Mirena Side Effects - Olathe,KS

Updated on September 15, 2009
S.S. asks from Olathe, KS
12 answers

I have had the mirena in place since June of this year. I have had no direct problems with it that I am aware of, but I am having some side effects that I was wondering if they are normal. A month after I had it placed, I started having lower back pain, which I passed off as having a newborn (born April). Lately, it has been real bad. I have also been losing a lot of my hair and I am unable to lose weight. The last thing that I have noticed is a rash on my upper legs that I have had since July. The dr believes that it is not related to the mirena, but I have not changed anything else..Just wondering if anyone else had any ideas. I am about ready to have it removed and just get my tubes tied...Thanks

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T.H.

answers from Kansas City on

I did not experience any of those side-effects with Mirena. I do agree with the others that the hair loss is probably due to post pregnancy. I lost mine in clumps! It sucks but it will stop...eventually! I would also tend to think that most women on Mirena who suffered hair loss probably had it put in very soon after pregnancy and it's probably a cooincidence, but that's my opinion!

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S.T.

answers from St. Louis on

Get rid of it and make your hubby get a vasectomy! Much less invasive, and it is outpatient. You had to have the kids...now it's his turn. LOL

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M.B.

answers from St. Louis on

The hormone issues that would cause weight gain wouldn't also cause weight loss. I've heard the stories of weight gain and mood problems--think I have the mood issues myself with Mirena! I also have more cramping and pain than I had on the pill.

However, the hair loss is just what happens post-preggers. It's because your body doesn't shed proteins much during pregnancy and then all that extra hair comes off a few months after you give birth when your body starts going back to normal. I have very fine hair, and I recently chopped off 5 inches because it had gotten so thin--post birth and breast feeding--that it started looking awful. The hair loss is just more obvious with some hair types than others, but I believe it happens to every mom to some degree.

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K.H.

answers from St. Louis on

I had Mirena for a few year after my daughter was born. During that time, I continuously gained weight (which I was unable to loose), I started getting black hair on my chin, I was moody all the time, and I had no desire to be intimate with my husband. I asked my ob about all this and he prescribed me a hormone pill to help with the hair growth but didn't really say anything about all the other stuff I was going through. I ended up seeing a new family doctor for an unrelated issue and mentioned to her all of this other stuff that had been going on. The first words out of her mouth were that it was because of the Mirena. I can't explain it the way she did but everything she said to me made sense. She also said that 98% of the women she sees who have had Mirena for a couple years are having very similar problems. She also said that because all of these symptoms are not listed as side effects on the product information most ob's will disregard the Mirena as the cause of them.

I had my Mirena removed about a month ago and I can already tell a difference in my moods. I'm waiting for everything else to return to normal, which I was told could take a couple months. If you would like to talk to my doctor, email me and I'll give you her name. She can explain the hormone things much better than I can. She is in the Fenton area.

Also keep in mind that there is another IUD that uses no hormones. Good luck!

PS - I did have my thyroid checked and everything came back normal. Thinking back, I have always had problems of one kind or another whenever I was on birth control pills. I had a gut feeling that the Mirena was causing these problems. I wish I had listened to my gut rather than my ob. Maybe then I wouldn't have an extra 50 pounds to loose!

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L.F.

answers from Wichita on

I have had Mirena for about 2 1/2 years and haven't had any of the side effects you're experiencing. I hope you figure out what's going on! Good luck!

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K.B.

answers from Wichita on

G'Morning S., I have no experience what so ever in the Mirena arena. But it sounds like you know your body better then anyone! Instinct is better then anything. I would definitely either get a second opinion or have the device removed.
The same advice goes for any type of procedure or medication. I was placed on Lipator for Cholesterol, after maybe a week or two maybe longer, I was so tired and sore I could barely walk it hurt so bad. Every muscle joint in my body was screaming at me. I had been rough housing with the gr kids a few days before so thought that was it. But it never let up. I couldn't left my legs to come back upstairs. Granny bar the door if anyone touched me. I quit the Lipator and called the Dr. A week later I was fine again. My body can't handle Statin medications.

You know how you felt before the Mirena and you know what your body is going through now. I would definitely take steps to get it corrected ASAP.

God Bless you S.
K. Nana of 5

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S.V.

answers from St. Louis on

I had mirena put in in February.

I have had a month where my lower back had excrutiating pain! But I also was doing a lot of work restoring a home and taking care of three little ones so I assumed I pulled a muscle, and the pain subsided. Plus I had back pain before mirena with my other pregnancies and post-pregnant so I don't think it was cause of the mirena.

Lower back pain could be due to a bladder or kidney infection so you do need to get your pee tested for that if you are having bad back pain.

Also, it's normal to lose your hair after having your baby, I shed a lot of hair til it was thinned out pretty bad after each of my pregnancies and this is my only time with mirena, so that's not because of mirena either.

Also about the rash, it could be excema. My friend and I BOTH got it on our legs after we had our babies! And it wouldn't go away, still hasn't. That was before mirena was even inserted and she doesn't have mirena so that's because of the pregnancy that caused it and now it won't go away cimpletely. Every now and then it gets smooth but sometimmes if its dry it cracks. You didn't describe your rash but I wonder if you got that like me and my friend.

With the weight gain, I haven't had that problem. I lost my preg weight just like I did after me other two, and I have stayed at the same weight for months now.

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K.S.

answers from Columbia on

Like some other people answered, losing hair a few months after baby born is totally normal. I was losing it like crazy, even went and had my thyroid checked, which they say is good for all new moms to do anyways. Mine came back normal and the Dr said my hair would stop falling out so much in a little while, which it did.
I also had the mirena, but did not have any of those side effects. I lost most of the baby weight, except 5 pounds, but I also don't have as much time to workout as I once did. I just had the mirena removed a few weeks ago, and I think I may have lost about 3 pounds, but that could all be in my head too, because I have also upped the running.
The rash confuses me, because I never had that. However, this can also be a side effect of a thyroid issue.

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F.B.

answers from Kansas City on

it actually sounds like a thyroid problem...I would ask your primary care physicians. Make sure to tell them all the systems and I actually took all the hair I lost in one shower in a baggie...found out my thyroid was off. Good Luck

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K.P.

answers from Wichita on

Hair falling out and not being able to lose weight can indicate an underactive thyroid. Tubes tied? Talk to your husband about having a vasectomy if you're serious about having no more children. I would suggest waiting until your children are older before doing anything permanent, though. My husband had his vasectomy when our kids were about 11 and 13. While there was some initial discomfort, he's never regretted it (our kids are 27 and 29 now). My father, who is 83, had a vasectomy probably 40 years ago and is still alive and kicking.

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K.G.

answers from Springfield on

Shelly I too had the Mirena. I got it placed in January of this year and began losing my hair. At first I thought it was stress but I looked up side effects on the web and found a blog. There were so many other women who were losing their hair also but if you go onto the Mirena website you won't see it listed as a side effect (possibly b/c they wouldn't get many "takers" for this product.). I too went to my doc who also said that my hair loss wasn't related to the Mirena. As far as your other issues I would not rule out the Mirena. I finallly got it removed in May of this year. My hair isn't coming out but it isn't the same. I know it is due to the Mirena. The Mirena was my last resort for help with my heavy and prolonged menstrual cycle. It wasn't for me. I hope this helps you a little with your decision.

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J.T.

answers from St. Louis on

Have you had your thyroid levels checked recently? The hair loss & weight gain made me think of thyroid.

...just a thought if you hadn't already thought of it...

Just don't let it go just because the gyn said it wasn't the Mirena.

J.

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