"i am 56 and had the mirena inserted 4 years ago because i&#039;d had heavy continuous bleeding for months.  it was mirena or surgery.  the insertion was extremely painful, but the  bleeding stopped almost completely within a couple of weeks. i had lots of problems with the strings &quot;stabbing&quot; me in the vagina for almost the entire first year.  i finally went to a different doctor who trimmed about 3&amp;1/2 inches of string.  haven&#039;t had any problem since. i have not enjoyed sex since it was inserted, i lost a lot of hair, gained 20 pounds within the first six months, and have had to take anti depressants daily.  i never had problems with depression before.  but hey - no more bleeding."