I am considering having a Mirena (progesterone) IUD inserted, as I have significant problems with synthetic progesterone for the couple of weeks in the month I have to take it. The IUD would mean little progesterone in the blood stream, hence minimal reaction to the progesterone. Has anyone else tried the IUD for similar reasons, and if so would love to hear what you think of it.

I have tried natural progesterone, but alone it is inadequate to prevent build up of the lining in the uterus.

Any experiences with Mirena would be helpful. Thanks.

I would like to know about this as well.

They seem to be pushing it here too but I don't know much about it. I'd like to keep all insertions to the minimum nowadays!

Hi I have a Mirena coil, I am in the middle of a horrendous menopause, dizzy eveything, I still need birth control and this coil seemed to be the best way of getting protection and the progesterone I needed.
I have not havd a minutes trouble with it. I still get very light bleeds but nothing much at all. No side effects either.
Never had a coil before, so nothing to compare it to, but very happy with it.

Hi all, I am brand new to this place, and I too was looking for some help. I have had the mirena for a little over a year. I got it last feb, and by april i was having major complications, several large cysts had formed on my ovaries, and actually burst causing me excrutiating pain. I did not make a connection to the mirena and left it at that. In the past 14 months i have gained about 25 pounds, had constant headaches, backache, and skin blemishes. I have also had exzema. I had exzema in the past so again, no connection. The last month or so i have been experiancing a lot of nasea, backache and headaches, so I decided enough.. this thing is coming out. When i went to the doctor two days ago, we discovered that the mirena was not where it should be! The doctor couldnt take it out because she could not find it!! I am going to the emergancy room today to have an ultrasound, see where this thing has gotten, and whats causing all this illness. During my research these past few days, I found the site.. www.clissmann.com They show a patient leaflet, that I didnt get with my mirena.. It lists so many side effects that i seem to have them all. Headaches, nasea, backaches, tubal pregnancies, acne and god knows what else.. oh did i mention weight gain. My doctor assured me there was no connection, but straight from the mouth of the maker, these effects are all listed!
If you have any feedback or info , I would love to hear about it. At this point, I'm just really curious as the where this thing has gotten itself!!

I have had one in for 1.5 years now and going to get it out. I have put on weight i get sickness sore back head aches really bad pmt and spots (i never ever got them b4) same reaction has happened to my sister and alot of friends is not the answer.

Aussie3
The Mirena IUD is called Levonova here in Sweden. I used it from age 35-39 and found that it gave me pimples towards the end, although it effectively stopped my heavy periods.

I've discussed the IUD in various forums (see birth control pills)as my GYNO was keen for me to go back on it to alleviate various peri problems that I've been having (he was really "pushing" it - to use Alice's term). I don't want to use it again at this stage (age 45) for peri (esp bleeding). What are you planning to use it for?

Valliqurl:
Many years ago I had a copper 7 IUD inserted and it got lost as well. If you have had no significant bleeding or horrendous cramping, I would guess that yours did the same thing mine did---it moved way up into the "upper stratosphere" of your uterus. I had the same thing---mine just disappeared and we had to do an ultrasound to find it. I had had major problems with it and so--I had it removed immediately and I have never used any IUDs again. There is a possibility that it can perforate the uterus---but the Drs don't do a good job in explaining that possibility---as they say it is so remote. However, when it happens to you---it is not remote at all!! Let me know how you fare...
Chris

I replied last year after using the Mirena for a few months for excessive perimenopausal bleeding (I'm 51). It's been a God-send for me and I am still (knock wood) side-effect and bleeding free. "Free" is the operative word here as the previous irregular and prolonged bleeding was seriously interfering with my life and mental health. I can't add anything to what I said last year, except freaking HOO-RAY!

I had the Mirena for almost 5 years for the first 4.5 years it was excellent. No periods at all. I was highly recommending it. At the time I was told that it was not systemic and that the hormone was local only to the uterus. It's not true. The hormone dose on the Mirena is equal to some of the ultra low BPs on the market today. Last year I began to have serious hormone problems and when my auto-immune thyroid disease went off kilter and failed to re-adjust with new doses of thyroid hormone I opted to have my Mirena removed ... just in case there was any cross-hormone interactions.

I can't say removing the Mirena helped since I'm still going through hormone hell. But I've decided that BP are a better choice for me -- I have more flexability in starting/stopping them when I want to assess how my body is doing au natural.

My coworker had the Mirena insterted around the same time I did and four years later found out that her strings had gotten s*cked up inside her uterus. They tried unsuccessfully to remove them manually in the office, but she was told she would have to have the device surgically removed.

If I had to do it again, I'd probably opt for one of those vaginal rings instead of an inter-uterine device.

Oh, and my last pap test was abnormal ... I'll have to wait another 6 months to re-test. I've never had an abnormal pap before and OB suspected it may have been the result of inflamation with the removal of the device. Who knows.

Well girls all is not roses with this, I had problems too and had to have it removed - - not everyones story but consider carefully.

I second that, Juppy -- I had a horrendous time with it. It did stop the bleeding but it was out within a month.

I had a Mirena inserted in the summer of 2006--my gyn said I still needed contraception and I didn't want to take bcp or have a tubal. I had a bad time with it from the start. I had constant cramping and constant yukky brown bleeding. I felt like I had PMS all the time. I put up with it for four months before I had it removed. After I had it removed, I bled non-stop for three weeks until I had a D&C. After that I started having anxiety and other meno symptoms. I really think the Mirena pushed me into menopause faster.

My gyno recommended this for heavy bleeding due to a submucosal fibroid. When I checked the mirena website for more info, it stated it should never be used in women w large fibroids so not sure why the doc was recommending it. Perhaps she gets a kickback for each one "installed." (I'm not cyncial am I?) In any case, I decided against it.