I had the Mirena for 4.5 years. There were some pros and cons.

Pro: It was easy to place. Didn't have a period for 4.5 years. I didn't get pregnant or even have a scare. I didn't have to remember to take something every day. Easy to remove.

Cons: I had to be on my period to get it placed, Major hair loss, Horrible cramps at random times sometimes lasting for hours or days, Stabbing pain when I would bend over in lady bits, Sex was unbelievable uncomfortable.

All in all everyone is going to have a different experience. I hope you find something that works for you :)

I took Skyla, which was a smaller version of Mirena. Both of these forms of birth control use a synthetic progestin hormone called levonorgestrel - which essentially mimics testosterone, which can be awful if you have PCOS. I had it in for about two years. In that time I have lost half of my hair, and started growing a mustache, hair around my nipples and all over, acne and weight gain and cysts. Essentially it made my PCOS symptoms way, way worse. I am now off of it as of 8 months ago and am on Ortho Tri Cyclen, which has cleared up the acne and has helped with cyst pain some. The positive side it did stop my periods for almost 8 months. But the first two months I had bleeding almost the whole time and horrible cramping - but I also had a cyst rupture.

I've been on Mirena for about 4 years now. The initial insertion wasn't bad, but afterwards the pain was horrible. It only lasted a day or two though. (Severe contractions) I spotted a small amount afterwards for a few days, and haven't had any bleeding since. (No periods at all) I do however, still feel the symptoms of getting my period at times. (Bloating, cramps, etc.) I really enjoy not having to worry about my period anymore, however I have ABSOLUTELY NO SEX DRIVE! A sad trade off. It's crazy. I also constantly have a feeling of fullness in my abdomen and pain during intercourse with certain positions. I'm sure it affects everyone differently, but I feel as though it was worth it for me because of how irregular my periods were before. (Sometimes my period would last 2 weeks straight, other times I wouldn't get it for 2 months, and sometimes it would be just light spotting constantly)

After I got it placed it took about a week or so for the bleeding to stop and then the cramps lasted about 2 weeks initially. I didn't have another cycle after that one. They just pretty much stopped. My sister in law has the Mirena now and she still has a period so, I'm not sure if it was PCOS the whole time or not. I wasn't diagnosed until about a year later. After the initial bleed after removal which wasn't much, it was like a really really light period I went back to my cycles pretty normally for a few months.

@A myPCOSteam Member hi did the IUD end up helping you with your spotting?? I’m new here and getting it soon. Thanks!

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