We are sorry to hear of your situation.
Unfortunately, it is common to experience irregular staining both at your
age and during the first 3-6 months on the
Mirena as your body adjusts to it. However, not all staining will render you
niddah nor invalidate the
clean days.
You need to perform a
hefsek taharah before starting the clean days. The
hefsek (as well as subsequent
bedikot) need not be completely clear. Stains that are yellow or light brown (the color of coffee with milk) with no reddish hue are acceptable and do not invalidate the clean days. Other shades of brown should be brought to a halachic authority for
evaluation.
We recommend reducing the number of
bedikot required to the
hefsek, and one each on days 1, 7, and one additional intermediate clean day. You should also change your white underwear more frequently to prevent any
staining from accumulating to a
gris (the size of a US dime or Israeli shekel). Stains smaller than a
gris on your underwear may be disregarded. If you find any questionable stain be sure to bring it to a halachic authority for evaluation, explaining the difficulty you are having completing the clean days. If staining on white underwear still creates difficulties, you may wear
disposable pantiliners during the clean days, and disregard stains you find on them.
Once you are able to immerse you should take precautions against becoming
niddah from further staining by wearing colored underwear and waiting a few seconds (ideally 15 seconds) after urinating before wiping. See our pages on
stains and
toilet paper for more details. As long as you do not experience an actual flow of blood (comparable to a period), you may avail yourself of the leniencies of stains. You should not assume that any blood you find renders you
niddah.
We hope these suggestions help you successfully count the clean days and immerse. If you continue experiencing difficulty please get back to us for further guidance.
Medically, the Mirena does reduce uterine bleeding for many women. We hope this will be the case for you as well. If there are still problems despite the use of the leniencies for stains outlined above, do discuss other possible options with your physician, such as ablation therapy.
B’Hatzlacha!
This response was updated on 12 February, 2024.
