Doctor, doctor

Dr Rosemary Leonard MBE is a GP with many years’ experience working in London’s top teaching hospitals

I have very heavy periods and my GP has suggested I have a Mirena coil inserted. I’m a little confused as I thought coils made periods heavier. I am also concerned about the fitting, whether I can use tampons and whether my partner will feel the strings during sex. The Mirena coil has a core of progesterone, which is slowly released inside the womb, thinning the lining and making periods lighter. The discomfort of having one fitted can vary. Women who have never conceived, or who have had an elective caesarean, tend to have tight cervixes and find fitting more uncomfortable. It is rare for a partner to feel the coil strings. And yes, you can use tampons with a coil.

Contact Dr Leonard at S Magazine, Sunday Express, Second Floor, Northern and Shell Building, 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN, or email dr.leonard@express.co. uk. Dr Leonard regrets that she cannot reply personally to letters. Read her column every Tuesday in the Daily Express.