For those who have used Mirena

[Kubash16]

I am currently on the pill in an effort to regulate my hormones. I get very suicidal and dysregulated when approaching the time of the month. The pill has helped quite a bit but my Gyn mentioned wanting to have me on Mirena instead (my stuff is usually super heavy and long and miserable).

Does anyone have any experience with the hormonal aspect? Did it help with mood regulation, or make it worse?

 

[Fadeaway]

I thought they took that shit off the market 10+ years ago ?. Sorry too pissed to findout I mistakenly believed it was off the market to be more helpful ???

 

[Sideways]

I was pretty heavily doped up on a tonne of seroquel when I tried a nuvaring. Similar issues. Without contraception my period is super heavy, and can last 14 days of my 28 day cycle.

Screw that for a joke.

I tried the nuvaring for a few months. Trying different pills was more effective. I didn’t notice any benefit to my mood (but like I said, I was pretty doped up at the time and, er, also a long-term inpatient because I was preeeeetty unwell!). The nuvaring was one of the many cards we tried along the way.

It helps a lot to consult a doctor who specialises in female health. It doesn’t have to be a Obgyn - there are a fair few gp practices these days that specialise in womens health. They tend to keep across the newer options coming available.

My pill not only has to accommodate my heavy menstrual cycle, it also has to keep my adult acne away, and not irritate my migraines. So, I’m a bit of a bitch of a patient to have when it comes to this issue.

But there are docs out there that are pretty knowledgeable about this, and when they specialise in womens health, they have the benefit of having a lot of patients to provide feedback on issues.

Hope it works for you. It’s an incredibly individualised thing with what works from one person to the next.

 

[Kubash16]

I thought they took that shit off the market 10+ years ago ?. Sorry too pissed to findout I mistakenly believed it was off the market to be more helpful ???

Apparently it isn’t ? cause gyn suggested it to me, what was your experience? I’m assuming not good at all.

 

[Fadeaway]

My hormones were all over insane like until my body rejected it which was a painful experience. I didn't recomend anyone who has struggled with hormonal birth control to put something in their body long term.

 

[siniang]

Those of you who are on the pill: Unless it's a mini-pill, you can skip the break (skip the placebo pills of your brand uses those) and just continue taking the pills. You can skip your bleeding (which isn't a real menstruation anyway but actual hormone withdrawal).

I still got very heavy bleeding even while on the pill and did this for years with a break every half year or so. I didn't want a different pill due to worry about side effect (the higher the hormonal doses, the more likely and potentially severe the side effects).

I've heard not much about the Mirena, but what I heard isn't good (personal experiences).

Also, if you have heavy, long and painful menstruations - did you get checked out for endometriosis?

And @Sideways is right, not many docs, even OBGYNs know much about this stuff. They go with whatever they've always went or what they're contracted with. The lack of knowledge on women's health among alleged women's health providers is insane.

 

[Kubash16]

I know I can skip the period part and have, but I would rather just go with something that isn’t another pill on top of what I’m already taking. I’ve got issues consistently taking medication (trying to fix this) but that includes times of skipping several bc pills and that sets off hormonal issues which just goes into this whole cycle. I know I need to get better about this, but if I can have one less pill to self destruct with and not be able to have mood cycles from it then maybe that will help me stay on track with other meds. My biggest concern is whether or not people with PMDD/PTSD have noticed if the hormonal aspects of Mirena were better or worse then the pill.

 

[Missycat]

Hi, i have had the Mirena coil fitted for a few years and i havent seen any change to my hormones, moods or ptsd symptoms. I had it fitted following surgery for a polyp and to help reduce my womb lining without the need for further surgery. I did have an ovarian cyst and one of my ovaries and fallopian tubes removed this year and as im post menopausal the cause of the cyst could have been the coil however there is no way to prove or disprove it. I have had a mirena fitted again as it reduces the risks of womb, cervical cancers and it has reduced the thickness of my womb lining considerably helping my menopausal symptoms.

 

[Sideways]

You can skip your bleeding (which isn't a real menstruation anyway but actual hormone withdrawal).

Yeah, if I had a penny for every time someone told me that.

I can sometimes skip the menstrual migraine by skipping the sugar pills. But I get a period regardless.

My gp has suggested trying other pills to try and combat that specific issue, but they aren’t as effective for migraine prevention. With menorhagia (spellcheck), sometimes there ain’t nuthin but a hysterectomy that’s gonna stop you having a period (and yup, I’m considering one!!). But for most people that does work. My sister periodically reminds me how awesome her period-free life is :arghh;

 

[siniang]

Yeah, if I had a penny for every time someone told me that.
[...] My sister periodically reminds me how awesome her period-free life is :arghh;

Sorry!!! ?

(You'd be surprised, though, how many women don't know that).

Skipping the period worked for me for years - until it didn't anymore. I also started getting bleedings regardless, and tons of spotting basically all the time. The hormonal dosage wasn't enough for me anymore (as was pretty much foreshadowed by me still having strong periods even while on the pill basically from the start) and I refused to try stronger pills.

You'd probably heard this, too, but just in case: migraines are a common side effect of hormonal contraception. So are depressions.

I'm glad though that the pill actually helps with migraine prevention for you. When it comes to hormonal contraception, unfortunately, it often is kind of a gamble and for many, at the end of a day, a compromise on what is most important for you to control (like migraines, body hair, ...)

I'm off hormones and not planning to go back, they wreck too much havoc in the body (but I'd be lying if I wasn't missing the period-free life when it worked). I considered non-hormonal IUDs and still am, but am terrified of the prospect of even stronger and more painful periods. Hysterectomy, even sterilization, is very tempting... but you'll never find a gyn who'd do this to a woman in her early 30s...

 

[Sideways]

migraines are a common side effect of hormonal contraception. So are depressions.

This. So much. Many women have been on contraception for so long that it’s actually hard for them to distinguish what’s hormonal depression and what’s not.

I absolutely get menstrual migraine, and the nuvaring didn’t help that much. But it is hard to tell, since I also get tension related migraines, as well as the migraine-big-daddy, cluster migraines.

Sometimes coming off contraception completely for a trial period can help improve depression. Which is another option to consider here.

 

[Kubash16]

Hysterectomy, even sterilization, is very tempting... but you'll never find a gyn who'd do this to a woman in her early 30s...

You might be surprised, my gyn suggested it last year even though I was only 27 and had never had kids.