posted 05-29-2003 08:58 PM            

Mirena is something like 1/5th the dose of even the weakest birth control pill -- Alesse.

posted 05-31-2003 02:50 PM            

I guess I'm saying is I don't know personally -- I'm on the birth control pill and haven't gained an ounce, and everyone seems so incredibly freaking concerned about weight-gain that it makes me a little sick.

posted 06-07-2003 04:47 PM            

I hope this helps too but did your doctor tell you that you might bleed for 2-6 months straight. That is one of the effects of the Mirena. You should not bleed alot but you probablly will spot for a while. I am not sure about the headaches because my Migraines did not get worse when I got it put in. I hope that your bleeeding is not very heavy. However when I did stop bleeding my periods went away all together.

One of the reasons they tell you that they want you to have a child before is because there is a little more room and also in very rare cases they are women who become infertile or have a very hard time conceiving after they have the Mirena or an IUD put in place.

posted 07-26-2003 12:27 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Shooz:
I just had a Mirena inserted 8 days ago. Weight gain was not listed as a side effect. I have a question for you though. When mine was put in, the doctor cut the threads and then could not feel them. She did an ultra sound to make sure it was in the right place (it was) and then said that if by my next period the threads were still not there, she would have to remove this one and re-insert a new one, leaving the threads longer. Well, I checked later when I got home, felt them and re-checked days later again. They were still there. Today I checked and they're gone again. Should this thing be moving like that? And if I have to have it removed, won't it be painful? Sorry for the long message. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, shooz

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posted 07-27-2003 01:04 PM            

You need to make sure you are taking plenty of iron supplements right now. Since you are bleeding a little everyday, you are losing more iron than you would usually. The dizziness could be a sign of anemia. When you take your iron tablets, don't take them with any other vitamins. Some vitamins interfere with the absorbtion of iron. I take all of my vitamin supplements in the morning and take my iron pills at night all by itself. I don't take iron every night, just every other night. You might need to take it every night until you feel better.

I had my Mirena inserted on 5/23/03. For the first month I bled every day. Some days it was only light spotting, but it was still bothersome. I had read that this could happen for 3 to 6 months.
I then found a message by a gynocologist that recommends her patients use a progesterone cream. This cream helps even out the estrogen and progsterone ratio. Since the Mirena excretes estrogen it throws this ratio out of whack. This can result in prolonged bleeding, bloating, breast tenderness, moodiness and other problems. So if any of you ladies experience weight gain, remember to give this a try. Sweetcakes, I would recommend you try it, because within 3 days of my starting it my bleeding stopped.

The cream she recommended is called Emerita Pro-Gest body cream. You rub one fourth a teaspoon on your body for 21 days out of the month. Once I tried this my bleeding and spotting stopped, except during the days when I was taking a break from the Pro-Gest cream. This stuff can be bought at most health food stores, I got mine online at Vitacost. It might help you, it helped me.

I am now very happy with my decision to try the Mirena, as I am not a candidate for the pill, this is really one of the only ways I can have birth control without interrupting sexual spontanaity.

Hope this helps,
Sherrie

[This message has been edited by pi_squared (edited 07-27-2003).]