Mirena & Hypothyriodism

Hi T.,

I am not a doctor or a nurse, but I dont think the Mirena affects the thyroid or cause Hypothyroidism at all. Yes it has hormones, but it is not the underlying cause.

I too have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, also known as Hashimotos disease after giving birth to my son. My doc prescribed me Synthroid which is a hormone replacement drug, but I still suffer from the effects of hypothyroidism.

You can read up more on hypothyroidism/hashimotos here: http://www.medicinenet.com/hashimotos_thyroiditis/article...

and here http://www.hashimotosdiseasesymptoms.com/

Here is a snippet of the first article, just to give you an idea:

"Hashimoto's thyroiditis and/or Hypothyroidism is a condition caused by inflammation of the thyroid gland. It is an autoimmune disease, which means that the body inappropriately attacks the thyroid gland--as if it was foreign tissue. The underlying cause of the autoimmune process still is unknown."

Side effects: http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hypothyroidism/a/checklist.htm

PS. Candice you are right, just because you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism does NOT mean you have hashimotos... Ask your doctor if you are not sure.

I don't believe the mirena causes hypothyroidism, but I hate mirena and what side effects I had. I would say take it out if you're thinking there is any relation.

I have had hypothyoidism (diagnosed) since I was 14, so I am very familiar with the tired, achiness, hair loss etc. 8 weeks after my daughter was born in 2008, I had a Mirena inserted. Within a week, I started to gain weight (I was actually below my pre pregnancy weight) and losing my hair. It was the same week as my grandfather dying, so I figured stress eating was causing it, plus I hadn't lost much hair after birth. I started really watching what I ate and excersizing. I still kept gaining weight and losing hair. I ended up gaining 25 lbs the first month! I went into the doctor and had my levels checked and they were fine. I continued to gain weight no matter what I did or ate and I was breast feeding too. It seemed like my thyroid was running wild, but my levels were stable. After 9 months and 49 lbs, plus random cramping and spotting among other symptoms, I gave up and had it removed. The hair loss had already stabilized, but I was frustrated with feeling sick. I went straight to the nuvaring. A week later I started to feel better and stopped gaining. The next time I had my levels checked, they had actually went down (I do not know if that has anything to do with the mirena, it made me have more hate for it lol). I would love to say that I've lost all weight, but those with hypo know its not that easy to lose :(

Look into sideeffects.com I had googled mirena side effects and came across that site. Quite a few people had symptoms similar to mine. Like I said, I don't think the mirena necessarily caused more thyroid problems, but why feel crappy when you don't have to?

Good luck

I also don't think it has anything to do with birth control. I was not on birth control, but I did get hypothyroidism after having my kids. I was on synthroid, but I was still having some pretty bad side effects, so I am now on nature throid (all natural med.) and I am feeling MUCH better. My dr. said that my antibodies are showing signs of hashimoto's also now, so we will be talking about that at my next apt. in 2 weeks. Also just because you are hypothyroid does not mean you also have hashimoto's, but you can get it (like I am starting to).

I'm not sure the Mirena cause the thryoid issues. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's (a type of thyroid disease) early this year. I had Mirena put in about two years ago. However, I KNOW I had thyroid issues before the Mirena was put in. I am adopted, so I didn't know my medical history but for as long as I can remember I had all the symptoms of a thyroid issue. I finally went to the dr. in August. Long story short, was still feeling horrible. Started looking around at the side effects of Mirena and demanded it be taken out. About a month later....SO MUCH BETTER!!!!

I was never diagnosed with hypothyroidism (my physician was surprised when the test came back negative), however, I had weight gain and other complications with the Mirena. I decided to take it out when I kept having crippling back pain every month. I went from not being able to drive because I couldn't lift my feet to driving home in about 15 minutes. I loved the convience of the Mirena, but it didn't work for me.

I would say trust your gut feelings and track what is going on. There may be no connection, but then again, your body will try to tell you what's happening. I hope you can figure it out before your body starts yelling at you like mine had to!

S.