Mirena Coil 5 years old

[Lindab62]

I'm 55 and I have had my mirena fitted for 5 years in August. I've not had a period for more than 10 years as had an IUD fitted before the mirena. My question is how do I know if I've gone through the menopause. Do I have the coil taken out and another put in or will it keep working as an IUD indefinately but without the hormone release. . I only had it because at the time I had my other taken out after a D&C the mirena was the only option at the hospital
If I have it take out will I need to use contraception??

Your mirena will last for 7 years as it was fitted when you were over 45.
You need to have a blood test to see if FSH is in menopausal range- it then needs to be repeated in 12 months.
Basically you need 2 readings in menopausal range 12m apart to confirm you are post menopausal and safe to discontinue contraception - i.e. Have mirena removed so you will need to keep it in (or use alternative contraception) until then

You can't have accurate blood tests while using any sort of hormonal contraception and the Mirena could affect your tests as some progestogen will be in your system.

In any case, NICE says no blood tests for peri meno women over 45 as they are a) very innaccurate during peri and b) waste of NHS cash.

GPs are advised to go by symptoms alone.

The only way to find out is to have the Mirena removed and see what happens. At 55 you are likely to be post meno but you should continue with contraception for at least a year if you have no period (this is the same for any woman over 50 .)

Interesting. My mirena is 5 years old in March. It was fitted 2 months before my 45th birthday. So technically I should have a new one but if it had been fitted in the May I could leave it in?

Have had some marked Meno symptoms for 2 years. I don't want a new mirena though. Hmmm