Good news ladies, if you currently have a Mirena®, Benilexa® or Levosert® coil in, you can now safely rely on it as your effective contraception up to 6 years.
New contraception guidance from the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare in London came out in March 2023 which has extended the effective use of these coils from 5 to 6 years use for women aged under 45 years of age or younger at time of fitting.
For women aged 45 years of age or over at time of fitting, a Mirena®, Benilexa® or Levosert® coil can safely be retained up to 55 years of age when use of any type of contraception should no longer be required.
Please Note: If any of these coils are being used for contraception and HRT together, or solely for HRT support, the coil will still need to be replaced after 5 years use.
Essex Sexual Health Services do not offer an exchange of a coil for HRT- use only. Please see your GP for this or ask for a referral to gynaecology.
This new guidance does not apply to other types of hormonal coil (Kyleena® or Jaydess®) or to any Copper coil.
If you are unsure which coil you had fitted please contact the original service who fitted your coil and they will be able to give you the type of coil and what date it was fitted.
