Mirena Coil Removal After Stoma Surgery

If you recall, I wrote a blog post last year about deciding to have my old copper coil removed and a new Mirena coil to replace it. This was 5 months before my wedding and in the lead up and subsequent honeymoon I wanted to be period free, most women can probably relate to this, nothing quite says hello trouble as an ivory wedding dress, with the matching bridal underwear and your period app telling you that your wedding day will be bang on mid period week.

How was it?

In all fairness with the stress of sorting out everything wedding related and getting my daughter prepared for her year 7 start, I hadn’t really noticed anything untoward, my wedding dress was huge and needed taking in so I had not really noticed the little weight gain at the time.

Being period free from day zero with the coil was a novelty and a wondrous thing until I realized that I still got the cramps and the bloating minus the actual period. Once everything settled down I will admit that having a period free life and being able to enjoy sex as and when was a rather good novelty; it wasn’t wearing thin and we had a rather fantastic honeymoon if I say so myself. Once things had settled down and life settled back into a normal routine life minus a period was not as consequence free as I first thought.

Why did I have the Mirena removed?

Back at the end of September I started new medication to help with my sleep pattern and to control some of the pain I was experiencing. I was experiencing some rather cracking headaches and fatigue. I originally put this down to the new medication, I went to see my GP about this after being on the medication for 3 months and was advised that it was most likely my coil and not the medication as I had previously been on the sister drug to the new one and life was pretty easy.

I was experiencing daily headaches, painkillers would not help and I would have to sleep to get rid of the blasted thing. I was also piling on the weight at a rather record keeping time and my diet had not changed. I am pretty healthy and I also walk my poor dog quite a distance as it helps to keep my joints loose and reduces my fibromyalgia symptoms.

The other rather alarming thing was phantom pregnancy. I had the coil put in to make sure this doesn’t happen, however when you’re feeling rather neurotic, have all the early pregnancy symptoms and hit google, it makes for a rather scary time, my brain is telling me no way in hell, it’s like 99% effective, my body however is going guess what? I had literally gained weight across my belly and nowhere else. It was also impacting my stoma site and I was experiencing leaks on a more regular basis.

I finally plucked up the courage to phone the family planning clinic to book an appointment to have it removed, the reason it took me a while is because the removal and reinsertion in May was rather traumatic, it took close to an hour and I was not the happiest person after due to cramps and bleeding. The thought of having another unknown person using a head torch, alongside a safety rope and a canary again didn’t fill me with joy. So I turned up at my appointment on the 24/02 and was pleasantly surprised by the clinic I was sent to. It was less archaic , looked more modern and the nurse was absolutely amazing. This time I was allowed to have a local anesthetic and she was gentler and more caring than my last appointment. I will admit I was rather nauseous during the removal, this was due to the fact that it took well over an hour again and my cervix had to be pulled around and clipped ( are your eyes watering yet?). I had the 5 year copper coil placed as this was smaller and more bendy and catered to the narrowing of my vaginal canal and cervix.

All of the surgery and my added bonus of endometriosis has led to vaginal stenosis, this means I have been referred back to gynae, this basically means that my lady garden has narrowing and a fair amount of scar tissue, there is an option for having this tinkered with and removed. I will have to cross that bridge at a later date.

Mirena side effects:

• headache (√)
• depression
• low libido
• nervousness (√)
• acne (√)
• skin disorders
• weight gain (√)
• pain (√)

Summary

I have now learnt that my body does not like having hormones placed into it on a semi permanent basis. It makes me weepy, neurotic and a little bit snappy. I also can’t handle the weight gain associated with these methods either. The copper coil works for me and that is what I will be using until I hit menopause. Everybody is different and what works for one may not work for another. Should you be experiencing any issues please consult with your doctor or the family planning clinic. Reading mums net at 2 am and seeing how many people have fallen pregnant whilst using an IUD can make the most stable person rather crazy.

As always

Many thanks for reading

Louise Xx