Oh Mirena..... how i wanted you to work so badly.... But alas, you have failed me.
I got the Mirena IUD inserted in February of 2009. The insertion was terribly painful, but my doctor had warned of that since I haven't had any children and I would have a smaller uterus than women who had. The pain and nausea caused by the insertion went away within 8-12 hours. For the first three months, it did everything it was supposed to do: normal periods, no weight gain, no (new) mood swings, effective contraception... Beginning on day 1 of the fourth month, things went crazy. I have had 10 periods in 6 months, some lasting about 8 days and starting again 7-8 days later. I had a two day long migraine (I've never had one before this). I have been unbelievably moody, have experienced an extremely decreased sex-drive, bloating, exhaustion, the list goes on.
So when I couldn't take it anymore, I went to the doctor and the strings were no where to be found. Then I went for an ultrasound and sure enough, the Mirena had relocated itself between my cervix and rectum........... Not to mention, there's a 4.5cm cyst on one of my ovaries. The next step is a laparoscopy (procedure where the enter through the belly button) to retrieve the Mirena and check out the cyst.
I thought Mirena was going to be such a dream, but it's turned out to be a nightmare. I never had any adverse side effects from the pill in the 6 years I used it prior to Mirena and now I wish I had never switched. I know people that it's worked for without trouble, but unfortunately I was not that lucky. Like most of you, I had researched more than I felt necessary and read all the negative side effects others experienced, I just hoped that wouldn't happen to me. I'm not telling anyone not to get it, I would just advise that you don't switch to Mirena if you have something that is working properly. It's simply not worth it (financially, physically or emotionally).