Discovery Home & Health

Oh! Another thing ... I have stayed off the wine since I had it removed last week without thinking twice about a glass. Brilliant!

With the mirena and the mood, especially in the last 6 months, I was drinking at least 1 or 2 glasses a day which sometimes accumulated to a bottle towards the end of the week.

This may also explain the speedy weight loss but at least I am no longer turning alcoholic!

Good day to you.
I am so happy to have found this forum, to find out that for 5 years while the mirena was inseted that the only benefit was saving a few dollars on sanatary pads.

Wow, my side effects were much the same as many of you excessive weight gain... yes I had the thyroid and blood tests too which came back normal like a lot of you have mentioned... so I put it down to an age thing but really in the back of my mind I always suspected the mirena but the Dr's here in Canada also say that mirena does not cause weight gain... I had headaches and backaches and also symptoms that were suspiciouse of being like Multiple Sclerosis... so we will see if these subside now that the mirena is removed. I also felt that I looked pregnant all the time... I had always been a slim woman until after having my last child and having the mirena inserted... I could never loose weight and I always craved chocolate..I am a chocoholic by nature but this was a seriouse I had to have the chocolate as a fix issue and not just one bar either and it was everyday and a lot of days the chocolate replaced my meal. I never had the spots on my face like many of you have mentioned but I was tired all of the time, I mean I had to force myself to do everyday things all the time, it was horrible. I also felt like I could not keep up with housework everything always seemed to be on top of me and I would feel defeated because of the tiredness... sex was non existant on my part, I just was not interested... I did not feel the desire... before the mirena I had to have sex I loved it :-) I still do not have the desire yet so we will see on that one.

Just out of interest after about 5 days after the removal of my mirena, I typed in a search 'mirena removal' and found this forum... why did I not do this sooner to validate all my symptoms...I do not know.

I had my mirena taken out January 8th 2008. It was painless...the strings were non existant so the gyn had to blindly take forceps and pull..on the 2nd try she found the strings and out it came... no real issue with the removal...actually I was nervouse about it because my niece had to have sergery to have hers removed as the mirena had embeded itself inside her, poor girl. For three days after the removal I had very very light spotting, on the fourth day hello period and blood clots... I phoned the gyn office and the clots were normal... I had heavy painless bleeding and the blood was bright red... on 5th day slightly lighter beeding then on the 6th day heavy bleeding again with clots, finally on the 9th day I stopped bleeding altogether, I think I had one day where I had slight cramping but nothing major. My clothes do not feel as tight on me... I am currently wearing a pair of Jeans that I could not ware two weeks ago due to beeing too tight, they are still a bit snug but wearable..lol... I need to loose a lot of weight... the most I ever weighed being my normal weight is between 125- 130lbs I have been between 150-165lbs while on the mirena and could not ever get below that weight, I am 5'1 so quite an unhealthy weight for me. After my first 3 children the weight came off of me just like that, when it came to my 6 week check up I had always lost all the baby weight... after my 4th child this was the first time that I actually agreed to have a contraceptive... I never took the pill before as I would always gain weight and have headaches with them... so I think it is time hubby took a little more responsibility in the contraception area as I am done with it.
I started working out and put myself on a sensible diet a few weeks before the removal of the mirenna by cutting out chocolate (I treat myself once in a while) and other junk and using a product called slim quick... I still eat regularly but not as large a meal... I try not to snack too late in the eveings any more... now please note I did this while on the mirena as well with no results..so we will see what happens.

Thank you all for sharing your stories as I was able to relate to them a lot.

I have not had a crash yet and I hope I do not... what is this 5thp you all speak of?? Right now I am taking multivitimins made for women and extra calcium with added vitamin D. Do I need to take anything else??

Thanks

Fiona

Fiona - 5 HTP is a supplement that you can buy in health food shops (in the UK, not sure if you can buy it elsewhere). It helps neurotransmission in the brain and can help the mood and fatigue symptoms. I have been taking St John's Wort intermittently to combat fatigue. St Johns Wort is an antidepressant when used long term, but in the short term it has a slightly alerting affect which combats fatigue. I find that 3-4 hours after taking one I feel completely energised. I can't take them for too many days consecutively because it makes me too alert and a bit 'high', but it really does work wonders in the short term.

Hi Fiona

5HTP has really helped me it was suggested on other forums but I belive st Johns Wort can be just as effective you have to find out what's best for you.

I spent time on the internet looking at all the natural remedies for the syptoms which I had as I did not want to take anything unnatural after having that thing in me for so long.

As I have said on my other posts I have just finished my first period since removal in November and I was a bit weepy yesterday but I saw this as a positive sign as I used to get this previous to having the mirena so I'm hoping my body is re regulating its self.

I have also started back to the gym which is a great mood improver and the diet is going well and the weight has slowly started to shift.

Mirena has an awful lot to answer for but I'm sure that slowly all of us can get our lives back it does take time. Don't get dis heartened look after your self you deserve it

xx

Thank you for your responce,
I wonder if I really need to take anything else at this point as I am introducing Hoodia into my diet this is a natural hunger supressant.. I am still eating 3 meals plus a couple of healthy snacks a day so I am not starving myself, rather just wanting to curb my junk food craving which had become a really bad habit more than anything else..the cravings were horrendus on the mirenna. I do have the odd chocolate and am conciouse of only buying one treat for myself...

Anyway back to the Hoodia ..it also contains green tea and both together they are supposed to give you energy... based on the fact hoodia will give me energy (hopefully) I will wait it out to see how I am emotionally, too soon to tell yet, so we will see.

I find I do actually have will-power since the mirenna removal..I could not last a day without breaking down and eating junk on the mirenna. I do not know if this is a placebo effect or not.

Thanks again to you all and I will continue my progress so as to help others who might find this forum.

Have a great mirena free day :-)

Day 12. Still no sign of the mood crash and I was dreading it as it was my daughter 9th birthday yesterday, thought I would spend it in bed. but NO! Great.. I even got some 5HTP in anticipation!

I'm still feeling brillant and I really think the Centrum multi vitamins help.

The period I have had since has stopped yesterday but with some serious pain down below. (it could have been due to the ton of popcorn I ate at the pictures with the girls!)

I've not checked my weight this weekend because I have over indulged a little but I will do next week.

My libido is still not quite there and I wonder how long it will take for it to come back. Can anybody relate to that?

Hi all ... just wanted to say I am getting a little nervous. I had two showers of less hair, and was really happy. Today I was back to a lot of hair. Has this happened to anyone else? Kind of back and forth for a while?

I am glad to hear that everyone is doing better ... as for the libido question, I'm not sure on that. I would think it would come back gradually as the hormone fully exits your system.

For those of you taking Hoodia, is it totally safe, heart and brain-wise?

Thanks!
Stacy

Hi
I just got the mirena out on fri 20th so im on day 4 an i have an uber period. I totally crashed out yesterday but im feelin chirper 2day.
Im interseted 2 see if i lose weight as i gained a good stone when i had it in but this could also be down 2 quitting smoking over a year ago.
I definately had mood swings, my partner can vouch 4 that.
I hope i notice a difference. As for other contraceptives il have plenty of time to consider....say 9 months or so.
Wer actually tryin for a baby....lol...so any relief in mood swings will be interrupted by preg hormones unfortunately.
Will keep u posted.
Good luck an mirena free wishes 2 all! xxx

Hi There, I have not had any expierience on loosing any hair at all, poor you to suffer that way.

As far as the hoodia I did not realize there was an issue with the heart or the brain... I am fine so far... full dosage is too much for me I take two instead of the reccomended 3 tablets and it works for me. The Hoodia I take comes with a certificate, and it is made by Slim Quick to go along with the slim quick diet pills made for women... also the hoodia I take has green tea in it and also calcium with added vit D. I am fine on it and I did consult my eye doctor if I can take these products as I suffer from gloucoma he said it was fine as I do not have the type of gloucoma that would be effected.

Also today I was talking to one of the nurses and she asked how I was doing on the slim quick..too soon to comment either way... but she said the best diet for her is called the "South Beach Diet", just do a search on it... I do not know either way but you can check it out and see what you think.

Take care and let me know if you know more about hoodia and the heart or brain being effected.

Thanks

Fiona

Hi, really glad i've found this forum. Had my first Mirena fitted Dec 2003 after having my first child, had it removed to try for baby number 2 in Feb 2005, and was pregnant 6 wks later!! Had my 2nd Mirena fitted April 2006, had no adverse symtoms except no libido, until March 2007, when I experienced my hair thinning in a patch on the top of my head, the loss last a couple of months and then luckily grew back. Was very relieved!! Anyway it's started again, my scalp feels very irritated at times and there's more small patches of hair loss on my crown and down my parting. Been given steroid lotion by the Dr which has helped the irritation, and tomorrow i go for blood tests to try and find out whats causing it. After the blood test I'm off to the family planning clinic to ask about have the Mirena removed, as I'm thinking the hair loss could be connected with it, and to be honest my libido is so bad whats the point in having it there!!

Hi-- I am too lazy to have posted an intro here, but I am 7 weeks post-Mirena. My symptoms are not the same as yours but I saw a scientific study on pubmed.gov (reputible) that does show a correlation between the Mirena IUD and hair loss (alopecia)

Here is the abstract. Take it to your doc if they don't believe you, sometimes doctors only listen to doctors! Good luck

Hair loss article

Thanks for that article. If I am correct, alopecia is the kind that one can usually recover from, isn't it?

Mirena now removed!! Feel relieved! Nurse admitted they'd seen other cases with hair loss. Just hope I'll see an improvement soon!?!

Day 14 now (I think) and the periods I thought had stopped have started again but this time slightly heavier. No pain though, no PMS.

No sign of mood crash so far.

I remember another side effect that has completely gone now was a very nasty rash at the back of my neck, very red, itchy and burning at the same time. At first I thought it was a heat rash but then it appeared monthly and in winter so definitely hormonal. Since Mirena gone, nothing.

Also, the vertigo feeling has also gone especially when driving, which I started to dread before.

I don't think I've lost much weight since the first week off mirena but I definitely feel much leanier andnot so blobby.

I'm still sweating a bit at night but not as much as before.

I can't believe how much I have achieved at work in the last 2 weeks and really enjoying it. I don't struggle to focus anymore and things are easy to do.

At home, I haven't yelled once!

So far, so good.

Hiya Guys, It’s my first time on here and having read ALL the posts so far, I think I may be in a unique position as I haven’t seen anybody else with my situation, so I hope this helps those of you reading that may be in a similar position but have not added to this site. I am 42, 5’ 8” and about 15 stone (was 14, 6 months ago!) childless and in a relationship. Last April I had a massage and the masseur discovered that I had a hard abdomen. I thought nothing of it as I was a bit constipated at the time (sorry!) Anyhow, a little niggle sent me to the Docs who announced that she thought it was a fibroid that had grown quite large. Up to this point you could boil an egg by me, so-to-speak, as I was having a period every 28 days, 3-4 days, one day heavy. Nothing major and no real pain. What I considered normal in fact. I went to see a Consultant and in July 07 had a op to remove a 10cm chocolate cyst that had developed on my left ovary. It was not stuck to anything and I was asymptomatic, which the Consultant could not believe. She changed my NovaT Coil to that of the Mirena (why I’m here!) and explained that she wanted to lessen my periods. I have since had no periods whatsoever, not even the spotting she said I would ‘get forever’. I went back to her 3 months after the op and explained that I was getting various side effects (which she did not mention at the time of insertion !) My side effects consist of (in order of annoyance) muscle aches (feel and move like I’m 92), water retention in legs, weight gain!!!, back ache, tiredness, fogginess, non-existent libido, anxiousness, headaches etc. She explained/insisted that I should persist with the coil and have it reviewed at my 6 month check up in March 08 as the symptoms should calm down by then. After much research I can say that, if anything, they have increased. I spoke to some Women’s Clinics and the Endemerioma Society, as well as trawling the Internet and they have encouraged me to go back to the Nova T as bleeding was never really the problem. I can see from the many posts that the majority of you have the Mirena for heavy bleeding and I can only sympathise as the one and only time I bled for over 2 weeks was when I first had the NovaT coil inserted (have had 3) and God that was draining, so I can appreciate your stories. I really think my Consultant didn’t listen to me as my fiancé said (at the first Consultation) that she seemed to insist I was having heavy periods and so decided I would have the Mirena. Anyhow, I made an appointment for yesterday and was all ready to fight my corner but actually could have kissed my Consultant. She removed without fuss or pressure. She actually said that as I was having all these symptoms, then I wasn’t suited to Progesterins and took it out. Also, kinda acknowledged that weight gain was a problem as indicated I could now go and lose the weight gain. Removal was uncomfortable, but only for a second and, I know it’s psychological, but I feel so much brighter today! Not so foggy. Have bought Vitamin B6, Evening Primrose Oil and Centrim so should rattle a bit and my fiancé says he’s now waiting for the crash. I am waiting on a period! So now I am a member of the ‘Mirena Is Out’ Club. One of the best things I’ve ever done !

Hi all

Glad to hear you did not have too much trouble having the dreaded coil removed Deborah, I feel so angry when I hear of doctors refusing to remove these things. I had the coil for 5 and half years and don't think I should of been given it at all as I had had an ovarian cyst removed previously.

I am feeling a bit depressed at present not thru the "crash " but I have been doing the weight watchers points diet for 2 weeks with some friends also going to the gym and guess what I have not lost at all not 1lb, all my friends have lost 5+ lb. I'm soooooooooooo fed up.

Having had the coil out now for 2 mths thought I might see a steady if slow weight loss, how long does it take to get the effects of this bloody thing out of our bodies I feel like screaming

Hi all. . Deborah, I got the mirena for heavy periods in a way but in antoher I didn't. After I had my daughter 9 years ago my own mum recommended a coil. before and after my kid Ihad perfect periods 3-5 days long top without any problems. I tried a coild and I went for an ordinary T-shape non-hormonal device which made me bleed very heavily and 3 weeks out of 4. So I wanted sterilisation after this but the nurses convinced me the mirena was best. It worked brilliantly for me for 4 and half years, then all the side effects kickd in.

For the last 18 months I truely believed my problems were down to getting to near 40 and just shut up (although I knew it was hormonal but after so long you forget you have a mirena). Then I went on the interneet for menopausal symptoms (which I thought I was suffering from and ready to make an appointment to the GP to discuss) but further searches brought me to this blessed forum which really solved ALL my problems.

I have no doubt that there are many women out there who are happy with their mirena but I think there is a dangerous lack of knowledge amongst health care professional to pick up on side effects when they occur.

Only women with worries will access forums like this, there are many other women out there suuferring in silence and only the heatl car staff can help them... but then again they don't know themselves and deny all our speculations.

Personlly I think the mirena is still on trial at our expense and the manufacturers will not fo anything about nit until one of us dies of a side effects.

Thanks for your support, I am now one week post-Mirena and can report the following: Immedialtely after removal and first 2 days I felt like I could take on the world. I had a burst of enery that made me think I had rejoined the world again. I am taking the suppliments but on day 3 I started to feel really tired (didn't help that my fiance and I were moving in together so had a lot of packing etc to do) On Monday night I had pain waves I had forgotten about but still no period. Anyhow, I am slowly regaining my strength. I don't think I have crashed yet though. I have had a constant headache since the weekend. I have yet to have a period but have been having coloured 'discharge' so who knows when. Will keep you posted.

........also agree UmustBjoking, that it's gonna take a death from one of these things to get the Mirena Coil noticed and researched into further. I read from some literature that the Endometriosis Society sent me, that it takes, on average, 8 years from initially going to the Doctor to getting the diagnosis Endometriosis. Amazing eh?

hi DeborahB

I had the same lack of energy about 3 days after removal, luckly it did not last too long.
Keep on with your suppliments I sure they will help you.

What I have read on other forums (and this one) the crash seems to take place a couple of week after, but as I have said before everyone is different, never know you may not get it, fingers crossed.

Its a very depressing thought that it may kill someone, unfortunatley I have a feeling that even if it did (and who knows it may have done already) it would never be linked to the mirena as doctors don't belive that it's causing the syptoms we are discribing.

There is no doubt a lot of people out there who think the mirena is fantastic and it works for them really well and they are the ones who the medical proffession are focusing on.

Anyway that's not get too depressing we have the syptoms left over from the coil to contend with. I do hope you feel better soon and all the best with the moving in with your partner