Mirena and Oestrogel help please

[Judystilldreamsofhorses]

Hello, can anyone help please? I know I can ring for a GP appointment, but it will be about six weeks until I can get a phone consultation for something non-urgent.

I had a Mirena fitted last July, and my GP said to use one pump of gel with it. The gynae doctor who fitted it said two pumps. I felt really bloated, and had terrible sore boobs with two, so dropped to one per the GP, and everything settled down. I had odd bits of light bleeding, but I figured it would all be okay eventually.

This year I turned 50, and last month I had Covid. Not sure if either of these things is relevant, but since having Covid I have bled constantly. It’s not enough to need a tampon, but it is enough to be annoying - and obviously a contraceptive in its own right without the Mirena! It’s bright red blood rather than the kind of yucky brown I was getting before.

I had a vaginal and external scan in February to check the coil as the gynae doctor couldn’t find it after insertion. The appointment took ages to come through but all was fine.

Any ideas how to stop the bleeding - increase the gel? Or is the coil just not for me? I was on the mini pill before starting HRT and had no periods at all on that so this is really getting me down. Prior to coil/gel I tried patches but didn’t feel great physically with those and also they kept coming off in the bath.

I’m a healthy weight, and pretty fit/active. I had weird bleeding after each Covid jab, but nothing after having Covid last year when I was really unwell with it.

I needed more progesterone to stop bleeding. Now have mirena, oestrogel & also utrogestan on a continuous regime (didn’t want to have a bleed so gp agreed to continuous rather than cyclical)

Thanks for replying. Is that a tablet? (Sorry to be clueless.) Do you feel good on it? I initially was told to stay on the PoP as contraception until I got the scan to check the coil was in the right place and I felt like a stuffed sausage! I came off it when I was confident I could feel the strings.

I guess I should ring the GP but it is just such a carry on to get an appointment. I teach and they give you a day but no time to call, so it’s not ideal. My students do not need to hear about my HRT!

Yes it’s a tablet, you can take it orally or off licence as a pessary (it can reduce side effects using it this way)
I feel ok (great for half the time & not so great for some of the time) but I’m super sensitive to progesterone (including my own) so maybe I’m not a great benchmark to go by! Took me ages to find a COC that suited, then the pharma discontinued it.
I’m better with it than without because it stopped the bleeding & migraines but I’m still searching for the perfect regime for me.
Also I used a private gp because they gave me a specific appointment time so I could take the call in my lunch break.

I am having similar issues but I am on the mini pill rather than the mirena. (Mini pill, oestrogel and utrogestan). Any bleeding needs to be properly checked out - they should do a scan of your womb and a biopsy (I’m having mine done under general as I found it too painful in the day clinic but many do have it done that way). It’s the only way they can completely rule out cancer. Sorry to be the bearer of doom and gloom (a scan alone is not enough, my scan was normal). Then it’s a case of fiddling about with the doses etc to try and get the correct one to manage the bleeding - I’ve been told to use 2 pumps (was on 3) and I take utrogestan 100mg every night. I’m still bleeding. Been bleeding on and off for months now. I’m 42 - went into menopause aged 37 due to autoimmune issues.

@FunnyCradock thanks that's really helpful. I was absolutely fine on the mini pill and just assumed the Mirena would be the same as it's only progesterone. All very annoying!

@Xrays I was told at my scan that it can take up to 12 months for the Mirena to completely settle, and that some women will just bleed on and on then end up having it removed - it never entered my head that it could be cancer! After that scan I got a letter from the gynae who fitted it who is the menopause specialist expert person for this region, saying all was well.

Oh yes @Xrays is right. I had other causes ruled out <forgot this 🫣> I had a scan, no biopsy though. I had swabs too which showed thrush (no symptoms) and was treated for that which also coincided with the spotting stopping. Def worth pursuing this, apparently you’re more at risk of thrush if you have a mirena (it’s the gift that keeps giving, this hormone nonsense!)

OK, I need to ring the doctor then. I had the scan in February so I am sure all is well. I did two pumps of gel today and yesterday so we shall see if that helps - I checked my repeat slip and it definitely says two.

My friend reminded me that both of us got periods out of the blue after each Covid jab (at the time I was on the mini pills so no periods at all) so I do wonder if there is something in that!