I had it removed. If I had the stamina to do back flips, I would. I have never been so happy to have a body beginning to function as it is intended to (hello menstrual cycle). But to back up a little bit… in this post I mentioned my suspicion of the Mirena (inserted 3 1/2 years ago) causing my mental health plummet. Never did I imagine that at age 24, I’d find myself feeling trapped at the bottom of the barrel. I won’t get into details or dramatics, but for over a year I felt pretty crappy on most days. And my symptoms started to escalate last Spring. I thought I was losing my mind.
Some common side effects of the Mirena IUD are:
Decreased Focus and Concentration
Substantial Weight Gain
Heart Palpitations
Elevated Anxiety
Decreased Libido
Depression
Irritability
Migraines
Hair Loss
Fatigue
Acne
I experienced all of the symptoms that have been underlined… so much so that I decided to see a Psychiatrist. It was a very hard thing for me to do. The Psychiatrist prescribed meds pretty quickly, which I appreciated because seeing her was uncomfortable enough. But what bothers me is, what if I really didn’t have a problem and I wanted to abuse the meds? How would she have known? Anyway, I took the “happy pills” out of desperation for all of a week and ditched them because they had me trembling in my own home and made me feel like a sad zombie. I did not want to become dependent on them especially if I didn’t NEED them. I didn’t want to dig myself into a hole that I would not be able to escape from.
Before my whole experience seeing a shrink, I had read Mirena Horror stories as I did with Depo Provera, and I finally decided that the contraption had to go. All of the stories were hitting home. My *new* Ob/Gyn didn’t believe that the Mirena was causing these problems, but she accepted my other reason for wanting to have it removed… I wanted more children. She seemed super nice, but I see she’s the stubborn type. Thousands of women are not struggling from absolutely nothing! After she removed the IUD (it didn’t hurt), she told me that the Mirena contains the same medication as Depo. Seriously? Depo? Had I had that little nugget of info, I wouldn’t have had the Mirena inserted in the first place (by another Gyn). I’ve had such luck with contraceptives, I swear. At this point, I.am.done.
Done.
In a few days, I will be starting a detox to flush away any remnants of hormones. I’m also researching fertility charting. It sounds a little scary, but I have absolutely nothing to lose. I need to be more present with my bodily functions. I’m ready to roll with it, miscalculations and all ;-).
Edited to add:
We’re expecting a baby boy Thanksgiving 2012!
Linking to When Birth Control May Do More Than Just That.
Omg! I literally had just about every symptom on that list! I thought I was.about to lose my mind! I couldn’t take it anymore! No joke, I went into the bathroom and washed my hands with antibacterial soap and I pulled that lil sucker out of there myself! And let me tell you. Its only been a couple hours and I already feel 10x better! Its like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders! Im on my way to becoming myself again. Although I didn’t have mine in as long as you, it was long overdue.
I finally wrote about my experience. Mine has many been chronic pain. I didn’t put it all together until the last couple of months, but I’ve been experiencing chronic pain in my arms, hands, fingers, shoulders and neck for the last 2.5 years.
I’m having mine removed asap.
http://www.karlaarcher.com/when-birth-control-may-do-more-than-just-that/
Karla Archer´s last [type] ..When Birth Control May Do More Than Just That