Mirena and tiredness

Well I had my mirena inserted in 5/08 and I went to doctor today for my yearly exam and to get it removed because of depression, hair loss, tiredness, joint ach and headaches all of that stuff. So while when he went to do my pap he was looking for the strings and he couldn't find them and he couldn't feel them either so he asked me if it fell out and I said not that I know of so now I have a lost mirena somewhere. So he said he would start the process to have it removed and I told he had to find it first. It was all I could do not to cry but I just have to laugh cause crying is bad I will see what happens

Im glad i found this site!! I had my mirena inserted June 19, 2008. Its my first time to use contraceptives, and i choose Mirena, at first i was in doubt, but i said, im gonna give it a try, so i did. Im 31 years old, had a baby boy last March 3, 2008. The insertion was ok i don't have any problem.
Then my period came....usually my period last 4 days or so...some of the side effects of mirena is spotting ..so i thought 1 week the most..my period last almost 7 weeks and smells like a rusty metal, it wasn't heavy bleeding but light bleeding, sometimes it gets dark brown, like its going away, then become light red again, on and off, it was

Hi Ladies,

I had mine fitted may 06, i had heavy BLEEDING ND CRAMPING and no other contraception was suiting my body, so i got Mirena. Yes it helped to a certain extent. Later that year, i was still having some lil health issues, turned out i had some food allergies, too much estrogen and no real progesterone and thyroid problem. So this helped. My doctor put me on a natural progesterone cream, which was great, my skin started clearing up and my bleeding started getting some regularity, as i was pretty much bleeding every 2 weeks.

My health this year has gotten worse, excess Odema, acne, tiredness, mood swings, no sex drive, nausea which has always been contant, swelling around my belly etc. I feel horrible, now i also have adrenal fatigue however, I have given lots of thought and am going to get the Mirena removed. My weight is just going up, and all i want to do is be healthy, i exercise and eat well about 80%, so i am hoping that with this being removed, my doc said then i can go back onto my progesterone cream and help regulate my cycle. And also the lack of cycle, constant cramping, then a i get heavy or the odd light cycle. I just want to be happy.

Let me know if anyone else is feeling this way. And with having it removed, how i might feel.
By the way, i am 26 years old, and have no children as yet

xx

Sarah

Few days ago I posted how awful I felt ....an extreme tiredness and generally feeling rotton!Had a good cry too!Well today I have my period well brown smelly(sorry Girls)discharge.Im presuming its my period ...I don't really know as I get spotting on and off and don't make note of the dates.Im thinking its only been 3 weeks since my last though!!!Im in good form now although still feel bloated.Im presuming it was pmt I had??????
Ive never suffered with that before ,even when on the pill for 8 years.
I was 100% getting it removed earlier this week but now Im thinking Ill keep a diary and after a couple of months decide.....
Although...gut instinct ....get it out!!
Now Im thinking why has this discharge got an odour....I don't have symptoms of thrush...and I have only one sexual partner,my husband!Gee....im still confused...yes confusion might be another side effect....Oh NO!!!!

Hi - I am stunned at all the awful experiences that users of the Mirena are describing on this and other websites!
I had mine removed 5 days ago - principally because my hair was falling out in worringly large amounts. I wasn't sure it was the Mirena, but decided to get it taken out anyway as I had experienced pretty constant bleeding since having it fitted in March. It was only after having it removed that I checked the internet, and have realized since that I have been suffering from other symptoms that I had not realized could be related to the Mirena. Apart from the hair loss, I have experienced a terrible foggy and tired feeling, dizziness, sore and swollen eyelids, strange spots around my hairline, one sore breast (!), a feeling that I couldn't be bothered with things - including my children, dry skin patches on my face and grumpiness. However, as a working mum of 2, with a husband who is away quite a lot, I had just put this down to a busy life where I don't have time for myself always. Now I think it was the Mirena!
Having had it removed, I can feel the fog lifting, though not the tiredness. I have experienced heavy bleeding and blood clots - now subsiding, but feel more cheerful. My hair loss, however, is seemingly getting worse...has anyone else had a similar experience please? Any advice on how to deal with this and how long it might take to stop would be greatly appreciated!

I never put two and two together... but starting thinking that my mirena's hormones may be causing my issues. I had the mirena inserted a yr ago when I had the copper IUD removed. I told my OB/GYN that I was scared of the pill after trying it in college. Hormone-based birth control doesn't seem to work well for my family. She said it was a tiny dose and wouldn't get in the bloodstream so I shouldn't see side effects. HOWEVER, over the last year I have struggled with my weight. I have always been reallllly lucky. I am 5'8 and weigh about 135 without trying too hard. I have a high metabolism. But, I've started to feel pudgy last few months so have really tightened up my diet. I thought it was because I am getting older (29)...

As far as exercise, I used to be very active (mini-triathlons, 5Ks, sports etc.) but haven't felt like working out this year. Just can't get motivated. Today I was working with a personal trainer. We checked my records from January and I have gained 7 lbs!!! This is after I have really firmed up my diet. I have stopped eating carbs at night and trying to not eat after 7ish. In the past, this would really help my body look its best after a week or two. But, these last few months hasn't seemed to help me at all... Maybe it's the MIRENA?!

In addition, my cycle is about 7 days lator than it used to be. However, I still have the PMS symptoms I used to the week before my period but now they last forever! They start on the 20th and last until my period starts on the 7th!!! I get so irritable with my 5 yr old its ridiculous. It's not fair to her or my husband. I just wanted to share, that even with an athletic body type and a ridiculously high metabolism I am struggling. 2 yrs. ago I could eat 2300 calories w/out exercise, 2500 or more if working out that day. I used to eat as much as my 6'2 husband.

Why do I think I landed here, I have been having very bad mood swings mostly relating to anger and dissatisfaction in everything and everybody. Put the mirena in April 2008, braved it out for 4 months with the
1. spotting and all the time kept thinking that my
2. fatigue and no interest in everything was due the stress of having 2 kids, work and the pregnancy weight that I have to shed.
3. I am hungry always (maybe since I am breast feeding the baby)
I had a copper IUD between my first and second son,
4. I don't remember how that was ( am I in a mental fog?). must have been better than this one. I never wanted anything hormonal. I don't want pills. Dont even know why I went with this then. I know the doctor convinced me saying it has very little hormonal effects

Yesterday, I just lost myself over a silly issue, now I feel I am going to lose my wonderful relationships with people. My 3 yr old asks me If I am not angry any more uh!!!. Why cant I call the doctor to get it removed when I doubt it could be the IUD.
5.I am lazy( another symptom).

Do I have to wait a little longer or take it out and maybe get my self back.?
(What a question to an obvious answer)
Confused!!! lazy!!

I had Mirena inserted after the birth of my 2nd daughter - November 07. Things were going ok (at least that was what I thought) until about two months ago. I really did not think about the Mirena much. Maybe that was because my sex drive has been soooo gone that I have only used the benefit of the Mirena about 3 times. The problems I guess really started when my period disappeared. That happened 3 months after I got in inserted. I thought that was going to be great because my periods usually last 7 days from start to fully finished. But with this thing, I did not bleed but I definitely was still having a period. Bach aches, mood swings, headaches, bloating, etc. I started to think something was really wrong when I got a headache that lasted about a week, and I don't normally get headaches that last longer than a few hours. I could not figure out what was wrong with me. I even went to the emergency room to have them tell me that there was nothing wrong and it was probably just stress. I started to think that maybe it is the Mirena. I started doing searches on the adverse side effects of the Mirena and thank God I found you guys. I have most of the symptoms described here and other Mirena side effect pages. I will be having this awful thing removed in about two weeks. I don't know what my husband and I are going to do about birth control. We both do not want anymore kids but I am only 28 and do not want to have my tubes tied.
Headaches
Joint Pains
Low Back Pain
Mood Swings
No Sex Drive
Massive weight Gain (I have not lost any of my baby weight plus i put on a few more pounds)
Breasts Double in Size
Fatigue
Dizziness
Depression (low self-esteem)
My feet have even grown (probably because of the weight gain)

I just got my it on the 3rd of july everything is going well but im just really tired like i could just fall out and just take a nap right were i am is that normal the only other time i felt like this was when i was pregnant does it make you feel pregnant

I had the Mirena fitted in April 2005 because of bad pms and heavy periods. I thought it was great at first not to have the periods, and the pms noticeably subsided for a good 18 months. By that stage I'd put about 4 kgs on, which was starting to niggle me. I worked really hard to keep my weight stable. During the next months up till removal 2 weeks ago I experienced aching joints, particularly back and knees, loss of libido, tiredness, the return of the pms symptoms, and acne as bad as I'd had it as a teenager. When I went to see a dermatologist, it was he who pointed out that this was a major side effect of the Mirena, so when I searched on this on the internet, I was amazed how many women had got the same problems as me. I had started thinking that now I'm 42 I must be over the hill or something.
I had it removed 2 weeks ago, and although my weight hasn't changed, I feel lighter on my feet. My back ache has gone, and I feel much more energetic.
I know other women who have the Mirena and have not been affected in the slightest by these negative symptoms. I guess it's just the way your body reacts. Fortunately I didn't need to ask twice to get it removed, since I understand some gyne's seem to reject the connection between the symptoms and the Mirena. Problem is, it's difficult to find a birth control that suits me. I'm definitely leaving the hormones alone in future.

I just got mine inserted Thursday and am having cramps on my right side with a light brown discharge, anxiety, depression, tiredness, mood swings, dizziness with a lack of concentration and all this has taken place since Thursday. The first night I had an anxiety attack and I could feel the Mirena inside me when I would move around. 600mg of ibuprofen and other pain medicine would not even stop the cramping. I could feel it in my sleep and am having problems sleeping because of it. To believe all this was within 24 hours of insertion. Based on my symptoms and other peoples side effects and problems, I am making an emergency appt for tomorrow to have it removed. This product is very expensive and sounds really good on paper, but my current and longterm health is priceless. I just wish I had found this website before mine was inserted. Please don't take anymore chances with your health if you are having problems with Mirena.

I don't know if seeing all these posts help me or scare the crap outta me even more (none the less very helpful), I have no insurance and really want to get my IUD removed. I had it inserted when my daughter was 8 weeks old that was about 11 months ago. I have had nothing but problems, severe cramping, nausea, periods that last a whole month, one month it will be icky brownish discharge with a lil blood here and there, I will stop for about 2 weeks and get it again this time lasting about 3 weeks then i will go about 6 weeks and have it again this time with severe cramping and bleeding for a whole month straight. then i may not have it again for 6 weeks etc... I have really nasty blood clots that look very fleshy. I also have had very thick yellowish stinky discharge everyday i don't have my period ( I have NEVER smelt this bad) I feel like im losing my mind Im so absent minded i forget the simplest things, my arms and legs go numb and tingly, my hair is falling out in clumps, im extremely moody and very impatient. and the tiredness is really starting to bother me, no matter how much i try to stay awake its almost impossible, i literally need to take a nap every 3 hours it seems like just to function...I feel like im falling apart. Has anyone else had a lot of these symptoms? And what should I do about getting it taken out....I don't qualify for Medicaid so I was wondering if i should just go into the hospital the next time the pain gets bad and see if they will remove it any advice will be helpful! And good luck to anyone else going through problems with this IUD.

Like most of you state in your posts.........I cannot begin to describe how relieved I am to have found this site. I honestly thought I was losing my mind. I had Mirena placed in December '06. It was uncomfortable during the actual procedure, but not too bad. Then within a day or two I was in severe pain and bleeding like crazy with severe lower back pain. I was told to take ibuprofen and allow my body to "adjust". I went for my follow-up ultrasound and the placement looked fine although I was still bleeding like crazy and very uncomfortable. After several more calls they brought be back in for another ultrasound, told me that my uterus must have gotten bacteria in it during placement and that I had an infection. They sent me home on antibiotics and pain medicine. I bled pretty regularly for 6 months straight accompanied by lower back pain, fatigue, and headaches. Finally the bleeding let up only to be followed by a multitude of other nasty side effects. Depression, anxiety, fogginess, forgetfulness (severe), waking up with headaches every morning, nausea (to the point that I can't tell you how many pregnancy tests I've taken), weight change (redistribution, thicker waist, tummy, and hips even though actual number only changed by about 5 pounds), feeling swollen and bloated when I wake up in the morning, NO libido whatsoever and feel like crying during sex because it's nearly impossible to reach orgasm (this has never been a problem previously), hair loss (becoming more noticeable over time), dandruff, boil-like acne on my face and back, dry eyes and blurred/double vision, chronic yeast infections and dryness in that area too. The list goes on and on. I went to three different doctors and had tons of bloodwork done, all came back normal (thyroid, hormones etc....) I was told over and over that it couldn't be the Mirena. HA! How can this many women be delusional? I called last week and got an appointment for May 20 to get it removed. After reading this forum my husband called the doctor himself and I don't know what he said, or how he managed to do it.........but I'm going in tomorrow morning at 10:20 am to get it removed and you better believe I'm going in armed with this website and others I've found. Physicians need to be more aware of this! Even if it's not common, it's miserable for the 1 in 1,000 woman who gets the worst of the side effects. It's literally ruining my life and my marriage. It's impossible to be a good wife and mother when you feel terrible everyday.

-Amanda

On mirena for 3 years, and had alot of changes to my body since and only recently considered that they may be all related to the mirena.

migraines
weight gain (around 3 stone)
depression
mood swings
anxiety
very bad memory
acne
lower back pain
tiredness
no sex drive
Irritability

I don't feel like ME anymore, and have let this go on for too long ( my poor family).
Need to feel human again and that life is worth living!!

Have a doctors appointment for tuesday and going to dicuss as to when i can to get an another appointment to get this THING removed! (Hopefully ASAP) My own Doctor can't remove it, unfortunately!

I'm glad I found this site as I thought I was being paranoid! I have had the Mirena fitted for nearly 8 months now and have felt constantly unwell. I have gained weight after losing all my baby weight with #3, and can't shift anything now. I have an almost constant terrible mood and hate being a mother most of the time. I have absolutely no patience with my children or husband and now even hate my WAHM business!

I have just suffered two weeks of flu like symtoms complete with aches and shivvers and it coincidentally stopped the moment my period started. The unbelievable tiredness is still here though. I think I've been living on Ibruprofen for the last couple of weeks which has got to be bad for me.

I also get pregnant really easily and get ill on the pill so didn't feel like I had an option. DH won't get the snip and I'd hate to get pregnant again because I'm tired and feel like the worst mum ever at the moment.

I wish I could have the thing taken out.

I am 38 years old and had Mirena put in on Nov. 26th. The first two months I felt pregnant and was nauseous all the time. That seemed to go away and now I can't stop gaining weight. I am gaining about a pound a week. It is all heading toward my stomach area and it's uncomfortable. I have also begun losing hair, having yeast infections, headaches, acne and pain during sex. I wish I found this site before and wonder if anyone has had similar symptoms and do they go away. I have scheduled to have it removed in 3 weeks. I am afraid to have it removed and feel like should I give it more time. Does anyone have any advice?

I am very thankful that I followed my instincts to go to this website. I have had so many different side effects from the Mirena but, I did not put them all together until today. I am a mother of four children and was at a birthday party when another mother asked me what was I using for birth control. I responded to her and told her that I was using the "Mirena". She went on to tell me that she herself was once using "Mirena" but after losing almost all her hair she got off of it.

So tonight I can relate to many of you with the symptoms of Mood Changes, Tiredness, ******Hair Loss*****, Stomach Bloating, Heart Palpatations, Weight Loss, Headaches, depression, acne, *****Memory Loss*****. And, of course these symptoms are not symptoms that you will see if you do research on the Mireana as I myself have done. This week I am calling my Doctor to have this removed. One positive did come from this (I HAVE NOT GOTTEN PREGNANT) but I am ready to be back to normal with my body again. As another mom stated my husband needs his wife back and my children need their mommy back.

Thank You

I'm 41 and had a Mirena for about two and half years. First six to eight months or so were OK. But then I started getting lumps in my breasts (Dr said it was blocked ducts/cysts, which SHE said was due to the Mirena - damn painful I can tell you so loads of antibiotics for that) Then raised blood pressure - something I've never, ever suffered from - after they put me on a BP monitor they said: Oh, it's within normal ranges - BUT every time I had a check they'd say - oh your blood pressure is up. Then the last straw for me has been (no not the weight gain - though I have that too - oh and the headaches as well) the dizziness - god, god, just so damn awful, dizzy, dizziness, spinning the lot along with tiredness & just feel crap - Dr (again!) says - no, it's not your BP (& it can't possibly be the Mirena - can it?) it's an inner ear thing, he says - yeah right!!! It's the damn Mirena - the whole lot! So, today I had the monster taken out. Thank god.

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!

Wow, this is all pretty scary. I'm 44 and had the Mirena inserted 3 years ago. Man it was so painful. I was warned beforehand though. I am childless and my family Dr. thought it would be best if a GYN did the insert so I choose that route...and there was one in her office. The pain of having that inserted was pretty severe but I've never been in a hospital or even had a broken bone so I just chalked it up to me being a wimp. If I take a step back and think about it, I've been fortunate enough to never have experienced PMS or cramping....I just had hormonal migraines for years. This was my reason for going with the Mirena as per my Dr's suggestion. I was not told to wait until I started my period, just to get the prescription filled and make an appointment. Thankfully I had insurance because that is one expensive puppy.

Aside from the constant cramps (which a friend pointed out were menstrual cramps), I had this incredible pressure in my lower right side. Sort of felt like a ball wedged into my ovary or something. My migraines went away immediately though and for that I was grateful. Then the weight gain hit and I spoke to my Dr. about it and she advised that it had no connection to the Mirena. Next came the lack of energy and tiredness. Again I was told it had nothing to do with the Mirena. By this time I am gaining weight, can't even go for a walk and don't even want to think about sex. I've sprouted facial hair that is very embarrassing and get cranky at the drop of a hat.

After 3 years of having the Mirena I am finally beginning to connect the dots. I spoke to my new family Dr. and asked her if she thought these changes to my body could be related to my IUD...without even knowing what I had, she asked me if it was a Mirena. When I said yes, she ordered up some blood work to see what changes have been occurring to my body. Prior to my getting the Mirena my original Dr. told me that my testosterone level was very high so I must have a good sex drive. Now I don't even want to think about having sex as I am too dry and not interested. I've had to ensure my partner that it is not him or has anything to do with how I feel about him.

I hope once my blood work comes back that I will get some answers to my medical issues. If I have to have this thing out, I hope it is not as painful as it was going in. And, if I have to have it out I hope my migraines don't come back.

I've posted on this site once before when I first had my Mirena fitted back in March 2007 (after the 2nd attempt of having it fitted). Like everyone else I have endless side effects to this, none of which my doctor doesn't think this is the cause, severe acne on my chin jaw line and forehead which itches, severe cramps and stabbing pains in my right side, tiredness, mood swings, always hungry, periods from hell, Joint pains, sickness, and illness ever since I've had it, you name it I've had it with this horrible coil. Well 2 weeks ago I decided that I've given it long enough and it was obvious that it wasn't for me so I went to the doctors to get it removed, she wouldn't take it out though as it was only 6 days ago that I had sex last so advised that I come back again 2 weeks later, well today was the day for me and you know what its like you get all prepared for it, and guess what, the doctor couldn't find the threads, she didn't even trim them at the 6 week check, so now I've got to wait for an appointment to have a scan to find out wear abouts it is !!! Just my luck, I've had nothing but problems since I've had this stupid thing.. so what happens after the scan I don't know.. Has this happened to anyone else??

i have been on mirena now for 3 yrs after having my son, since then i've had depression, insomnia, exessive tiredness, mood swings, but worst of all is no libido...(of course i'm not going to get pregnant if i never want to have sex!)

i think the side effects get worse with time....i'm seriously considering taking it out, the only positive thing i got out of it is that i don't get my periods....

I didn't even relate all these other side effects to my mirena (tiredness, acne, depression, joint & leg pain), so at least I have a clue where all that came from. My biggest problem with the mirena is that at my first checkup, the midwife couldn't find the string, so I had an ultrasound, which did not show it, and then an x-ray which did, but not in my uterus. It's off to the side somewhere, apparently perforated my uterus & travelled to somewhere inside my abdomen, where it is now going to have to be surgically removed, and who knows what other damage it has caused in its travels.

I am so glad I found this site. I chose Mirena because the copper IUD was giving me heavy bleeding , so this appeared to be the great solution.
The bleeding decreased but at the same time other symptoms appeared.
After eight months of visiting doctors of all kinds, taking pills for deppression, and going on never-ending diets, I found a doctor whom I have never seen before, and he looked at the facts from a distance.
It was him who suggested that Mirena could possibly have something to do with my gain loss (22 pounds) , mood changes, hair loss, incredible bloating of my stomach after eating and tiredness.
Reading this experiences only made me more certain to have it removed as soon as possible , hoping to get back to my old self soon.

weight gain, tiredness, bloating, loss of libido