Mirena and everything under the sun

I did a lot of research before having Mirena put in. I'm amazed at how many of these women are complaining about Mirena. First off I read up on different types of birth control. I decided to get Mirena because it seems the most effective. I met with 3 different doctors to make sure I was a good candidate for Mirena. I have never had kids which they said would make the insertion painful. When I had it put in it felt like a bad cramp, but it quickly went away. I had light cramps the 1st week, but knew it was normal.
I have read many of these posts and all the negative ones seem to be complaints for absurd reasons. First off, if your doctor does not know anything about mirena, they should not be putting it in. After insertion, you shouldn't have sex for at LEAST a week. The doctors in the U.S. are REQUIRED to tell you both the benefits and the side effects of Mirena. If you are experiencing any abnormalities such as loss of appetite or extreme depression you should be making an appointment to see your doctor not waiting YEARS to finally decide you need help.
Although this is not a side effect of Mirena I thought this post might be useful to others.

OH MY GOSH! I thought I was crazy until I found this site. Ok, I had my Mirena inserted January of 2007, and IMMEDIATELY experienced joint pain, pain in my hands and feet, and it's 22 months later.. the pain NEVER went away. I thought because I was a very hardcore athlete when I was younger, that this was par for the course, that I will be getting arthritis. I'm 34 years old. Crazy to say arthritis at 34? I think so. Well, I have been researching my symptoms for months and months online and gone to a few different doctors over this. My symptoms include chronic fatigue, headaches (on a good week 4 days out of the week), joint pain in my hands and feet, sensations in my hands and feet that feel like they are swollen (but they aren't), upper and lower back pain, heart palpitations, leg cramps, hair loss, ABSOLUTELY NO SEX DRIVE AT ALL, muscle fatigue, and I've gained 40 lbs since I had it put in... OUCH. NONE of this (except for headaches and some depression) was experienced before the Mirena. Funny, I never linked it to the Mirena. I've had my thyroid checked, been diagnosed with carpal tunnel (lol what about my feet? Good doc!) had blood sugar checked (nope, not diabetes!), well, now I'm on to getting checked for fibromyalgia. Kinda wondering though, if there is a link to fibromyalgia and Mirena, like it could induce it? Sounds like so many of you have the same symptoms, and many have thought the same things... fibro, diabetes, lupus, ms, hell, I even though lyme disease at one point. This is ridiculous... I'm having it out this week.

2 1/2 years ago I had my Mirena IUD place. I had the normal weight gain and steady bleeding which were side effects I was warned about. Sure enough after 2 months or so my weight returned to normal and the daily bleeding stopped. In fact I haven't had any periods since, which I was really please about b/c that was the reason for having the IUD in the first place. I have 4 children and my husband is fixed, but my periods were so heavy I had a hard time dealing with my iron levels, so the Mirena was recommended. I have raved about not having my period anymore and the freedom it has provided.

However, recently I have been suffering major anxiety, to the point I am currently off work for 4 weeks. I am a stock broker so everyone is convinced its market related. But all along I have said I don't have more or less anxiety if the market is up or down. I just feel as though I have almost in a car accident and my body is in a constant state of "fight or flight". I have been placed on heavy med's to try and correct my current imbalance. These med's are very powerful, for the past 6 days I have been asleep of 17 hours out of 24. Anything this strong is obviously pretty powerful. I have been discussing my current condition with friends and saying my instincts tell me something else is going on. I've been suspecting that something else in my environment could be contributing to my imbalance. So i have been looking into my IUD. My first signs of anxiety were 9 months after having it in, but I treated my anxiety with exercise and healthy living and got on with it. Today I found a website with many women with my exact symptoms:*****
As a mother I have learned to listen to my instincts, and at this very moment I am convinced that my Mirena IUD has over time created an imbalance which is responsible for my current poor health, and tomorrow i'm getting it taken out!

i have had mirana since july28 2004. i never had any problem with it i though it was a god'sent UNTIL NOW!! over the last 2 years i have had irregular bleeding,odd pain among other things. the bleeding started normal and but now it is very very dark clots and pain OMG it feels like i am being stabbed all the time. i have been to the doctors over and over and over .. they say it is not a side effect it is all in my head. well let me tell you i am a nurse and i know my body like you all do and something is wrong. i am due for it 2b changed and i want it out. i am so afraid of PID or sepsis. i have weird chalky discharge sometimes. and i have been tested for anything and everything under the sun STD wise so i know the pain and all the problems are from this. i have no energy and i am "sad" most of the time. i do not handle stress the way i used to .. my husband says i have changed. not for the bad per say just different. we have 2 children and thought this would be perfect but we were so wrong. good luck to you all... i know lots of women who have it and are fine. but the ones with a problem with it oh man do we ever have a problem...

I am a 34 yr old mom of 2 and have had my Mirena for 4 and 1/2 years. I actaully have been having a great experience, but again, have the same weight gain issues with almost no loss, no matter what. MY BIG QUESTION: has anyone else experienced mysterious vaginal discharge and symptoms? Starting about a year ago, I began having mystery discharge and have been to 7 different doctors who have tested for everything under the sun, and FOUND NOTHING. they can see it, keep giving me yeast treatments. etc, but in 2 or 3 months, it is right back. There is a pungent fish odor, especially after sex with my hubby, which Dr's have been saying is normal... MAYBE NORMAL FOR THEM, not me!! I actually thought it was due to a lack of hormones now that my IUD is ending is life.. However, I did have a couple of crazy panic attacks, which I have never had, the dryness for sex and friction is intense, and my hair has been thinning, which I thought was just me... Can anyone let me know if you've had the vaginal symptoms... I know no one wants to talk about it, but I have to ask!!

Hi all.

I just found this site and all of your posts. I *never* connected my Mirena with all the health issues I've been having. I've had the Mirena in since about August/September 2006. Within 6 months I started having side effects. Due to other things going on in my life I thought my problems were related.

Now I am seriously thinking it's all related to the IUD. I've had chronic fatigue, increased hair falling out, acne that won't go away, uterine cramping, pelvic sensitivity, mood swings, ridiculous irritability, decreased focus and concentration, increase in my depression, weight gain of about 50 pounds within 1 year, decreased libido down to next to nothing, increase in pain and length and frequency of migraines, and that annoying string. I seriously never related all these things to the Mirena. In fact, if you had asked me a week ago, I would have raved about it and sung it's praises. I do love that I don't have to worry about pregnancy and not having to think about the birth control every day and so on. I also love, love, love that I don't have a period at all but for maybe 2 times a year.

I have sought the help of a Doctor in trying to figure out what all these symptoms might mean. This is not the same doc who inserted the IUD, she quit the practice. My new doctor at first thought my thyroid must be messed up so we had it tested. Ummmm, nope. Then she did some more thinking about it and had me tested for diabetes. Nope again!

I'm sick and tired of feeling sick and tired and I think I want this fool thing taken out. I'd rather have periods again than have all these other things wrong with me. I'm normally very energetic almost to the point of being hyper and I now sleep about 16 hours a day. I'm not being a good parent to my daughters, and I'm trying to go to Nursing school and it's wrecking my ability to make it to class and get homework done. At this point I think the worse thing that can happen is I have it removed and nothing changes and I'm really sick with something we haven't identified. Best case scenario, it fixes the majority of these problems. I don't expect some things to go away. I've always had migraines, but maybe they will be less severe. I've had depression for as long as I can remember but maybe now it will go back to being controlled as it was before. I hope to have my energy increase again and to gain my focus and concentration.

I can't tell you just how incredibly thrilled I am for having stumbled onto this website and to be able to read all your comments and thoughts. Even though we don't know each other and we're likely spread all over the United States, and perhaps other countries, we've managed to come together and share. Thank you all.

Clarissa S.

I love it. I've had it for a week now. Very little spotting, minimal cramps, and no discharge. I was told of the side effects, and knew all of this before I got it. Hormones act differently to some people. I did not react well with the patch or pill. So far, so good with Mirena. I don't think a lawsuit or complaint is exactly the way to go. You should start with talking to your doctor more and seeing if they give out pamphlets or just did not tell you everything you were supposed to know. I also believe not everyone's symptoms should be blamed on Mirean. People usually "feel" things they don't really have, esp. after coming on here and reading things. You can make your body feel that stuff. The insertion was not comfortable by any means, but it also wasn't a pain that I would ever cry or scream over. I'm 21, relatively healthy, and never had children. I work in healthcare and see people react like this all the time-no tolerance to pain, and just wanting an excuse as to where some of their "pains" come from.