Hey y'all, I got my Mirena IUD 5 hours ago! Here's my experience!

Hey everyone,

As the title says, I got my mirena today and I want to tell you all my experience so far. I made an appointment for it last week (My first ever visit) at my local Planned Parenthood. I personally ruminated on whether to get the mirena or paraguard. My periods are pretty relaxed, I don't get cramps or have any symptoms other than...well, blood coming out of my vagina. My flow is normal, not heavy at all, but I absolutely HATE having a period. Although I've read some unpleasant things about the Mirena, this was the deciding factor in me choosing it.

At the doctors office it was all standard procedure. I sort of wanted it to go in today, and had a feeling it would, but when they told me that they were putting it in today I started getting nervous! I took no pills before and also didn't eat anything before the insertion. I asked the doctor if it would hurt and she told me there would be "three series of cramps" and I thought...wtf. I don't get period cramps at all so I couldn't even imagine what that would be like.

Okay I'm naked from my ass down and it's time to get inserted. I spread wide and the speculum goes in. that's fine. The doctor warned me before each cramp, the first one was intense...I asked the nurse if she could hold my hand and I'm so glad she did because I don't know what I would have done. The second one was probably the worst one for me, holding on tight to the nurses hand. The third one was when she finally put the mirena in, still squeezing tight. She cuts my strings, takes the speculum out and the pain is gone. It lasted about 1 minute. I immediately forgot about the pain afterward but was still a bit shaken (I'm really dramatic, it was fine). The nurse gives me pads, I put one on and leave the Planned Parenthood.

I expected to have pain after having it put in but so far there's nothing. I don't need any pain medication at all. Overall, I think reading other people's stories gave me unnecessary anxiety because I expected it to hurt a lot more than it did. The pain is more of an intense pressure in your stomach with a bit of cramping and is completely manageable. My insurance was Aetna/1199SEIU and I got mine implanted in Buffalo NY. Overall, a worthwhile experience to not be pregnant for the next 6 years. Here's hoping it's smooth sailing from here!