Re: For WOMEN only (Mirena - Debbi)

[Guest guest]

Debbi wrote ...<cut> And for those who would rather not even deal

with four periods per year, or who have trouble with taking oral

birth control pills, I offer this advice: Mirena For some reason

your doc won't OFFER you this option for birth control, but if you

ASK about it he/she will sing its praises! Knowledge is power.

>

> Debbi in Michigan

O.K. Debbi, now you have my curiosity, what the heck is Mirena and

why should I be singing about it?

Joy

[Guest guest]

Joy wrote: O.K. Debbi, now you have my curiosity, what the heck is Mirena and why should I be singing about it?

Mirena is an IUD/IUS (intrauterine device or system). It is made of plastic and delivers a tiny dose of hormones to the female reproductive organs directly, so very little hormone enters the bloodstream (unlike The Pill or Depo-Provera or Nor-Plant, which must deliver enough hormone level to circulate through the blood to make it to the reproductive system, and so uses much higher levels of hormones and cause more hormone-related side effects.) And unlike the Copper-T IUD, it DECREASES monthly flow, rather than increasing it.

The best site I've found is one from the UK, where it's been used for years now (and where it is free!):http://www.womens-health.co.uk/mirena.asp

(I love the Brit term "fall pregnant"... makes it sound like you tripped over something and stubbed your toe and ended up pregnant as a result! LOL)

I'm probably more knowledgeable about Mirena than most family doctors and even the average OB/GYN, so feel free to ask any questions you may have and I'll answer them or offer suggestions of where to find the info you're seeking. (Anyone too embarrassed to discuss birth control in public like this is welcome to email me directly -- just put "Mirena" or "achalasia" in the subject line so I don't delete it as spam coming from an unknown sender!) IUD's got such a bad reputation in the 70's and early 80's that they just haven't bothered to really market it here, although it's taken off great guns all over Europe. (Maybe the Kotex lobbyists have tried to keep it quiet over here, too -- I haven't bought a feminine hygiene product in ages, and they'd go out of business if everyone jumped on the Mirena bandwagon!)

Mirena is ONLY for women who have had one pregnancy -- there's a higher chance of expulsion in a never-pregnant woman. But other than that, it can be a godsend for women who can't use "mainstream" hormonal birth control b/c of side effects. The rate of usage among women who are knowledgeable about it is extremely high (my midwife even got one for herself!) -- in a group of my friends that have been educated about it, it is the #1 choice for birth control -- over 50% of the women using BC in that group use the Mirena, but the general population number is well under 1% b/c of a lack of knowledge about this option. As I love to say, Knowledge is Power!!! Pepto Deb

[Guest guest]

---

Hi Debbie,

My husband is getting himself fixed. No pills, no hormones for

anyone. Knowledge is power, but the snip-snip makes life a heck of a

lot cheaper and easier.

LOL!

Jo from South Florida

Had to get my two cents in!

In achalasia , " Debbi Heiser " <heiser@t...> wrote:

> Joy wrote: O.K. Debbi, now you have my curiosity, what the heck is

Mirena and why should I be singing about it?

>

>

> Mirena is an IUD/IUS (intrauterine device or system). It is made

of plastic and delivers a tiny dose of hormones to the female

reproductive organs directly, so very little hormone enters the

bloodstream (unlike The Pill or Depo-Provera or Nor-Plant, which must

deliver enough hormone level to circulate through the blood to make

it to the reproductive system, and so uses much higher levels of

hormones and cause more hormone-related side effects.) And unlike

the Copper-T IUD, it DECREASES monthly flow, rather than increasing

it.

>

> The best site I've found is one from the UK, where it's been used

for years now (and where it is free!):

> http://www.womens-health.co.uk/mirena.asp

> (I love the Brit term " fall pregnant " ... makes it sound like you

tripped over something and stubbed your toe and ended up pregnant as

a result! LOL)

>

> I'm probably more knowledgeable about Mirena than most family

doctors and even the average OB/GYN, so feel free to ask any

questions you may have and I'll answer them or offer suggestions of

where to find the info you're seeking. (Anyone too embarrassed to

discuss birth control in public like this is welcome to email me

directly -- just put " Mirena " or " achalasia " in the subject line so I

don't delete it as spam coming from an unknown sender!) IUD's got

such a bad reputation in the 70's and early 80's that they just

haven't bothered to really market it here, although it's taken off

great guns all over Europe. (Maybe the Kotex lobbyists have tried to

keep it quiet over here, too -- I haven't bought a feminine hygiene

product in ages, and they'd go out of business if everyone jumped on

the Mirena bandwagon!)

>

> Mirena is ONLY for women who have had one pregnancy -- there's a

higher chance of expulsion in a never-pregnant woman. But other than

that, it can be a godsend for women who can't use " mainstream "

hormonal birth control b/c of side effects. The rate of usage among

women who are knowledgeable about it is extremely high (my midwife

even got one for herself!) -- in a group of my friends that have been

educated about it, it is the #1 choice for birth control -- over 50%

of the women using BC in that group use the Mirena, but the general

population number is well under 1% b/c of a lack of knowledge about

this option. As I love to say, Knowledge is Power!!!

>

> Pepto Deb

[Guest guest]

Joy wrote: My husband is getting himself fixed. No pills, no hormones for anyone. Knowledge is power, but the snip-snip makes life a heck of a lot cheaper and easier.

)

Ya know, though, even if my hubby got fixed (which he offered to do the week after our son was born -- he loves to death and wouldn't trade him for the world, but one is ENOUGH as far as he's concerned! LOL), I would still get my Mirena renewed every 5 years (or 7 or 10 years if the FDA ever ups the limit -- I believe it's licensed for 7 years in Europe before it needs to be replaced, but for now it's every 5 years in the US).

To me, it's worth it to NEVER have to worry about scheduling ANYthing! There's just something so unappealing about spending a quarter of your life bleeding and dealing with it.... Men are SO lucky! :oDPepto Deb