Hi, all! I've found this sub really helpful in deciding which birth control to choose and preparing for insertion, so figured I'd pay it forward and share my Mirena insertion experience. I've previously been on various forms of the pill for nearly 10 years. I recently had my prescription changed yet again and was getting tired of the side effects, so decided to switch to Mirena.

My appointment was at 2:30 PM on Friday. I took 600 Motrin an hour before the appointment, as instructed, and tried to eat a light but not insubstantial lunch. I picked up the Mirena from the pharmacy in advance of the appointment (it was in a HUGE box that didn't even fit in my large purse). I arrived to my appointment about 30 minutes early, checked in, and waited. A nurse took me back to the room and weighed me and took my blood pressure. She asked me a few questions about my period (I made sure I was on my period for the appointment), checking I'd eaten that day, if I was in any pain, things like that.

Then she had me pee in a cup for my pregnancy test and told me to get undressed and sit on a white sheet to wait for the NP to do the insertion. Then I sat and waited for a long time, nearly 30 minutes, as they were running behind. This was the worst part, because the nurse had put my bag all the way across the room and I didn't want to walk across the room naked to get my phone or a book in case anyone walked in. So I just sat staring at my watch and getting myself keyed up and anxious. I highly recommend you come prepared with a friend, partner, or book or other form of entertainment to distract yourself.

NP finally arrives, it's the same person I saw for my initial consult, which puts me at ease. She goes over the insertion process and lets me know what to expect in the days after the procedure - cramps for up to 24 hours, bleeding, etc. She has me sign a release form that includes things like tissue extraction, in case they find polyps or anything else they want to remove and biopsy while they're up there.

She then has me recline and put my feet in the stirrups. She does a manual examination with two fingers to find the position of my uterus. Then she measures my uterus. The Mirena insertion kit includes a metal speculum instead of a plastic one, she warns me that it might be a bit more uncomfortable than the plastic ones I'm used to. It's very slightly more uncomfortable but not too noticeable.

Then she measures my uterus to make sure I'm a good fit for Mirena. I recommend NOT looking at the instrument they use for this, it is long and nasty looking and seeing it made me clench up immediately. My butt actually lifted off the table and she had to give me a minute to take deep breaths and calm down. The measuring was very uncomfortable, I'm not going to lie. I yelped out in pain and tried to talk through it to distract myself. She knew this was what I was doing but she was also a little distracted because she had to focus. I wish I had brought my husband or a friend to hold my hand and keep me distracted.

My uterus was fine so it was time to clamp the cervix open. Again, I recommend not looking at the instruments. She was very vague about what she was doing at this part, I think because if she said "I am pinching your cervix with a massive clamp" it would freak me out and make me nervous. She said something along the lines of "I'm doing something with your cervix to make insertion easier." It was uncomfortable but not as bad as measuring for me.

She told me that for a lot of women, measurement is the most painful part. This put me at ease but the moment she inserted the Mirena, that was definitely not the case. By far the worst gynelogical pain I've felt in my life, like someone punched my cervix and uterus at the same time. I cried out, which I think helped. I can't imagine trying to stifle the pain. She apologized and tried to work quickly.

Once it was in I started bleeding and cramping. She trimmed the strings and waited for the bleeding to stop. When the bleeding didn't stop for about a minute, she put some silver nitrate on there to stop the bleeding. She warned me that the discharge would be a much darker brown due to the silver nitrate, so not to worry if the blood wasn't a normal color for me.

I had read a lot of stories on here and other websites so I was prepared for the pain. What I wasn't prepared for was the shock I had afterwards. I was shaky and light-headed, and was having a hard time speaking and breathing. I immediately had to go to the bathroom after the procedure, which didn't help. I felt queasy and an uncomfortable cramping that wasn't like normal cramping for me. They gave me a heating pad, some crackers, and apple juice and had me lie down for a while. My blood pressure actually went down after the procedure, so I think it's because I was in mild shock.

I didn't feel well enough to make a follow up appointment with the receptionist so I just went outside and waited for a Lyft. I thought about driving myself home but I am SO glad I didn't. I wouldn't have been able to. I had driven while in pain before, but I wasn't just in pain. I was nauseated, shaking, and generally not myself. I really don't like going to the gyno and having instruments inserted up my vagina. It's the worse kind of pain for me, and I always get incredibly tense. The experience wasn't emotionally scarring but it had a bigger effect on my body than I expected.

I left close to 4:00 and got a ride home. Instantly got a hot water bottle and took more Motrin. I was in discomfort for the rest of the day and for the next couple days after. Bleeding has been very light for me, which was a pleasant surprise. I hope I won't have much bleeding in the coming weeks and months, but we'll see.

A few things I didn't see mentioned in other posts here that surprised me: my legs hurt a LOT in the day or two following the procedure. I think it's because I was tensing them extremely tightly in the stirrups for over 30-40 minutes. I had muscle cramping and restless legs for a few days after, and the leg cramps were worse than the uterine cramps.

I've had cramping but it doesn't feel like my usual period cramps. I get menstrual cramps in my lower back, and this cramping has been in my back as well as my front/uterus. It's also a different kind of pain, I can't quite describe it but I wasn't prepared for how different the pain would feel.

Lastly, and perhaps most grossly, I've had MUCH more frequent bowel movements in the few days following the procedure. I had a bowel movement immediately following the procedure, and I went to the bathroom at least 5-6 times in the 12 hours after. This is my usual reaction to gyno stuff, but just much more severe. I'm not sure if it's nerves/anxiety or my body reacting to things poking around down there and having the NP press repeatedly on my stomach. But I definitely wasn't prepared for that random side effect!

Things seem to be settling back to normal now. I haven't bled for about 36 hours now, and soon I'm going to call and make my follow up appointment. I'm under strict instructions not to put anything in my vagina for a week after the procedure, so no sex, no tampons, no menstrual cups. I'm still tender so haven't tried to feel the strings yet, but the NP assured me that it's not necessarily abnormal not to feel the strings. I'm not sure how I'll feel about that once we settle into a routine, as I can't go and get an ultrasound to check their position every month.

Anyway, that was my experience. Feel free to ask questions, I'm happy to answer!