I am 28 and have lupus, I was put on 10 mg of methotrexate last w...

I have had some of these symptoms. I'm a 17 year old girl who was recently diagnosed with lupus SLE. My doctor took me off of the pill and recomended I receive Mirena. I look up some information on them, and read the entire pamphlet, but I did not look into it further. It has been 4 months and I am bleeding very irregularly (heavy and light) and it has been an almost constant flow sense I received Mirena. I also have some of the worst cramps! They get so bad that I have to lean on someone or a near by object and wait for however long they are. It's embarassing and hard to explane to my boyfriend who has never even had a headache!

After doing some research, I realised that my loss of libido as well as extreme moodiness (depressed thoughts that I haven't had in years, as well as irritability and anxiety) may be due to Mirena. I have a history of severe depression from a chemical imbalance and if I had known that Mirena had this side effect with many women, I never would have used it.

As you mentioned, hair loss is begining to be show. I have thin hair and so I did not think anything of the hair in my sink in the morning until my hair dresser asked me if I was balding. (At 17!)

My lupus too was in "remision" or at least not very active, however, I have become extremely tired. (Some women have reported this as a side effect but I beleive it's because of my Lupus.) I have also experienced joint pain, mouth sores, the notorious butterfly rash, and so on.

I was very angry that none of these symptoms were brought to my attention. Initially I was only worried about the amount of bleeding that would occur and how much it would hurt. None of the things I am experiencing, or what you are experiencing, were made avalible prior to my receiving Mirena. It is very frusterating that I needed to even pay for part of this, when it should have been obvious that Mirena would not work for me.

Please, to those who are reading this. Do not be scared away. Mirena is wonderful for those that it works for, but do use caution when concidering this birth control. Research the possible symptoms, and talk to your doctor. Monitor your body closely after you receive the IUD as well, becuase you may be at risk.

Do not feel alone either... I too am suffering from the "mirena monster".