birth control
"I am 56 and had the Mirena inserted 4 years ago because I'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 "stabbing" me in the vagina for almost the entire first year.  I finally went to a different doctor who trimmed about 3&1/2 inches of string.  Haven'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."