I am so glad I found this site. I had the Mirena IUD inserted in July of 2005 after my best friend had been raving about hers since that March. I can't take bc pills because of the hormonal fluctuations so I thought that this would be a great alternative.
But after the ob/gyn put it in I knew it was going to be bad. I had taken two tylenols before I went in, I took two more immediately after, I then had to stop on the drive home to take two extra-strength excedrins, I got home and took two more, and after I still thought my uterus was going to fall out I took a Vicodin which I had saved from when I was sick a few months prior and only then did the severe cramping subside. I took up to 8 excedrin every day for the next week to stop the cramps. But that was just the pain because I also had to deal with a period which continued for two months straight, and it was not light. The bleeding stopped at the beginning of September and resumed in late October at the same force as before only to end again in late November which has been the last time I have had it.
I have become used to the achy, full, bloated feeling since then and I have forgiven the 15 pounds I put on eventhough my lifestyle has not changed. However, the cramps are back and have become horrible. A few weeks ago I was in the bathroom and when I stood up I literally fell to the ground in pain. It was like someone had just opened me up and dropped in a 15 pound weight on my cervix. I slowly got up and bit through the pain because I was at work and had to return to my desk! I did not move for a solid hour because the slightest jolt since stabbing pains throughout my abdomen. I called my ob/gyn and they told me to come in but I felt like the pain was starting to subside so I wanted to wait it out.
I now have daily cramping and every now and then I feel a sharp stab on the left side of my lower abdomen. After seeing this site and figuring out that I am not insane I called my doctor today and I am having it taken on this coming Monday. Thank you all for sharing you stories and saving me from who knows what down the road.
(Oh and my best friend still loves hers eventhough it caused her to form a cyst on her ovary which could have resulted in surgery. It luckily went away after lots of medication and bed rest.)
As well as getting my life back, I have also found my sense of humour!!!
OK....please no one take offense at this,I just thought it was funny!
Mirena on its own doesnt stop pregnancy, but the pimples, bad moods, dryness, back pain, swollen boobs,depression etc etc etc does it for you! What poor hubby would want to make love to that??
Take care all
I hear you!! My poor boyfriend!! Since I had the Mirena inserted I have had no interest in intercourse or much of anything else. I have had it since November of 2006 and for the last week my breasts have been so sore I have thought something was really wrong with me. After reading some of these postings I beleive me and my boyfriend need to talk about other options!!
I had it removed last week......I feel like a new person. No more anger, fatigue, thirst, etc etc etc. I am also losing weight at an amazing rate!!!!!!!!All is good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really think everyone with a problem should have it removed, it is poison in our systems!
I just discovered this forum this morning and I am so pleased that I did.
I had the Mirena inserted on 16th January this year, 2006, its now 45 days later and
I haven't stopped bleeding at all, not even for a day. I had it inserted to stop
very heavy periods.
I have had cramps daily, sometimes bad, sometimes like mild period cramps, my lower
back has a niggling ache most of the time, my breasts are so sore I feel like crying,for the last three weeks I have had constant mouth ulcers - I have never suffered with mouth ulcers like this before, just the odd one every six months or so, if that.
I have my 6 week check-up appt this afternoon at 3, and I've decided that the Mirena is going.
Thankyou everyone who has contributed to this site - I was thinking that it was just that something was wrong with me.
Has anyone else suffered with the mouth ulcers?
I will let you all know how it goes.
Kind regards
doodoo: I had the Mirena inserted 3 weeks ago and I am just having some spotting. I am tired, have headaches, lower ovarian cramps, lower back pain and nausea. I am so glad I found this site. Oh, yeah.. how can I forget, my breast hurt so bad, it feels like I am pregnant. I am thinking of calling the doctor to have it removed and just take my chances with going back on the pill or something else. After reading this forum, I thing it is only going to get worse. I really havn't had a lot of bleeding, I just feel like it is going to start any moment.
Wow! I thought I just had gingivitis. I had the Mirena IUD inserted in May 2005. My mother passed away a month later. I was passing all my symptoms off as a sign of mourning. When I do a timeline of events however, everything seems to coincide with the iud. I have weight gain, fatigue, occasional cramping. I have also been having joint swelling and pain in my fingers. I'm so glad all this is really not in my head. I've been tryng to attribute the weight gain to my age, 36. I sure hope I'm wrong. If they say you have to be on your period to get this removed, what happens if you don't really have a period anymore because of the device? Will they have to dilate the cervix again? Thanks.
I had my IUD inserted December 17, 2005. Today is March 9, 2006 and I've had sore breast (similar to the breastfeeding), NO sex drive, I've gained 6 pounds, have constant bleeding and my tummy looks like I'm about 4 months pregnant. My Dr. says it's all in my head and none of these are side effects of the IUD. After finding this site, I'm glad to know that she's wrong. I will have my thyroid checked, but I think that this thing has got to go. Thank you for sharing.
I have had the Mirena in since August 2004. Has anyone experienced increased anxiety with this IUD? It's mostly in the PMS phase of my cycle (ovulation to period). Not much has been mentioned in this forum about anxiety problems with the Mirena so I was curious if anyone else was experiencing it.
I got the Mirena IUD 3 months after my son was born and I hated it. I refused to get back on birth control pills because I was a faithful pill taker yet my son was still conceived. This should have been the warning sign that hormones were not for me. But I felt like I needed the hormones because I have a very irregular period ( sometimes lasting 2 and 3 weeks) and the birth control pills kept it regular. So I got the IUD put in the day after my period stopped, but the doctor said that he would still put it in even though I was no longer on my period. I was extremely excited because it my period had only lasted 6 days, I thought I was normal at last. But the day after I got the IUD my period came back and was extremely heavy, not to mention the horrible cramping that actually sent me to the emergency room (they didn't do anything). After about 3 weeks of bleeding and pain I decided to get it taken out, but I still needed some long term birth control, so I switched to the ParaGuard IUD. It's the non-hormonal, copper IUD. It also lasts for 10 years instead of 5 years like Mirena. I got the Mirena taken out and the ParaGuard put in the same day. My doctor told me that he actually prefers the ParaGuard, but I had insisted on the hormones. The day after I got the ParaGuard my period stopped along with the cramping. I am now doing fine, and I can actually have sex again. I couldn't have sex because I was either bleeding or in pain since the birth of my son. I seriously recommend the PARAGUARD IUD for any and everyone who is completely turned off by the Mirena but still in need of long term birth control. It is NON-HORMONAL, LASTS FOR 10 YEARS, AND YOU CAN GET PREGNANT THE MINUTE IT IS REMOVED UNLIKE MIRENA WHICH CAN TAKE UP TO ONE YEAR!!!
Yes I agree with how great the ParaGuard is. I had it in for 5 years. After insertion the side effects went away in about 2 months and it was awesome the whole time. I experienced very regular and normal and timely periods. Now I had it removed about 3 months ago my periods dissapeared for 8 weeks, then I felt pregnant for 2 weeks. Took pregnancy test and it came out negative. Now it is month 3 and my period showed up one week early and been bleeding lightly for 2 straight weeks. What is going on? I want to get pregnant and was hoping to get some feedback with you all out there if you have any experience in IUD removal. ParaGuard has no hormones but I have heard of Copper poisoning making it very difficult in getting pregnant. Anyone out there have any feedback to help me? thanks!!
I had my iud inserted aug. 2005 and have experienced increased anxiety since then. I had got to the point that I had difficulty even going to the grocery store. Along with the anxiety I have also had incrediable headaches, back pain, joint pain, almost total lose of sex drive, and my relationship with my fiancee is diminishing. I am a 22 year old mom that has alot going for me, or had alot going before I had this evil device put in. I have an appt. next week to final get it removed, I can't wait!
Thank you all for sharing your experiences on this post. I know it has helped me and seems like many others. Good luck to you all.
I Have the exact same symptoms as you did in the beginning with the bleeding, I have also lost my sex drive and my mood swiongs are off the chain. The only thing is now I have stopped bleeding completely which is confusing me cause now i dont know when i am having a period. I am going to have mine removed, because it just seems to weird and complicated for me.
Thank you. I have had this IUD for just a year. I thought I was going crazy. Mood swings, back pain, pain during sex, headaches and I gained 40lbs since I had my daughter!!!! I have called and made an appointment with my doctor. I want this out NOW and she is not going to talk me into having this THING in my body anymore.
I have had the mirena for 1 year exactly today. I think I'm pregnant though. I've gotten a period every month and know that they can stop but I'm sure they dont just abruptly stop, or do they? I was every 28 days for 4 -5 days and. I bled for 2 weeks when I first got it, off a week, another a week on and then off for a weeka dn another week on. Now all of a sudden my period just stops. It didm't taper off like I assumed they would. I am extremely bloated, never had mood swings until the last 2 months, I cant even button my pants and I had lost 30 lbs. recently and now I have only gained 2 lbs. and cant button them. I would be 8 weeks pregnant. My breasts are sore, never have been before, and when I would've gotten pregnant, I was a little intoxicated, would that affect the birth control mechanism in the mirena? I never drink and that was the only time and it was my most fertile day as well and now I am 25 days late had crampin about 2 weeks ago, and now I'm just bloated. I have gotten 8 negative pregnancy tests, I'm always tired and pregnant or not, aug. 4 this IUD is gone. That's my next appt. I have only gotten one positive but 8 negative tests. I know I'm pregnant, I'm even having weird pregnancy dreams. Anyone gotten pregnant on the mirena. Also, my strings were gone, and now they are so long I could pull this damn IUD out myself as they are about 3 inches in length now and seem lik they are getting longer. Help me, any thoughts.
I had my Mirena inserted in November of 2005. I am having it removed next week. I thought the additional 20lbs that I gained were part of my perimenapause despite the fact that I watch what I eat and exercise as I have always done. I have also experienced loss of sex drive, mood swings, itchiness "everywhere", headaches and extreme periods of fatigue by lunch time. When I finally get to bed at night I find myself wide awake in the middle of the night. I also suffer from aching muscles in my arms and legs periodically which feel like the onset of the flu. Until I found this website, I attributed these symptoms to middle age (I am 48
years old). I initially had this inserted to stop periods which were lasting up to three weeks and irregular. In retrospect, I would much prefer that to this excessive bloating and weight gain. I feel achy, fat and old. A year ago -- I felt alive. Thanx for the imput.
With the Mirena you should really wait 1 year before deciding to have it removed; your body takes about a year to adjust completely to it... The cramping goes away, your periods even out and become predictable within 6 months. The sex drive thing also mellows out. Mirena isn't any different then the pill, since it uses the same hormone. Your body 'thinks' that it is pregnant so it doesn't produce an egg. You need to switch to water, and eat several small HEALTHY meals a day with complete organic foods to experiance no weight gain. Keep up a 2,000 cal diet and excersise (30min walk once a day, pilates/yoga tape 2-3x/wk) eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. When I started to do that the weight gain mellowed, and may have dropped. Pants started to fit a little better (when they weren't ripping... :( )
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I had mine in for a year and that 'fullness' did kind of go away, but I did gain rapid weight gain during that year and when from 190lbs to 224lbs. My fiance wants kids, and while I don't directly "want" them, I know I'll never say "ok, lets try". I had mine removed because I'm tired of the hormones controling my thoughts and feelings, and I kind of do want the option to have an "accident".
But I had it removed on the 19th; and today is the 29th... I'm going through some SEVERE depression. I feel worthless, hollow and empty inside. Lifeless. Incapable of love. It sucks. I'm crying for no reason at all... has anybody else gone through this? Is is possible that my body is reacting to no longer having the birth control hormone after being on it for 4 years? (I'd gotten preg. twice on the pill; abortions; switched to Merina...) Its CRAZY. Horrible mood swings; I don't know what to do!
You need to see a dr right away. Regardless of personal opinions re Mirena, you might have a chemical imbalance causing the moodswings/depression etc. so please, do yourself a favor and see a dr.
hope you feel better soon.
torn mum
please be aware, the mirena can (and did) rupture my daughter's uterus. she will have surgery tomorrow because it went completely thru the uterine wall and is now "somewhere" between it and her lower colon.
get this thing off the market.....please!!!
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Mirena IUD Side Effects 
