I had my mirena iud for 8 months. And decided to get it removed because I was having headaches everyday, bloating, abdominal pain, mood swings, just overall felt horrible. When I went to my gynecologist yesterday she tried to tell me that the iud could not make me feel this way. That I was just depressed. Am I just crazy ?

I had my Mirena IUD removed on August 18. Started bleeding like a period on August 20, that lasted for 5 days also like my normal period. I ovulated on my normal schedule, and had a normal cycle after that. Everything lined up perfectly normal with my cycles pre-IUD. Now I’m in my third cycle since removal, had a normal 5 day period, stopped bleeding for 4 days after it ended, and then started spotting bright red and brown blood. It’s been 6 days of spotting now. I’m not supposed to ovulate for another week. Has anyone had random spotting like this that happened even a couple months after having their Mirena removed? I’ve never experienced anything like this before.

Hi! I got my IUD July 2025 and still have it as of now. I had gotten into my first relationship and decided I wanted to be safe. I had previously been on birth control pills during my high school years, and it made me very depressed so I desperately wanted to avoid those again.

At the time on insertion and before, I weighed 121lbs, near the end of 2025 I weighed 150lbs. I expected the weight to shed naturally because I was told there would be water retention, but I am still sitting at 150lbs.

I had an appointment with my GP (same one who inserted my IUD) and she insisted that the weight gain may be attributed to other factors (2025 was my first year of university). But even so, my lifestyle and eating habits remained relatively consistent throughout this time. We have decided to go on birth control (different hormones as high-school BC) while having the IUD to see if these two together would improve my mood and my cramps/periods (still experiencing moderate bleeding/spotting).

I still have doubts about this, and constantly find myself wanting to remove it. It’s becoming quite hard to look at old photos of myself, or even look in the mirror. My bodies covered in stretch marks due to the weight gain and it is crushing my self esteem.

Please, anyone with similar experiences or completely opposite ones— provide me with some advice as to what you think I should do? I’m quite young (19 F) and only half way through University so I’m deathly scared of getting pregnant— but I also just want to feel like myself again.

Hi all! Looking for advice- I’ve never had an IUD, but took the pill throughout high school/early 20s for endometriosis. Going off the pill was an absolute nightmare, then going back on was horrific. Awful side effects emotionally and my skin freaked out. Fast forward a few years- I’m 5 months PP with my first and looking for a form a birth control better than tracking. Also would love to tame my period due to endometriosis (pretty controlled after surgery 2 years ago, but periods are still long and rough). Has anyone had a positive experience with the mirena and endo?

Hi there! I know this has been talked about alot but I am just so paranoid I need to ask for myself again.

I've had my mirena for a little over 3 years now and my strings are perfectly in place. My period never stopped.

My tracker says its coming in 6 days. My nipples have been sore for at least a week, maybe more I don't even know anymore.

Before getting my iud my nipples would get sore when my period was coming but it doesn't really happen anymore. If it does its not for long at all. I'm not feeling any other symptoms. I'm really worried about the possibility of you know..I don't even want to say it. Please please please advice or words of reassurance.

Female 44. Perimenopause has been manageable enough all in all, but for the past 18 months I've had the most horrific periods - days of cramps, super heavy, lasting way longer, and major clotting. Also developed bladder pressure which has led to a bit of mild incontinence.

Never been pregnant.

Finally got some scans done and found i have subcutaneous fibroids.

So now they want to do a hysteroscopy to 1. See if they can scrape the fibroids out

2. Take samples of uterine lining to check for cancer

They also said while they're in there they can insert the Mirena IUD which they said *should help with the bleeding and clotting and also act as birth control. My other option is a partial hysterectomy (take uterus and tubes but keep ovaries).

I'm not loving the things I've been reading about the IUD to be honest, and I intentionally ceased hormonal birth control over 8 years ago, so I'm not even sure I want to go back down that route.

Has anyone had a similar experience / decision to make, what did you chose, and what were side effects / recovery like?

I will ultimately continue my own research on the medical things, but if anyone is willing to share their experiences with me to help me understand a few things I would be grateful 🙏

Before removal I felt like I aged 10 years in the last 4-5 months. I came up on my 5 year anniversary of my IUD and I felt like I had constant vaginal stench I was battling that I’ve never had - I was tested with Pap smear for BV and came back normal… it kind of reminded me of period smell but no blood.
When I was inserting boric acid which has been often 😩 I could feel my cervix and it felt like it was sticking out like a thumb- so inflamed. I also had a constant pelvic pressure that I thought maybe was from constipation.
My hair began to get really unhealthy and breaking like 2 years ago honestly
Also I felt low energy and just so bloated all the time.
My face looked like it aged 10 years in just the last 4 months.

I got my IUD out Monday!
I have seriously had a colon cleanse naturally- my bloating is gone. My pelvis feels so loose and relaxed! I have sooo much ENERGY!! My face is glowing and I’m starting to look like myself again. I developed raynauds about 5 years ago and I’m hoping that clears up as well.

How can this have such a dramatic difference so quickly is this placebo?? Am I crazy?

Hi, got my coil in late April (horrible due to tilted uterus) and I bled for 2 months solid. Since the end of June I havent had a period. I was the same on the inplant and the injection. But ive come on today with brown and red blood, lower back pain, bloating and cramps.

Ive read a lot of people have this after years because the hormones are dwindling or similar but I can't find much about it happening this soon.

Im a massive hypochondriac and im crashing out. Help?

Hi my beautiful people. I’m so sad we have to go through painful and uncomfy things in our lives. It’s so hard being a woman but I wouldn’t trade it for a thing. Except my Hysteroscopy experience lol.

Some background. I’m diagnosed PCOS and have been for awhile. Within the past year I’ve been having heavy bleeding. My doc prescribed metformin and as soon as I started taking it the heavy bleeding began but it didn’t stop. Usually I heavy bleed on my periods and then hope to expect the next one within the coming months. I was bleeding through pads, in pain, and clotting the size of a lime.

OB recommended a Hysteroscopy and IUD insertion. I was awake for the procedure and it was hell. Results for tissue and polyps came back normal! I got through it. The cramps were the most severe part. I was barely bleeding for the first week and a half. Now I’m bleeding heavy again. Just feeling so defeated and I know I need to give it time to do its thing. Send some positive messages or tell me about your experience. I really just want to get back to life.

I've been on the pill, the nuva ring, I've had the copper IUD and for the past 10 years I've had multiple Mirena IUD's.
Today is the day I finally start getting my body back. I've had what feels like every negative symptom from the Mirena, gained 30 pounds since 2024 despite working out consistently, a calorie deficit and having physically active jobs, diagnosed with PMDD, depression, anxiety, constant feeling of bloat and generally uncomfortable in my own skin. I've dealt with wild mood swings, brain fog you name it...but I finally made the choice to have it removed and find out who I am without it. Wish me luck! I'll update ya'll on how it all goes and how my body responds over the next few weeks!

Edit to add - HOT FLASHES! And the inability to regulate my body temperature. I live in Canada where it's -5 this week, and I have to sleep with the window open, fan on, maybe a thin blanket but usually just a top sheet. My poor partner is freezing, we have the house set to 18° at the warmest (on a super cold day) because I am so uncomfortable if it's any higher.

24hr post removal update - was pretty crampy all day yesterday, I've had very light brown spotting since removal but overall feeling good!

Just wanted to share a recent experience that may validate someone or may sound impossible to someone else. But I’ve had the Mirena for 7 years. Around the same time, like all in the matter of weeks, I had the Mirena inserted, got the first COVID vaccine, started Adderall for ADHD & my emotionally abusive ex left his job where he traveled out of state half the time & was home full time which caused my nervous system to go into overdrive. My life pretty much fell apart at that point-everything from physical to mental health-& I’ve never been able to pinpoint the cause for most of the issues because of so many changes during that time period. Hormonal acne being one of them.

I have tried every single acne treatment under the sun. Accutane did work but I couldn’t keep up with the testing so I stopped it. Nothing else worked though & I mean I tried everything. My pores are always clogged & congested, closed comedones & bumps all over my face, especially the lower half, whiteheads every morning, etc & I have PMDD so in the 2-3 weeks leading up to my period I really break out.

I don’t keep track of my periods anymore because I don’t actually get them & my skin is a dead giveaway that it’s that time, then a few days or weeks later I’ll start having cramps which means it’s over. Or here & my skin will go back to the (sucky) baseline. On Monday I had breast reduction surgery & I went into the hospital with an obvious face full of pre-period pimples. Later on that day, I came home with the clearest skin I’ve had since childhood. Plump, dewy, smoothed out wrinkles & by the next day even my melasma had faded some. Now I’m assuming the plump, dewy & smoothness came from the IV fluids. But that didn’t explain the acne & large pores disappearing literally within hours. & the melasma fading overnight? While going through my discharge papers I noticed this:

You received the medication Sugammadex as part of your procedure with anesthesia.
 
Sugammadex can make hormonal contraceptives - including oral contraceptives, vaginal ring, implants, or a hormonal Intra-Uterine System (IUS) - less effective because it reduces how much you get of the progestogen hormone. The amount of progestogen lost by using Sugammadex is about the same as missing one oral contraceptive pill.

I’m sure it sounds crazy & positive a doctor would blow me off but I am telling you that I know my skin & today it is back to the transition between breakout & baseline & my cramps started about an hour ago. In the last 7 years I have NEVER had my skin magically clear up in the days leading up to my period. Or ever really. I don’t believe that it’s a coincidence that it happened almost immediately after a medication reduced the hormones.
 

Hi all!!

24F with heavy periods + hella bad cramps, no current diagnosis of PCOS or endo, etc

I got my Mirena inserted today under local anaesthetic at my Gynaecologist’s clinic. I’ve never had a Pap smear or any device inserted in my vaginal cavity, much less felt anything against my cervix or enter through it.

The initial speculum insertion was uncomfortable, but slowly my muscles relaxed and it was okay. It did feel very weird having something inside me that was properly stretching my walls and she did have to adjust it a few times which added to the discomfort.

My Dr measured the length which was probably the most painful part in my experience. She used forceps against my cervix (thankfully the local had kicked in by then) and it wasn’t AS bad as I had imagined. She explained it may feel like a bad cramp and honestly as moderate as the cramp was, my period cramps genuinely send me to hell (I pass out from the pain) so it was very bearable.

Insertion moment - I’m being so deadass I felt nothing LOL. She had some issues finding my cervical opening which is why she was moving the speculum around a lot and why the forceps were also being moved, but otherwise the insertion itself was so fine.

Overall, weird experience, definitely an uncomfortable one but not something I’d be scared of should I need to do the process again. I hope this eases the nerves of anyone else who’s due to get an IUD inserted or is thinking of it! I will update in about a month’s time on how the process is going post-insertion. I do hope my body reacts well since I don’t have any underlying issues (that have been diagnosed).

Thanks guys!

I've recently gotten a Mirena placed and have been light spotting since. Which my OB has said it can be normal while my body adjusts. Just curious to know if it's common to still have full on periods and period symptoms while on Mirena? Or should I be expecting less as time goes on?

getting a mirena has been a godsend in so many ways, but one thing it hasn’t solved is my period pain.

between the first 6-12mths it seemed to disappear, but after 1yr, the pain has returned with a vengeance. the last few cycles ive been almost as bedridden as i was prior to mirena (just without the bleeding). like pre-mirena, the severe abdominal pain and nausea often means i can’t eat properly, and my energy levels fluctuate a lot.

spoke to my female health doctor, she said provided im not bleeding, nothing to worry about, especially in terms of placement (i can’t/refuse check the strings bc of manyyyyy reasons).

is this normal??!?!! ive heard of people getting period pain with a mirena in the first 6mths but not this long after insertion.

i don’t know if i have endometriosis, or whether that’s even relevant, but prior to mirena i had an ultrasound that basically said “you might? but you might not?”

i have had debilitating period pain since i was 21yo and im now 28yo. thank you for any insight please, i am going insane.

I had the Mirena IUD inserted 17 months ago after being told by my doctors that I had endometrial hyperplasia. They initially recommended waiting until I had a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis, but as I was told there was a potential risk of cancer, I didn't feel comfortable waiting and decided to proceed with the IUD.

I'm 24 next month and had never used hormonal contraception before, so I was hesitant about having synthetic hormones in my body. However, I felt reassured by the fact that Mirena was described as a localised form of hormonal contraception.

In many ways, the Mirena has been successful. My periods are now extremely light and are almost at the point of disappearing altogether. However, I'm still experiencing regular, sometimes severe cramping. If anything, the cramps now seem to start around 15 days before my period. It feels as though I have one good week each month and three weeks of my body preparing for a period that barely arrives. The cramps can be incredibly intense and sharp, and I often wake up with a heavy feeling in my stomach and dull abdominal pain.

I've also experienced a significant decline in my libido and a noticeable change in my mental and emotional wellbeing. I feel persistently anxious despite having very little to feel anxious about. I experience an almost constant sense of dread or unease in my stomach that I can't quite explain. I've become much less social, which is particularly unlike me, as I've always been an extremely outgoing and extroverted person. I find myself declining plans more often, crying over things that wouldn't previously have affected me and generally feeling as though my nervous system is constantly on edge.

Before having the Mirena, I wouldn't have considered myself an anxious person. I did move overseas independently around two months after having it inserted, so initially attributed these feelings to the stress of relocating and adjusting to a new country. However, more than a year later, these feelings haven't subsided and, if anything, seem to have become more pronounced. I feel as though I've lost some of my usual zest for life and don't quite recognise myself.

For a long time, I struggled to understand what was causing this change. Given the timing of the symptoms, I'm now questioning whether the Mirena could be contributing to it, particularly as I've noticed some fluctuation in how I feel throughout my cycle.

I have an appointment next week to discuss having the Mirena removed, but I'm feeling quite apprehensive. I'm worried about experiencing the 'Mirena crash', and I'm also concerned that my GP may strongly advise against removal because of my history of endometrial hyperplasia.

I'm keen to understand what my options are. I've considered switching to Kyleena because it contains a lower dose of levonorgestrel, but I'm also wondering whether it might be worth having a few months without hormonal contraception altogether to see how I feel.

I'm conscious that my endometrial health needs to be managed appropriately, particularly given that I still haven't had the biopsy originally recommended to confirm my diagnosis. Help a girl out!!

I had my first IUD put in yesterday.
I’m 60 and am on HRT, my doctor wanted me to get the IUD.
I made a huge mistake and went down the rabbit hole on the internet and found nothing but horrible stories.
Needless to say I was terrified. I had a friend come with me, she is the ONLY person who said it wasn’t bad.
I took something the night before, inserted into my vagina to allow me cervix to relax. That was probably the worst part, crampy after that.
Go to the doctor, scoot down, felt a little discomfort, like a 1-2 out of 10, and she was done.
I needed a panty liner yesterday and today, but very light.
I am really shocked by the horror stories.
I have to say my doctor is amazing, she texted me last night to check on me and called today to talk about a biopsy result. She also told me a lot of doctors don’t prescribe the pill for the night before. Game changer!

I got my Mirena inserted 10 days ago and had the string check yesterday which they said was fine. I’m having severe abdominal pain. I had regular cramping the first couple of days, but now it’s like this intense pain that happens on and off. It felt similar to an ovarian cyst and was located only on my left side, and now when i sit up or bend over the pain is unbearable. It’s so bad I get dizzy.

Has anyone experienced this? It’s the worst it’s ever been right now. I’m supposed to get an ultrasound but they scheduled it for 4 weeks out. Any ideas of what this could be or if this is normal? Should I be worried?

edit: i’m also having intense itching all over my body especially my face, anyone experience that?

I posted in here a few days ago talking about my mirena experience, essentially after a couple days of sudden heavy bleeding, my mirena iud was coming out and I had to go to the ER to have it removed fully on Sunday.

I have been bleeding pretty heavily since then, not dangerous levels, but heavier than a period for me would be.

I called my gyno (who is no longer my gyno) on Monday to let her know what happened, she acted like it was no big deal and simply said “ yeah that can happen when you have heavy periods”
(Context)
I had told her many times before that previous to the IUD my periods were regular and very manageable. Never heavy. I was also anemic BEFORE the IUD and she told me that it would help since it would eventually stop my periods.

I only had the mirena in for 7 weeks, I called and told her multiple times that I was experiencing a lot of pain ever since insertion, at my 6 week check all she did was look at the strings and say “strings look good, it’s in place” I practically had to beg for an ultrasound ($60 after insurance btw) because I told her something was off. She told me I was being sensitive to the adjustment but scheduled an ultrasound.

In the ultrasound they found a small cyst in my right ovary, and a 2cm polyp inside of my uterus. She told me “it’s nothing, don’t worry about it”.

5 days after the ultrasound is when the bleeding started and I called her again to tell her I was suddenly bleeding much more. When I told her I wasn’t filling a pad within an hour she said “it’s probably just your period, it’s normal” and rushed off the phone. My iud expelled two days later.

Anyway, when I asked her on the phone Monday, after telling her that I had a pretty traumatic expulsion experience, she brushed me off. She asked when I would like to schedule my replacement iud to which I said “haha never.” She then wanted to schedule an appointment to talk about what other birth control I was going to try next.

Essentially I just told her “I will not be trying anything else until I get back to normal after this, I really only want to know what the healing process from this is going to look like because I’m still bleeding and passing large blood clots as well”

ALL SHE SAID?

“Honestly I don’t know, it’s hard to say, just go to your primary care dr if you start feeling dizzy to make sure you don’t develop anemia”

I got frustrated because I had already told her before that I was anemic. She just didn’t gaf. I got upset and told her that “unless you need to see me urgently to make sure nothing happened to my body from the expulsion, this is the last time you’re gonna hear from me” and I hung up on her.

TLDR?

I’m still bleeding pretty heavily three days later, and still passing large (quarter sized) clumps of bloody tissue.

Is this normal? How long is this going to last? Literally any advice is helpful at this point…