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Mirena IUD and possible problems?
I see there is a post below about Mirena (IUD) use and I was just coming on to post a question for any Mirena users or past users...
I had a Mirena IUD put in about 10 weeks after I had my daughter in 2006....so about 2 years ago. I was just noticing lately that a lot of my (what I think are) hormonal issues began after I had my daughter. I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2001, when I was trying to get pregnant with my son, and thought that my issues had to do with that, but I just realized that I had no PCOS symptoms after I had my son and had been told that it probably had resolved.
Anyways, since I had the IUD put in, I have had hair loss, increased hair growth on my face (all over my face--not baby fuzz either, this is like "man hair" with stubble and everything), chest, back, arms, stomach...everywhere...very embarrassing and takes forever to remove it all. I am overweight, and I am working on this, but my stomach seems bloated and sore most of the time, I get cramps in my lower abdomen quite often (could also be from IBS though as well), and have had pain in my ovaries. I have not had a period since I had my daughter, but then again, I have been breastfeeding and was told that with IUD they may stop anyway. I have had increased weight gain, many, many emotional issues, body aches/pains, etc. that I did not have before as well.
I am starting to wonder if this could all be related to the IUD somehow? I am finding a lot of negatives about it online, but also find quite a lot of research insisting that it is completely safe (however, the only positive information I have found about it seems to be from the company itself).
I am starting to think about having it removed, as it seems like most of my problems cropped up since I have had this. I have a doctor appointment in early June and was going to ask about it, but this is the same doctor that insisted there were virtually NO side effects and that weight gain (which was my biggest concern seeing as I was already overweight) was not possible with this med "since it doesn't cross into the body".
Any thoughts? Good or bad? Anything I should look for/ask when I go to the doctors?
Just as a note, I had tried Depo in the past, had problems with it. I have been on several b/c pills in the past as well and ended up going off those as well due to side effects.
I had a Mirena IUD put in about 10 weeks after I had my daughter in 2006....so about 2 years ago. I was just noticing lately that a lot of my (what I think are) hormonal issues began after I had my daughter. I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2001, when I was trying to get pregnant with my son, and thought that my issues had to do with that, but I just realized that I had no PCOS symptoms after I had my son and had been told that it probably had resolved.
Anyways, since I had the IUD put in, I have had hair loss, increased hair growth on my face (all over my face--not baby fuzz either, this is like "man hair" with stubble and everything), chest, back, arms, stomach...everywhere...very embarrassing and takes forever to remove it all. I am overweight, and I am working on this, but my stomach seems bloated and sore most of the time, I get cramps in my lower abdomen quite often (could also be from IBS though as well), and have had pain in my ovaries. I have not had a period since I had my daughter, but then again, I have been breastfeeding and was told that with IUD they may stop anyway. I have had increased weight gain, many, many emotional issues, body aches/pains, etc. that I did not have before as well.
I am starting to wonder if this could all be related to the IUD somehow? I am finding a lot of negatives about it online, but also find quite a lot of research insisting that it is completely safe (however, the only positive information I have found about it seems to be from the company itself).
I am starting to think about having it removed, as it seems like most of my problems cropped up since I have had this. I have a doctor appointment in early June and was going to ask about it, but this is the same doctor that insisted there were virtually NO side effects and that weight gain (which was my biggest concern seeing as I was already overweight) was not possible with this med "since it doesn't cross into the body".
Any thoughts? Good or bad? Anything I should look for/ask when I go to the doctors?
Just as a note, I had tried Depo in the past, had problems with it. I have been on several b/c pills in the past as well and ended up going off those as well due to side effects.
I have thought about having it removed for almost a year now (I have had it almost 2 years). I was having pelvic pain and bloating for the longest time, but had been told it was most likely scar tissue from the c-sections or my ovaries. I started thinking it could be related to the IUD in some way, so I started checking around.
I was told that there was no way I could gain weight from this IUD, but I had lost all my baby weight at my 6 week checkup after having my daughter, and between November and January, had gained about 20 pounds with no changes in my diet, exercise habits, or anything.
I feel the same way about getting it removed. I don't want to get tubal ligation just yet, since we do want to have more kids down the road, but I don't respond well to b/c pills, don't like condoms, gels, anything you have to put inside you (blech), etc. Really...I don't respond well to anything with hormones in it, so that takes out most of my options! I have a friend who does "natural family planning", where she monitors her ovulation and all that, but seeing as I have never had predictable periods, I could never guess where I was in my cycle. And I don't want to get pregnant right now, so I really need something that would be reliable and not make me sick or go crazy! I have an appointment with my new doctor in a few weeks, and I'm planning on asking him what he thinks about all this, then taking it from there. I almost feel like I should have it taken out and see if I feel better, but then if I don't, that's $500 wasted since I only got 2 years of use out of it (I'm cheap!)!!
I was told that there was no way I could gain weight from this IUD, but I had lost all my baby weight at my 6 week checkup after having my daughter, and between November and January, had gained about 20 pounds with no changes in my diet, exercise habits, or anything.
I feel the same way about getting it removed. I don't want to get tubal ligation just yet, since we do want to have more kids down the road, but I don't respond well to b/c pills, don't like condoms, gels, anything you have to put inside you (blech), etc. Really...I don't respond well to anything with hormones in it, so that takes out most of my options! I have a friend who does "natural family planning", where she monitors her ovulation and all that, but seeing as I have never had predictable periods, I could never guess where I was in my cycle. And I don't want to get pregnant right now, so I really need something that would be reliable and not make me sick or go crazy! I have an appointment with my new doctor in a few weeks, and I'm planning on asking him what he thinks about all this, then taking it from there. I almost feel like I should have it taken out and see if I feel better, but then if I don't, that's $500 wasted since I only got 2 years of use out of it (I'm cheap!)!!
Kat, I just posted about the same above. I have been having pretty significant joint pain in my legs and was looking up causes online and saw this about the Mirena IUD as a possible cause.
I've had an IUD before but one w/o hormones but I bled and bled and bled with that so I had it removed. About 2 months after my last baby I had the Mirena put in. My doctor said I would have a better outcome with this one even though I didn't want the hormones. In addition to the joint pain, I have gained 12+ pounds (even though I had lost over half of my baby weight before IUD) and that is just in about 2 months. I am fatigued and have a virtually non-existent sex drive. Come to think of it, I have had some hair growth, too.
Don't have a solution for you, but wanted to let you know that you're not alone on this. I want to have it removed, but don't feel like I have a good alternative. Have you thought of doing this? What options are you considering?
I've had an IUD before but one w/o hormones but I bled and bled and bled with that so I had it removed. About 2 months after my last baby I had the Mirena put in. My doctor said I would have a better outcome with this one even though I didn't want the hormones. In addition to the joint pain, I have gained 12+ pounds (even though I had lost over half of my baby weight before IUD) and that is just in about 2 months. I am fatigued and have a virtually non-existent sex drive. Come to think of it, I have had some hair growth, too.
Don't have a solution for you, but wanted to let you know that you're not alone on this. I want to have it removed, but don't feel like I have a good alternative. Have you thought of doing this? What options are you considering?
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