I LOVE the Mirena! I used to have extremely heavy and long periods (10-14 days), and be in agony for almost the whole time, let alone the PMS. My poor family had to put up with this for years. I had tried many forms of the pill, implanon, depo injection - all this after four exploratory surgeries to try and find out what the problem was. Then I was recommended the Mirena, and I havent had a period since I got it and have only just started to get bad pain in the last few months. I am due for a new one soon though. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I am not sure on the weight gain, because I am overweight myself. On the down side, a colleague I used to work with hated hers as it made her peiods extremely irregular, which is the problem I had with most of the other things I tried. Everyone is different and reacts to things differently. I say try it - you just never know. To me, weight gain is a small price to pay for everything else to be fixed!

Here is a link you can view that may answer your question: www.ehow.com/how_4692606_stop-having-periods.html

Periods are every woman’s nightmare and can affect each and every one of us differently. You can control it by taking the pill however; different pills will cause different reactions to each individual, such as gaining weight or mood swings. It’s always best to talk about these options with your doctor. Also you could take on a more drastic approach and that would be to have a hysterectomy, but doctors will only do that procedure if you fall into that category of having the risk of cervical cancer or severe fibroids which causes a lot of pain.

I know it is a nuisance but whether we like it or not its something we have to learn to live with and it usually lasts for 40 - 45+ years unless you have the good luck of getting into the menopausal stage earlier. Also it is believed that it is really not healthy to not have periods, because the lining of the uterus must be cleansed monthly to help prevent uterine cancer, hence having periods.

Nowadays, we are very advanced in that we now have great thinly shaped and yet well absorbed pads, panty liners or tampons. Not really that long ago, I recall when I was a teenager that pads were not very absorbing and they were thick and bulky, and our ancestors had to wash their own cotton rags by hand.

Other ways to help manage your periods especially if you suffer from bloating is to drink a lot of water and exercise regularly. The bloating may be the result from eating foods such as meat, cabbage, capsicum, peas etc. These foods ferment in the gastrointestinal tract and will produce gases due to the fermentation process, thus drinking a lot of water and exercise will help to eliminate it.

An IUD is really not recommended as I have heard that it can cause weight gain like the pill but it also has greater risks of causing heavier bleeds, or higher risk of getting severe infections.

Best option, is to accept the way you are.

 I would just like to say thankyou to all those that have already replied..  A few of you have certainly opened up my eyes..  I'm seeing my doctor on Wednesday, but I'm now going loaded with questions..  I'll keep watching for more replies just in case anything new comes in.

I had the same problem since I was 13 ( minus the tubes tied)

I have had the depo shot and tbh it was the best and worst thing for me. worst because I bled for 9 months somthing. but best cause it made me go to the doctors and get seen by a gyno.

I had the IUD and it was so painful. my hubby's penis got cut open by it as well. i could feel it all the time and it would stab and move about slightly and that was worse than period pain. my bleeding was some what ok, but the bloating and pain wasnt worth it.

I cant have the inplant that goes in ur arm due to mental illness but I have heard it is ok for some and bad for others.

In the end I was in so much pain and without the pill ( normal one) I would constantly bleed weather it be heavy or light. I had to get a hysterectomy in the end. the pain was killing me and my social life and my sex life and any life that was good. I lived on 10-16 panadol a day and up to 10 nurofen (  not good for ur liver or kidneys).

I personally would go and see a Gyno about it and maybe a natropath as there are natural medications avalible.

good luck and i hope you find something that helps.

Firstly go here (<-----Click this!)  and see what a Minti member posted about the IUD's

The following comments, coming from a man, might sound weird but I am not quite the normal run of the mill male, I actually was so interested in the workings of the human body, that I did a lot of reading about the topic and researched a lot into hos a ladies body works ...so.here goes......

My understanding on your desire is that now you have finished having kids, had your tubes tied so now you want to be rid of the monthly period. Well there are few truly effective methods to achieve this goal that are not going to cause you problems in the long run.

IUD's are about as effective as any other form of contraception. The big issue you need to consider with IUD's is the chances of something going wrong with the implant. There have been cases of ladies needing emergency surgery to remove an IUD because of infection, the IUD growing into the uterus walls etc.. IUD's also are known in many cases to increase bleeding, and sometimes cause toxic shock symptoms. I know a few ladies who had emergency surgery to remove one of these after becoming quite ill....Personally I think IUD's are too dangerous...Think about it, you are asking a doctor to place a foreign object into the single most sterile environment in your body, and this very act can open you up to primary and secondary infections and medical complications that are potentially life threatening.

Some ladies prefer the injection Depo Provera. This is a hormone injection that lasts about 3 months, and in a lot of cases stops the periods altogether. However one main side effect that is noted, is retaining water causing weight gain and puffiness around the body. This does not happen with everyone but does happen, although with regular exercise and good diet, this side effect can be dramatically reduced.

By far, the most simple way to prevent periods is the normal oral contraceptive pill. I know many ladies don't like taking it, but it is generally the safest way to prevent periods. Your doctor will suggest the right formulation and strength for your body (as peoples hormone levels etc can effect the pills ability to prevent a period).

To be honest, there is no 100% foolproof or effective way to stop a period. The only two ways I know that are 100% effective are Total Hysterectomy or Menopause. The first would not be performed without a threat to your health being present (ie Cervical cancer, Ovarian cancer etc..), and the latter only happens after you reach that time in your life or in some cases acute stress can bring on early menopause.

Unfortunately you are facing the very same dilemma that women since the dawn of time have been demanding....There are methods that can work, but in all reality, most methods come with some form of risk. You just need to ask yourself...Is the risk worth it?

I have two cousins who have had this, and have taken them out due to weight gain....

Other then what they have said I am afraid I know nothing more..

I use a patch that I replace once a week every Monday... I LOVE THIS PATCH.. Other then the fact it looks like a smokers patch, you can put it in hidable places... 

I have had no PMS while using this (I have only just gone back to it), I used it in between my two pregnancies.. No period pain what so ever.. My period starts on or the day after I take it off, and is very light and only lasts two days...

Good luck finding what is good for you.. NOt always easy to find the right one straight away... Side effects are different for every one..

well i used the inplant that goes in your arm it lasts 3 years so i think it good  you dont have to worry if you miss a pill LOL but thats my thought although the iud's do last alot longer while on that i had lost alot of weight from my frist child as i had gained rather alot almost 20kg and jumped from a size 10 at start of pregnacy to a size 14 by end i kept the weight on sadly until i had the implant put in but around the 6 month mark after having it but it i dropped to just a size 12 and maintained that for that 3 years until the implant was removed than started gaining again not alot but it was noticable than having number 2 i had started having problem maintaining my weight always gaining alot and losing very little after having number 3 just a couple of months ago i have had a new one put in and am glad to say i have lose 10kgs from my pre-birth weight

i hope this helps you in some way

I heard the same thing when I was researching the mirena but I've found that I've actually lost weight in the six or so months since I had one inserted. I really think that, as with many things like this, it all depends on the person. I guess as long as you're aware of the possibility of weight gain, then you can stay on top of it...in theory anyway.

I'm just really glad I went ahead with it. Now instead of bleeding for three weeks every month, I get occasional spotting once a month. And I don't know if it's got anything to do with the mirena or not but I haven't had an ovarean cyst for more than 4 months which is just fantastic.

I hope I've been of some help to you and good luck .