Mirena and prozac

I have had Mirena for over a year now. I have been battling hair loss thinking it was from stress. My Dr. put me on Prozac and recommended that I even use Rogaine. Never once did they lead me to believe it could be from the Mirena!! I felt like I was losing my mind. Bouts of rage, constant hair loss, acne, weight gain. I am meeting with my OBGYN on the 11th to discuss removal. I am hoping these side effects subside rather quickly. I just don't know if the hair will return

I have had Mirena for a little over a year now. I thought the hair loss was just from stress in my life so I have been on Prozac and using Rogaine to help with the hair loss - with no luck. Now after reading all of these posts, it makes sense that it is from the Mirena. I have had to horrific mood swings and bouts of rage, hair loss, weight gain and acne. I am scheduled to see my OBGYN for removal on the 11th. I am hoping that the hair loss will at least stop. My stress is from worrying about my hair loss, so I might even be able to come off the prozac and live a normal life. Please post if you have had your removed and the side effects subsided. Thanks!

I was wondering if anyone has been having a problem with acne? I had the mirena inserted in May of this year, within two weeks I was having terrible mood swings, I was flying off the handle at the drop of a hat! Crazy! I went to my doctor to have it removed, he talked me into keeping it in a few months see if it changes. My moods are better but my face has become insanely greasy! I wash it twice a day, use face-wipes throughout the day to try to control it, I blot my oil away with the oil absorbing sheets. The problem is I am doing it all the time! I have even resorted to using the tissue paper toilet seat covers to blot my face, they work great in a pinch...but they are becoming part of my daily oil control routine! As an added bonus I now have acne! Never in my life have I had acne, nothing I do helps, I have all the creams and acne treatments, nothing has worked. I am just wondering if anyone else is having the same problem?

I was kinda forced by the doctors into getting the Mirena about 2 months after my son was born. I was so overwhelmed with being a new mom that I did not research it much. Getting it put in was no picnic. I have had is since 10/08 and had it removed this past Monday. Within 1 month of having it put in, I put on 15lbs. I have been and am still breastfeeding so my doctors said it would help me lose weight but I gained instead. Nothing else in my diet or anything had changed. I know having a baby not sleep through the night will make you tired but I was an undescribable tired for the past few months. I have also been moody and negative - my mom kept saying she needed me to "smile" again as I am normally a happy person. I plan on TTC for another baby in about a year so I really want to be as healthy as I can since I will have my son to chase around. I talked to my doctor about all this and he agreed that it was probably the Mirena that caused the weight gain. I am worried about the "crash" people talk about after having it removed. I am hoping since I just switched from Prozac to Wellbutrin (for mild depression & anxiety issues) that it will help. I know Wellbutrin sometimes help with weight loss as well. The past week I have read a lot of forums online and it seems people are having similar side effects...oh did I mention the foggy thinking? I wish they would have told me all the issues prior to putting it in. I never would have had it put in or had it removed even sooner

I had Mirena put in last June '08. It is now June '09 and I had it removed yesterday. I had my child May '08 and was 10lbs away from my pre-birth weight when I had the Mirena put in. Now I am 10lbs heavier than I was in my ninth month of pregnancy! Its like I am pregnant all over again. My belly is always distended, feet and hands swollen. It is the worst 10 days surrounding when my period occurs- I can't fit in my clothes. Libido is zero and I have been foggy and unable to concentrate for the past year. The fatigue is considerable. I thought it was just being a new mom- since my Dr. told me this BC has no effects, but based on my previous experiences with the Pill- I think that anything with hormones is just a bad idea for me. After the mirena was removed yesterday, I have not stopping urinating! Belly has already gone down a little bit. I hope this does not screw me up too much!

I had mine taken out today for all of the same reasons. I've also had horrible headaches daily for at least two months. My headaches, nausea and depression have started getting worse every week. Fortunately, I only had Mirena three months before now when I started putting things together. I've never had a problem with birth control pills and I've taken all of them. I used to get heavy and long periods- it took a while to find one to regulate my period. I love, love, love my OB. He told me the same thing today he told me when I got Mirena- that it has less side effects than any birth control pills because the amount of hormones released is lower. Nonetheless, he did agree that it should come out to see if it has been the cause of all of my misery.

I hate to think about the women out there with Mirena who are feeling tired, sick, and depressed and don't know why. Honestly, I don't know how I put it together for myself because I thought, IUD- NO SIDE-EFFECTS, it's just a device right, thrown in with a tiny bit of hormones, but at first I thought maybe I wasn't taking good enough care of myself and that was why I felt so bad all the time. Then the headaches . . . I thought that was sinuses . . . had a CT scan, came back okay . . . thought it was migraines . . . went to the neurologist, had an eeg, treated for migraines . . . still having headaches with nausea.

I almost didn't realize how depressed I was until my husband said something to me. He told me, "you've been depressed for three months now". Eureka!! I got Mirena three months ago. Plus, I am always under the treatment of a psychiatrist who monitors my medicine and am currently taking high dosages of prozac and wellbutrin. I've always had depression/anxiety problems and actually had to continue taking my meds while pregnant, just at half dosage. I had NO problems with post-partum depression (which was very much planned between my psychiatrist and medications). If I were to have problems arise with depression I certainly think it would have been closer to post-partum. I really don't think that my meds just quit working either. I realized that nothing gets me excited. I exert all of my energy into being a decent human being by going to work, taking care of my child, and trying to keep a somewhat-neat house. There is never time, energy, or desire for anything else.

I'm anxious to see how the next couple of weeks go . . . keep posting your progress and I will do the same. I certainly hope my symptoms start to subside . . . if not, I'm in trouble because I know that something is wrong with my body!!

Also, a Naturopathic Doctor told me to take Evening Primrose and it should aid in getting my hormones back to a natural level more quickly.

After 2 years and 7 months, I had my Mirena removed on 5/4. I had it inserted 3 months after the birth of my first child in 2006. At the time, it seemed like my best option due to problems I’d had with the Pill. I was on the Pill for 6 years, the first year or 2 weren’t too bad, but things gradually got worse. Because it was so gradual, it took me years to realize the cause of my problems. My blood pressure slowly got higher, my heart would often race, and I had anxiety and mini-panic attacks to the point where I never wanted to go anywhere. (My heart rate got up to 160 while waiting for the Dr during an appointment and my blood pressure was up to ~145/99) I also started getting migraines that got more and more frequent. I had an EKG and stress test and everything came back normal. I stopped taking the Pill and within a couple months felt a million times better and my BP went back to normal. I had no idea how much it had affected me and it still makes me sick to think of the years I lost because I felt so awful. I didn’t take anything for 6 months before we started trying to get pregnant and they were the best months in a very long time.

After I got Mirena, I thought it was great. I bled for about 2 months, then never really had periods after that (just some occasionally spotting). Three months after it was inserted, I lost the final 10 pounds of baby weight just by dieting. If I was emotional or moody during the first year, I just thought it was my hormones after having a baby. Slowly over time, I began to get more and more irritable. Everything and anything would enrage me. Rage is the best word for it. It would take a split second for me to fly off the handle. Everything irritated me, particularly anything my husband did. The more it happened, the worse it got and I began to worry if I would eventually lose control completely. Meanwhile, I slowly lost my desire to do anything. I’ve never been a big housekeeper, but our house has become a wreck and I have to force myself to get things down when people are coming over. If it weren’t for family coming to visit frequently, we’d really be living in a mess. I just never feel like doing anything and I’ve lost my passion for everything.

I’ve always had bad skin and have taken everything made for acne, including Accutane. My skin was the best it’s ever been the weeks after my son was born. Over the past 2.5 years, it gotten worse and now it’s as bad as it’s ever been. As my 30th birthday approached, I began to wonder if I’d have zits when I’m 70, then began wondering if the IUD might be causing it.

Also in the past year, I have begun to struggle with my weight. It had slowly started to creep up even though my diet hadn’t really changed. The past 6 months have been the worst. I constantly have a desire to eat and crave anything sugary which I’m sure has contributed to my weight gain. I’ve tried dieting and exercising more than ever before and couldn’t lose anything. Then I gained 10 pounds in 2 weeks. If I diet and workout, my weight stays the same – if I eat normally, I gain weight, just as many others here have mentioned. I’d say 80-90% of my excess weight is on my stomach and I’ve been asked twice in the last 6 months by strangers about being pregnant. I now weigh what I did when I was 7-8 months pregnant (25lbs over my pre-preg weight) and I look 6-7 months preg.

All of these issues have gradually gotten worse over time, but significantly so in the past 6 months. My fits of rage began to scare me and I would feel like my head and/or chest were going to explode when I would yell. I started to realize from my previous experience with the Pill that my blood pressure was going up again. I had also begun to get migraines again which I hadn’t had since the Pill. Then I began to feel like I was living in a depression medicine commercial. I’ve never dealt with depression before even when my husband was gone for months at a time in the Navy. Yet all the sudden I felt like I could check off all the symptoms for depression. I started having irrational and scary thoughts that I had no control over and they would go as quickly as they came. I began to get frightened because I felt like I had no control over myself, my thoughts, or my emotions. For whatever reason, I decided to look up Mirena and depression and couldn’t believe what I found - pages and pages of people describing exactly how I felt with all the same symptoms. I had been contemplating it anyway, but I decided then that I was going to get it removed. I went to the doctor and my blood pressure was higher than I expected. She gave me BP meds and offered me meds for everything else. I got the impression that she probably thought I was blaming too much on the Mirena. I would have agreed if not for my experiences on the Pill. She had never removed one, so she referred me to an OB/GYN. They couldn’t see me for over a month and there was no way I could wait that long because I knew it would take a while for my body to get back to normal. Amazingly, I found someone who got me in 4 days later. I was so excited! As everyone says, it’s a lot easier coming out than going in – just a pinch that lasts a second. So far, I haven’t noticed a huge difference (it’s been about 3 days). I felt less bloated the second day, but it seems to have come back a little yesterday. I have been very thirsty since the evening after I got it removed and have been peeing as much as I did when I was pregnant. I slowly feel like my desire to constantly eat is going away and I am not craving sugar as much.

I also wanted to mention, I started the blood pressure meds the day after I got them. I will say that it has helped my irritability a little and I no longer feel like I’m going to explode when I get angry. Now that the IUD is gone, I’m sure it will go back to normal on its own in month or 2. It’s frustrating because I got Mirena because of my BP problems on the pill. I was under the impression that there wouldn’t be any side effects and now I’m back to where I was when I stopped the Pill. I lost several good years with my husband because of the Pill and now I’ve lost almost 3 more and the first 3 years of my son’s life because of this stupid IUD. If it weren’t for our son, I don’t know that our marriage would have survived the last 3 years. I just pray that I will get back to being me and will be able to be the mother that my son deserves.

A few other side effects I’ve noticed after reading all these posts that may also be related are greasy hair and skin, hair loss, facial hair, memory loss/lack of concentration, and the strange odors and various infections that others have mentioned. I used to not be able to wrap my fingers around my ponytail. Now I can almost wrap them around twice. Like most of the other side effects, I blamed it on aging, stress, etc. I’m interested to see if it starts coming back now.

I know this is a really long post, but I wanted to include as much info as possible in case it might help someone else. I probably would have gotten it out sooner, but I didn’t think there were any side effects. For now, I am not going to take anything. I want to know whether the side effects go away and not have to worry if something is caused by a new birth control. I may try something else in 6 months or so, but we’ll see. My husband doesn’t want me to take anything ever again, but I really don’t want to get pregnant. I don’t think I want any more kids, but I’m only 30 and not ready to do anything permanent yet. My new OB/GYN mentioned Implantation, which uses a different hormone, but I don’t have much faith that it won’t have the same effects. I will probably just try different pills and keep an eye on my blood pressure. I plan to post updates when I can to let you know if things get better. I hope that my story helps someone else.

First of all, a big thanks to all of you who have shared your experiences. I am a biochemist, with a background in pharmaceutical research...I chose the Mirena IUD after careful consideration of it's active ingredient, Levonorgestrel. The side effect profile seemed pretty acceptable...until I started to experience nearly ALL of them...I am 33 years old and had the Mirena IUD placed in October of 2008 after the birth of my second child in June of 2008. The initial reaction was to be expected...cramping, a little spotting etc...nothing to be alarmed about. I still have yet to have a period (which I really don't miss so no problem there) I never gave a second thought to this until now...for the past month or so (coinciding with the weening process, since I have been nursing the entire time, I believe the side effects were not as noticeable) I have been experiencing the following (that may or may not be related to Mirena as my OBGYN has so adamantly pointed out, but after reviewing your posts I'm willing to bet they're connected) and are in order of occurrence: Major, but temporary, hair loss after 2 months or so; Major respiratory infection lingering over a month with difficulty breathing, tightness and pain in the chest at around 6 mos; And in the past month, several instances of motion-like sickness/ nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, major impatience/ mood swings, loss of appetite (pregnancy-like symptoms...yep, I was thinking man I'd be pretty pissed if I was that 0.01% pregnant statistic), and as of this past weekend, my first aurora migraine with tunnel vision and serious nausea and vomiting, to the point where I went to Urgent Care...who referred me to the ER...who wants to perform a battery of tests including a head CT. I have an appointment with a trusted GP tomorrow to discuss possible root causes...but it is to coincidental that so many women are experiencing these same symptoms! I am certainly leaning towards having this removed. CAN THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE HAD THIS REMOVED PLEASE RESPOND IF YOUR SYMPTOMS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED OR WERE RESOLVED!!! THANK YOU!
These side effects seem to go well beyond a 5% rate of incidence according to all of you who have reported. I will investigate further and keep everyone posted. As someone who is highly experienced in the pharmaceutical industry, you bet your a$$ I'm going to get to the bottom of this! Good luck ladies!

I got my Mirena put in August of 2008. I still have it in, but I am contemplating having it taken out. I also started prozac around the same time, so the weight gain i caulked up to that, but I switched medications and was STILL gaining weight. Since August I have put on about 40ish lbs. My fiance is not liking the way I look now. I am just kinda sad about getting it out because I have enjoyed NOT taking a pill every night and it was SOO expensive. But I hate this weight gain thing!!!

I just had my iud removed this Friday. I gained 20 pounds during the ten months I had mirena. I also was extremely moody - given prozac - and felt like I had an inertube around my tummy. I had no interest in sex, lost my hair - ugh! So, I had it removed at 2:00 on Friday, slept almost all of the weekend and woke up today (Sunday) feeling really good...have already lost three pounds.

hi Everyone, I have been on the mirena for four years and have very important information. Since my second child five years ago I had the mirena inserted. Since the insertion I have also started prozac for such bad anxiety. I never correlated the two until I have been recently doing my research. My biggest complaint with the mirena however has been my ACNE. I feel like crying when I think how this robbed me of the last five years. I spent most of my time in the bathroom trying to remove these huge cysts from my face. Thousand of dollars later on products and peels I am left with scars. Nothing helped and everyday there was a huge new cyst. It was awful, It effected my relationship with people, I was embarrassed and could not figure out why at 40 I was having such acne when I didn't suffer have this before. I am so mad for not researching this earlier. My other symptoms were headaches, extra fat around my midsection and feeling of nausea on some nights. needless to say after doing my research I wanted it removed. I called my docter and she only could see me in 3 weeks so I called planned parenthood. They removed it the next day. The doctor said the same side effects happened to her and that the company was looking for a new formula for the mirena but it was not out yet.

Good News. 10 days later my face is clear for the first time in 5 years!!!!. My headaches are gone, nausea gone, and I have lost 5 pounds around my middle.

Please girls take this out, I guarantee you are not imaging these symptoms the doctor confirmed them for me. No birth control is worth this. I feel like I have my life back. Good Luck. If you need any other info please post back and I will fill you in on more details, right now I have to get the kids to school.

Hi Ladies,
I've had the mirena in for about 3 1/2 years. I have in the past recommended it. About 4 months after it was put in, I had no periods and according to my ob/gyn, this was absolutely normal for the mirena. I loved it, having 4 children, who has time for a period. I have always struggled with my weight and I've always been able to control it, but recently within the last year it has gone way up. I started exercising my butt off and dieting, I'm finding very difficult to lose weight. Only losing an pound or two just to gain it plus two the following month. I am 39 years old and my GP keeps telling me that once I hit 40, it would be more difficult for me to lose weight. Out of pure desperation, last Friday, I decided to look up the side effects of the mirena . (Cuz you know my ob/gyn said "there wasn't any side effects except the initial cramping. and absolutely no weight gain like the pill.") I would of never thought that it had so many side effects! ... And I've experienced almost everyone. I blew off most of my symptoms due to high blood pressure, which runs in my family, and the stresses of work, two teenagers, a 5 yr old and a 4year old. I would say if I had to pin point when the symptom started, it would be about 2 years ago. All those years of insomnia, anxiety attacks, dizziness, head aches, bloating, weight gain and yes even depression, that I was prescribe prozac for, could be due to the mirena. I immediately made a doctors appointment to get in removed. Well, that was this Monday and the Nurse Practioner couldn't find the strings. Two ultrasounds later, I still have it in and am waiting the "what are they going to do now, and my next appointment this Friday." I Just want this thing out and wish I never got it in the first place!!"

Hi everyone, I just came upon all this yesterday and can't believe it! I have been thinking I am going crazy and have been going down a shame spiral! I have had the Mirena for about a year after the birth of my twins. When I first got the Mirena I really didn't seem to like it...I had weird bleeding, cramping, headaches but my doctor told me there were really no side effects except for the on and off again bleeding so I didn't think much of it. Soon, I started having heart palpitations and weird panicky feelings when I would be out places which I have never had before. I wrote it all off due to the rough twin pregnancy and moved on. Soon, I really started worrying something was wrong with me because of all these weird things, the headaches and heart palpitations and panicky feelings, also I started feeling foggy like I was walking around feeling out of it and sometimes a little dizzy or something just having weird head feelings. We always had in the back of our minds that it could be the Mirena but never really took action. Just for the past couple of months things have gotten much worse. Those panicky feelings really got worse and combined with anxiety and sad and crazy depression thoughts and feelings. I also have been feeling this weird nervousness.....even in my quietest moments of my day. This is so out of my normal character and I feel like I can't even remember what I used to feel like. I have been to my PCP who gave me medication for anxiety and have had a hard time adjusting because I just can't believe all of this craziness and I just keep thinking is the problem really my IUD? Then my mom came upon this because she just felt that me feeling this way is just to weird and I feel like I relate to all of your stories! I have truly been feeling like I am going crazy...and I have never felt this way before...ever. I called my doctor yesterday to talk with her and I am going to have this removed...although I am a little nervous about the after effects. I just keep thinking a year ago I was fine.. and now look at me...I am on anti-depressants...how did this happen?? I know that I have stress but there is no reason for me to be feeling this way. I would love to hear about anyone else who felt this way and got the IUD removed and how that went. I know that I probably won't feel better right away...but I am hoping with time I can forget all of this and move on.

Hi ladies, i have had mirena coil since august 2003 and was supposed to have it removed august 2008. Due to a crap childhood i don't like anyone coming near me and my doc will not let me get it removed under general anaesthetic, but i so want to get it removed.
I have had the same problems, weight gain, depression (which doc gave me prozac for, and still taking), pains in the stomach, hair loss, mood swings (felt really sorry for the person on the other end of them), stringy brown blood (old blood),poor concentration, really bad memory and so on.
I put all my problems down to an under active thyroid which i do have, because some of the symptoms are the same. I am so glad i found this site and to know i am not the only one.
For anyone reading this site and considering having a Mirena coil fitted, i strongly suggest you think about it long and hard, i know some people have no problems at all and think it's the best thing since sliced bread, they are the extremely lucky ones.
Good luck everyone

Hello All,

I have had the Mirena since July 2007, and I have in fact experienced some of the side effects mention by other posters. Severe depression, inability to focus, mood swings, irregular bleeding and don't forget the VAGINAL DISCHARGE AND FOUL ODOR - Argh! My doctor recently prescribed Prozac for the depression but I opted not to take it and instead prayed for some relief and then I realized that I was fine, except for heavy periods - before the Mirena and then I researched it and found this site and read the other post. I immediately felt better and made the decision then to have it removed..so I am scheduled to have it removed this week!!!! I thank God for coming across this site.

I just had mirena inserted about a week ago....i don't have any kids and was told it's easier and less painful if you've had kids....the first day was horrible....nearly fainted after they put it in,had horrible cramping, over the next few days the cramps continued...i have prescription pain killers for cramps that did not work....still getting cramps and now, i am extremely extremely tired. It doesn't say that mirena causes tiredness....has anyone else experienced this tiredness...i fall asleep at the snap of a finger...

MY STORY

My Mirena was removed on 29th May 2008.

I had the Mirena put in four years ago,I had terrible pain the day after, it was that bad I was going to go to the hospital Emergency to get the thing out but I put up(the worst thing I done in my life, Im paying for it now) with it and it and the pain got a bit better,had a lot of bleeding (spotting) for the first six months and then it finally went away. For the first year I thought Mirena was Great but then the problems started.I started to gain a lot of weight,facial hair,Very sore breasts, I also had a lump removed from my left breast a couple of years ago, but I didn't know until recently that it was most likely caused by Mirena. Some of the other problems I had, My stomach bloated, I look like I'm six months pregnant ,I have a cyst on my left ovary,dry skin,acne,strange depression,headaches,and the Worst of all I had to have my Thyroids REMOVED on 1st Nov 2006 and I'm pretty sure that was caused by Mirena as well, so now I have to take thyroid Medication for the rest of my life,I had the Mirena removed as soon as I done some searching on the internet for my unexplained medical problems, mainly my weight as I had weighed about the same my whole adult life and now I had put on a few stone and now I have to try and lose it,as for my thyroid I have trouble getting the Meds right its a real pain,blood tests all the time.I just don't feel I have much left in my life,depressed,sick all the time. I eat well as I have high cholesterol so its not that I over ate,I noticed you do feel a lot more like eating sweet things. I found a site called ****** and found out there are thousands of woman,girls with the same problems as myself and that there is a class action law suit going on to Sue. Its worth having a look at this site it helped me a lot.I feel so bad I don't go out anymore I don't see friends or family I'm to depressed about my weight now. I am in the process of trying to find out if there is a Class Action Law Suit in Australia.If anyone knows of a Class Action in Australia could they Please let me know. After having the Mirena removed about 6 weeks ago I thought I was doing ok only a bit of spotting,but about 3 weeks after having it removed I got my period and the pain was unbearable,I was in agony stomach cramps and I bleed so much I thought I was going to die from blood loss,also the scariest was the huge blood clots,very scary,must of been four years of period in 1 week I couldn't believe how bad it was, I felt really sick and weak,but thank goodness its eased off now after a week. I just hope now I might slowly start and feel like my old self. Im also on medication for heart palpitations,I get Heart palpitations (SVT) a few times a week,I had my heart palpitations just after my thyroid removal op and was put on ecg and my heart rate was 176 Beats per Minute I was rushed to Intensive Care and I had to have an injection called Impending Doom (It makes you feel you are going to die) to slow my heart rate,it worked and I was kept in intensive car for 3 days,very scary thing to go through I hope I never have to go through that again,my heart palpitations got worse while I was on Mirena and now I also take Magnesium to help control them as well as Metoprolol which I have been on for some years and I recently read that if you are on Mirena it increases the side effects of Metoprolol.

So if you have had any bad experiences with Mirena please let us know,it will help others with their problems, hopefully. I just wish I never got Mirena and my advice is DON'T its not Worth the risk,if the Doctors had of told me about the BAD side effects I would NEVER of had it put in. Sorry about going on so long, Good Luck to you all,

Thanks Net.

google mirena-side-effects.****** (a mirena help,info site)

UPDATE

I have had it out nearly 3 months now my painful breasts feel normal again,I haven't lost any weight yet, but will soon hopefully,I do feel a lot better but still get some of the symptoms back just before my period.

I get sooo mad when i think of what Mirena done to me and all the other women and how bad some of their side effects have been. I get mad when i read some of the other ladies stories and the terrible things they have gone through ,

Perforations,Miscarriages,IUD's lost in their body,

Hystorectomy,and the rest. I want to wish them all the best, and we WILL get Better and Bayer ,Mirena will PAY some day for what they have done to US..

I'm so glad I found this site. I've had my Mirena for only 5 months, but since then I've had horrible depression (very severe), hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, headaches, complete loss of any pleasure in anything, no sex drive AT ALL. I'm making an appointment on Monday to have this removed. I've been seeing a psychiatrist for a few months and being treated with antidepressants and Ativan for anxiety and Prozac for the week before my period for severe PMDD. I never had these issues before. Oh my God. I hope the Mirena is causing it. The idea that I could be 'normal' again is giving me so much hope.

Monthly wicked migraines, right before period starts. Sometimes lasting on and off for 2 1/2 days. I had one so bad I had to go to the ER. I've never had problems with migraines before in my whole life. A few were very bad and makes me not want to do anything all day. I went to the neurologist just to get a pain medication for this.

Also was diagnosed with allergies last summer because I had 2 bad sinus infections.

Recently I have started to have acid reflux every night and now sometimes in the mornings. This sucks!! I am getting this removed.

I did several internet searches over the past several months and all these symptoms are caused by progestin (levonogestrol). This is not worth it.

I've had this thing in for over a year now, but all these symptoms appeared after getting this thing in.

Ive also been very moody around the time of the month, super irritable and bitchy.

My gyne suggested to take another drug to counteract, (basically prozac with another name) but that's like taking speed to counteract a downer. No thanks!!!!!!!!!!

I got this thing put in because of heavy periods, but it is totally NOT WORTH IT!! My health has suffered because of this.

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.

Here is my Mirena Story.

I was 6 weeks post partum....I had mirena inserted...it was very painful and I was not warned about that.
About a week later I noticed yellowing in the whites of my eyes which I thought could be coming from a iron def. since I just gave birth. So I made sure I was eating well and taking vitamins. I also had severe itching at night especially on my ankles and legs. Oh and sex drive was gone. It was fine the 6 weeks after birth but as soon as mirena was in it was gone!!! I went to the doctor about a month after insertion and asked to have it removed, of course my doc said it couldn't be iud causing my problems...come back in a month...So I did....within this month I started having severe anxiety, insomnia and panic attacks, to the point were I actually thought I was loosing my mind. Of course again the doc told me that it wasn't iud and prescribed me an antidepressant which I reluctantly excepted. I'm not depressed...my life was perfect before mirena!!! I finally went back for the third time and decided I wasn't leaving until somebody took this thing out of me!

Here is a list of other side effects that I had/still have!!

acne
migraines
extreme lower back pain
numbness and tingling in hands and feet
vision problems
fogginess
An ADHD type feeling
inability to focus or concentrate
extreme fatigue
feeling of throat closing up
heart racing and palpitations
night sweats
sinusitus
dizziness and light headiness
headache

The problem here is that the doctors don't even know how extreme these side effects can be and they keep telling us that it's not the mirena. PLEASE trust your instinct.....I wanted to trust my doctor but I knew in my heart what was causing my problems...I am only 1 week post mirena and I am still having a lot of my problems but I can tell a difference. DON'T LET IT GET OUT OF HAND....TAKE IT OUT!!!!

DON'T GET MIRENA...IT MAY WORK WELL FOR SOME...BUT IN MY OPINION IT IS NOT WORTH THE CHANCE THAT THESE HORRIBLE SIDE EFFECTS COULD HAPPEN.....HAD I BEEN INFORMED PROPERLY I WOULD HAVE NEVER HAD MIRENA INSERTED!!

Good Luck Ladies!!

I had the Mirena put in in Feb 07 and while at first it was all great and a great thought of not having to take a daily pill and such a good form of bc I thought why not? I have adenomiosis which is in the inner lining of the uterus (like endometriosis but inside instead of outside) which causes many issues like extra pain/cramping, my body bloating even more during ovulation, and then irritating all of the other organs in there since the uterus is irritated which leads to more swelling and discomfort, as well as pain during intercourse. This was prior to my last pregnancy which was in May 06. I've been pregnant 6 times and have 4 children. We aren't in a position to have anymore right now. Since Oct/Nov 07 I have begun gaining weight - mainly at the times I am probably 'ovulating' and the bloat can last about 3 weeks out of the month - I'm talking 15+ pounds. Mood swings out that wazoo and pain during intercourse which I think is what has led to my very low sex drive. Also, and I don't know where this is coming from or if there is any normalcy to it, but my breasts are leaking (I haven't breastfed since Dec 06). My GP put me on Prozac and I tried them but didn't find myself any better, just more tired. Now I'm taking some vitamins, but don't know what else to do. I had an ultrasound last week that showed all is fine and that the Mirena is in its right position. I re-meet with my Ob/Gyn the 19th to see where to go next. This sucks.

I had my first Mirena coil fitted about 10 years ago and though it had been fantastic. No worries about getting pregnant and no periods. I had take the pill before and had ovarian cysts removed so I couldn't use the pill. However, my second Mirena only lasted 31/2 years before I notice problems. I had a new one fitted and it had been ok for 3 years. Or so I thought. 18 months ago I became very ill with chronic fatigue, sickness, severe depression for which I was prescribed Prozac and then I developed Irritable bowel syndrome. I felt like I was going nuts. Nobdy believed how I felt. My job is at risk. I had a new mirena fitted a few months ago and the problems had eased although I feel that they are now getting worse again. I am considering having it removed. I hadn't made the link between the Mirena coil and my illness until recently. I have also gained a considerable amount of weight but I also had this when I was on the pill. Has any one had problems after using the Mirena for a number of years? as most people seem to have trouble straight away.

SORRY FOR MY 'BROKEN ENGLISH", BUT I HAVE TO SAY THAT I AM LEARNING MORE AND MORE AND I REGRET THE DAY THAT I STARTED USING MIRENA. I LOOK LIKE PREGNANT, AND I HAD NO PERIOD FOR 8 MONTHS, BUT LAST MONTH I HAD FOR 10 DAYS!!!MOODY, VERY DEPRESSED AND MY MILK BECAME POOR. TODAY BY A NUTRICIONIST, I LEARNED THAT IS RELATED WITH THE MIRENA, SINCE SHE SAID LOTS OF WOMEN THAT NEVER HAD PROBLEMS BEFORE, COMPLAIN ABOUT NOT HAVING THE SAME SUPPLY. MY HAIR IS WAY THINNER. I MADE A APPOINTMENT WITH MY O.B. TO REMOVE LAST MONTH AND HE PRESCRIBED ME PROZAC, AND SAID THAT WAS NOT RELATED W/ THE IUD. I FEEL BETRAID(?) I WILL GO BACK AND HAVE IT REMOVE IT. I HOPE THIS CAN HELP TO THINK TWICE OR MORE BEFORE GETTING ONE.

Amber here again...

Today is week 5 since Mirena was removed. Last week I had my first period, super duper heavy but only for a couple of days and then it was normal. In entirety the period lasted 5 days which is exactly what I used to be like, so that's a good sign. 1 day after my period ended: All I can think about is how cute and adorable my husband is and I just want to ravage his body. This coming finally after 18 months of being annoyed with him and repulsed by his touch. It is the most bizarre thing I've ever seen.

Last night I was watching Rock of Love and he was making out with this chick and I'm like drooling. Normally I am sicked out by anyone making out on TV, I cringe and think "come on do you have to show that crap on national TV, bleccck".
When I get into bed all I want to do is carress and touch my husband - he is loving it! He says "this is how you used to be!"

By the way, when my period was so heavy I got dizzy and called my doctor, concerned. I also asked about weaning off the Prozac. She told me to stay on it for awhile because "your hormones will be going crazy".

OH REALLY?!! I thought there was NO POSSIBLE WAY that the Mirena causes any hormonal or other side effects?!! So why would getting it removed have any effect whatsoever on my hormones to where it specifically warrants staying on a freakin' anti-depressant medication?

LIARS.

I'm glad all these doctors think they know 100% what a drug does to every person under the sun, especially since none of THEM have ever had the evil thing in their f-ing uterus. How do they sleep at night? Knowing that they purposefully lie to people every day just so they can get bonuses for pushing this drug. B*stards. Her stating that validated everything in my mind and I immediately went to the FDA website and reported this drug as being harmful.

I had the Mirena coil removed a week and a half ago and let me tell you I have had the worst week ever!!
My reasons for getting it removed were the same as most people, very bad mood swings,always snapping at my boyfriend, depression, always bleeding, severe stomach cramps all the time, anxiety, hair loss, low libido and the list goes on... I never had any of this before the mirena.. I never realised the mirena could of been the cause until I decided to google it one day and found thousands of women had the same symptoms, everything then made sense...

I made the appointment to get it removed and immediately started taking Vit B6, Primrose oil and I have ordered 5HTP on the internet cos I cant find it anywhere... day 4 I started getting very bad anxiety and horrible suicidal thoughts, I have always been a happy person and couldnt understand what was happening to me... the whole week at work was a blur and each day was a struggle to get through.. I was continuously crying and I had these horrible thoughts in my mind that wouldnt go away!! it has been a nightmare.. its like they are stuck in my mind and I cant think of anything else but these horrible thoughts! (The weird thing is I had the same thoughts when I had the mirena inserted 2.5 years ago but they werent as bad as now and they eventually went away) I saw my doctor on Thursday morning and explained these problems and she prescribed me valium tablets to take away the anxiety... later that afternoon I had a anxiety attack and landed going back to the doctor because of these horrible suicidal thoughts in my mind... My doctor reffered me to a phyciatrist which I saw yesterday, I have never had to see anyone like this before so it was very scary for me... the shrink I saw said that there was no ways the mirena could be doing this to me.... she gave me more valium for my anxiety and now I have to see a special therapist once a week until these thoughts are cleared from my mind!
I find it very strange that all this started 4 days after my mirena was removed! I know this is all happening because of the mirena, the only thing that is keeping me going is reading everyones posts and knowing that this will go way once my hormones settle, I know im not going crazy even though it feels like I am!!
Every doctor I have spoken to will not agree that the mirena could cause any of these side effects! It makes me so mad that so many women are going through this and the doctors think the Mirena is the best thing since slice bread! How can they have no idea!!??
If anyone is thinking of getting the mirena.. DONT DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Amber here again... today is week 4 since having Mirena removed. Yesterday I started my first period (yay!). Although, I recommend stocking up on "super" feminine products. I've always had a light flow, so I get regular tampons and use maybe 1 per day. That assumption was a mistake. I've gone through 4? 5? I've lost count, and ruined a pair of underwear. I finally wised up and put on a panty liner (just in case).

My skin is silky soft.. no more big weird boils on my back, chest and face (that would never pop, they just sat there and festered). The B.O and vaginal odor (both caused by constant and excessive sweating) is GONE. I even go on hour long bike rides and I still smell like deoderant. It's totally amazing.
My 4 month pregnant tummy went down the first night of having Mirena removed and I had my shape back, even if I am heavier. I can actually feel my stomach muscles again. Thank God.
I haven't lost any weight, I haven't tried quite frankly.
I've noticed some increase in sex drive, although not huge yet. Sex doesn't seem disgusting anymore. That's a plus.
I can't comment on mood swings, because I've been on Prozac for 2.5 months and you can't just stop taking it. I am planning on weaning, but I heard you get a Mirena Crash so I have been continueing for now.
Let me just say that before I went on the prozac I experienced depression I'd never felt before, especially during PMS... I have never ever felt that in my life it was the most bizarre thing.
My sex drive is probably also effected by the Prozac.
Most people have said they felt like they were in a 'fog' while they had the Mirena in. I've noticed increased spaciness since having it removed. I frequently walk into a room and forget why I went there. This happens to everyone I'm sure, and myself even, but not ALL the time.
I had Mirena from Sept 2006 until March 2008.
I didn't start experiencing such awful side effects until Sept 2007 (a year into it). Altho, I DID gain 20 lbs by the year mark. And all in my gut.

Anyway hope this helps.

Amber

Wow ladies!! First off, thank you, all of you, for taking the time to share your stories.

I had my Mirena inserted mid March 2008. It is April 3rd today, and so far I'm not a fan.

Insertion was easy. I barely felt anything. Minor cramping afterwards, some spotting. The worst part was the black gritty sand like discharge. (previous poster compared it to coffee grounds) Every time I sat down or stood up I could feel the grit rubbing inside me. It was the most AWFUL feeling in the world.

I have been spotting every single day since insertion. I did have a full period (started a few days before Easter) and it lasted about a week and a half. It was moderate to heavy. I did have more than usual cramping for me. And with every cramp I felt a sharp stab in my uterus. I imagined it was my uterus pressing down on the IUD. It was very uncomfortable. Now my "period" is over and I am still spotting! Its strange though. My discharge is clear, but with streaks of purpleish/brown blood. Its not typical spotting. But i've ruined one too many pairs of good underwear so its starting to get on my nerves!!!! I thought this was supposed to STOP bleeding. I've bleed every day in some shape or form.

My one month checkup is on the 10th. I am going to express my concerns with my doctor, but I know she'll blow me off like everyone else. I am getting a lot of pressure from my husband to keep it, despite the side effects. We already have 4 children, and dont want any more for a few more years.

Other side effects I am experiencing that I can only assume are from the Mirena (they might not be, but I cant explain them any other way):

- I feel stupid! Im spacey, i cant think straight. Very forgetful. Simple jokes go over my head.
- my vision is wacky. I feel like im staring through a haze. I have a hard time focusing on objects or fine print. I have never had a vision problem before!
- i feel weak and woozy occasionally.
- extra crampy. and often feel pings and pangs in my uterus.
- increased thirst
- slight paranoia. I actually feel like all my friends are mad at me, when i know they arent.
- I sweat at night.
- moody.
- my nails are all dry and splitting. I normally have very healthy nails
- a general feeling of laziness. It takes a ton of motivation to get up sometimes. I have 4 kids and I work full time...I'm not a lazy person! I cant be! So this feeling is very frustrating!
- I'd rather sleep than have sex. which for me is abnormal. I am more of a hornball than my husband usually. hahaha

wow this list is longer than I thought!!

I'm going to give this thing more time. But so far I am not a fan. I know it works for some women....but these things were not in the little pamphlet they pass out! I guess if they were no one would get this thing!

Thanks for listening!

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.

I posted last weekend about my side effects with Mirena. To refresh everyone on the facts, I've had it since Sept 2006. I tried to have it removed in December but my doc wouldnt do it. She said it was extremely rare to suffer from depression due to Mirena. She put me on Prozac which has helped immensely. I have changed my diet and exercise and I can't lose weight and its all belly fat, I look 6 mo. pregnant if I dont hold my tummy in. I've never had a problem losing weight when I try. I had a feeling it was hormonal so I googled Mirena Side Effects and it brought me here. After reading all of your posts I decided it definately wasn't "rare" like my doc said and it wasn't just ME being crazy.
I went in today (to a different doc) to have my Mirena removed. The doctor flat out told me she would not remove my Mirena unless I wanted to get pregnant.
She said there was 100% no possible way that the Mirena would cause any of these side effects (sweat, fat, depression are the big ones). She drilled me on my diet, exercise and personal life to try and shoot down my symptoms. I told her my life is GREAT, and my diet/exercise is GREAT. She told me "You need 5-7 servings of produce, not 4" I said "I doubt 1 more serving of produce is going to magically make this GUT go away".
I also told her I have NEVER suffered from depression, and the Prozac helps but I shouldn't have to be on medication.
In any case, she still insisted that there was no possible way the Mirena was responsible for these things, because it doesn't go into your blood stream, yadda yadda.
She finally took it out anyway, I wasn't leaving with that demon still inside me!

I'll update everyone in a few weeks as to how I am feeling. I'm wondering how to ween off these meds... I don't really want to have to go into the doc and have her tell me I'm not allowed to. So frustrating!

I would like to add that when I went to talk to my doctor, she told me that my depression was very rare and has only happened in 2 instances that she's known of in her entire practice. She made me feel like I was just making it up or must be mistaken. My family has a history of depression so she just prescribed me Prozac in the first 5 minutes, after taking one look at my chart. But I have never ever been depressed until recently. Anyway, I find it rather infuriating that there are post and post after post here regarding depression and the Mirena, I think she is full of IT! Why don't our doctors TELL us about all this? Certainly they are aware??!!

I can't figure out how come I can't lose any weight when I am exercising like a madwoman and making a huge effort to eat properly. My stomach seems to get BIGGER and BIGGER.. no matter what I do. I look pregnant!!! Nothing is comfortable except sweat pants. I've never had a problem losing weight in the past and I'm only 27 so I don't think its metabolism yet. I finally wondered if it was from my Mirena but I don't remember that being a side effect, so I googled 'side effects' and it brought me here. Now I definitely think it's from Mirena.

I also have had HORRIBLE depression and no energy, as if 24/7 PMS (except worse than PMS) and when I AM having real PMS it is absolutely crippling. I spoke with my doctor and she just put me on Prozac. The Prozac makes it go away... but I always thought it was strange to go on another medication instead of fixing the problem.

I've had the Mirena since September 2006 which is strangely enough right when I started gaining weight. I always thought it was because I also lost my job and was sitting around at home more often...

I didn't notice the depression being really bad until about a year into it... But looking back I do recognize some more than usual moodiness all along.
I was broken out a lot more on my face and back.. but I control that by using expensive skincare products. Luckily I live in a dry climate and I have dry skin so it is fairly easy to control.
I HAVE NO SEX DRIVE and I haven't in a long time. Sometimes being touched makes my skin actually crawl.
I sweat a lot more, I can't seem to keep from having B.O no matter how much deodorant I slather on. I took a shower last night at 5pm and woke up with B.O already. I've never had that problem before going on Mirena.

I have experienced nausea lately but it comes and goes.. and I figured it was the Prozac as that is listed as a side effect and it started right after I began that medication. So I'm not sure if that's from the Mirena or the Prozac.
I don't have stomach pains or dizziness or weird vision.

After reading this site I am definitely scheduling to have my IUD removed.

I've had my Mirena for about 15 and a half months and I am having it removed today at 2 o'clock. At first I had sharp pains when I would sit down and I felt like the cords were poking me and irritating me. My OB/GYN requires patients to come back one month after having it put in so he can check it and make sure it is still in place. At this visit he also trimmed the cords although he acted like he didn't believe me when I told him that I could feel them poking me when I sat down and that it hurt. At first I didn't notice any bad side effects, but I did have one good one: my periods stopped, but I still had occasional and sporadic spotting. I didn't think to look for any bad side effects because I got the device under the impression that it had no bad side effects. I thought it only had a rare complication of perforating the uterus, but since mine was in place at the one month check, I didn't think about anymore until I started thinking about having another baby recently. I went online to see if I had to have a doctor remove the Mirena or if I could do it myself, and I found out that it's best done by a professional because bad things can happen and then you'd have to go to the doctor anyway. Plus, I didn't want to hurt my chances of having another baby. While online I discovered this whole world of message boards where women were having a lot of the same problems I'd been having in recent months and they all blamed their Mirenas. Some claimed that their problems had gone away since having it removed. I never thought to link my circumstances to the Mirena, but when I saw how many women are having the exact same problems as me I knew that I needed to go ahead and get mine out ASAP. Here is a list of my side effects, and I've found other women have had them as well with Mirena: weight gain, bloated stomach, depression, short temper with husband and daughter, acne, low sex drive, spotting, cramps, constipation, and back pain. There may be more, but I can't remember them all right now. Some of them may not even be related to the device, but I've read of so many women with Mirena who are having or have had the same issues, so I suspect a link between my problems and Mirena. I hope this helps someone out there looking for answers. God Bless!

I had the Mirena put in place in August of this year. I had it put in to help with heavy bleeding and in that aspect it has worked. However, the cramping is unbearable. I now have prescriptions for Naproxen, Motrin 800 and Darvocet. Prior to the Mirena I had not experienced cramping other than slight cramps during my cycle that 2 Advil would take care of. Now the Darvocet don't even work. I experience cramping 24/7, sometimes light cramping other times sweating with intense pain. My doctor keeps saying it is not the Mirena, maybe it is endometriosis (sp?) and wants to do surgery to see. Also since having the Mirena put in my hormones are going crazy. I have gone from Ms. Ice Cube always carrying a sweater with her to don't touch me or sit by me because I am so hot. Night sweats are horrible, I wake up every morning with my hair and bed sheets soaking wet. I am now on Prozac for depression. I am not crazy, all of these things started after the Mirena was put in. Also I have noticed in many of the other post people complain of cramping in their right side, my pain is on the right side. Why is that? What does the right side have to do with the Mirena?

Thank you to all of your courageous women who have posted your experiences with Mirena. I'm so glad to know that I'm not alone.
I've had my Mirena IUD since September 2002 (5 years) and it's been a nightmare.
I've experienced extreme mood swings as many of you have mentioned. I don't even like who I am anymore. I didn't gain much weight but I have severe cramping, spotting for weeks at a time and the worst temper tantrums. My sex drive increased (ten fold) but was painful at times due to Mirena. My partner could feel the strings and I had to go back to the doctor to have them cut. Now he only feels them in certain positions. If he even comes close to my cervix - it's the worst pain and brings on cramping (again). I went to my obgyn but was told that as we age our hormone levels drop severely and that's why I have mood swings. She recommended that I take prozac to help me cope. She denied that it had anything to do with the IUD. I thought I was going crazy - I have all of you to thank for helping me understand that it's not in my mind - it's in my cervix.
I'm having it removed later this month but fear for what other options are available to women for birth control.