I feel like the only person in the world that has had nothing but praise for the Mirena, I had my Mirena inserted over 18 months ago, apart from the little pain I had getting it put in, and the ocasional "period" like cramping every 4-5 weeks, I'm fine, I havn't had a period in all that time which yes I know is probally not healthy... But I havn't had weight gain and am no more hormonal that normal, I am only 22 and have 3 boys that were all whoops-a-daisy babies ( took me awhile to figure out how they kept happening lol) I just today searched "mirena side effects" ( because this is the 2nd time in 8 months I've had headaches lasting 11 days staright) And needed to know if the Mirena has links to headaches, but all I've found on it are nothing but horrific events concerning the Mirena... Maybe you guys just had cock head doctors near your very private parts...

But yeah I thought I would share my "Happy" story

After reading these blogs I have to say I am pretty horrified! I am only 22 and just had the mirena inserted 2 weeks ago after the birth of my second child. It did not hurt at all and I only had mild cramping and spotting afterwards. I feel as if I am perfectly fine but after viewing this site I am contemplating getting it removed. However I do not want another child right now and I do like it so far. Any suggestions?

It's really such a relief to read everyone else's stories. I thought it was just me...thought I was going nuts...couldn't figure it out...thought my thyroid was out of whack (wasn't)...and on and on! I was one of those women who was very Pro-Mirena for a while! I loved it. My doc called it the "set it and forget it" birth control, which sounded great to us. Insertion wasn't fun, but wasn't the horror show it is for some. I adjusted fairly quickly to it...no major issues. I had some vague concerns, but discounted them due to being told this was basically a side effect free method of long-term birth control. I have diabetes and my body seemed to need more and more insulin. I gained weight (just blamed myself, of course). My hair got AWFUL...dry, brittle, frizzy, all the curl (I have naturally curly hair) seemed to be gone, it was lifeless. I have ZERO sex drive, which I blamed on feeling lousy about myself for being at my highest weight ever (except pregnancy). I'm tired ALL THE TIME which I blamed on having a young child (she's 2 years 2 months) and being almost 40 and working full-time. I get palpitations sometimes. I have numbness in my right hand. And despite liking my life and being happy...I feel downright depressed all the time. Makes no sense! I've felt pregnant multiple times. I feel like my abdomen is growing at an alarming rate. I just have felt completely out of sorts and not at all like myself.

I went to the GYN today as suddenly after a year and a half with no period, it returned 3 months ago. Also with a vengeance came PMS the last 3 months, so it never seemed to go away. My breasts are constantly sore. I feel generally awful all the time. MY GYN who I usually adore seemed totally put off by all of this today and tried to discount it as PMS as I'm at "that age". He didn't think the Mirena could be causing my symptoms. He left it up to me about taking it out and I decided to have it removed.

It's about 9 hours later and I feel like it can't possibly be true...but I already feel different! The black cloud of doom that's been hanging over my head seems to be lifting. I feel like I actually have patience for my daughter. My insatiable appetite seems to have quieted down. I pray this is true and that it lasts. If this is all it took to feel better...it seems outrageous to me that any doctor can possibly discount these side effects and that each and every single one of them is not listed as a warning on Mirena's marketing materials.

Keep your fingers crossed!

very glad to have found this site - mirena has been suggested by my gyn to alleviate an abnormal cycle.. but hey i'm 45 and in the 'pre-menopausal' years and i've been dealing with for the last year or so, and after reading the posts on this site, i've opted not to go forward with it. i'd much rather deal with mother nature. thank you all for sharing.

I had one put in about two months ago, at the same time as a laparoscopy for endometriosis, which they removed all of (so under a general anaesthetic). All I can say is that the ongoing pain I've had since then has been unbearable. The gynae has suggested that this will be at its worst in the first three months and strongly advises that I "hold on".

Basically there's no other option, as due to PCOS I'm at increased risk of endometrial cancer (no thanks!) and due to chronic migraine going on the pill is not an option they're willing to take.

The gynae believes the pain is due to the uterus contracting in the presence of a foreign object. Is this like a labour contraction (as my mother has suggested)?? Even the endometriosis, which I thought was the worst pain imaginable hasn't held a candle to this. I'm going to keep going, as I don't care to risk cancer down there, nor increased migraines, and I hope it's only short term as the doctor and the literature tell me, but seriously, it's not pleasant.

I had mirena inserted 6 weeks following the birth of my 2nd child and while I experienced some discomfort, it was nothing that I couldn't tolerate. This was in Jan 2007. It has been two years now that I have been on mirena and have experienced none of the problems that the others have discussed. I am a healthy 30 year old and love the mirena. While I sympathize with anyone that has experienced these side effects, they don't happen to everyone. Please pick the birth control option that is best for you.

I had a mirena inserted on suggestion of my OBGYN 3 months post partum in Dec 2005 - I had severe pain from insertioin to a week afterwards, which I demanded it be removed. I was told " some women just don't tolerate these things". On removal the mirena was not to be found - it had perforated my uterus and was floating aroung somewhere in my abdominal cavity. three years on I have had nothing but various forms of gynae and abdo pain - and has also been deemed infertile due to blocked tubes - thanks to the Mirena. No-one will accept responsibility for this and I am at a point of seeking legal represenation.

hi everyone. I wanted to share my mirena story. I have four kids, the last two were an "oops" set of twins. So needless to say, I'm done. But I cant find a dr to tie my tubes (I'm 34, not getting any younger) so I thought the mirena would be a good idea. I had it put in on dec 22, 2008. They told me it would feel like a pap smear. I don't know what kind of pap smear they were talking about, cause it hurt WAY more than I expected. The side effects started the next day: cramps, lower back pain, sharp headaches, bloated, heavy feeling. I felt like I constantly had to pee. And i was so tired i could barely get out of bed Basically I felt pregnant. Then my hair started falling out, and my knees and hips felt sore. I felt too miserable for sex. After only two weeks I had it taken out. The dr looked at me like I was crazy for wanting it out already. He insisted that it wouldn't cause those problems. Why do they all think that way? Anyway, the pregnant feeling went away, but I still am having bad headaches and a general feeling of malaise. Hopefully it will go away soon.

I had my Mirena put in March. 2008, and i plan on having it removed asap. I have never had acne problems before and my face looks horrible. I have two sons and i look about 5 months pregnant from all this bloating. I also have severe cramps. I hate the iud

I had my Mirena put in Feb.2008 and Last night, Jan 7, 2009 I had to remove it myself. I was checking for my string, and usually it is very short, last night it was way longer than usual, so I decided after not being able to find a Doctors office to accept my insurance, to take care of the problem myself. I believe it was trying to expel itself, so I just gave it a little help. I was very surprised at how easily it came out. I felt better almost instantly, my constant cramps and backache were gone. I hope I can get back to my old self. I have been miserable, depressed, and bleeding for 3 weeks at a time some months. I hate that thing, I have been miserable since I had it put in. Weight gain, bloating, hair loss, severe depression, swelling all over; legs, feet, thighs, face. I will never recommend this horrible product to anyone. I am so glad I was able to remove it.

Thankyou very much for your update Jamie,my heart palpitations have returned to normal again now,and I know it WAS mirena that caused it ,as it they got less and less each day and now i havnt had them for over a month at all. all the best,Net.

I am just realizing the problems with this. This is very helpful...

I have posted on this site many times before and it is very helpful. I am now 3 1/2 months post mirena removal. I wanted to share something that has helped me on my way to recover. Mirena was causing me all kinds of effects and i only had it for three months and of course got it taken out in September. Well let me tell u that that was just the beginning. I suffered severe depression up to 8 weeks post removal. it was debilitating and the most horrible thing i have ever had to go through. Getting mirena removed is the best u can do, but to be honest readjusting after its removal is just as hard if not HARDER. i continued to have heart palpitatons, rapid heart rate, severe bleeding, depression, anxiety ect. my depression has lifted since my eight week post removal date. I have been taking Magnesium oxide 400mg twice a day. I feel SOOOO much better since taking this vitamin. Mirena is proven to lower magnesium levels and low magnesium is linked to anxiety, depresison, rapid heart rate, and palpitations, also heavy bleeding and mentral pain. PLEASE TRY this if u are having any of these symptoms. It is natural and really works. All the best.

I have read everyone's entrees on this page and wanted to write my own to put some people's minds at ease. It sounds like I'm one of the few that have had an awesome experience with the mirena. I had it put in Aug of 2006 after my first son was born. My husband and I were both fairly young (20 and 21) when he was born and wanted to ensure it would'nt happen again until we wanted. There was no pain when it was put in and my doctor even had to do it twice! Up until the last few monthes I have had NO side effects from it, other than my periods going away. They started out normal...then it was every 4 monthes maybe..and now I haven't had one it over 9 monthes! I am not complaining about this because my periods were horrible before!! Recently I have been tired like other women have said, but I don't think that mine is as bad as the others have complained of. I work and take care of a 2 1/2 year old so some fatigue is expected! I have enjoyed having the mirena and it sure has made life easier for my husband and me! I just wanted to share my story so that others could know that there is hope for the mirena and not all experiences with it are bad!

After reading some of these stories I feel like I was blind to many of my problems. I had more hair loss than ever in my life and My mother told me that it happens when you get older so I didnt think anything about it I've had relly bad cramps and yes they said they were supposed to be lighter. This is the strange thing, I've had mine in for 1 yr. and2 months now and the first 9 months I was okay with how things were going. I got my period evey other month, but for the last 5 months I havent had one. I have had really bad cramps pains from my thigs to my knees, hair loss, vision blurr, and when I close my eyes it feels like my hand sre bigger than they are supposed I know it sounds weird but i dont know how to explain it, almost like they swell instantly. I'm thinking of having it removed I have three children already and didn't plan to have anymore but if I do I would use mirena after ever again. I have a friend who had hers removed already and she was in such pain and bleed so hard. She said it felt as if she was going to die when they took it out and her doctor told her that she had blood backed up behind it. So from what happened to her and she always got her period I can only worry about what will happen to me. It seems like I will never stop bleeding when they take it out.

I have had both IUD's. The first one was the copper one and i had it for 8 yrs. I didn't have any problems with it. After having it for 8 yrs. it fell out with the help of my boyfriend. Long story. After I discovered that it was no longer in me i got the mirena put in. Before the mirena was inserted the doctor gave me something for pain (I never took anything for pain with the first iud). During the insertion it hurt real bad (there was no pain with the first one). I have had the Mirena removed after 9 months due to my boyfriend and i wanting another child. After the removal I was fine at first but after 3 days i started bleeding. I wasn't just bleeding the normal i was bleeding blood clots about the size of marbles. I was running to the bathroom every 30 min. just to take the blood clots off my pad. On the 6th day after the removal I began to run fever, vomit, and hurt badly in the stomach. I thought it was just a virus. Well on the 9th day I felt a huge cramp then it felt like something was coming out of me. I ran to the bathroom and the instant i sat on the toilet 2 huge blood clots the size of golf balls came out. Once they came out the cramps went away and my period started letting up. Today is the 14th day since removal and i feel so much better and the bleeding has slowed down so much that i think it will stop in the next day or two. I liked the mirena but if i had to do it again i don't think i would use that one again (maybe the one I had the first time (the copper one)) Good luck to whomever uses the mirena.

I had the mirena inserted in February 2008. March 28, 2008, I was being rushed to the ER not able to breathe. They did cat scan with dye on my lungs and found huge blood clots in both of my lungs. Doctors said I was a very lucky person. I was hospitalized for 21 days before I was released. This thing is absolutely a KILLER!!!! I would not recommend it for anyone!

I am 20 years old, I have a six moth old son, and I had Mirena put in about 4 months ago. I am already having severe migranes that I go to sleep with and wake up with. I get them at least two to three times a week. I have not lost a pound of my baby weight even with dieting and exercising. I am absolutely horrible to my husband and I sometimes feel very disassociated from our son. I get these terrible mood swings that I feel I have no control over. I am exhausted ALL OF THE TIME! I could sleep all day and all night! I have absolutely no energy. Also, a lot of back pain. I am also a smoker, which I am sure is also worsening the side effects. I have actually started to have what look like big lumps of bloody tissue (not blood clots) come out of my vagina. It is not only when i am on my period or about to start it, it just happens randomly. However they are egtting more frequent and larger! This really scares me because I am so young, and I want to be able to have more children. Now I am really worried that I may have just made a decision that will keep me from having children in the future. If that is so, I don't know what i would do... Thank you all for listening, and if any of you have any suggestions PLEASE let me know~!

I'm 21 and I had the procedure for the IUD Mirena to be implanted after my second daughter was born. Currently (and unfortunately) I still have it. At the time my husband and I didn't have the means to keep buying birth control pills so the IUD seemed like a perfect answer for control. We had a 2 year old and just had a newborn and we didn't want anymore children. After I got it in I bled for 3 months straight went to the doctor they said nothing was wrong. Then a month after I got it I noticed my fingers, toes, hands, and feet swelling and aching and even randomly getting hives. Finally when my finger got as large as a sausage link I went to the emergency room. They gave me a multitude of tests and said that it was a hormone problem and gave me a steroid it fixed the problem temporarily. Also after a month my hair fell out in bunches. My face has been broken out ever since I got it I've never had a problem with acne ever. I don't go more than three days with out spotting or bleeding heavily. I have been depressed, anxious, EXTREMELY tired (which isn't good when you have a toddler and a baby), crazy mood swings, extreme anger, wanting to cry for no reason, and extreme insomnia (awake for days yet extremely tired). I had lost the majority of my baby weight until I got it in and I gained all of it back plus some. My skin has been extremely dry to the point of cracking like my hands. It's harder to think. I've had extreme pain in my lower back and abdomen (especially at my ribs) I can't even stand for long periods at a time. Chest pains (like a heart attack). Also they said that that thing was supposed to lighten cramps it made mine ten times as bad. We are in a better financial state so I hope to get it out soon because I want my life back!! I wouldn't recommend this birth control to anyone ever! I wish I had known more about this before I got it I never would have! I wish there was some way we could sue because women who consider this (especially ones like me who do it because they can't afford birth control) should know ALL the facts!

i have terrible acne and ive lose a majority of my hair i ve had it in since may 08 ans by aug 08, iv lost at least 5 inches of hair and my face looks like a pizza im working on getting it out asap

I had my Mirena inserted after my second child was born in 2005, had it removed 4 months ago so my husband and I could try to have one more child. I had no problems with the IUD, actually I really liked it. But now I am concerned. I had an early pregnancy last month, followed by heavy bleeding and what I can only imagine is a miscarriage. I did not have any problmes getting pregnant with my other 2, didn't even have to try. Has anyone had problems getting/staying pregnant after having the Mirena removed?

I have had the mirena since March of 2006 I went thru a little bit of hairloss in 2007 but this time it won't stop, I swear I have lost half of my hair. I got the Mirena out Nov 15th can someone tell me when will the hairloss stop???? I can see little baby hairs so I think I am getting some regrowth but I have long hair I have to get cut short because the ends are so shaggy and thin. Please help how much longer will the hairloss go on? I have had bloodwork, nothing wrong.
thanks Susan

Dear April,Im so sorry to hear whats happened to you,just remember there are thousands of other women going through the same horrible thing and a lot of them dont even know its mirena causing the problems as the doctors keep telling women it cant be mirena,when we know it is.
All we can do is help each other get through this.
I want to wish you all the best for when you get it out,you will feel better.
Im still dealing with a bit of depression and strange moods since having mine out a few months back but it is getting better each month.
Have a Good Xmas and New Year,take care, Hugs Net.

so happy to find your site!

I too am glad to have found this site! After reading everyones stories, I have definately made the decision to either have mine removed or have my husband remove it for me, since the finances are short! As for my story, here goes: When my husband and I got together 5 and a half years ago, he had 2 children from previous marriage as did I. We used no form of birth control for a couple of years and were fortunate enough at that time to not conceive since we were not sure if we were going to have children together. After making the decision between us that we were not going to have children, I immediately became pregnant. We now have our little girl, who by the way is a wonderful blessing in our life and I don't know what we would do without her! She made child 5 for us! Shortly after her birth, we moved to the hometown where I grew up and at that point, my mother was moving 4 hours away and my father was an alcoholic, so I then took over custody of my 16 year old brother so that he could finish school where he started years ago. He still lives with us today, will be 18 in a couple of weeks and has been a wonderful help to our family. On December 12, 2007, I had mirena put in place, since we had 6 children in our home! YIKES! The placement went great, no complications at all and there was absolutley no pain with the placement. Things went very quick in the office. I was greatly impressed! Everything seemed wonderful for the first couple of months and then my life started going to hell in a hand-basket!! Until tonight, I have had so many worries in my life wondering what is wrong with me and then it hit me....I BET IT'S THIS DAMN MIRENA!! So I started researching and found this site! For the past 8 months or so, I have experienced great depression, to the point of making me quit my job. I have been to the doctor and had a hard time explaining to him everything that was occurring in my life because I was crying so hysterically. He instantly said that I was very depressed and openly told me so! He then prescribed me Cymbalta and this helped for a short time and I quit taking it in fear of coming dependent upon it! My mood swings are outrageous, I have had thoughts of suicide several times, some hair loss and also hair growing in odd places along with the acne problems. I have vericose veins and they have become worse and more painful to the touch. My marriage is sooo very rocky right now! My husband is very fed up with me and this causes me more depression knowing that he is upset with me. I have yelled at my children for the smallest things, then I get upset and cry! I am ALWAYS tired, never want to leave my house and would rather just lay in my bed and ignore the world around me! I am 30 years old and have absolutely NO SEX DRIVE what so ever! If it wasn't for the fact of trying to satisfy my husband once in a great while, there would be no sex! I could care less about it! I get angry when he tries to touch me and in turn this hurts his feelings because he thinks that I am no longer attracted to him. I love my husband deeply, but I fear that if something doesn't change, I will lose him. Between my mood swings constantly, depression, fatigue and no libido...believe me, this does not make for a great marriage!!! I will do anything at this point to be my happy go lucky self again! We used to hang out with our friends quite a bit in the past, but now I just dread leaving the house. I am a total bore when we are all together and just ready to return to my home so that I can lay on the couch or go to bed. I rarely have a good and happy day at this point! I can't sleep comfortably at night any longer. Always tossing and turning. When my husband and I do have intercourse it is usually painful and I am sure this is not normal. I can't wait to have this thing taken out. I have read several stories of the after effects, but I am ready and willing to deal with them if it means that eventually I will become normal again. As for the next birth control, I can promise you that it will NOT be an IUD!!!!!! I am horrible with taking a pill on schedule, since my life is always hectic with all of these children already, so I guess we will see what happens in the future. I will take the chance of having 10 more children before using Mirena ever again!!!! I just pray to the dear lord that someday my life will return to the way it once was!! Please pray for myself and my family!