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I was in the same boat as you after weaning... I did talk to my doctor about the IUD's and she recommended the cooper one... But I couldn't stop reading horror stories about them... And then my mom told me an IUD is what caused my aunt's infertility so that made the decision for me. I'm back on the pill now, and it's low hormone, no side effects so I'm happy.

I had tons of side effects from BCP and only one from Mirena.

The one from Mirena was no period for for years. I prefer to call it a side awesome.

@oliviaoblivia: lol! A side awesome.

@Mae: The OB I saw last loooooves the Mirena. She says that most women will eventually have really light or no periods on it, and it is a smaller dose of hormone. It is probably what I will end up with. While we are two and through, I don't want to do anything permanent to DH or me.

@Mae: Thanks! I don't know...maybe I am naive, but I was more scared of the concept of IUD in general than in Paraguard in particular. Once I decided that we needed some secure form of BC, I seriously looked into IUD, and once I decided I wanted one, Paraguard seemed like the only real option for me.

@oliviaoblivia: lol!

I stopped using BCP years ago (like....many years ago!) because no matter what kind I tried, no matter how low the estrogen, I got super sick every month for several day at a time on BCP; heavy vomiting that would last 1-3 days only while on BCP.

I've had Mirena for several years in total (before and after LO), and never had any issues like that. I did have on and off spotting for months with the first Mirena, but once that went away I had no periods at all, so it was worth it. No pms symptoms that I've noticed, though I never had a lot to begin with anyway. No negative symptoms at all.

I was on the BCP for about 10 years before having kids, then off for about 5 years and then this past March I decided to go with Mirena.

I can't really say what kind of side effects I had from the pill, primarily because it was so long ago, and also because I was a hormonal teenager when I went on it. Nothing was bad enough to cause me to stop using it though!

I posted about my experience last weekend having had Mirena--I ended up with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, that was likely about 8 weeks in (as is estimated by my beta levels) and unknown because I didn't have any periods on Mirena (which was totally side awesome!!). The OB who I saw and operated on me said that while an IUD can cause an increased risk of ectopic, she had not seen one with Mirena because its failure rate is so low. That being said, she also suggested that I consider other routes of BC now, and we agreed and during surgery she removed my IUD. Because we were not trying to get pregnant, and because I wasn't having periods, and had no other classic early pregnancy signs, I was unaware of my pregnancy.

I had no other side effects from Mirena. I am by nature an anxious person and I was worried that it would be amplified by the hormones, but instead until last week, it really was fabulous. My only word of caution is that if you start feeling 'off' in your abdomen, even before it turns into pain and bleeding...go get it checked out! Never in my wildest dreams did I think that things would turn out as they did.

I was on BCP during grad school. My body just doesn't handle it well at all. I had Mirena placed shortly before our wedding and had it for three years before removing it for ttc. I had another one put in about a month ago. I have had positive experiences. Periods never went away completely but they were so light they were barely noticeable after a while. And I didn't have any reactions to the hormones that I can tell.

I know I don't need to type my story to you, but I think my overall BC advice is that I wouldn't do any type of BC that can physically mess with you, aka end up in the wrong spot.

I know I'm in the minority with the worst odds happened to me, but lesson learned.

I was on BC before LO and had no issues. I have had no issues since getting my IUD. I love love that I don't get a period. I still have small spotting, but it seems to finally be stopping.

I took BCP in college and had BAD side effects. Lots of weight gain, severe mood swings, etc. Ive had a Mirena for 2+ years now. Completely happy. Insertion was pretty painless for me, no bad side effects to speak of and I havent had a period since my LMP when I got pregnant with C.