BCP to Mirena IUD? - Birth Control Message Board

Tigress223 · 11-15-2004, 07:09 AM

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here. Discovered this board a few days ago and it looks great.

I have some questions I hope you can help me with. I have been on BCP's for 14 years.

I have almost no progesterone naturally and without BCP only get my period 1 1/2 - 2 times a year. I have two children. The Levlen cleared up my acne prone skin beautifully except it absolutely killed my sex drive. After 11 years on Levlen and not knowing my dead sex drive had anything to do with the pill my insurance company substituted with Levora. Well, my face started breaking out again, my blood pressure went up and my sex drive went through the roof. I've been on Levora for about 3 years now.

The sex drive after starting Levora starting going up and down and about 5 months later I sank into a severe depression which i do not attribute to the Levora. I'm now on an anti-depressant which has improved my mood and libido but it's still not like it was during the switch over from Levlen to Levora though it is definitely better than when I was on the Levlen alone.

All that to say I want to go off the pill and use an IUD. I initially wanted Paragard because of it being non-hormonal. My GYN said her experience with the Mirena IUD has been favorable and recommends it. Said she has had very few complaints of side effects with it. She will order whichever one I want but I trust her and chose to go with Mirena.

Can anyone tell me what to expect? My main concerns are continued or worsened acne, weight gain, and decreased sexual desire. Since I have virtually no progesterone anyway, I suppose I should have something that adds some to my system? Any opinions or experiences with low progesterone or Mirena IUD?

Thanks!

PSU Lioness · 12-01-2004, 10:19 AM

I went from Oral Contraceptives to DepoProvera to the NuvaRing and now tomorrow I'm getting the Mirena IUD... I suffer from Endometriosis and therefore need something that can reduce or eliminate my periods; but I've had wicked side effects from other methods. I'm hoping the Mirena IUD will be the "miracle cure" that my doctor thinks it will be. He says that my periods should get lighter and lighter until they are gone, and that the level of progestin is so minute that it shouldn't cause any side effects (it will be the equivalent of taking 2 mini b.c. pills per week).

I've done loads of research and think this is a great option. I have not had any children yet, (I'm 24) and I don't intend to for a while. I know that some doctors warn against IUD's for people who have not yet conceived, but my doc assures me that it will be fine.

I'll keep you posted on how I do!

ktee_uk · 12-12-2004, 03:49 PM

Hi
Have had mirena for over a year. Inserted to reduce effects of endo. Worked for about 3 months and now almost back to where I began except pain is more frequent and spotting continuous. Am seeing gyno end of Dec to see what other options there are. Have also gained about 10lbs. !!!

BJM04 · 12-12-2004, 07:20 PM

Whats the diffence between Levlen and Levora?Are they bc pills..Is Levora generic version of Levlen?Shouldnt the genric work the same?just curious?

Tigress223 · 12-13-2004, 05:13 AM

Levlen and Levora are supposed to be identical. But they are different brands and even though the active ingredients are the same things like fillers that vary from brand to brand or generics, can have an effect. I was shocked when there was such a big difference between the two for me. On Levlen - GREAT skin, NO sex drive, blood pressure fine. On Levora - Acne returns, Sex drive returns, blood pressure rises. My doc didn't comment on it at all. My insurance substitiuted Levora as a generic for Levlen but my doc said Levora is not a generic, it's a different brand of the same pill.

I did get my IUD about 2 weeks ago and so far I love it. I can slowly feel my sex drive going up. My skin has had it's ups and downs. Insertion was painful but the cramping stopped as soon as it was done. I had some MILD cramping for about the next hour and then nothing. Had some light spotting for about 3 days and that's all. Now it's like it's not even there. I'm looking forward to see if things continue to improve with my sex drive the longer I'm off the pill and hope my skin clears up. I wish I would have done this a long time ago.

Hope this helps.