June 10th
2008
12:25 AM
I had Mirena inserted in August 2007. I was diagnosed with High Blood Pressure, and the doctor had to take me off of NuvaRing because of the connection of the hormones in birth control and HBP. My Gyno said that Mirena was very low hormone and would not affect my BP. Since I have been on Mirena, my BP has stabilized, but now I get dizzy spells, often, and I constantly have a headache. I also have cramping, sometimes very severe. I have gained ten pounds, and I have bad acne. I work out religiously and eat very healthy. I kept wondering how I gained this weight, and couldn't get it off, until I found this website. Also, I have never had an acne problem, and at 31 years old, I don't think I should have the skin of a sixteen year old, especially because I had perfect skin at 16. I found this website because I was having spotting, again, tonight, so I decided to GOOGLE the phrase "Mirena Side Effects." The spotting is not unusual since I have had the Mirena. It is one of the side effects that I experience regularly, especially after intercourse. Intercourse has been a problem, too. I have been married, happily, for ten years, and our sex life was great until I had the Mirena put in. Now, I don't want my husband to touch me, and I have even told him several times, since having the Mirena implanted, that I want a divorce. I think this has to do with the physical and emotional changes that I have had since getting Mirena. I have thought about having it removed, but I am finally starting my career after staying home with my three children. So I am torn because I don't want to get pregnant. My husband has said several times that he thinks that the Mirena has caused the problems in our marriage, and after seeing what others have to say, I am sure he is right. Although I have been thinking the same thing for months. Just a couple more points to make: Like some of the other woman, I have insomnia. When I had the Mirena inserted, I think I experienced TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome) because I had an extreme pain where it was place, followed by immense dizziness, nausea, blurred vision and a rushing sensation in my face and head. When I went to get a checkup, I was told that the Mirena was "lost," and the doctor had to do an ultrasound to locate it. I have lower back pain and strong, period-like cramps. And I have an irregular period with spotting throughout the month. (It is getting expensive having to buy new panties all the time.) I think that I have made my decision to have the Mirena removed.
-- By spanishfortmom | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
May 21th
2008
5:00 PM
I have had the mirena in for almost exactly one year now. I too had bad breakouts, low sex drive, fatigue, mood swings and cramps but they were all less than what I had had on the pill. However, I have LOST weight because the dizzy spells that I have been experiencing lately make me loose my appetite. I also feel like my sense of smell is much more sensitive (especially to gross stuff) near my period.
I would just like to hear from someone who stopped experiencing these adverse effects after having the Mirena removed or someone whose symptoms went away with time before I choose to remove my own.
Every form of birth control has some sort of side-effect, you just have to choose the one with side-effects that you can deal with I guess.
May 9th
2008
6:11 PM
I got my Mirena put in November of 2005. Didn't really have any problems at first. I will say my periods were heavier than ever before, and my doctor said they would eventually stop, but they never did. In February, I started feeling extra tired and having some anxiety attacks, but figured I had experienced anxiety before and maybe it was just coming back. Then I started getting dizzy spells, headaches and just an overall bad feeling. Couldn't explain it, just didn't feel well. I decided to quit smoking. Figured maybe that had something to do with it. But instead of feeling better after quitting, I was feeling even worse. I was losing hair in clumps, bleeding gums, sweating much worse then ever in my life!!!! I had pains and numbness in my left leg. I even had chest pains, but it was all over my chest, not just near my heart!! I was also getting very depressed. I could cry because my husband looked at me the wrong way. And talk about not wanting any kind of intimacy!!!!! I wanted nothing to do with it!!! I feel so bad for my husband that he had to go through all of this with me. Thank goodness he's a wonderful, and patient man!!!! I went through many doctors, primary doc, hematologist, back to my primary. Had several blood tests, ultrasounds, MRI and an MRA, but all the tests said everything was fine. Finally, I happened to search Mirena on the internet. And I found all of these stories with women who were having the same problems as me. Thank God I may have found my answer to all my problems. I'm calling the doctor on Monday and scheduling an appointment to have this "thing" removed. I could care less about the side effects from having it removed. I just know that if in a month or two I feel better, than it is worth it!!!!
-- By thomscollins | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
May 9th
2008
12:46 PM
I have felt the worst I've ever felt with this and didn't even think about it until lately. We got it put in in August of 2007 because my OB thought birth control would help stop the extra bleeding I was still having 3 months after my daughter was born and I went with the IUD because I'm not very good at taking the pill every day at the same time, etc. I've been glad that the bleeding stopped, but didn't put all my crumby symptoms together until now. I finally realized that the only constant with everything different I've been trying to stop the symptoms has been mirena. I have had the worst headaches (migraine type at least 3 days out of every week), cramping like none other, severe mood swings, nausea, and dizzy spells that put me on the floor. I have fallen down at work because of dizzy spells, not cleaned my house for a week at a time because I felt like I had the flu every time I tried to move, not been able to work as a medical transcriptionist because my head was throbbing so bad, and had break downs of crying because I feel like all my kids do is make me angry, along with my husband telling me that things need to change because I am always cranky with him. I have never had a problem with sex drive, to the point of being overzealous to my husband sometimes, until now. I have to make myself do anything and it feels like the most awful thing since the first time. I've suffered depression in the past, but never like the deep depressions that I've gone into lately. It's hard to believe so much power to change me can come from something so little and seemingly harmless.
-- By wecho2005 | Reply | Send Private Mail
March 16th
2008
11:10 AM
I had Mirena in for 3 1/2 years. The first year was basically a fog. I started spotting, moodiness was ok, bad acne. The next 1 1/2 years I experienced light bleeding, acne , slight dizziness, some fatigue. On the third year that I was on mirena that's when things began getting worse. Around a month after my 38th birthday I started getting really bad symptoms. The worst part was the Dizziness. I got severe headaches, major dizziness, moodiness, less patience with everyone, weight gain, increased appetite, depression, fatigue during day, nervousness, panic attacks, some hair loss, bleeding gums. The dizziness was the worst. I would get panic attacks along with the dizziness. This especially got worse around time of period. I noticed just before I was scheduled to get my period I would get these crazy dizzy spells and anxiety. I have had numerous test and gone to Cardiologists, Nuerologist, Gyno. The gyno's are the worst. They deny that it is the mirena. However, I have been doing some research by myself and have come across many websites like this one. Most of the women who have been on Mirena have had the same symptoms that I have had. The one symptom that I did not here of was bleeding gums. During my pregnancy I noticed that I would bleed when brushing my teeth. Of course this is normal because of hormones. However, about a year after I gave birth to my daughter my gums were still bleeding. I was on mirena for about 6 months already. The dentist had me go in 4 times a year, because he was concerned. They thought it was bizzare that I had this promblem at 38, Wanted to know if anyone else experienced this? Also, wanted to disclose that in the early years of mirena I was taking Prozac. Around the second or third year of mirena I started to be a little forgetful about taking the prozac daily. This may be a reason why my panic attacks came on strong around third year.
-- By frani | Reply | (6) replies | Send Private Mail
March 6th
2008
8:50 AM
Wow. I am so relieved to find people like me ! I got the IUD when my son was 6 weeks old and It has been over a year and a half. ( I cannot take regular birth control because it affects my blood pressure)I thought everything was great with it at first- no period- no fuss. but when you have a new baby you are just exhausted and your body does weird stuff anyway. Most of the symptoms I noticed started in the last 2 months. I did not contribute them to the IUD because I have hypothyroidism and I thought my meds needed adjusted. I have not been able to lose weight despite trying- VERY FRUSTRATING! I was exhausted a lot of the time- sleeping 9 or 10 hours a night and still tired. My hair was falling out but not an extreme amount- I started having dizzy spells- No Sex drive- yuck! and I had spotting for over 2 weeks. So I had my thyroid checked and all was well and all I could think was " what the heck is wrong with me?!?!?!" and I found this site. Luckily I had the IUD removed 2 days ago because we are going to try again for a baby- I have felt ok- the first day I was still tired and I had an extreme nosebleed which I have never had before?!?!?! You know I think it is just safest to use natural methods of birth control cause all this medication can really mess you up!
-- By fowble | Reply | (3) replies | Send Private Mail
March 1th
2008
1:50 PM
I want this thing out of me! I've had this thing (Mirena) put in about a month ago and been feeling like crap ever since. I was diagnosed with endometriosis when I was 16 years old and I am now 29. Cause of this condition I have had 4 laparoscopic surgeries. With a little hope and faith I had 2 beautiful kids (girl and boy) and now I am done my family. Cause of the endo I have heavy periods and cramping. I've been trying to convince my doctor's to give me a hysterectomy, but won't cause I am too young and maybe I'm not done my family. I AM DONE MY FAMILY!! I keep on telling them, but they want to try drugs, drugs and more drugs. So they put in this iud (Mirena) and THEN give me the list of side effects. Like, holy shit!! Well since that day I have had nausea, cramping ( like they weren't bad enough before), heartburn, mood swings, hot flashes, dizzy spells, and pain during sex. What the heck is going on?? I guess I wasn't in enough pain before all of this. Well give it a week they say, give a month they say, well I am tired of it. Something will get done once and for all.
-- By lysefri | Reply | (2) replies | Send Private Mail
February 20th
2008
6:23 PM
I am so grateful I found this site! I only wish, like many of you, that I had done more research. I am glad to say that when I first encountered this site, I was suspecting I was having issues because of the Mirena, now I'm convinced. And the more I read, the more symptoms I realize are Mirena related not just "getting older". Thankfully, today I made the appt to have it removed. Unfortunately, it's not until March 17th. But, I will have it out and then have some green beer to celebrate!
In April of '06 I joined WW and was doing great, losing consistently. In June I had the IUD inserted, that went well...just some minor cramping. By September I was really struggling to loose weight and was feeling more irritable. But, at the same time had become caretaker to my Mother in law, so I attributed it to the stress of taking care of her in addition to my own family. Near the end of November I finally hit a 50 lb loss, and have barely lost any since then....that's 15 months!!!!! I've stuck with WW, and I know I'm not doing the program as well as I had but it shouldn't be such a struggle. Last week I started wondering if the problem was the Mirena, and that question led me here.
I couldn't believe what I was reading!!! It was me in all of you!! I have chronic depression and have been on meds for about 6 years, but even with increasing my meds to the max, I seem to be getting worse not better. I'm moody, irritable, blue, and impatient. It's like PMS all month long, and then when the real pms hits, I'm practically suicidal.
I also have had significant hair loss, fatigue, living in a mental fog, numbness in my arms and hands EVERY night, night sweats, lower back pain for several days on and off (are these cysts??), irregular and long lasting periods (although VERY light...I will miss that!!), nausea, headaches and dizzy spells on a regular basis.
I hope that when I have this thing removed I can return to my old imperfect self, and that I can finally achieve my weight loss goal and return my family life to a normal level of dysfunction! :)
February 6th
2008
12:41 PM
I had the Mirena placed in October; I bleed everyday for 2 months but I believe it was worth it. However, the acne is awful. My face and back are
worse than a teenager. It has not decreased my sex drive or mood swings
or any other symptoms I have read here(so far). I did have a few dizzy spells but nothing significant. I am trying to determine if acne is worth it or
should I bleed for 2 weeks every month. So far it's the acne!
September 5th
2007
8:32 AM
I have had the mirena for almost 2 1/2 years, it was not too bad to begin with although I did develop a bartholins cyst which I was told could have been due to this coil being fitted, not very pleasant I can tell you! Anyway, apart from feeling a bit tired and nauseus every 3 months or so it was not too bad for the first year, but since then my symptoms just seem to be there almost all the time. I even tested for pregnancy earlier this week because I feel so nauseus particularly on waking up in the morning, I also feel lethargic, have lower abdominal pain, difficulty concentrating, dizzy spells, constant discharge, very sore breasts, hot flushes at night and cold spells at any time of the day, I could go on. I eat healthily, train at karate 4 times per week, had my blood pressure taken in Asda this week 112/83 which I am told is good. So, I have come to the conclusion that with time this coil is making me feel unwell, I could never take the pill as it made me feel awful and I tried the injection which made me feel even worse. Nothing else for it, I have 4 children already, I can't have any more, it would not be practical or fair to my family, so I am going to be sterilised (if I can get my doctor to agree). I also need to get my doctor to agree to remove this coil, I am not taking no for an answer, I know my body and I am 99.9% sure that it is the Mirena that is causing the problems.
-- By morgan | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
September 1th
2007
6:07 AM
I had a Mirena coil fitted about 3 years ago. It was brilliant. I had it fitted because I suffered terribly with painful periods. Not heavy though. I had it for about a year, then had it removed to try for a baby with my partner. I already have a 19 year old son. I didn't get pregnant, now, I believe a good thing, and I had a second Mirena fitted. Let's put it this way, it's not acting like the first one did. I get headaches, hot flushes, bloating, depression, crying, muscle ache, especially arms and hands. I have dizzy spells, and can't stand around for a while as I feel faint. I am overweight, and always intend to do some exercise, and control eating habits a bit, but when your mind isn't right, how can you? It's a vicious circle. Obviously I appreciate that some of how I feel is my weight issue, but as I said, it's hard to do anything about it when you can't get the incentive because your mind is working overtime! The bleeding though, is basically the same as the first coil. It stopped near enough straight away, but at this moment I am having what isn't really a period, but is stranger and little heavier than spotting! I also get sharp pains now and again at the moment, and am very bloated. Doctor said about a month ago, that the coil could still be settling! We will see! Any replies would be great, I hope I haven't rambled on!!! Ha.. Pauline, Gloucestershire
-- By charlie10 | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
August 23th
2007
8:36 PM
Last night I bought 2 new shirts, was completely disgusted with my stomach and mid section. I had went to the doctor about 2 weeks ago for a cold, and when I was weighed, I had gained about 10 lbs in a month. I am completely disgusted with my stomach. I had a pooch down there since having my baby, but she is 19 mos now and since I had it inserted in April, I feel like a growing marshmellow. Sometimes I cant stand to even have my husband see me change clothes. Im about 195 lbs now...almost my PREGNANCY weight and I hate to get it taken out now since I just had it put in - in April. Also I have NO SEX DRIVE. My husband complains about it constantly and Im so tired all the time, I'm always saying how I could fall asleep. I keep attributing it to having a 19 mo old and working full time, but she sleeps through the nights now and I'm always tired. I've also had several dizzy spells that I can not explain. I'm going to keep reading these comments and it seems like I may have found what my problem is! Thanks for the help. I should have done my research before I went through the pain of having it put in. That would have been smart right?
-- By tammyrose | Reply | (1) replies | Send Private Mail
This registry is a place to share positive or negative side effects of using Mirena. If you directly experienced a side effect while using Mirena, then we encourage you to enter it here. Please note that entries here are the experiences of individual users, and in no way means that you or anyone else will experience the same side effect, since the same medication affects people in different ways. Please always contact your physician.
-- Please see our disclaimer
July 14th
2008
4:04 PM
This site has made me realize that I am not crazy. Well, now I am... But not for long, I have had my Mirena since 2/2005 after the birth of my daughter. Yes, there was a lot of cramping at first and the insertion was awful. The Dr. reassured me that I would begin to feel better and gave me time frames as to when cramping and bleeding should stop and may even stop completely. Wow, this is great! I thought... I nursed my first year and at the 6 month mark my production slowed. I've heard this was normal. I was proud that I had gotten down to the pre-baby weight. No credit to Mirena. This was strictly due to nursing and some exercise. At the year mark I became more and more irritable, per my husband. I was Forgetful or should I say had difficulty holding conversations due to forgetting simple words... I was depressed and just plain mean... He was right. I didn't notice until he said it, I was angry all of the time. I was reluctant to go on any pills; I feared I would be labeled as crazy. So, instead of meds we ended up needing to see a marriage counselor. Yep, after 5 months of babbling about my childhood and bringing about a normal conversation with my husband again, I end up taking medication. I had been convinced this was simply a little postpartum and everybody is depressed after a baby so I was put on some generic version of Prozac (temporarily). Had some dizzy spells at work (very embarrassing). In the summer of 2006 I started have pain during sex. I could tell it was coming from the ovary. It was on my left side. Of course, my husband had to deal to with the constant feeling of rejection. I was thinking I'm just constipated and the added pressure is well... you get the idea... Hurting everything else. After a few months of this I made an appointment with my OB doctor. I had a 5 cm cyst! I was told this could burst or possibly twist. Then I am restricted to no sex and light exercise. Within 3 months that cyst burst it sent a burning sensation through my abdomen to my upper thighs. I have a lot of abdominal pain and bloating. I went in several times later but was never diagnosed with having anything wrong. Suggested to see an Oncologist (never went). Now to the current year of the Mirena... I mentioned earlier that I had lost all of my weight back to 114 pounds (I'm petite). Within the last 4 months I have put on 17pound and still climbing. I am having some horrible pains on the right side now which I know is the return of another one of those cysts. It must be a dozy, this one really hurts. And having acne breakouts of a teenager. So let’s review... From this post I have experienced the depression, cyst, weight gain, acne, forgetfulness, dizziness, stomach pains, bloating. I want it out I had scheduled to get it done on 7/17. My husband freaked and now has scheduled to get a vasectomy. He has asked me to wait until his procedure has been done before I go through with it. So, I am waiting but am interested to hear how soon we become normal again when all foreign objects and medications has been removed.
-- By jandringa | Reply | (4) replies | Send Private Mail