I had an IUD for awhile and it caused me to get ovarian cysts :blink: I had to have surgery TWICE because of the IUD. :ohmy:
Now, we just let God plan our family size, and he seems to think that one is the right number of children for us 
God knows best!!
Hi everyone
I’m sorry to say I have to withdraw my recommendation of Mirena. Nikita was right to be suspicious of how it worked.
Until last week, I had total faith in it - because an amazing obstetrician recommended it, and because I haven’t had a period since giving birth two years ago.
However, last month I had period pains, and last week (on holiday), I had something I can only describe as a mini-miscarriage. I knew what it was as soon as I saw it. I just really hoped I was wrong.
Well, I Googled “fertilization” and “Mirena” when I got back, and this is what I found:
The hormone in the IUD may sometimes stop the release of an egg from the ovary, but this is not the way it usually works as ovulation still occurs in most women. The Mirena system may prevent sperm from reaching or fertilizing an egg. However, some sperm may reach the egg anyway, resulting in fertilization. When fertilization does occur, Mirena is also thought to act as birth control by preventing the embryo from implanting in the uterus.
I feel foolish for not doing my research properly before. I really thought the combination of breastfeeding (including night feeding) and Mirena was enough to prevent ovulation. Plus, the doctor who recommended it to me suggested that Mirena worked like the pill, only with a much lower dose of hormones. I trusted him.
Now that this has happened, I can’t understand why my obstetrician would have considered this an acceptable form of contraception. He’s not in Hong Kong anymore or I would ask him, and tell him to warn his patients properly.
Needless to say, I am getting the Mirena taken out as soon as possible.
Just wanted to let the rest of you know, in case you are using, or considering using, Mirena.
Maddy
Hmm. Nice to know, but really, what form of birth control is not going to do that? Can you really be sure that you had a miscarriage b/c it makes me bleed really weird; not like any periods I’ve ever had. You can PM me if you want more details of my ordeal with the thing, or if you want to tell me why you thought it was a miscarriage. It does have less hormones, which is better if your breastfeeding.
I still have mine in, and I’ve hated every day of it. I figure I’ll get it removed and go on the pill after I stop breastfeeding, but right now I’m not in a relationship, so it’s not going to do any harm leaving it in.
Guys,
My best friend after giving birth to her first child got the mirena and she got pregnant after six months!!!Yes…she did! Nobody at the hospital could believe it!! crazy ahhh unfortunatly she lost the baby because was a miscarrage(she didn’t know she was pregnant while she was using mirena)…I take the pills and I love them, no pain, gain weight…It really works for me. But you know everybody is diferent.
I only learned about abortifacients after taking the morning after pill after a doctor assured me the prevented conception. I’ve mentioned this before, but doctors consider conception a continuing embedded embryo. That is how they are trained…that’s the definition they have drummed into their psyche. Us mere mortals think conception is fertilisation, the moment sperm and egg meet and life begins.
Result of the morning after pill… a miscarriage a month later. A doctor confirmed it by seeing I was a bit dilated, and as i’d never had kids before, there was no chance I’d be dilated unless I’d “given birth” (to little bloodied lup of mucous that i knew as I caught it was my dead child). I will never get over that.
Nikki - It was like what Nikita just described (fuzzy blob), so that’s how I knew. I’m as sure as I can be without having seen a doctor.
Why do you stick with it if you’re having side effects and esp. if you’re not in a relationship?? (I don’t really believe it makes people gain weight, as some claim. But if I suddenly lose weight after getting it removed, I’ll let you guys know!)
PY - That’s TERRIBLE about your friend. I’m horrified. How many weeks was she??
Nikita - I decided to look up the dictionary definition of conception, and it includes implantation. So I guess if Mirena prevents implantation after fertilization, it can still technically be called a contraceptive. I just don’t have the stomach for it. (It also doesn’t explain PY’s friend!)
I’ve never had anything against the morning-after pill, but I’m shocked that it took a month to work with you. That’s another thing nobody warns you about! Sorry you had to go through that. It wasn’t your fault. Just remember the beautiful children you do have.
I’m not saying you did or didn’t have a miscarriage. I don’t want to belittle your situation, but I also hope that you don’t jump to conclusions. Most women still bleed when they’re on mirena. Breatfeeding women always start bleeding sometime, sometimes even if they have skipped one feeding. Most women have good instincts, but you may have something in the back of your head saying, hey, I have never bled before, and this is a weird bleed, I must have had a miscarriage. Every time I bleed now it is like blobs. When I urinate, I see blobs in the toilet too. If I wasn’t on birth control (and in a relationship) I would think I was having miscarriages too. That’s just the way the darn thing makes you bleed. It is not like a normal period at all.
I have not gotten it removed just in case I was in a relationship. I do not want to be on the pill since I am still BFing. Plus, it did make my periods very light after the initial 7 months of bleeding every day. They’re so light that I only have to wear a pantyliner. That’s a plus, about the only one.
I hope that I haven’t offended you, Maddy. I would just hate for you to beat yourself up over something that may not have happened. Why didn’t you go to the doctor to see if that is what happened?
Hi Nikki, sorry for my late reply.
Just wanted to say thanks for sharing on the “blob” front. 
It’s good to know that it might have been nothing. (I was holed up in Club Med so seeing an ob/gyn was not really an option.)
It doesn’t change my decision though, because just knowing that that could happen… No man. Not cool.
I understand. So what are your other bc options? Have you looked into anything else?
Umm… I will PM you. :laugh:
lol lol
I am a natural family planning OB/GYN. I did prescribe contraceptives during my training, but not subsequently.
Mirena is abortifacient because progesterone like agents thin the lining of the womb, making it hostile to an implanting embryo.
Most hormonal contraceptives are domintaed by progesterone like agents. Thus, they are predominantly abortifacient, although they may also thicken mucus ( a progesterone action) or suppress ovulation (which is done more effectively by estrogen like agents.
In the past oral contraceptives were estrogen dominated. This resulted in a small frequency of side effects typical of estrogen, especially strokes and heart attacks. Consequently, most oral contraceptives were changed to have low dose estrogen. Thus, ovulation suppression is less effective, making the abortifacient mechanism more dominant. Thus today, Depo, Norplant, most OCP preparations, Mirena are all predominantly progestin dominated, and thus the abortifacient mechanism predominates.
Newer OCPs (e.g. Triphasic) claim to simulate the natural cycle, by having chaning patterns of estrogens and progestins. But usually, they have significant progestin early in the cycle, very unphysiologic.
Estrogenlike substances cause vertical height growth of endometrium. Progestin like agents stop growth and begin maturation. Thus, early progestin terminates height growth early and begins maturation to early. This results in a very thin endometrium which is hostile to an implanting embryo. Thus, even preparations with seemingly psuedo-physiologic hormones are still abortifacient.
Couples who do natural family planning have increased love and respect for the spouse, improved communication and reduced divorce. These are not only benefical to themselves, but also to their children.
Couldnt have explained it better myself! (Could’nt have got near that sort of explanation). I always feel wrong about the “normal” pill. Totally refuse the mini-pill, but the non-mini-pill always still worried me.
Just wondering, Doc, if Clomid is an abortifacient in any way. I used a friends years ago for my 3rd child (behind my doctor’s back). I was told early on I had at More than 3 babies in there, but at 6 weeks there was just one. Was that my fault??
Clomid is a conundrum. There are suggestions it could increase some outcomes one would rather not have. Most interestingly, couples of normal fertility have a huge DROP in fertility when using Clomid. It clearly increases ovulation but not necessarily fertility.
It is often used in a cavalier way. Many doctors would tell a patient to try Clomid for a few montha and come back if they don’t get pregnant. I think it might be used in some cases under tight supervision, but in general i would rather solve problems in a different way.
Has anyone read and used Lunaception? The site of the author is here: http://lunaception.net/index.html
The book is only 10 $ and you can downloaded right away.
I was interested in it because I did find a connection between the moon and my menstruation. Or, more accurately, between the moon and my monthly - emotional, physical and mental - habbits (in the nights with full moon especially). I’ve just started studying Louise Lacey’s theory in my own life. For years I’ve been looking for ways of both regulating my menstruation cycle and controlling fertility in a natural way.
Andrea
I recently found out that you have to take birth control even on a period, because it’s possible to get pregnant during it. Weird, yeah?