Mirena Problems... - Deer Park,TX

Hi R.,

I've been having the same problems that you're having. I never thought about Mirena being the cause. I went to a psychiatrist to see about depression meds, and had all of my hormones checked. Everything came back normal but I definatly do not feel normal. I've had mood changes, feeling of depression, weight gain, acne, and insomnia. I stay up every night until 2 or 3 in the morning and then I'm tired and moody the next day from lack of sleep. I'm going to set up an appointment with my OBGYN to see if these problems could be caused by my IUD. I've had Mirena since 2006 and the problems have just been getting worse.

Call your ob! It could be the mirena, but it could be a result of stress or another underlying issue.

Hey sweetie,
Thyroid problems are common in some women after pregnancy. Did you have heart palpitations during your pregnancy? Best of luck!!

:). Keep me posted. My doc is working with me with common issues.

I had mirena and had hairloss, no sex drive, severe depression, migraine headaches everyday, among other things. I had my doctor take out the mirena and I was back to normal after one week. My doctor said that I am in the small 5% that reacts that way to mirena so maybe you are too. Go in and have your doctor take it out..It is not worth having a bad quality life! Other women have said wait it out but I know for a fact that it is the Mirena. It is even in the side effects section of the pamphlet. Some women are fine with synthetic hormones and others are not. If you have tried other bc and it has made you have bad reactions then maybe bc is not for you. Do you have PMDD (pms on steroids)? Sometimes having PMDD causes you to not do well on bc cause your hormone levels get so imbalanced around your period. I have bad reactions to bc too. My husband and I unfortunately use spermicide and condoms so my body doesn't flip out and I have also started taking vitamin supplements to help with my hormonal issues. the quality of my life has changed drastically!! Along with your insomnia are you having nightsweats? I hope this helps and if you have any questions let me know happy to help!

I had a mirena for about a year for about the last 6 months of that time I was tired all the time, to the point where I didn't even want to get up to take care fo my children. I got sick at the drop of a hat. I was depressed. I had a hard time sleeping at night...but only wanted to sleep all day long. I was exhausted, but foound myself staring at the ceiling when I went to bed at night. It was so bad that my doctor had me tested for mono. I was starting to have pains in my abdomen with my cycle and figured, if that was going ot happen again I might as well get rid of the mirena. When I went to have it removed it took four attempts to pull it out. It had become attached to my uterine wall and was infected. Within a week of the removal I was feeling much better and the symptoms I described were going away.

I hope this is not what is happening to you, but you should have it checked if you suspect it is.

Good Luck.

Get your thyroid checked ASAP. I seriously doubt it is the Mirena causing these problems. It sounds like you have an underactive thyroid. A lot of times these thyroid issues come up after child birth, thats when mine started. Pregnancy does crazy tings to your body, its annoying.

I had it inserted about a month ago and have not had any problems yet (other than some spotting which the doctor told me would happen for a couple of months until the uterus lining thinned out). When did you start having all of the other symptoms? If you don't mind replying to me, I would like to know when those symptoms started for you in case I may have similar problems. I hope it is not related to that. I had hair loss for a long time after I had each of my children. I don't think my hair is as thick as it used to be. I read the brochure before having the Mirena inserted and talked with my doctor. It never mentioned any of your symptoms as a side effect except mood changes. The other side effects could include back pain, head ache, nausea, acne or skin problems, breast tenderness, or a cyst on the ovary. Also, it said the side effects were most common during the first 3 months and decrease over time. Have you asked your doctor what he/she thinks about your symptoms? I am curious to know. hope I hear from you. I am concerned. L.

Hi R.! I just recently had a Mirena placed, in October, and haven't had any issues at all. In fact its the only bc I have ever used without any side effects and I don't recall the issues you are having a being possible side effects with Mirena. I would suggest getting your Thyroid levels checked before having it removed. Weight gain, hair loss, and depression are all symptom of Thyroid issues which can be common after pregnancy. Good luck.

Hi R. -- I love your name! It looks like you had the Mirena inserted right after you had your son -- is it possible that some of this is a reaction to childbirth and new motherhood and not to the Mirena? I ask because after I had my daughter (much, much later in life than you) I had post-partum depression and I held on to the pregnancy weight for nearly two years, even though my weight had been very stable and normal prior to childbirth and I threw everything I had to get it off. I only ask because childbirth DID give me all the issues you mention except for hair loss, and the Mirena gave me none of them, so my tendency is to wonder if the thing that has caused what sounds like a state of hormonal uproar in your body would more likely be the thing that causes major hormone shifts and surges rather than the thing that just affects hormonal levels right in the uterus and that is designed not to affect hormone levels throughout the body.

Just a possibility I thought I'd raise. I have heard of Mirenas causing problems, although not of this sort. I am very fond of mine, particularly of its effectiveness and the "sex any time with no prep" aspect, and, for me, I find it MUCH less troublesome than any birth control pill as regards weight gain and emotional stuff, so especially as young as you are, I kind of hate to see you give up the Mirena wiith its high reliability and easiness IF it isn't what is causing your symptoms.

Best of luck -- depression and insomnia are miserable!!!

M.

I had zero problems with mine. Are you sure it couldn't be something else? Sometimes after birth weird things happen to our bodies that didn't happen before. Sounds to me like a tyroid issue or something like that...I would talk to the Dr. about it before you have it removed.

I also had some problems with the mirena IUD. I had mine inserted about 4 months after the birth of my 2nd child. I had mine removed after a year. I had really heavy, painful periods which I never had before. I also had irregular bleeding a lot. I had hair loss, bad acne breakouts, and tiredness. I was tested for anemia & thyroid problems but everything came back normal.

Since having it removed my periods have been back to normal and no more cramping & pain. I'm still noticing hair loss & tiredness though. So it's hard to know for sure if the Mirena contributed to that or not. I've only had mine out for 2 months.

I know that hair loss is common for a few months after giving birth but it shouldn't be occuring 18 mos later, in my case.

I hope this helps.

You should have them check your thyroid first. I actually found out I had hyper thyroidism, which caused fatigue, depression, and weight loss, but my mom has hypo thyroidism which can also cause fatigue, depression and weight gain.

R.