I'm 24, a virgin, and I'm getting married in about two months. I've had Mirena in for about two months now and the experience so far has been pretty good. I did have a bad insertion experience, I threw up in the Medical office and almost passed out. The cramps were bad for a few days and I bled heavily for a week or so.
There are definate pros and cons, as there are with any birth control option.
Cons- a slight increase in my acne, though there could be any number of reasons for it, as my skin has a tendancy to be unstable anyway. I occasionally have light cramping (unlike cramps I experienced pre-mirena), and there has been some occasional spotting.
Pros- a much lighter period right away! I've lost several pounds without working out. My sex drive has increased three fold and my cervical mucus has been more plentiful (i.e. more moisture, which is a good thing for me, I tend to be uncomfortably dry).
Since I haven't had sex, with or without mirena in, I can't say if it will cause disperena (painful sex) or not. I'm apt to think that sex will be painful at first anyway. I'm also somewhat concerned that my husband will feel the strings, my Dr. cut them long as a precaution (his reason was "longer allows the strings more flexibilty. we'll see).
I wanted to post a more positive message about mirena. I feel that it is an execellent idea to give a great amount of thought and research to medical proceedures like this before the actual proceedure is done. Mirena is DEFINATELY not for everyone (i.e. I strongly question mirena for 15 year olds). The majority of threads relating to mirena are overwhelmingly negitive. I feel there are good reasons for this. Obviously, a woman who is having problems with the choosen proceedure is more likely to write about it than a fully satisfied customer, and for good reason. Women who are experiencing serious health complications believed to be mirena related should go out and research, post comments and learn more about the reasons behind their problems. I think we should also bear in mind that there are many factors that go into adverse reactions to birth control, and some symptoms may not be mirena related. This is in no way aimed to belittle the very serious and unpleasant symptoms any of the above women have experienced. Removing the mirena was likely a very good idea in your circumstances and I wish you all very good health. I just want to give readers interested in inserting mirena a full spectrum of experience to consider.