My experience for nearly six months with the Mirena IUD has left me with both negative physical and mental health side effects. I have dealt with fatigue, headaches, spotting, and cramping. I've endured bloating, gastrointestinal distress and cysts.
I've experienced a drop in sexual desire and self-esteem, as depression has increased. And the list goes on. You can read about my experience with the Mirena IUD in my article My Painful Complications with the Mirena IUD.
But it's important to note that it's not always a nightmare for all women.
In fact, some women experience improved quality of life after insertion of the Mirena IUD. There is almost no chance of getting pregnant for five years, and some women feel relief from previously burdensome menstrual cycle issues.
Just as with any medication, there will be women who have horror stories to share, and others who will only have positive experiences. Just pay attention to your body and realize what it’s telling you, even if it’s not a side effect you would have expected.
Kay B., a 49 year old married mother of two children, said in an email that she’s had her Mirena IUD for 10 years and is planning on getting it replaced for the third time because she’s had a positive experience.
“I have not had any physical or mental health issues,” Kay said. “While I found the loss of my monthly cycle a bonus, it’s also left me without any clues to when menopause is approaching.”
She said within the first year of having the IUD, she didn’t have more than spotting, and now she doesn’t have a period at all.
“I do have periods of ‘warm’ and some sleepless nights, but am told I could be in perimenopause, but the symptoms aren’t definitive enough to really know,” she added.
She said prior to getting the Mirena IUD, she used to have very heavy periods with side effects like back pain and diarrhea, so she would recommend the IUD to other women. She’s used other forms of birth control but they didn’t agree with her emotionally or physically for the most part.
Nina Asay, another woman who used the Mirena IUD, did not have a positive experience. In fact, after suffering for three and a half years, she finally had it removed.
She said that the first three months were a positive experience, with lighter periods and eventually no periods. However, the fourth month was the start of her body’s rejection of the IUD.
Even though Asay had clear skin her whole life, she started developing cystic acne, and had to go to a dermatologist to get it under control. Despite the supporting timeline, her gynecologist disagreed that the Mirena IUD was the cause of the acne.
She also suffered from two outbreaks of alopecia (hair loss) in the first year, which had an unexplained cause. And after a year, she gained 20 pounds, which her doctor also told her had no association with the IUD. By her second year with the IUD, the weight gain was up to 30 pounds, and she still had acne issues.
“I lost all sex drive and was feeling my anxiety/depression coming on again,” Asay said.
She had to get back on her anxiety/depression medication, and yet her doctors kept telling her there was no association.
“By the [third] year I had enough of the acne and feeling an overwhelming sense of being ‘off,’” Asay said. “I asked to get it removed. My gyno asked me the reasons why ... I mentioned everything above. She still did not see the correlation. to which I replied that ‘I just want it out.’”
Unfortunately, the IUD removal process was traumatic for her because it was difficult for the doctor to find. They dug around with forceps and forcibly pulled it out, she said.
“I had tears down my face the whole time,” Asay said. “There was a lot of blood and cramping immediately after. I remember shaking on the bus ride home.”
Luckily most of her issues are gone now that the IUD is removed.
Dr. Susan Rubin, an assistant professor of family and social medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, said in an email that most of her patients have positive experiences with both types of IUDs, but she said that if a woman is experiencing a lot of side effects she always offers to remove the IUD.
“With the Mirena IUD, women can expect to have irregular spotting and bleeding for the first [six to nine] months after insertion,” Rubin said. “The vast majority of women stop getting their period by about nine months after insertion.”
She said that in almost every woman who gets an IUD there are some alterations to the menstrual cycle.
“There is no other side effect that occurs anywhere as frequently,” she added. “A few patients do experience cramping beyond the immediate insertion period.”
Some rare, more serious side effects include pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), expulsion of the IUD, and uterine perforation, Rubin said.
“Just like each of our periods are different, women’s experiences with the IUD are different,” she said. “Other than the bleeding changes mentioned above, few people take longer than a week to ‘adjust’ to the IUD. During that adjustment time, she's not ‘living in pain’ -- if she is ‘living in pain,’ then she should contact her doctor to investigate if she has a perforation or partial expulsion.”
Sources:
B, Kay. Email interview. January 29, 2014. (Requested that only the initial of her last name be included)
Asay, Nina. Email interview. January 28, 2014.
Rubin, Susan. Email interview. January 29, 2014.
Edited by Jody Smith