doctors don’t mention that unless you press for information
Please please research your options on all the contraceptives out there, especially if your aim is to help with pain control.
And there are many more risks like increased PID chance, perforation of the uterus, ectopic pregnancies etc that I haven’t touched on.
I don’t normally talk about my health publicly but I sincerely hope this post helps those that are considering getting the coil.
Ire 
