To have my Mirena taken out to see if I get some zip back?

[GrendelsGrandma]

I've been feeling flat for a while (hello, pandemic!) and wonder if it's to do with my coil. Low libido, low energy, weight gain, just feeling a bit shit.

Has anyone found that having their Mirena out made a difference? Previously I've found that the pill suppressed my libido but that was a long time ago!

It's also given me these very light periods that go on for more than a week and that does my head in, they used to be three days max!

I'm wondering the same

I had the mirena and it made me fat, tired and grumpy with a constant headache so I'd say it would be worth it. I now have the copper coil and it is 100% better, periods aren't especially heavy or painful

Would also love to know the answer to this! I've had no period since coil went in and I think I'm also perimenopausal, so have the fear about upsetting those apple carts. But my marriage needs my libido back, my trousers need my waist back, and my family need happy me back

Mirena really didn't agree with me and I got it taken out. The nurse thought I was mad and said a small amount of hormone in it couldn't affect me. Was so much better after having it out though

@MrsElba maybe I'll have it out and let you know then!

@Bintymcbintface not sure if fat tired and grumpy is just my default state now, but worth a go!

Oh my gosh I'm sitting here wondering same; only had it in 5 weeks and feeling horrendous - I feel tired, anxious, low and fat and all getting worse since it was a week in. I called to get an appointment to get it out today and waiting on a callback. I feel really short changed as I specifically asked if it would impact mood and was told no, but so many people found to the contrary. Argh! I want it out tomorrow!

Sorry to hear that you are feeling low OP.

I am suffering from horrendous periods, am 50 and was hoping to have one implanted in the next few weeks as a way to reduce the monthly floods, it's so debilitating. I am already overweight and now worry that the Mirena will make me even fatter!

How long have you had the Mirena for and how much weight do you think you have gained since being on it? I'm also not liking the sound of feeling flat as I already feel like that due to significant iron deficiency from my monthly blood loss.

I hope your situation improves x

I had mine out for all the reason you mention and felt 100% better! Do it! Life is too short.

I'm so confused, some people seem to think they feel calmer and more focused once they are on the MIrena and other don't have a good experience, does anyone know why this is?

I think hormones just affect people in different ways.

Mirena is low dose hormones and localised so side effects should be minimal. This wasn’t my experience. Maybe it was all in my head but I felt better after it came out.

Sorry replying to @ValenTeeeeee there

Please do report back if you decide to remove! Seriously, thanks for posting this. It's something I've put to the bottom of my list of priorities, but looking after myself (ourselves), and that's ultimately what this is, needs to be prioritised!

I didn't get on particularly well with mirena at the start, only had it a few months as for me it caused low level but constant bleeding, which left me feeling really tired (and fed up)
However it was really noticeable for me when I had the mirena removed - I suddenly felt motivated enough and had energy for the gym, I went multiple times in the first few weeks after not going for months (it was something i'd previously enjoyed)

Similar to others I was told that it was too small a dose of localised hormones to have much in the way of side effects but that wasn't my experience. I have noticed over the years that I do tend to get side effects from things that I've been told aren't possible and suspect I might just be unusually sensitive to medication. I'm not a hypochondriac or in any way anxious about medication so I genuinely don't think it's psychological!

I could have written the second half of this. It really reduced my horrible (suspected endo) periods, but a grey cloud settled over my brain that I didn't notice until I had it taken out. I had planned to swap it for a new one straight away, but I'm sorry to report the removal was one of the most painful experiences of my life and I refused the replacement. In the 6+ months since, I feel so much more like myself and I won't be going back.

@SunshineThelma sorry you had that experience, it is interesting though isn't it - I had two coils (copper then mirena, total around 3 years I think) and honestly, I thought the gradual changes I experienced were due to aging. Mild back pain, feeling a bit lethargic and slow (during mirena). With the copper coil - back ache, joint pain, TMJ (inflammation/pain in jaw) headaches, severe PMS including bouts of more severe lethargy (as in, certain trackable days in my cycle I would be struggling to keep my eyes open at work and would fall asleep as soon as I got home for 14hrs)

I really thought these were just things that could start to happen in your mid/late thirties yet the rapid change when I had a coil removed was bizarre. I felt ten years younger within a few hours of removal each time, like my body just sighed in relief!
I didn't have either removed because I thought the coil was a big problem either - mirena because the contraceptive element seemed a bit pointless given the constant bleeding and lack of libido, copper was because my GP felt my headaches/PMS were indicative of my natural cycle and that I should try again with hormonal contraception to try and reduce those symptoms.

My DH commented later that I don't do well with most things close to the body, eg I've never got on with earrings as my body tends to reject them, I can't do contact lenses, my skin reacts to clothing labels etc so perhaps it's not a surprise my body never fully tolerated a foreign object being there? I know there's no scientific basis for it at all but I thought it was an interesting point!

I vowed to stick to contraceptive pills after that, I know it's a bit old fashioned but at least I can change them as and when I want to.

It could be the mirena. They say its localised but within a month of having mine out I lost 5kg (good chunk of that water retention/bloating - all my rings fit again!). Lots of things that used to make me anxious suddenly didn't, my eczema and dermatitis disappeared, and my libido went through the roof.

If the mirena works for you, it is amazing. I had no periods so without all the side effects it would have been ideal. Hormones just don't interact well with me. I had a break and asked my DH about going back on something and he immediately said he saw I was a much happier and healthier person not on contraception and we can use condoms until we decide we're definitely done having kids and he'll have the snip.

The mirena made me suicidal- literally intense intrusive thoughts hourly, which stopped the day after it was removed.

Other side effects: anxiety, insomnia, depression, muted libido, weight gain, intense excess sweating, eczema (probably from the sweating), back pain and super aggressive mood swings where I would just see red.

All of it (alas not the weight gained) disappeared within weeks of having it removed, but it was how quickly the intrusive thoughts disappeared that really shocked me.

I was going to the gp for years with all the issues above and they never mentioned it could be the mirena - was only when I went to a gynae and started keeping a diary that it clicked.

Removing it caused a huge issue with my periods and flooding, one gynae I saw said my only option was to have a mirena again! Of course, I refused!

I understand they're a miracle cure for a lot of women but it's atrocious how dismissive medics are of the issues they can cause.

Quite hard to get them taken out atm apparently my surgery won't do it - too busy "due to Covid" which seems to be the default excuse for everything just now

I’ve found the opposite. I’m so much calmer with shorter, lighter periods and hardly any pain. The Mirena has been amazing for me.