MIrena Coil and weight gain!!!!!! Anyone else have it?

[allthegirls]

Hi

I have had the mirena coil for just over a year now and have put on massive amounts of weight!! I have put on around 1 1/2 stone!!!!!! I go to the gym at least 3 times a week but try to go 4. i do a hard work out for an hour and am actually quite fit for a fatty!! But what is really annoying is the fact that despite all this I never seem to lose weight. Infact it is the oppposite the pounds just seem to creep on. It is really getting me down now. Has anyone else had the same problems with the mirena coil? I am going to get an appointment with the doctors hopefully next week but just wanted to hear from anyone else who may of had the same problems!

Hi, first posting for me so hope I am doing it right. I had mirena fitted 7 months ago and experienced a whole range of side effects. But because every time I went to my doctor she would say it is not the coil, I started to get really worried that something was very wrong with my health!! So it is a relief to be able to read your postings and learn that so many of you are experiencing the same symptoms as me! First of all, I put on lots of weight, about a stone in 7 months, in spite of being a very active mother of two with a relatively small appetite. My breasts are huge and my stomach is so swollen I look 5 month pregnant. The other side effect that has been crippling my life is migraines, which I never ever got before. Without fail, I get them for four days before my period and, as they come with dizziness, tiredness and nausea, they are really debilitating. Besides, I have started experiencing back pain, especially in my lower back, and some days the pain will not leave me from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed again. Finally, anxiety and depression regularly hit a week before I am due. Again, my doctor said that the mirena would help me with my PMT but, although I cannot say this has got worse than it was, it certainly hasn't got any better. Also, I don't know if any of you feel the same, but I find really weird not having periods any more, although I do realise this is not such a big deal compared to other side effects. Basically, my experience with the Mirena has not been positive and I am seriously considering getting it removed. Although, speaking with other women, they have had a really positive experience, so I think it is very much individual.

I have and I can honestly say it is even worse. The side effects with the copper coil were extremely long periods and absolutely crazy PMT for about two weeks a month! I could not function any more. Apparently, copper does that to you. Now that I have tried both types, I am definitively steering clear of coils and going back to more old-fashioned methods of contraception

I have a mirena coild and did wonder about putting on weight as a result. I think it probably did increase my appetite.

However, I've still got it in and have managed to lose 16lbs (so far) and still hope to lose more. I know it's frustrating but if, like me, you're finding it great in every other aspect apart from weight gain it might be worth not getting it taken out yet and really trying to stick to a diet. Hard when you're ravenous, I know!

Had a "quiet word" with one of theGP's I work with, she agrees that copper coils cause heavier periods.

Got appt for thurs to have MC removed, gonna discuss where to go from there

I'll keep you posted!

I had the Mirena fitted in Feb and my dr warned me that it's quite normal to gain weight. I gained about 1/2 stone. I'm now on slimfast to reduce my weight and it is working fine, so it's possible to get weight down again. But like Kernewek my skin is terrible and I have considered having it out again several times.

So glad i found this site and thread!!

I had the Mirena Coil fitted on 3rd June, never suffered with heavy periods, it was just a form of contraception that my doctor recommended as the pill makes me evil (been on it since i was 16!!) I had a very light bleed for 2 weeks solid but after that i have not bled once, lovely feeling not having a period but the other side effects are just awful. I have had really awful skin which i just don't suffer from usually, i have gained 5lbs in 3 months but with me being a shorty you can really tell. On the plus side, my moods have been fantastic, i have been very chilled out which is a godsend for me and my family. I have decided this evening (after reading everyone else's threads) that i am calling the doctors tomorrow to get an appointment for the bloody thing to be removed!, i feel trapped in a body that doesn't feel like mine. I have talked my husband into having a vasectomy so i don't have to abuse my body with hormones any more. I just don't want to carry on gaining weight and this time next year being about 2 stone heavier (and i don't overeat at all and do plenty of exercise). Wish me luck!! x

Hello,
I have just found this site and I m so pleased! I had the copper coil fitted after having a DVT which was put down to being on the pill for over 20 years. It was awful! I had intense pain for 3 weeks out of 4! I continued for 9 months as the Doctor said it would settle but it didn't. The Mirena was then suggested. I had it fitted approximately 5 years ago and still have it. I have always eaten and drank a lot and never really exercised and have never gained weight, but I am at least a stone and a half heavier than I have ever been. I feel bloated, tired and generally not myself, although I agree with the 'chilled out' bit someone mentioned as I have always got very grumpy around my period time. I do not eat half as much as I used to and really watch what I eat but I seem to be getting heavier and more bloated, I also think I look 5 months pregnant. I am now going to think about having it taken out.

Hello,
I have just found this site and I m so pleased! I had the copper coil fitted after having a DVT which was put down to being on the pill for over 20 years. It was awful! I had intense pain for 3 weeks out of 4! I continued for 9 months as the Doctor said it would settle but it didn't. The Mirena was then suggested. I had it fitted approximately 5 years ago and still have it. I have always eaten and drank a lot and never really exercised and have never gained weight, but I am at least a stone and a half heavier than I have ever been. I feel bloated, tired and generally not myself, although I agree with the 'chilled out' bit someone mentioned as I have always got very grumpy around my period time. I do not eat half as much as I used to and really watch what I eat but I seem to be getting heavier and more bloated, I also think I look 5 months pregnant. I am now going to think about having it taken out.

hi there, I say go for it. 6 weeks on the Mirena was enough for me to pile on almost a stone. I looked constantly pregnant, and felt that bloating and tenderness as if I were 4 months gone. I also felt depressed and had mood swings - very unusual for me.

That, along with the constant dribbly bleed was enough for me to have it changed for a copper coil. Now I have normal, regular periods again (no heavier than before) and the horrid bloating has gone. Still have the weight to get rid of though

Hi new to this, and this is my first post... I have been reading things on here and other sites all day... I am in shock!! I have a long story but please read and help me if you can. In feb 2006 my mum became ill, myself and my sisters nursed her until she died in may of that year. (I was using the copper IUD at the time and was a size 8-10 and weighed between 8.5-9 stn. I lost that weight even after each of my three children (I put on 4 stone each pregnancy)within a matter of weeks) When my mum passed away I took it really bad as is expected, I had a hard time adjusting... In november 2006 i needed to get my coil changed and as i had been having very heavy very long periods the doctor advised that i have the mirena which I did. By this time because of the grief i was moping around and comfort eating a bit I had put on a few pounds was still in a size 10. by may 2007 I ended up being under the priory for serious clinical depression having group and 1-1 counseling and prozac, I got much better i stayed on the prozac for about 18 months have been back on them twice and i am back on them now. I am now a size 16 and weigh around 12.1/2stone. I have struggled with my weight and my moods and lethargy, I never thought that it was this coil!!! I can not actually get my head round it!! I made an appt with the doc to have it out tomo!! please give me some info if you know someone. or you have had yours out and seen results... honestly I am so confused right now... I just want to see if these last 4 years have been down to the this coil!!!

I had the mirena fitted about 6 months ago after suffering from permanent bleeding after having my son.

Almost immediately I felt very bloated and began to put on weight. I spoke to my GP who said that it couldnt be the mirena, it must be my diet, and that I had to give it a chance.

3 months later I had put on over 2 stone despite going to the gym 3 times a week and starting Slimming World and was more than I had ever weighed and looked pregnant again due to the amount of bloating. I also started to experience contraction like pains.

My GP finally referred me for a ultrasound scan and we discovered that my body was actually trying to push the mirena out - hence the contractions! For some reason it just did not agree with me.

I had it properly removed last week and have already lost 4lb and have a noticeably flatter stomach - the bloating is almost completely gone.

My GP is trying to talk me into trying it again however I think I am going to take the hint that my body is giving me and stick to the Pill!!!

I have had a Mirena for nearly 3 years and don't have periods at all which is very nice! Also seem to have put on quite a lot of weight, never thought it might be due to the coil....Has anyone else had any problems with pain? I get a lot of what feels like severe period pains but no period, comes at any time of the month and not sure what could be causing it except coil. My DH says he can feel it too, is this normal?

hi i had the merina coil fitted 5 mnths ago now and my side effects are....low mood,lethargic,low sex drive,heavy discharge,vivid dreams,greasy hair,spots round chin,weight gain,grumpy,pain around ovulation time....great contraception cause ur man prob wont want to come near! lol
im having it removed tomorow after 2 previous visits to the doctors and was fobbed off.wish i had done my reaserch before having this done

Hi ladies. I can't tell you how pleased I am to have what I have just recently suspected confirmed! I had really heavy periods and had my first Mirena coil fitted July 2005. I did start to gain weight but didn't think much about it as I've always had a big appetite and been between a 14 & 16. Then I stopped smoking November 2008. I gained more weight and have still stopped smoking (over 2 years) and don't even think about or crave cigarettes any more. Around September 2010 I had my second Mirena coil fitted and have to say I've probably gained half a stone or more since that one went in. I have taken up running and can run miles in a week and generally drink lots of water and eat healthily (except for the occasional treat at the weekend. So since July 2005 I'm guessing I've gained probably about 4 stone! 12th of January is D day - it's coming out....thought I was losing my mind. There had to be a reason why I couldn't shift this weight. I cannot wait to slowly shrink back down. Even a little will be better than nothing! I could cry with relief. Can't believe I didn't think about it before. Weight Watchers, Slimming World, Scottish Slimmers.... God luvs a tryer! This has to be my answer! You could balance a cup of tea on my belly....feel like I'm pregnant!!
Also I remember back to when speaking to the doctor about my heavy periods and there is an option of Endemetrial Thermal Abrasion (Google it)...I'm going for that! My name is going straight on the NHS waiting list. Love 'n light. xxx

www.2womenshealth.com/Endometrial-Ablation.htm

*Ablation - sorry. xx

Another one here feeling very bloated and fat. I've had a mirena about 8 months. I've tried to have it out but they can't find it. I'm now waiting to have it removed under general anaesthetic. I know it's in there somewhere, as I wouldn't be feeling so crap otherwise. Would be interested to hear if anyone else has had this problem with them.

I have never posted on a forum before but I feel I really must as a result of this evil contraceptive called the Mirena Coil.
Thankfully, I only had it in for 8 months & to think that in that time, it turned me from a happy person into a monster, who was starting to think there was nothing in life to live for (bearing in mind, I am a mother of 3 wonderful children!).
As well as depression, which I had never suffered from, i gained over 1 1/2 stone in weight - which no matter what I did could not be shifted due to a monstrous appetite for sweet & sugary food.
I had a constant bloated tummy, which led a parent at my kids school to ask when I was expecting child no. 4!
Complete and utter loss of libido, to the extent that I thought I no longer loved my husband & might therefore have to consider divorce!
The last straw was when I started to suffer from debilitating back pain - such that I couldn't get out of bed without being in agony or get into the car, without my son lifting my legs in.
I only connected all these ailments to the coil after only accidently coming across posts, through researching what was causing the back pain.
In my opinion, there appears to be what could be termed a conspiracy by GPs refusing to believe that in some women the coil produces some distressing & debilitating side effects. I was practically bullied by my GP into having the coil inserted in the 1st place & then he refused to remove it when I asked him to - I had to bypass him by getting the nurse to remove it!
Have only had it removed for 4 weeks now, but already bloatedness has gone, feeling happier, although sex drive still low, not eating as much & my back within days of having the evil thing removed, started to get better!
Ladies, for some the MC works fine, for others like myself, it can become a living nightmare - all I ask is if you are thinking of having it inserted, that you at least be aware of its potential side-effects & are not caught unaware. I didn't read the info leaflet given to me after insertion - in fact I threw it away as I did not expect something recommended by my GP as safe to cause me so much pain & heartache.

Please, we are intelligent women, who know our bodies better than anyone, doctor or no doctor, so lets listen to it, when its not happy!

Well, I've just come back from my Doc's because of heavy bleeding, and she recommended that I have a Merina coil fitted! She made it sound like a good choice and didn't give any idea that there may be so many side effects!

I'm already over weight, and certainly don't need anymore! I'm being checked out for a PID and she recommended this coil as a way of reducing my heavy periods, I tried tablets and they just made me ill, sick, headaches etc. So what to do????? Will go on with the check up because I have check that I don't have a cyst! (had chickenpox 12 months ago causing a MC and it has never been resolved) and will think long and hard about Merina.

The weight gain is caused as appetite can be increased.... it doesn't actually increase your weight unless you eat more.

I have one and I love it (although I know not everyone gets on with it) - periods now 3 days very light roughly every 7-8 weeks and last time I had one they stopped altogether after around 6-9 months.

I am on diet loosing baby weight (weight gain nothing to do with coil, it was put in the week my diet started) and have lost 36lbs since October.

hi everyone ," i googled 2 how long should you wait for a scan when your mirena coil is missing " and here i am surrounded by all you poor ladies feeling exactly like i have for the past 5 yrs. I cannot believe its taken me 5 yrs to realise i possibly have not been going mad , maybe i haven't turned frigid after all and that when they eventually find it and whip te evil thing out i may get back to feeling part of normal life!! 1 stone heavier since having my son and the mirena coil.The weight would not budge for nothing and has made me very depressed and i did suffer for a little while with bulimia although nobody knows this but you ladies.
I am thinking of getting sterilised when its out. I am 41yrs and happy to have 2 gorgeous boys and do not want to go through life feeling as bad as i have because of any contraception device. Hope you all get sorted. It might be great having no periods but its no big deal compared to depression or bulimia :(
I hope they hurry with this scan cause i want it out right now !!

I had to join to post on here as I have so many of these syptoms, the biggest being the fact that Im training everyday (swimming for 2hrs a day) on a very strict diet trying to lose the weight I have gained since having the mc fitted(7 months). So far I have lost all of 2 lbs in seven weeks!! I have dieted before not as strict and with no exercise and lost a hell of a lot more than this, being 14st 8 to start with I should be physically losing more than this. I accept I'm building some sort of muscle but my stomach is still as bloated and cannot decrease trouser size purely on my stomach.
Along with this I am not myself terrible migraines when I never used to have any. All of which I was putting down to my stressful job, but now Im having second thoughts.
Complete loss of libido, constantly tired, angry then tearful, then furious in a rage I feel is uncontrolable, I would seriously think before having a contraception like this.
I'm ringing the doctors again on Monday after already been once and told its not the coil I feel that I have now proved that with the amount of exercise and dieting Im doing it must be the coil as no body would physically hold onto the weight as much if it was not hormone related.
Ill let you know how I get on in a month and also if the weight starts to disappear.

Hi ladies,

I've never posted on this board before but have been doing a lot of reading lately! I just wanted to share my story and hopefully support some of you.

I have always struggled with false and have suffered with depression on and off as a result. I was on the pill and the depo jab since I was 14 but never linked it to my depression. When I came off of the hormonal contraceptives, I realised that I felt better than I had for a good 10 years!! After having two beautiful babies, I was unfortunately diagnosed with endometriosis. It seems the hormonal contraceptives had kept it at bay for all of those years. Following my laparoscopy, the doctor's advised the best treatment for my endo would be the Mirena coil. Reluctantly (because of the hormones), I had it fitted. The doc told me that the release of hormones was so small it was unlikely to affect me. I noticed I got spots, mild dizziness and tired, but it sure beat the symptoms and consequences of the endo developing.

Now this time last year I had bought my wedding dress. I had lost my baby weight and got in to a beautiful gown of my dreams. When I came back for the fitting a couple of months I was devastated to see that despite my weeks of healthy eating, I could not get into my dress!! I had put on over a stone!! So the mission started. I have been working like I have never worked in my life to lose the weight. Cardio exercise, rice, beans, rye bread. You name it and I have done it. But I attended WW every week and to my dismay I stayed the same, and even put on a couple of times. My leader has been puzzled by it too and referred it to her managers for ideas.

After reading all of the info on the internet I decided it MUST be that darn coil. I had it removed asap (yesterday). Now yes, it was only yesterday, but I have woken up 6lb lighter!! I really am not exaggerating or mad - it MUST be water weight or something.

I know everyone always wants to know how quick you lose the weight so I will keep you posted. Wish me luck. I have a dress fitting this Saturday for my wedding on 14th May! :)

I put on a stone and a half after I had the mirena fitted 5 years ago and the doctors told me that was impossible and I found it impossible to loose and the doctors said it had nothing to do with the coil and that you could not put that much weight on so quickly and would not entertain that water retention option.

Due to heavy and painful periods (the reason for the coil) I have now had it replaced as the 5 years were up and I made a decision that the issues were outweighed by the benefits for me.

The good thing now is that the doctors cannot argue that the coil does not cause weight gain as I insisted on being weighted on the day the coil was fitted. That was on the 16th of this month as 10 days before I had a gastric band fitted. As I have been on a liquid diet of approx 3 yogurts and a tin of soup for two weeks and then mash approx a bowl for the last 10 days the reason for any weight gain could not have been through my diet.

Whilst I have not gained any weight I have not lost a pound since the coil was fitted. I lost 19lbs in the two and half weeks before the coil was fitted with the pre op diet and then the liquid post op diet.

This for me is proof that the coil does cause the weight gain. I am going back to the doctors to see if this time they will provide me with the water retention pills that are required.

Keep you posted.

Hi, im new here.
I read this thread today with great interest, i have a mirena coil fitted at the moment and its now due to be replaced, ive been putting it off for a while due to the discomfort of the whole procedure.
Ive been struggling for a long while with my weight and my back keeps freezing on me and also im on meds for depression...which im trying to get off, never put them all together until i read this today, now im in two minds to have the coil replaced. Dont know what to do know x

Toadette I had a mirena coil fitted roughly the week I started my diet (ie both around the time I stopped BFing DS2). Have had no problem loosing 3.5 stone since then now at target.

The hormone in mirena is similar to that in the mini-pill and injection (but at much lower dose) and the combined pill is not suitable if you are overweight (or over 35) - so if you rule out mirena then you need to consider non hormonal contraception.

Probably best to discuss with doctor.