I had Mirena inserted in March of 2006. It was a painful inserti...

I had Mirena inserted in March of 2006. It was a painful insertion but only because the doctor pinched my cervix with the forcepts. I was quite happy with the Mirena for the first two years. I had only light spotting a mild cramping the first month. Then I never had a period again. I loved that part! However, for some reason these past 6 or so months have really began to be more difficult. I began to have symptoms of menopause at only age 35! My symptoms included vaginal dryness to the point of irritation, loss of sex drive, occasional hot flashes, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, mental confusion, memory loss, weight gain--(gained 8 pounds and then had to exercise daily just to keep weight off--never had to do that before, and occasional headaches. I knew I was too young to experience menopause so I decided to do some research and see if Mirena could be causing these problems. I was happy to find this sight last night. After reading everyone's comments I actually removed the Mirena myself around 8 p.m. last night. It didn't hurt at all, it was just hard to get a hold of that darn string. Took about five minutes but all went well. Since removing it I have had a slight headache, I was already having cramping before removing it but the cramping did go away this afternoon. I did have a surge of energy last night so I had difficulty sleeping. I am quite tired now though so hopefully tonight will go better. My vaginal dryness is already returning to normal thank goodness as I couldn't stand that side effect. Look forward to reading more about how people respond once it is removed and how long it takes to get back to normal.