Mirena and Menopause

[thedogisinmychair]

NC as quite personal.

I am 52 and have had a Mirena coil for almost 5 years and would be due for a replacement soon. Before that I was on various brands of combined pill for about 10 years.

I found the insertion incredibly painful and am not keen to have another if I can help it but otherwise it's worked well for me with no periods.

I have a couple of questions. In the present corona situation, replacement might have to be delayed for obvious reasons so is it still effective after 5 years and how long for?

Secondly, if you have a Mirena and no periods, how do you know if you are through the menopause? I've had hot flushes for a few years which are getting more frequent but not really any other symptoms. Could the symptoms be masked by the hormones in the coil?

Thanks for your advice.

Your mirena can stay in for longer and be contraceptively effective over 45 as long as you are not using it as part of hrt. They are not being replaced at the moment anyway due to corona virus. When you get a chance make a plan with your GP as regards finding out whether you are still likely to be fertile. You can have a blood test and if your FSH is raised take it that you are likely to be menopausal and leave the mirena in for a further year( similar to the situation without the mirena where you use contraception for 1 year after your last period if you are over 50) . You shouldn't need another insertion and removal of the device is usually straight forward.

Thank you Yikes, that is really helpful.