Has my mirena stopped working?

[Margaritawithlime]

Hi all
been a very happy owner of a mirena since 2019 and went along to have it replaced last year but was told by my GP that it should last another few years yet. The new research she said shows that it was effective against pregnancy for 8 years so keep on trucking and come back for another then and the next one should ‘sail you through menopause’ (we shall see about that bit)
So far so good. Until today when I suddenly came on my first period since the month after having it in in 2019. I have been absolutely knocked by the flu this week so not sure if this could have affected it but if not I’m assuming that this means I need to have it changed?
hoping someone knows a little more than I

Currently battling with my GP practice manager to get my 5.5yo mirena changed. She’s set that it can last 8yrs for contraception- and is deaf to mine being solely for extremely heavy periods and its effects falling off a cliff in the past few months.

The hormones in them drop over time, so while it may protect against pregnancy for 8 years (it was only 5 when I had mine). It will become less effective at stopping your periods. I would have wanted mine changed at 3 years as it stopped working for me then and yes I was using it to stop heavy periods as well as avoiding pregnancy.

Ahhh. Well I shall get right onto them then. I have INCREDIBLY heavy periods and have lived in bliss without them. Not happy about them being back honestly

I'm surprised your GP was so lackadaisical about changing your Mirena. I've had three and my GP has always been religious about changing them every 5 years. They apparently start to deliver slightly less hormone over time from about the 3-year mark (that was told to me by a GP) and by 5 years they really do need to be changed. I would insist that they change it immediately!

she said it was all based on current research so don’t mess with what’s not broken. But it is now! It’s booked in for a swap over in a few weeks thank goodness.