A blog from the network, written by Bonnie.
Well, this was intended be a simple little blog about asking you all to sign a petition asking Bayer, the manufacturer of Mirena, to fully disclose the side effects of Mirena to potential patients. But in checking back to the Mirena website to make sure I accurately used their wording concerning hair loss, I have now found that instead of just burying it as an “uncommon side effect, affecting less than 5% of users,” they have now removed it all together. I am so outraged that I am literally shaking! I am almost in tears. When I initially figured out that the Mirena was what was causing my hair loss, I found on their website that it listed “hair loss” as an uncommon side effect (though I do not feel that something affecting up to 1 in 20 users should be considered “uncommon”). In January, they updated their site to read “changes in normal hair growth cycles.” And now, the only place that you can find anything listed on their site about hair loss is under the Physician Information tab. It lists Alopecia as an uncommon side effect. “Alopecia is NOT listed in the Patient Information or Safety Information section at all. It simply says, “for a complete list of side effects, please contact your health care provider.” The pamphlet I was given did not list hair loss, alopecia or changes in normal hair growth cycles. How in the world are women supposed to get accurate information?
I had a Mirena for 11 months beginning in 11/07. Without even going into the horror story of how it was inserted, I basically bled for almost 11 months straight, and was told this was “normal” and that it would eventually stop. I noticed significant hair loss in August 2008 and was diagnosed with a very low ferritin level (I guess that’s what happens when you bleed literally all of the time!). I did mention the Mirena to my GP but she did not think it was a factor. I started taking iron supplements, as well as many other vitamins, but my hair loss just continued and I became very depressed. My hair loss got worse and worse and I just could not figure out what was causing it. I was literally always the healthiest person I knew. I saw several doctors during this time, including a dermatologist, but the Mirena was always discounted as not being a factor and so I honestly did not pay it much mind either. During the first week of October 2008, I finally googled Mirena and hair loss, and BAM! Oh my god, there are SOOOOOO many of us out there with so many horrible side effects from this little thing including tons of women with severe hair loss. I could not believeit! I’m actually surprised that there are not more victims of Mirena on this site. I also saw all these other symptoms listed that I had been suffering from and never realizing that all of these things were being caused by the Mirena – low sex drive, swollen abdomen, severe cramping, literally blinding headaches behind my left eye, weight gain, insomnia, extreme moodiness and excessive hair loss.
I was amazed! And the more amazing part is that I could not find any doctor who could be bothered to 
remove it! I must have called 10 doctors’ offices, begging them to give me an appt, any time of day or night, to get the thing removed. No one would help me, but instead offered me an appt two months down the road. I finally went to an ER and threw a semi-psychotic fit in order to get someone to listen to me. I had the Mirena removed on 10/6/08. And you know what? I have not had even one of those blinding headaches since. I lost about 5 pounds instantly and my belly stopped hurting and, finally, I stopped bleeding all the time and had a NORMAL period for the first time in almost a year.
Sadly, the hair thing takes a long time to turn around and I am still dealing with that issue. My shedding has seriously decreased, but it is not growing back in as much as I hope it will (soon, please?). I have recently found some Mirena hair loss success stories online and I am hoping to be one of them, but I was told by my NEW GYN that the effects of the hormone in the Mirena can stay in the body for up to six months after removal. I have now lost more than 50% of my hair density.
The list of side effects from Mirena is large and includes everything from Ovarian cysts (in 12% of users) to dislodgement and uterine perforation. These are now the ONLY side effects listed on the Mirena website. I know someone else who had a Mirena, which perforated her uterus and got lost in her abdomen!
The following side effects are also associated with Mirena IU according to WebMD (similiar information used to be listed on the Mirena website and has since been removed):
Sign The Petition>> http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/mirena-awareness
Common side effects:
Absence of Menstrual Periods Severe Abnormally Long or Heavy Periods Severe
Bleeding Not Related to Menstrual Period Severe
High Blood Sugar Severe
Infrequent Menstruation Severe
Ovarian Cysts Less Severe
Enlargement of an Ovary Less Severe
Dizzy Less Severe
Low Energy Less Severe
Visible Water Retention Less Severe
Weight Gain Less Severe
Head Pain Less Severe
Feel Like Throwing Up Less Severe
Throwing Up Less Severe
Diarrhea Less Severe
Stomach Cramps Less Severe
Nervous Less Severe
Mood Changes Less Severe
Infrequent side effects:
Depression Severe
Discharge of Milk in Women when Not Breastfeeding Severe
Rash Severe
Breast Tenderness Less Severe
“Change of Life” Signs Less Severe
Hair Loss Less Severe
Excessive Hairiness (Hirsutism) Less Severe
Acne Less Severe
Yellow-Brown Patches on Skin Less Severe
Chronic Trouble Sleeping Less Severe
Altered Interest in Having Sexual Intercourse Less Severe
Rare side effects:
Obstruction of a Blood Vessel by a Blood Clot Severe
Anyway, I sincerely hope that something can be done about this and that other women can be saved from the horrible, and sometimes even life-threatening effects of this terrible little device. ALL of these potential side effects need to be disclosed to patients.
The link to the petition is below. You do not have to be a Mirena user or a former Mirena user to sign it. You can even sign it anonymously. If you have the time, please consider signing this petition, which simply asks Bayer to be more up front about these potentially devastating side effects.
Sign The Petition>> http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/mirena-awareness
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this!
-Bonnie
{ 243 comments… read them below or add one }
SIGNED! I encourage all you ladies to sign this it is important. While I haven’t used Mirena myself I wish I had been given the full facts about the possible side effects of taking the pill. Had I been told my hair could *possibly* fall out, I wouldn’t have touched it with a ten foot pole.
I signed the petition, too!
There seem to be many sites out there that are devoted to letting women know about the side effects of Mirena. Hopefully women interested in this procedure will do a little research first.
Thank you for the info. Count me in
Sarah Clingman
Signed!! I am a former Mirena user and current member of Women’s Hair Loss Project. I too have been losing my hair and other various side effects and I had mine removed a year and a half ago. I had mine in for 8 months and encountered nearly the same symptoms you did!! Thank you for writing this!!
Wow!!! You have just opened my eyes to something that never even crossed my mind!! Stay with me as this may be a little confusing…I had Mirena put in November of 04. In March of 05 I had surgery and within a month my hair started falling out. I thought it was from the surgery and was diagnosed with having TE and was told it would subside within 6 months. Well guess what, 5 years later and its still falling out! I had the Mirena taken out in November of 05 because my husband had a visectomy and I wanted to get off the hormones all together. I never in the world thought it could have been from the Mirena and if it was, would my hairloss still continue even though I had the IUD removed 4 years ago? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you very much for alerting me to the petition. I always thought that there was a connection, but told differently. My man is going to get the snip and I will get this removed right away. The piece of mind is not worth all of the pain I have gone through. Thank you vey much again!
@Susan, Sarah and Natalie – Thank you for taking the time to get involved and signing the petition. A few people can make a difference. While the petition pertains to The Mirena IUD contraception device, the issue remains the same with so many other drugs being prescribed today and many men and women blindly trust their doctors and never receive the information required to make an informed decision.
@Marie – Hormonal contraceptive devices can be responsible for hair loss. It can occur from beginning the pill or intrauterine device or from stopping it. In my opinion (I’m of course not a doctor) your time line from Nov 04 to March 05 is right in the pocket of when hair loss would occur. Usually it is between 4-6 months of starting or stopping the pill (or intrauterine device) that we notice the hair loss that is resulting from something we are doing or taking. Although anesthesia can be responsible for hair loss, to me the more likely culprit would be the IUD. So why the continued hair loss since you had it removed? There is no for sure way to know if it was from the IUD (although we can have our womanly hunches) or something else, or the start of genetic hair loss that would have happened either way. Sometimes the usage of hormonal contraceptives in women genetically predisposed to androgenetic alopecia (female pattern hair loss) can trigger the onset of it prematurely. This is my situation. I started to lose my hair (at 21 years old, I’m 30 now) after stopping the pill Loestrin FE, while I had hoped for it to be a temporary telogen effulvium, time proved my diagnosis to me something else. I do have androgenetic alopecia as evident by the miniturization of my hair follicles. So to your question, can the hair loss you have today be from the IUD. In my opinion, YES. I know that probably is of little comfort, I know how badly we want to all spontaneously recover, I’ve been wishing for it for years 🙂 As women with hair loss we do have options. There are a couple choices for treatment and of course there are really great hair replacement options out there and there is always the option of just shaving it off and moving on. I have seen numerous pictures from women in the network who wear hair, and it looks amazing, simply amazing. No one would ever be able to know it wasn’t their hair. I am glad you found the post and perhaps have found solace in solving a 4 year mystery.
@Tracey – Thank you also for taking the time to sign the petition.
Thank you for such an informative email response. I’ve spent countless amounts of money trying to find a cure for my TE. I too think I might be shifting from TE into Androgenectic alopecia as my follicles are miniturizing as well. I haven’t had another biopsy since my last one 2006 to be sure of what type of hairloss I have now. I’ve been on spironolactone, propecia, finisteride (5mg of propecia), and none of them stopped or even lessened my hair falling. I’m currently using Regenix but I don’t recommend it. Its very expensive and I have to wash my hair daily which makes it completely fall out! I usually lose around 300 hairs per day! I’m looking into wig systems and was wondering if there are any particular ones you or anyone would recommend. The one that I am interested in is by Farrel Hair, Los Angeles. His wigs can be worn while working out, swimming, etc. and look very real. Do you currently use a system? I think I am too vein to walk around with a shaved head, sorry to admit that…I am going to sign the petition, look into it a little deeper and talk to my OBGYN about it. I know there isn’t anything I can do to reverse the effects and after 5 years, thousands of dollars, and now your bright light about the IUD, I’m ready to give in to the wigs! My hormones have also been effected by all of this too. I was reading the other side effects of the IUD and I can check a few off that list of what I’m currently going through. Sounds like we are going through similar situations as I’m sure many others on this site are as well. Glad I found you!
Thanks again 🙂
helo ladies …i leaft a message last year about my baldness it was very depressing……. iv just read about the marena coil i had that coil way back when my secondchild was born shes now 11 and i had it taken out 2 years after because of anemia but in my oppinion iv never been the same iv always bleed heavely since and have suferd wiv anemia and low ferratins and zinc which was y i had hair loss not thin patches,proper bald patches..in october i had an ablation and steralization i now dont bleed yipeeeeee and my hair is growing back ……..if u get offerd this and u dont want more kids do it its the best thing i eva did im 40 in a cuple of weeks but think iv waited and sufferd to long ….lisa shepherd
Hi Marie – You are so very welcome. Yes I’d agree with your assessment of Regenix, I think it’s a bit of a waste. All That shampoo and scalp cleaner junk reminds me of Nioxin. Our hair isn’t falling out because our follicles are clogged with sebum or anything else. In my opinion these companies prey on the vulnerability of men and women losing their hair. I’d say stick with the FDA approved products. I took Propecia (finasteride), but it was only the 1mg dosage. The 5mg tablets of finasteride is actually proscar. It did nothing for me except make my skin extremely oily and I had tons of pimples for the first time in my life.
Hair Replacement Systems (wigs): I do not currently use a hair system yet and everything I know is only what I hear from other women here. I think that Farrell Hair Replacement is okay for some women, but I have heard from a few women who were unhappy with their customer service and they felt it was more of a mill type place like The Hair Club For Men. This is such a personal and emotional issue that I think it is better to go to a smaller salon that specializes in it, or what several of the women do is order the hair online from a wholesale manufacturer type place and they get excellent quality hair for a fraction of the cost, then you still need to take to get cut and colored and of course a couple lessons on putting it on. I have come across many women on here that have opted for The Reprieve Hair System. You can read more about that here:
https://www.womenshairlossproject.com/hair-loss/hair-loss-photos-before-after/
https://www.womenshairlossproject.com/hair-loss/bonded-toppers-repreive-hair/
You mentioned Farrell Hair in Los Angeles, so I’m assuming you are in the area. A friend of my made a visit to Lee Anthony & Co in Costa Mesa, CA and she was really impressed by the place she felt they were honest and felt comfortable (well as comfortable as you can be in a hair replacement salon). You may want to make an appointment and do some reconnaissance 🙂 This is their website:
http://www.leeanthony.com
They also have a video up on the Orange County City Search:
http://orangecounty.citysearch.com/profile/36196090/costa_mesa_ca/lee_anthony_co.html
The shaved head look is not for everyone, and there is definitely no shame in saying it’s not for you, we all have to do what makes us feel most comfortable. I think moving forward an at least “looking into” wigs and toppers is a good idea, it takes the mystery out of the unknown, thus disabling the fear.
Best,
Y
Hi Mrs Lisa Shepherd – So since having removed the Mirena IUD hair loss has stopped and your hair is growing back? If I read that right, congratulations! I’m so happy for you and I think that will gives others some hope as well.
Happy upcoming birthday!
Without going into all the gory details (which so resemble a lot of other women’s), let me just say that I started losing hair in rapid fashion in July 2008. Did the doctor circuit to no avail and finally decided to have my Mirena removed in October 2008 and began seeing a wholistic doctor who actually listened to all my symptoms and began working on what could be wrong. I am happy to report that I feel TREMENDOUSLY better since the Mirena removal, my hair loss has slowed considerably, and I have a lot of new growth. I don’t know if I’ll ever completely regrow the 50% of my hair that I lost, but I feel so much better just knowing I’ve found some reasons for the hair loss and the other symptoms. I hope this gives some of you peace of mind as you struggle to resolve your health mysteries.
Dear Adrienne –
Thank you for sharing your story, I think a lot of women are traveling down the same path you are and your story is going to help them greatly. If you don’t mind me asking, what did the holistic doctor say, and what did he/she suggest to use to help get your body on track?
I am so happy your loss has slowed, that’s more than half the battle and new growth, well that is just icing on the cake. It’s the constant worry of tomorrow when the hair is falling at an alarming rate that is the worst. As thin as my hair is today if I knew I could keep it and it wouldn’t get any worse, I would be able to move on and live my life. Major congrats on this success!
~Y
Dear Adrienne
How long were you on Mirena before your started loosing hair, a few months or longer, just interested?
Bees
im just curious. i have the mirena. ive never had a child, but did not experience too much pain when they put it in. i bled lightly for four months. now (1 yr later) i usually dont get my period and it works. however, i was losing hair long before i had it put in. in fact, the times where the loss has been the greatest has been when i’ve been off any hormonal whatever. i am going to see the doc next fri so maybe i’ll get an answer. im definitely glad this was posted.
SIGNED! All women should be informed of ALL side effects and risks associated with Mirena usage. I forgot to put in my letter that I also suffer from lower backaches.
In reference to my previous post- I would like to introduce myself: My name is Kamisha Shuck. I am married and have 2 children, both are boys. I had the Mirena inserted in January of 2006 ( I currently have it in place still) and my husband and I have agreed to have the Mirena removed and NOT take any birth control that have associated with hormones. I am TRULY grateful for this site because now I know I am NOT crazy! I suffer from the majority of the symptoms on the list and lower backaches need to be added because I have found sites from other women who suffer from this as well. If anyone has any questions I will be more than happy to answer them on the post or via email @ kshuck1029@gmail.com. I look forward to sharing my experience with everyone and my goal for 2009: LIVE A MIRENA LIFE!
Kamisha Shuck
LIVE A MIRENA FREE LIFE!
Like many others, I have also discovered online that Mirena is the cause of my sudden hair loss. There should be a stronger warning about the hair loss. This is especially important to women who already has hair problem to begin with.
omg…all these symtoms…i feel like im reading about myself.
i have had mirena now for 11 months..and like the author ..i feel like its been non stop bleeding!!
tomorrow i go in to remove it and also for a colposcopy…these past 11 months have been nothing but hell…with the mood swings…hair loss, constant bleeding and a tummy that looks like im smuggling a baby kangaroo..im SO OVER mirena.
i really wish they would better inform women.
as i type this i am sitting with a horrible cramp, as if a cat is clawing at my ovaries.
Oh my gosh thank you for posting this. I had a feeling that my hair loss was due to this thing inside me but I could not find anything to support my thinking. I felt like I was going crazy. Everyone I would express my fears to just waved them off like I was losing it. I have had it for the past 10 months. My hair has always been on the thin side but there was alot of it. Now I can see my scalp no matter what I do to my hair! I am calling right now to have this thing taken out! I will go another route! Thank you so much for this post.
1. MY MIRENA EXPERIENCE
I had a Mirena IUD inserted in 2005, age 41, and was extremely happy with it at first. I’d begun to have heavy, painful periods for the first time in my life — they immediately lightened up and the cramps went away.
I have a LOT of hair, so it took me more than 6 months to notice that it was falling out. Then I noticed fuzz growing out of the crown of my head which I’d never seen before. My hairdresser said, “Use more product.” I went to a more expensive salon and consulted the owner, who said, “You’re over 40. It’s the menopause.”
A year later, definitely losing hair (now I really noticed), I got bloodwork done. My hormone profile was normal (no menopause). My thyroid was normal. I blamed the hair loss on stress.
I have now lost HALF of my hair, and finally decided to Google “Mirena hair loss” today. It was a nasty shock. My IUD will be removed in 10 days, and I will be changing to a different gynecologist.
2. GROWING YOUR HAIR BACK:
If you’ve removed the Mirena and are trying to get your hair to grow back, this method was told to me by a friend in her late 60s with beautiful waist-length hair who used to go to a famous salon in New York (George Michael on Fifth Avenue, an expert on long hair). She has had severe seborrhea in the past, and George told her about this treatment:
Solgar Brewer’s Yeast, powdered (nothing else is good enough). Take one rounded tablespoon stirred into about 6 oz of water (not carbonated) immediately before bed – after using the bathroom one last time. Do this every night, no cheating, for 90 days. Pause for 30 days, then repeat if necessary. It must be powdered yeast; capsules/tablets won’t do it.
I’m only 2 weeks into my first treatment with the yeast, and I still have the Mirena (but not for long), so I can’t report on its effectiveness — yet.
Good luck!
Three months I had mirena put in I noticed that I ‘d lost almost 45 % of my hair. It’d been 9 months now and still didn’t recover my lost hair. The herbal and store bought hair vitamins are not very encouraging. I personally do not encourage mirena to any woman.
Still trying to get RID of my Mirena.
November 2005: Mirena inserted.
……..(For 2 1/2 years: My hair is definitely falling out; I am not imagining it. But I started with so much of it that nobody believes me.)
1 May 08: Complain about hair loss to my GP, who looks at my scalp and agrees it’s thinning. She orders bloodwork, but it all comes back “normal”. She has nothing else to suggest except it’s due to stress.
24 April 09: Find the Women’s Hair Loss Project site and the Mirena petition. Make an appointment to get the Mirena removed. Start 90-day treatment with nightly dose of brewer’s yeast in water (I’ve posted the instructions here; email me if you want them sent to you).
14 May: Having waited 3 weeks for the appointment, my doctor can’t get the Mirena out: she can’t get hold of the threads. Refers me to OB/GYN department at the hospital.
17 May: A friend tips me off that the local family planning clinic has a walk-in service with several gynecologists available. I spend an afternoon there. The GYN does her best but can’t get the thing out either — she can’t even FIND it. She tells me I need to come back for an ultrasound when the senior GYN is on duty, but that will take a while because the senior GYN is officially retired and only comes in a few days a month.
19 May: I have an appointment for a scan on 2 June, but I won’t be able to make it, so reschedule for 10 June.
22 May: Visit my GP to discuss how to deal with the hair loss, as it seems the Mirena won’t be coming out immediately (it may require minor surgery — BLOODY HELL!!!!!!!!!! — which will mean another wait after I’ve gone for the scan in 3 weeks). She has nothing to say except what I’ve already heard: it’s normal in the menopause (if that’s so, why does my mother still have a full head of hair at age 70?), it could be stress (Dr. Redmond’s book says “Stress doesn’t cause hair loss except in extremes: war zones, etc.”), and there’s not much that can be done about it except using minoxidil (which Dr. R is negative about: it has to be applied 2x daily, which is very inconvenient unless you have very short hair; it causes facial hair growth and irritates the scalp; AND it usually doesn’t work!) or Finasteride (steroids???? No thank you — and they don’t rate a mention as effective treatment in Dr. R’s book, unless I’ve missed something).
This GP did agree to order more finely-tuned bloodwork, and review it when the Mirena has been out for 3 months. But she was deaf to requests about referring me to an endocrinologist and a prescription for spironolactone to slow the hair loss while I get rid of the Mirena and let my system rebalance itself (I hope and pray).
I live in England, but I can see that I’m going to have to get myself to New York for a consultation with Dr. Redmond. I’ve already lost nearly half my hair — I’m not hanging around waiting to lose the other half.
GRRRRRR.
I got the mirena 3 months ago, 3 months after I had my second child. I had some hair loss with my son and I kind of thought that this is what it was from. I haven’t gone to the doctor or anything, but I thought I would see if there were other people experiencing this.
I used to have such thick hair… and no it’s about half of what it was. I am really upset because I DID do my research before I got this form of birth control. I made sure that there was livable side effects on it and on all the websites and forms I read didn’t say anything about this…
Does it really help if I get the mirena removed? and if I do get it removed does anyone know any other birth control that is as effective, without the hair loss???????
I will sign! I have had the Mirena in now for almost 3 months and can’t wait to get it out in 3 days! I wish I would have dug deeper for more info before having this done. I have lost so much hair, my abodomen is huge, my joints ache, moodier than ever and don’t even get me started on the impossibility to lose weight! I can’t believe the difference in who I am physically and mentally since having this put in!
I have been on Mirena for the past 7 months. i was glad to have it inserted because of mine migraine headaches associated with the pills i was taking. i suspected that a fluctuation in Estorgen hormone was giiving me these headaches and sure enough my headaches disappeared after Mirena. a month ago started to notice my hair thinning and falling. did not suspect it was from the Mirena until i looked up it up on the internet. I am so upset that they did not mention this side effect before as i would not have chosen this device. i am having it removed tomorrow but have already lost about 30 percent of my hair. I will have to wait another year to see my hair back to normal. I am now looking to use a contraception that does not have hormones as i am tiered of the side effects they can cause… wish me luck
i have had my mirena in for about 10 months now and have an appointment on tuesday to have it taken out… i was only 20 when i had it placed and thought i would be great. my husband is in the military and was set to deploy so i figured if i got it just before he left we could have fun without worry and all the side effects would be gone before he came home. I WAS WRONG!
i am now a day away from 21 and i cant wait to have it out, i havent struggled as much with hair loss as i have with no growth. i use to have to cut my hair every other month regardless to keep it healthy and reasonable. now i dont want to cut it every 5 months because who knows when it will be back.
and for everyone on here who had all the other side effects im sorry… this has hurt my marriage… my husband says i am very different and i feel very down most of the time… not good when you are raising a 14 month old on your own, but we are ready to start over this comes out about 3 weeks before he comes home and not a moment too soon!
good luck everyone!
I’m going to sign the petition. I did read on the website about 2 years ago that hair loss was a side effect but I never thought it would be this bad.
I tried multiple bc pills before I got pregnant and couldn’t use any of them because of the emotional toll it took on my body. I was a different person. After having our son, my ob/gyn suggested mirena. It hurt a little in the beginning. I had cramps and had a few heavy periods but then it all stopped. It was great. No worry and no periods but then the paranoia set in. I felt like I was pregnant but it was the mirena side effects. My breasts hurt, my stomach is huge, I’m bloated, and depressed. Then after a year I realized my hair was falling out. I’ve had mirena for two years and I can see my scalp through my thin hair. It’s traumatizing. Also, my hair won’t grow anymore. The sad thing is I have no choice but to keep mirena because pills don’t work for me.
I wish more women were aware of the severe side effects.
I am at a loss for words…I had Mirena inserted on 01/2008 I started to notice hair loss in 9/2008 I talked to my Dr because I suspected it was the Mirena. She assured me it was unlikely she thought it was due to some extreme weight loss I had experienced. So I stopped dieting and figured my hair would return, and boy was I wrong. Since 01/2009 it’s been WORSE, much worse… and now my hair is so think I wont even wash it everyday to reduce the hair loss.
That’s it, I’m DONE it’s coming out ASAP! Thanks for all this in information and good luck !
Well, similar story here: ha the Mirena fitted in March 09, had strong headaches on one side for 3 month, tought i go mad. Now since 2 weeks I think I am going crazy about hair loss, so I called the MIRENA PATIENT HELPLINE in South Africa, and they say they do not believe bad skin and heavy hairloss can come from the Mirena at all (O-tone: We do not search the internet for side effects, because we do not believe that what’s written there is true. It’s not in the booklet, so it isunlikely it is re;ated to Mirena.)
I have my Thyroid checked tomorrow, and if this is clear I have the Mirena removed the next day. I hope I can reverse the hair loss. Will go back on the pill! VERY VERY UNHAPPY and moody and crying all the time. Thanks all for sharing…
Wow what a coincidence. I had mirena inserted May 2008. At first it was the perfect birth control until a few months went by and my hair started falling out like CRAZY!! It was like a nightmare. I had beautiful thick hair and now my hair is so ugly! I had many apt. with my obgyn but she promised that it defiantly wasnt the mirena. So I decided to go to the dermatologist, had blood work done for thyroid and came back negative. I also went to my main dr., had blood work and nothing! I was so confused what is wrong with me?? Hmm.. what could it be, obviously MIRENA! I dont know what to do now. I want to get it removed but I heard my hair will fall out more. Is there any birth control that doesnt cause hair loss? Please help I dont want to go bald Im only 19.
Hi , I had mirena in after having my son in the first of June this year since then I have lost over half my hair in my head when I have always had super thick hair it’s very emberassing along with numbness in my arms for no reason , my sex drive is gone and I havnt stopped bleeding since I am so happy I found this sight I had no idea I was starting to think something was seriousley wrong when I should of known because I had none if these problems before having the Mirena and I back thus sight up 100 percent ecause women need to know about this and I can say that I read the mirena book my doctor gave me many times and never saw any of my symptoms !!!
I had seen your story on-line I’m at my wits end this all has happened with in a matter of the 5months he Mirena IUD was inside me.
I’m 28 married stay at home mother of 3 boys 10, 8, and 17 months..
and am going through such hard time trying to figure out what to do…
my life changed the day I had Mirena inserted, I was told there were no side affects or hormone in it….
and it was almost like my body slowly starting rejecting it. I started breaking out i rashes that turned into lesions..
my hair started coming out day by , oh my beautiful blonde hair I’m miss so much .
but I gave it about 3 months and went back to see if the IUD was making this happen well of-course the Dr. OBGYN at Scott and white Waco Texas says no no mirena would not be making this happen well no no huh this is his number one birth control at almost $6000.00 a pop like he is gonna talk bad about his money maker… OK sent me home so started eliminated vitamins, thyroid med, and on and on no change more hair going more skin
lesions , SEVERE migraines , and more feeling like my body was falling apart ..
so Dr after Dr no diagnosis just take some antibiotics and some Zoloft and some iron pills ..inserted November 27Th 2008 by January the lesions were all open sores on my arms and legs my hair was starting to recede down the front . By March my hair was getting unmanageable and I could not hardly fix it anymore .
I was tired of hiding all the sores that keep popping up so back to another family Dr. says possibly could be the IUD but no help… he would not remove it ..
finally after my hair completely fell out crying looking in the mirror I begged my Gyno to get this IUD out NOW well of course booked up you will have to wait until the next available appointment June 9Th so I did and the day I got it removed it was almost like my body took a deep breath but no change in my hair on my head and body it will try to grow back but falls out instantly I Lock at myself after the wig comes off and cry I cry for my life back I want answers I have seen even more Dr’s but know Dr wants to Diagnose an healthy 28 year old women. My 3 boys love there mommy so much and my husband has been there for me every step f the way. The lesions have finally healed but I am scared from them on my arms and legs and my hair is still gone bald… I’m bald never in my life did I ever think this would happen to me Mirena has taken my life from me…
know one told me I would lose my hair, develop permenate skin damage and now suffer from depression and anxiety over having to were wigs now I’m 28 this should have never happened to me and still no answers no help I’m alone and bald and confused????? any suggestions for all the pain and suffering and hundreds and hundreds of dollars on Dr visits and wig after wig???
I sent pictures before and after…
thanks
Update on Mirena removal and brewer’s yeast treatment to promote hair growth:
I FINALLY got the d*** thing removed on 10 June (I’d been trying to get rid of it since 24 April!!) — I needed a hysteroscopy. Heavy bleeding went on almost continuously for 30 days afterwards. But, having had (extremely light) periods every 21-24 days while the Mirena was in, after 60 days I seem to be back onto 30 days. (And I’ve just ordered a Mooncup, as I have been spending a small fortune on unbleached tampons since the Mirena came out. Does everybody know about Mooncups?)
Unfortunately, after having the Mirena removed, we had a little accident and I had to take a “morning after” pill — which is a mega-dose of levonorgestrel, the same hormone that’s in Mirena. ARRRRRRRRRGH.
But the brewer’s yeast treatment (instructions are posted under my name sometime in late April, or email me) seems to be working: after about 45 days, MY HAIR LOSS DEFINITELY STOPPED. The texture improved too; it didn’t feel so desperately brittle and coarse.
I’ve only had the Mirena out for 60 days, so there is probably still residue in my body — which means the brewer’s yeast was fighting against it, BUT STILL STOPPED THE HAIR LOSS. I’ve just paused for 30 days and am about to resume the treatment for the second 90 days — but hope I haven’t f*****d it all up due to the morning-after pill.
I’ll let you all know how I’m doing after the second round of brewer’s yeast. I don’t know about regrowth, but if I can keep what I have, after losing half my hair and reading the stories on here, I’ll be very happy.
For those of you who still have the Mirena but are having problems: what are you waiting for????
I am having my Mirena Removed next week because of the same issues. I have thin hair to begin with but now have lost so much and the texture is different. Not good at all. I have had other systems as well night, sweats, fatigue, Head aches and so forth. I sure hope having it removed helps!
I have the 5 year Mirena with hormones and I have had a lot of hair loss. My hair has always been thin but now I have less on top and it is everywhere. I have had this thing for almost 3 years. I am getting mine removed next month.
I thought i was going mad and was wondering if i was losing my hair excessively. Now no matter how i style my hair, i can see my scalp and i’ve certainly lost a lot. i’m italian and as italian women can suffer hair loss i thought it was just my genetics with me reaching 40 (except that my mother and her mother had a full head of hair).
i get cramps, tension headaches, sweats at night, tiredness, mood swings. Thank you girls – i thought this thing might have had something to do with my hair loss as it started pretty much the same time i had it inserted.
so i googled ‘mirina+hair loss’ and look what i find !!
Mines getting removed next week!!! And i guess i now pray that my hair returns.
SIGNED!!
I’ve had my mirena in for almost 11 months now and I am desperate to have it out. I waited out the 6 month “settle in” period like advised to see if the side affects got any better but they didn’t, they got worse.
The main problem it caused me is weight gain. I have never had a problem with weight gain but since the mirena I’ve gained almost 3 stone which I can not loose. Many other woman on forums say they have the same problem yet doctors refuse to listen that weight gain is a common side effect.
I just hope they start informing people of ALL possible side effects, not the ones they feel have been proven as hundreds of woman saying the same things can’t be wrong.
I am hopefully getting this horrid thing removed romorrow, fingers crossed!
Hello. My name is Deborah and I have been Mirena free for 4 days, 16 mins and 5 seconds.
I became contaminated on March 16th 2008. The first 5 months I bled worst and had worst pain than I’ve ever had in my life. My sex drive took a a ride on one of the shuttles into space. I started itching insanely. And let’s not even mention the severe hair loss. I can actually feel when my hair is going to come out. I thought I was going to lose my mind with all of the mood swings. That alone was enough to want me to take this alien implant out of me!!
Well, with no insurance, that became difficult to do. I even considered removing it myself.
I finally got a job and it had great insurance so the first appt. I made was with my gyn. I thought something was wrong with my thyroids. When I stated that I wanted them to test the levels because of my severe hair loss, she casually states that the IUD ‘may’ be the cause. WTF!!!
I pretty much shut down until I heard the words “we can remove it today”.
I hope my symptoms disappear soon!
I had the Mirena inserted on 9/14/09 and removed today 9/25/09. Within the first few days, my hair was falling out significantly. I am guessing that about a third of the hair on my head is gone and what remains has thinned out. I’m devastated. In the pamphlet I received from my doctor, it states that less than 5% of users MAY experience “unusual hair growth or loss”. I did not research this prior to having it inserted and regret that immensely. I don’t think my doctor was aware of how predominant this side effect really is. And I think the manufacturers of the Mirena product need to state it as a common one…regardless of the fact that more women would dismiss it as an option. I certainly would have.
I had Mirena inserted on September 24, 2009, just 4 days ago. The past four days of my life have been awful. The Gyn told me the insertion of the device would be uncomfortable, but was possibly the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. I was also horrified that they did not do a pregnancy test prior to inserting Mirena. I had read the pamphlet that my Gyn gave me cover to cover 15 times and it really did sound too good to be true…turns out for me, it was! After having it inserted I was told that I would have “menstrual like cramps for a couple of hours.” I pity anyone who has menstrual cramps like the ones I experienced ALL day and night. I was confined to my couch with a heating pad and trying to keep myself medicated with Motrin. The next day I woke up and on top of the severe abdominal pain I was having excrutiating back pain. So another day stuck on my cough unable to move. Woke up Saturday morning and the pain was worse and I was afraid something had gone wrong. I spent 5 hours in the ER yesterday and they diagnosed me with “early endometritis” from having the IUD inserted. I am now on antibiotics and narcotic pain medication. I plan on calling tomorrow morning (Monday) and having this removed. My worry is that my Gyn will try to talk me into giving it more time. But I cannot live my life like this! If I could reach the strings I would pull this damn thing out myself!
After doing online research and hearing all of these horror stories I am really disappointed that I did not do more research prior to making my decision to have the IUD inserted. I also really think that doctor’s need to be more informed of the “other” side effects and be more understanding when their patients are in pain and scared after this thing starts poisoning your body. Some people may not have any issues with it, but for those of us who do, it is horrifying and painful!
This message is for Lauren…
Are you still drinking the brewers yeast? Is it working?
Just to offer some balance here, I had my mirena inserted about 4 years ago and haven’t had any problems. Well, my periods came back after about a year, but other than that nothing. And it helped immensely with the problem I had it inserted for, namely vicious menstrual cramps.
As far as my hair is thinning, but it was doing that before I got the Mirena. Personally I think with me it is primarily due to my approaching menopause.
Just wanted to share my experience.
Hi There!
I had mirena for 7 months, had nothing but promblems with it!
WEIGHT GAIN, Bleeding, Cramps, Hair Loss and etc..
I was so fed up I had it removed one week ago. Already lost 7 pounds!
I am trying to get my money back for the stupid thing having the hardest time. Doctor’s pissed me off!!!!!!!!!grrr.
i have been researching side effects of Mirena since i have had it since June of 2008 with no issues, and am suddenly bleeding, cramping and having lower back pains.
i definitely had no idea of these other side effects…though i can’t say i’ve experienced them.
i’m so sorry you all have had such bad experiences.
Signed!! I am having my Mirena removed ASAP. My hair has been falling out for the past 4 months and I had a feeling it was related to my IUD. I am glad to see that I am not the only one. If I had known that hair loss was a possible side effect I would have never chosen this method of birth control. Shame on Bayer for not fully disclosing the facts!
Have had the mirena for five months now, and noticed about 2 months ago, huge handfuls of my hair falling out in the shower, and then another handful in the towel and another when I tried to style it or apply gel or conditioner. I have never had any kind of hair loss, and it was very sudden. I don’t have very thick hair and am horrified at how thin it has become so quickly. When I called my gynaes office (in the netherlands) they had never even heard of it, but the mirena is coming out tomorrow. No contraceptive is worth going bald in your thirties. Will have to make do with condoms and temperature method, till my body gets back to normal ( I think I’m going to stay away from hormones for a while).
They also totally didn’t prepare me for the agony of insertion, and the fact that I completely couldn’t function or move for about a week afterwards.
What is really shocking though, is that apart from women talking to each other on the internet, the whole medical establishment is trying to say that this isn’t happening.
I too have become a paerson afflicted with hair loss. I had it put in in Feb 2009, and now am convinced that something is serious going on. Initially, I awas convinced that it was my thyroid, but all the labd have come out normal. Now, weight gain and hair loss are the two things that are very noticeable. I, too, was lead to believe that the hormone effect was suppoased to be only a local effect (in the uterus), but. now I think that that effect has to be systemic (throughout the whole body), which would explain the hair loss. I just called my OB to get it removed. I can’t afford more hair loss. I hope it comes back, otherwise, I will be contacting the Mirena Co. elp
I have had Mirena for 3 months now and it finally donned on me that I had read somewhere that hairloss was related to it. I have been wondering why I have lost almost a third of my hair in the last couple months and it hasn’t grown even 1/4 in!!! I’ve had other symptoms as well since getting it: insomnia although I have never been this tired in my life and nausea that almost feels like morning sickness! Definatly talking to my GYN about removal. Good Luck growning your hair back! I kno that I’m gonna need it! SIGNED!
Update! I went back to Planned Parenthood (they are the ones who recommended the Mirena to me and inserted it for free) and expressed my concerns to my gynecologist about whether or not the Mirena would be the cause of my hair loss. I had blood work done at my normal physicians office to test my thyroid and other hormone levels which all came back normal. Luckily my gynecologist listened to me and said that it could be the cause of my hair loss! She offered to remove it that day. It’s been three weeks since I have had it removed. My hair is still falling out but not nearly as much as before. Now I am only shedding what is considered to be a normal amount. I also didn’t bleed or experience any discomfort after removal. I haven’t noticed any new growth yet but its way to soon to tell. Unfortunately I don’t have health insurance so now I have paid$452 in docotor bills to figure out the cause of my hair loss. Now I just need to find a birth control that is compatable with me. I will definately be doing my research!
I am a mother of four and after my last child I was talked into getting the Mirena by the ob that delivered my first child. I was hesitant bc I hate being on hormones. I was told by my ob that the hormone does not reach the blood stream and only affect the lining of the uterus thus providing effective birth control. I am a nursing student and in my resewrch I have found the following: Printice Hall Nurses Drug Guild 2009, Wilson Shannon Shields, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
Adverse Effects (1%)
CV: Hypertension. GI: Abdominal pain, nausea. Endocrine: Breast tenderness/pain. Hematologic: Anemia. Metabolic: Weight gain. CNS: Depression, emotional lability, headache (including migraine), nervousness. Skin: Acne, alopecia, eczema. Urogenital: Amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, leukorrhea, decreased libido, vaginal moniliasis, vulvovaginal disorders, cervicitis, dyspareunia.
Cautious Use
Women at risk for venereal disease; anemia; diabetes mellitus; history of psychic depression; persons susceptible to acute intermittent porphyria; fluid retention; history of migraines; impaired liver function; presence or history of salpingitis; venereal disease; genital bleeding of unknown etiology; anticoagulant therapy or coagulopathy; previous pelvic surgery.
I believe that the decreased libido should be reworded as loss of libido. Oh and the alopecia is a fancy word for hair loss. I pulled mine out my self two weeks ago bc my dr was going to put me on more hormones. And yes my lower back is killing me and my hair is falling out. Pooey.. GOODBYE Mirena.. and good riddence.
Mirena uses progesterone, specifically lovorgestinal, which is known to cause testosterone-like action called androgenicity.
Estrogen in birth control pill form, will help reverse hair loss caused by Mirena or other progestin-only medications.
Androgenicity will cause the symptoms you have all mentioned.
PLEASE read the book, It’s Your Hormones by Geoffrey Redmond, MD, or check out the website http://www.hormonehelpNY.com. His book covers hair loss, the causes and cures, plus an enormous amount of other issues.
Geoffrey Redmond, MD is the founder and director of the Hormone Center of NY. This book has helped me with SO much, but especially to understand the hair loss issue.
I am 18 and my hair is falling out in the hand fulls. I am been told to wait. I am getting it out. Thanks
I delivered my son in June 2008 , I had Mirena inserted in July 2008. In November 2008 I went to my Dr and was put on Migraine medication because of severe and frequent migraines. In March 2009 I was put on blood pressure medication. I am 27 years old , before I had Mirena I had never been put migraine or blood pressure medications. I have also not been able to loose any weight , my marriage is suffering because I have a dramatic decrease in my sex drive. I am tired all of the time and I also have back pain , cramping and sore joints. I have had a noticeable amount of hair loss and for the first time my life facial hair growth. I have never had any medical problems before and no other woman in my family has had any sexual disorders nor any kind of facial hair. I didnt know what was causing all of these changes until I started reading about others and their issues with Mirena. I hope that I can go back to the way I was and be healthy , attractive and active again. I never expected a birth control to have such a bad affect on me and my life.
My Mirena was inserted about 6 months ago Sept 2009. Two month ago, my hair started falling out and I had no idea hair loss was one of the side effects…. My hair was very healthy until I got the IUD. I would not suggest the Mirena for any one….
i AM SO HAPPY THAT EVERYONE IS GOING THROUGH IT AND NOT JUST ME MY SCALP HURTS SSSSSSSSOOOOOOOO BAD I DONT FEEL LIKE DOING IT MA HAIR IS FALLIN OUT IT STARTED IN THE BACK AND UP THE BACK MIDDLE I BEEN ON IT 6 MONTHS THANKS FOR THE NEWS
First, I would like to say that I hate to see so many people have had bad reactions to the Mirena. However, I am also relieved that I am not the only one. I have read sooo many stories just like mine. I got the Mirena in 9 months ago. 8 weeks later, (not realizing it was because of the Mirena) I went to the Dr. because I was having cramping and feeling pressure in my lower abdomen. The Dr. did an exam and could find nothing. I asked if it could be that my body was not adjusting the Mirena. My Dr. didn’t think so. So, I left it in. ugh. Then, I noticed my hair was getting brittle and thinning a little more. I thought it could be due to dyeing my hair. However, my husband had to clean out the shower drain twice as much as normal. That is when I became concerned. I was extremely fatigued. I was having bouts of dizziness. Once I thought I was going to pass out. It came on suddenly and left suddenly. I lost my sense of balance. I am a physically fit person. I suddenly couldn’t get through my daily workouts like I use to. What I was able to do, I could’t do as well or push myself as hard. I was having heart palpitations. I had severe mood swings and the past three months, severe depression. The last three months I noticed my scalp showing through ( I had very thick hair before). I started researching reasons for the hair loss. I thought some kind of hormonal imbalance. I stumbled upon this website and others. I was stunned. All the symptoms I have had, are listed here and other women have gone through the same thing. Anyway, I immediately contacted my OBGYN. I wanted this thing out!!!! At this point (just a few weeks ago to be exact) you can see my scalp and I have lost at least half my hair. I can hide most of the thinning spots if I pull my hair back in a ponytail or a barrett, but it is getting more difficult. As for the Mirena, it took 3 weeks before the dr. would get me in to get it out!!! It was torture. In the mean time, I kept watching handfuls of hair go down the drain. 🙁 It is finally out. I told my OBGYN that I thought it was the Mirena. I wanted him to check my hormone levels and rule out any other cause for the hair loss. I wanted to know what was causing it so we could stop it and get it to grow back! My dr. did run blood tests, but did nothing to help with questions about the hair loss. I felt as if he didn’t believe me. My hormone leves were fine except for low FSH and elevated liver enzymes. He put me on Orthotryclen and said to come back in a month to restest my blood. That was it. He ha dno interest in helping me figure out the hair thing. So, I went to my dermatologist. He took blood, (without me asking him to). He looked at my scalp and pulled out a few hairs. He siad it was coming out at the root. It was not from hair dye. He said it was from something intenal and he felt it was the Mirena. He reassured me that my hair would grow bback. My body just has to adjust. He gave me a shot of Cortisone, (not in the scalp though? I am confused by this since I read it is usually injected in the scalp). He perscribed high dosage of Biotin vitamins. I go back in 5 weeks to get another shot. I am not sure how long I will have to take them. The shot is to get rid of inflammation and help start the regrowth process. The doc said that the shot will also stop the hair loss. While I am still losing hair, it is not as much as before. I am actually counting hairs now. I don’t have many more to lose before I won’t be able to hide it anymore. He told me NOT to get extensions or a weave put in. It would only break and cause more damage on the existing hair because it is so fragile right now.
Anyway, reading all of the above stories helped me to feel less alone. I have been soo depressed about my hair loss. I miss my hair.! At least I know why I have been having such a difficult time with the depression etc.. as well. It has only been a short time since it was taken out. i am still tired, but I can tell a difference. Now, it feels more like my body is tired from an illness and I just need rest. It is not the fatigue from before.
I hope that anyone getting the Mirena makes sure to research it.
I’m currently researching Mirena and was excited about using it because it seemed to be a solution to my hair loss problem combined with me wanting to be on birth control.
I’m wondering, did you all use the Mirena that is non-hormonal? The one with copper? Did anyone have this hair loss experience with this?
I really hope not because I’m afraid to use anything with hormones in it as I am trying to recover.
Hi,
My name is Lani and I am trying to find a birth control that will not trigger my hair loss. I am recovering from my hair loss that I’ve first started noticing back in my late junior year of high school and I am currently a junior in college.
It has been a tough experience as you all can imagine and I am scared to my skull to touch any form of birth control pills, as much as my doctors tell me they’re safe.
When I came across Mirena, I was extremely excited. My school doctor told me there are non-hormonal IUD’s called the ParaGard Copper T 380A IUD which contains copper. I’m wondering, did anyone experience hair loss using these IUD’s? Or did you experience hair loss using the Hormonal IUD. This information would be very useful for me in this decision making process. Thank you.
~Lani
ps. I have been using Rogaine foam for the past 2 years, the HairMax Laser comb and Tricomin Revitalizing shampoo and conditioner since June of 2009 and I believe I’m experiencing good results. I am always on the edge of my seat, however, because how well my hair is doing fluctuates from day to day. But I pray it will get better and I hope you all get better as well.
Thanks for posting this information. I had the Mirena iserted Nov 2009. Now 3 months later I have gone from 128 lbs size 8 to over 150lbs size 14 and my hair (although mild) is falling out. I have naturally very thick hair, but even my husband noticed I was losing alot more hair in the shower and in my brush. A few days ago he noticed a clump of my hair hanging down 2 inches longer than my hair cut, and when he pointed it out to me it just came right out. I have a family history of Alopecia, I have a brother with no hair on his body and a sister with a bald patch so I got upset thinking it was alopecia. Im 26 years old and of course dont want to lose my hair. It wasnt till I talked to my mom an OB/GYN and told her how discouraged I was with my weight gain and now the hair loss that she suggested having the mirena removed right away. She said she has recently been seeing hair loss in her patients that have mirenas. Im having it removed next week.
I am so relieved at the comments I have just read. I had the Mirena inserted in Aug 2008 and noticed in Aug 2009 a small bald patch at the back of my head which has grown considerably todate – I now have three other bald patches on my head. I had my doubts about the device, but persevered as it stopped the night sweats I was getting. I would rather have my hair than worry about sweating! I am seeing my GP tomorrow to have the IUD removed. I just hope my hair will grow – have so much of my confidence and usually happy nature.
I am so glad that I finally googled Mirena, and found so many women who have experienced what I have. I had the Mirena inserted in August of 2008, 6 weeks after my daughter was born. I had lost all of my baby weight and even more. Since having the Mirena inserted, I have gained 30 pounds and look pregnant from being so bloated. I have terrible headaches everyday and take Motrin on a daily basis. My hair has thinned out so much and falls out in clumps in the shower. I find my hair all over the house. I have fought depression, and at first thought it was post partum. I have never had trouble with depression and have always been a positive and happy person. I have not been able to understand what has happened to me. I cried when I found this site, and all of the other posts by women who have experienced this. I have an appointment on Thursday for a pap, and I am telling him to take it out! I don’t have insurance because I have went part time at work to finish school to get my RN. I hope it doesn’t cost alot to have it taken out. I’m thinking that since I am having a pap, he can just pull it out. I have a friend who has the mirena and has terrible headaches like me. She goes to the same doctor and he told her the headaches are not related to the mirena. I told her to look it up like I have. I can’t wait to have this thing removed and will tell everyone I know not to do this to their body!
I’m not sure how to add my name to the list. Please give instruction?
I had a mirena inserted last year, and was quite content.
But i didn’t see how the hormones was making me depressed. After having a break-down NO doctor would remove it.. Ego!!
I am so glad to have found this site! I have had Mirena since Feb ’07. I have gone through so many of the symptoms I am reading about here. For the past three years I’ve had significant hair loss which depresses me to no end. I did some searching on line a couple weeks ago and came across site after site saying this was a side effect of Mirena and many other people are experiencing this. I had no idea that this was what possibly could have been causing this. I just assumed all the things I’ve gone through in the past three years was perimenopausal symptoms (I’m 40) and was just all something I was going to have to “deal with”. I have made the decision a few days ago that I want this thing OUT! Unfortunately, I’m self-employed and without health insurance right now. I’m a single mother and barely making ends meet as it is so it’s just not in my budget at this time. But it is my goal to get this thing out as soon as possible and am working towards that. Maybe then my life will get back to some sort of normalcy. Best of all maybe I will not have to watch my hair go down the drain in clumps. It’s so depressing! My doctor suggested the Mirena to me as a solution to my heavy periods and it truly has helped that… but after looking in the mirror day after day at my balding scalp I’d gladly go back to the monthly periods.
I lost half my hair, and I’m getting Mirena removed ASAP. Does anyone know if Rograine or Minoxidil will help?
I have had the Mirena since Aug 2006. It was in Nov. 2008 that I noticed slight hair loss. I thought it was due to stress, so I tried to give it some time. My hair has continued to thin and I finally decided to look into the side effects of Mirena. This is the worst news ever; I am furious and will be contacting my doctor immediately for removal. I am praying for all of you women and pray for speedy hair regrowth also; it is truly our Glory. This side effect should definately be made known.
i totally agree ive now had the mirena in for 3 years and am just now getting enough money to have it taken out. They said that the bleeding eventually subsides and my cycle is still rediculous. I typically have a very light period 5 days a week since i have had it in. I bleed for over two weeks striaght a month. I have also gained weight from it. Most recently i am experiencing really bad cramps that bring me to tears. Sign me up, and thanks for letting everyone know how horrible this can be.
I had the Mirena for 5 years and spent thousands in doctor bills & tests because of an unknown illness. I did have some hair loss but that was not even the worst of it. I had seizures, uncontroled movements in my neck and jaw and I even had bouts of rage. Also I had migraines, body aches and I was literally throwing up all over the place. It was like I spent most of those 5 years in the doctor’s office or the ER. I even ended up in CCU once because I couldn’t hardly breath and I kept having seizures. The doctors couldn’t figure it out. I finally ended up Googling all of this one day and found other similar symptoms to mine and brought it to my OB-GYN’s attention when I had it taken out. My doctor was stunned and had no idea that it was causing my problems. The very next day after it was taken out my symptoms started to subside. Thank goodness I am better now. There needs to be a black box warning on this product.
I have had Mirena for 2 years as of April 15, 2008. I bled heavily for the first two months during which time i was put on bc pills to regulate it and then it eventually stopped. I haven’t had a period or bled in a year and half and while that is great I have had other side effects that were not mentioned by the research or my ob gyn. I’ve gained about 25lbs, have intermittent horrible cramps, literally no sex drive, have had acne in places where i never have had before, I am constantly bloated and eating less doesn’t help. I have had severe mood swings have to take Vitamin B 12 just to have energy after a full night’s sleep. I’ve cut back considerably on soda and only have one a day but still have recurring UTI’s which have resulted in having to take cranberry pills daily. I have horrible lower back pain intermittently that nothing seems to cure. I am seriously considering having mine removed asap.
I had mine inserted 2 weeks after my baby was born, a year and a half ago. Since then, I have had blinding migrains, very unlike me mood swings, mysterious bumps and patches on my skin, and major, major hair loss. Oh yeah, and I can’t stand sex anymore. It hurts, and I always bleed afterwards, which is a drag, because I really love my husband!
I’ve been told it’s just stress from being a new mom. I’ve been told it’s PPD, which I took antidepressents for, that did nothing. I’ve been told it’s my diet, it’s my sleep patterns, it’s the way I style my hair…According to the Doc, it’s all in my head, and I’m doing it to myself.
It makes me ill that they just won’t admit that this IUD could be the cause of all this misery for so many women. I’m getting mine out next week.
Hi I’m from Canada and boy have I suffered for over the last two years. I had the mirena in for 8 months which during I had sudden hair loss. Looked it up on line and discovered the “mirena users” were prone to this (much to the denial of pharaceutical comp)!!! UNBELIEVABLE. Confronted the family doc and he claimed iron deficiency (however blood work did NOT show SIGNIFICANT problem here, gyno claimed mirena and hair loss no association; however gut tells me differently. Had it removed and still a year later am lossing it ..a general all over hair thinning. Derma doc just wanted to put me on rogain etc but that would never solve “underlying” problem. I didn’t want to put creme on my scalp for the rest of my life. 2 homeopaths later , lots of b vitamins, cvitamins, and iron still no difference. I firmly believe to this day that the MIRENA upset the balance in my system and to this day it is still not right. I want to sue the company for all the side effects that they claim arent’ substantial yet prove otherwise through all these stories online here!!!! USERS beware. That product is detrimental to all users one way or another. Let’s get em….
I’ve had my mirena in since July 2009…6 weeks after having my daughter. it hurt like hell when they put it in. I wanted to pass out and Ive never have felt that feeling. it was worse then labor. anywho, my deal with mirena is that I believe it is what is givin me really bad nausious stomach aches. I just want to vomit all the time but don’t. it’s getting bad too. I have never had bad cramping until last December when it was soo unbareable I was taking Ibuprofen like it was candy. i’ve never agreed with putting a foreign object in my body. I think it’s time to take it out.. I’m tired of feeling this sick. making apointment in the morning. thanks for all your info and personal stories! maybe I’ll be able to lose this weight now! been working my butt off and nothing!!
I had the Mirena coil fitted 2 months ago and last week I noticed a significant hair loss. My crown and hairline is thin – I have lost so much hair you can see my scalp. I’m so worried….. I am going to see my GP tomorrow and will refuse to leave until they remove the wretched thing. To say I’m angry is an understatement.
ditto above. i feel so much relief that i have found this site. i will be calling my GP today to get the mirena removed. i had mine put in end of march this year after having my first baby and it is only now, 2.5 months down the track, im seeing hair loss. i also have been getting very nervous, panicky and anxious. some depression. i thought i was going mad and that the hair loss is because i have been so anxious all the time. i now know my problems are stemming from this stupid IUD- im meant to be enjoying being a new mum and i have been feeling so down!!!! thankyou for this site!!
I got the Mirena in January 2010. Besides nearly a month of soreness and cramps around the area it is in, I have long drawn out PMS symptoms like sore breasts for a whole week before my period even begins, and sometimes my period lasts for almost 2 weeks! I thought I would wait for the symptoms to subside. Instead, the mood swings and depression just keep getting worse. Now I’m feeling cramps almost daily from the IUD. Though I’ve been lucky to not lose much more hair than normal, many of the symptoms listed above have been no stranger to me. I’m definitely signing the petition, and I’ve made an appointment to get the Mirena removed this week!
i was just doing some searching on my side effects when i fount this…i am only 19 years old. i had my little girl after my eighteenth birthdayi was happy and healthy with no problems mentaly physicaly or emotionally…i am 5′ 10 and leaving the hospital after having my little girl i wieghed 132 lbs. i chose to get the mirena because my husband and i wanted to wait three years in between. a few months later he began to notice changes in my mental sate i was moody and depressed alot. i started to notice my hair coming out in chunks in the shower which didnt help the state iwas in..my family has really thick hair and no problems in either side. i haave had blood work done numerous time bc i had the symptoms of being pregnant. i was even lactating! at about 10 months after i had it put ini began to notice non of my fat clothes were fitting. i had gotten up to 208 lbs! the heaviest of my life! i hadnt changed anything. i walk almost everyday… i became more depressed and emotional which is reasonable of a
Thank you so much fir this! I notices my hair thinning but I just assumed it was post pregnancy hair loss. Now I’m really ticked off and can add this to my long list of Mirena side effects!
Here’s a side effect the company won’t even look into but clearly is an issue! Ready for this? Multiples. Yes women are having twins after getting this monster removed! Can you believe this?! We try to do the responsible thing and protect ourselves from unplanned pregnancies and after we have this T shaped terror removed we get pregnant with not one but two or more babies!
Please feel free to google it. There are too many women out there for it not even to be mentioned at all!
Get this… Bayor won’t even entertain it because supposedly twins are ONLY hereditary and they don’t skip a generation. They say that dropping two eggs runs in the family and an egg splitting is just a fluke. Well that may have been true before we got in there trying to outsmart mother nature.
The problem is there are a bunch of women getting pregnant with twins that have no history of twins in the family. Their common denominator is this IUD that many of their doctors “begged” them to get. It’s all about money and people’s lives are being drasticly changed!!! >:-(
I had the Mirena in for exactly one year. The cramping went away after 6 months and I really got used to not having a period. As my gyno suggested I gave it a year to adjust. I had it removed 9 days ago.
About a month and a half after insertion I began noticing significant hairloss. My boyfriend even noticed that there was more hair on the floor after I was done styling it. It’s thoroughly depressing, as I can now see my scalp at the crown.
I also had also been experiencing low sex drive and bleeding after ever sexual encounter (how romantic).
Besides hairloss I think the worst thing is that I feel like I’ve lost myself. Since insertion I have tried 3 different types of anti-depressants and none of them seemed to make a dent. I feel lifeless and hopeless. I am praying that I will equalize soon now that it’s out. I also experience insomnia off an on. This is not something that I had experienced before the Mirena.
My heart aches for all of the women on this blog. There’s so many of us out there.. I thought I was going crazy until I googled “Mirena hair loss”. I had been complaining to my gyno and Dr. about the hairloss, but they see enough significant evidence to advise that it be the Mirena.
Hopefully I will be a success story and will be painting a much happier picture in a couple months. I will be sure to share.
-Jennifer
Hello everyone,
Im so glad I stumbled upon this website! My story is kinda long but I need to let it out and talk about my nightmare to people who understand. I had my Mirena placed in october of 09 just 8 weeks after I had my son. My doctor pretty muched pushed it on me saying it was the best meathod of birth control out there and It would be perfect for me. I was so excited and all for it so I gave it a go! I had no problems at first and went on with my life as usual. However in march I noticed I was growing more fatigued then ever and I developed these horrific legs pains. Im talking pain so bad I could barley get out of bed or even take care of my son. I knew I was just getting used to the routine of motherhood and starting back working again so I passed it up as I was just overdoing myself. I started taking vitamins eating better doing yoga and working out and at first it seemed to help. However that didn’t last long. The leg pains were growing more frequent and on came the headachs back pain and hip pain. And just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, intercourse with my husband and I was getting painful as well. I started to develop this discharge and I assumed I was just getting a yeast infection. When that came out negative I was more discouraged then anything. What was wrong with me? But just like before I pushed along thinking that its nothing. My leg pains were preventing me from sleeping and another symptom occured, I was so moody! I mean SO REALLY MOODY! I was lashing out at my husband cry everyday and slipped into a deep depression. And one morning while I was taking a shower I was washing my hair and when I started to rinse I realized I was pulling hair out of my head!! Literally! Shedding hair like crazy! Even during the day brushing my hair or even just running my fingers through my hair, I was shedding really bad! I just figured it was from stress so I made an app to talk with my doctor about getting on meds for my anxiety/depression. I was so busy though that I couldn’t make the app so I cancelled. My symptoms grew more and more painful and frequent. I felt like an elderly women in a nursing home unable to take care of myself anymore. My husband was missing work to stay home and take care of me. I had to take a leave of absence from my job and almost lost my job all together. I couldnt even get out of bed. I honestly wanted to die….I just didn’t care anymore. I was lashing out losing my friends and almost my marrige. My son was picking up on my behavior and he started showing sighns of anger himself. Finally one night after putting my son to bed, I went into the bathroom and while I was going I felt something. It didn’t hurt but it was like I had a tampon in or something. So I washed my hands and felt with my finger and as I went up inside I felt my Mirena!! It was falling out of me!!! I freaked out because I got this burning itching feeling. And in a couple of hours I developed this thick whit discharge along with an odor. The next morning I called my doctor right away and made an app to have this removed. At this point I started to research online to see if it was normal to have the Mirena fall out. I thought something was wrong with me! As I started to research I came accross all these posts about women and these horror stories! I was shocked! I couldnt believe it! I made the connection with all these symptoms I was having with all these other women! It was like everything I was reading came from my lips! The hair loss, leg pain, back pain, hip pain, headachs, dizziness, mood swings, depression, panic attacks, nausea, fevers, heart palipitations, weight gain and fatigue. I planned on having a talk with my doc during my app with her but it was saturday and my app wasn’t until monday. I thought I would be ok until I woke up sunday morning in agony with the worst menstural pain ever!! I couldn’t walk. My husband rushed me to the ER. I thought maybe I was having a misscarrige cause my Mirena was falling out. Or maybe an tubal pregnancy. The doctor took my Mirena out and he told me that it was tilted and stuck! It hurt so bad! But this is where it gets really crazy, as soon as he removed it and did the pelvic exam I got up and walked out of the ER pain free!! I had to get checked for all these stds and PID. They were all negative and the doctors played dumb like they have never seen anything like it before. I saw a specialist who finally determined that my body was rejecting the Mirena and was literally killing me! My body was under attack from itself!! They had the nerve to say that it was so rare and almost never happend! Ya well I have spoken to a bunch of women (including myself) who strongly dissagree! Its only been 4 days since I had my Mirena removed and I am a new person! I feel great and I have slept wonderful. Im still having cramps and a period but I can handle that!! The devil is out of me and I am now free!!!
I have a frighten hair loss story with Mirena. I received the Mirena July 09 and in August 09 I began to notice that everytime I would comb my hair I would have strains left behind and the doctors asked me was I suffering from depression and I told them NO. In September 09 I got a hair cut however my hair came out worse and I had to wear weave OMG that so crushed my selfesteem and now since I have the Mirena removed Im patiently waiting on a Miracle for the return of my hair
Im seventeen, never had a kid, so I illegally have an IUD. Since I was young I had more than normal hairloss. I got Mirena about 8 months ago, and in the past week or two have had 3 to handfulls of hair come out. i thought it was stress related from work and college but i feel absolutely certain its the mirena. i have always had migraines and have had the same one for the same two weeks of excessive hairloss. i WILL call my gyn and i WILL have it removed. sign my name on that petition!
EESH! I have hair loss, breast tenderness, and weight gain. Vitamins are not helping…. need to make appt Monday to have Mirena removed. Had no idea alopecia was one of the side effects. Bummer, it really helped with my bleeding. But EESH, don’t want to be the next walk-in on Star Trek!?
I had the Mirena in for a grand total of 5 days. The insertion was painful but tolerable in comparison to what followed three days after insertion. I was literally in tears and doubled over in pain by the 3rd day (the 2nd day wasn’t much fun either) and ended up in the emergency room. They diagnosed it as PID, pulled the awful thing out of me and sent me home with antibiotics. At least I got dilaudid for my troubles!
I, like many women, did my research before committing to Mirena and thought it would be great for me: I have one child (7) and one partner. I tolerate BCP OK but I liked the idea of lighter periods (mine are already light and usually only last 3 full days, I shouldn’t have messed with that!) and not having to worry about the thing. Of course it didn’t work out that way.
After reading LATER after insertion about the potential for hair loss, I was mortified. Not my precious thick hair! But I figured that would be a small price to pay for convenience… I’m sort of glad that I didn’t make it longer than 5 days so I didn’t have to worry about my beautiful mane coming out in chunks, that would have been more traumatizing than the pain I experienced days after insertion.
My conclusion is that this thing is evil. EVIL. Sure, some women tolerate it and even swear by it but doctors don’t seem to realize that these side effects are not just random and from what I’ve read, many try to talk their patients out of removal. Screw that! I demanded that they pull it and they seemed more than happy to do it in the ER, which leads me to believe that they DO know how awful this thing is otherwise they would have tried to run more tests before being so willing to pull it (especially because I did not pay out of pocket for it and the county had covered the cost in the first place, there’s $700 down the toilet!). I was more than prepared to pull it myself in the ER bathroom if they would have told me no.
I KNEW that my body did not like this thing from the beginning and if my uterus could talk, it would have been screaming “GET THIS THING OUT OF ME!!!” the entire time I had it in.
Nothing is worth feeling the way some women feel as a result of Mirena and I would like to see nothing more than it get pulled from the market – at least until doctors learn how to recognize the more-common-than-Bayer-would-like-you-to-think side effects.
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. It knows better than your doctor and most certainly better than Bayer.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go run my fingers through my luscious hair. 🙂
Hi my story is rather complicated. I damaged my back 2 years ago and because i was having heavy periods i thought i would get the mirena fitted to help with the back pain too. Having it inserted was excruciating as my cervix is high up. However i am now 11 months on and 10 months on from having major spinal surgery and i cant understand why i have gained 5 stone….. I am not as mobile as i used to be but the only thing i have done differently was having the coil fitted. Can this be the cause of the weight gain and these horrific cramps.. Oh and also these burning boobs that feel like im going to explode…… I went to the doctor to try and get it removed but she couldnt reach it so now have to go to a specialist. Am really cross as i have been through enough with breaking my back and having to learn to walk again and being 5 stone overweight is not helping my back pain. But i also have a GP that doesnt think this could cause all the weight gain. Please has anyone got a similiar story…. i need to lose this weight it is killing me…. thanks
I just had my mirena removed today, after pulling out chunks of my hair for the past week! I’m also a bit upset about the fact that I kept giving me ovarian cysts… It cost me out of pocket, but I’m just glad I’m done with it. As I figured my GYN tried to talk me out of it the whole time… Someone really needs to start a class action lawsuit against these people. I don’t understand how it’s still even on the market.
Thank you so much for the information.
I’ve had Mirena for about a month now and I’ve noticed a lot of hair loss and I had no clue where it was coming from, and I absolutly love my hair, I’m a natrual red head. I ended up changing shampoos a couple times and i had no luck. I dont know about anyone else but I had a really ichy salpe as well, and after my mom mentioned that it may be the IUD then it all clicked and I went looking for an awnser. I’ve gianed about 15 to 20 pounds. and can barally fit in my fat jeans. I only had one splitting head and that was last night, I have really low energy and I’ve been so tired lately, I take naps at 9 am. my belly and ankles are so swollen i look like a balloon. not to mention my thighs are so swollen to. I just literly balled to my boyfriend when I read this to him, and I am making a call to my physician tomorrow morning.
Thank you for posting this. I have Mirena for about 4 1/2 years. I was diagnosed with Alapacia (sp) but the medicine did not help and I now have a almost bald patch on the side of my head – so not attractive. I am making an appt to remove it and hopefully that will help with the other symptoms I’ve had. Thank you thank you thank you.
Ladies need to be aware of the side effects of the birth control device Mirena. I wish now that before I had gotten it I would have found a website like this. After only having Mirena in for 2.5 weeks, I had it removed IMMEDIETLY by a women’s health care clinician. The side effects were mild at first: slight cramping in my abdomen, a consistent period for that entire 2.5 weeks (much to the dismay of my boyfriend who was a good sport through the entire ordeal), and a decrease in lubrication during intercourse and foreplay. It was inconvenient, but tolerable. The final straw came when after shampooing my hair, I took a good look at my hands and realized that there were FISTFULLS of my normally obnoxious thick and wavy hair in them and in the drain. In shock, I turned off the faucet, ran to the computer and frantically searched “Mirena, hair loss.” I was horrified to learn that the one symptom my clinician failed to mention to me before the insertion of my Mirena was hair loss; an allegedly rare symptom until I realized the volume of ladies who where complaining about it. Fortunately for me, I have a sister who is an amazingly talented cosmotologist. She immediately contacted the head stylist at her salon who said he had a client with a similar problem who had actually gone bald on the back of her head. My sister ran out and grabbed a line of thinning hair treatments called CLINICURE. It consisted of a shampoo, cream rinse, vitamins and a spray to put on the affected areas. I had the Mirena removed that next morning, and started the hair treatments which where a miracle. After the removal, I had heavy bleeding and clotting for three days before it stopped and that is completely normal. If you are afraid of having it removed, don’t. It hurts far less than having it put in. Trust your bodies ladies. Sign the petition.
http://newsblaze.com/story/20100914122854zzzz.nb/topstory.html
hot off the presses, i thought i would share. the second petition is still active
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/mirena-awareness-part-ii/
please sign and pass it on if you agree!
At first my hair was growing twice as fast as normal and that was all over my body. It was a pain because at the time I was highlighting my hair. So after about a year of that I stopped coloring my hair. Also, the direction and thickness of my hair on the inner side of my thighs changed making it very difficult and painful to shave. At about the 2 year mark my hair started coming out in large amounts. Initially I didn’t really mind because I have extremely thick hair. I would always get some kind of comment (or complaint) from the hairdresser. However it has been almost a year since I noticed my hair falling out and it is only a 3rd as thick as it once was. A few months ago I had an ovarian cyst burst which I didn’t connect to the IUD until I read this page. I also have a very low sex drive. All of these are issues but when I tried other birth control options I gained weight, I became extremely moody and my skin was horrible with acne. The IUD has calmed my periods down, my skin is beautiful and I don’t get moody anymore. I really can’t decide if I should take out the IUD and try another b.c. or just deal with what happens…
I have suffered horribly because of the Mirena as well. I’m still trying to undo the damage it has caused.
It was only til last night my sister said, “hey hair loss is caused by in balance in hormones, doesn’t Mirena give you hormones?” I’m getting it taken out in 5days (which I am thankfully counting down.) I had sever alopecia. I hope no other woman has to go through that it was terrible. I can not wait to have my hiar back!! Thank you for posting this, I felt as if I was alone in this struggle.
I went on the Mirena 4 years ago and was ok with the exception of terrible skin eruptions and weight gain. So I dieted, ran, ate no wheat or sugar. However I could NOT BELIEVE how much I craved sugar. I never did before in my life. So for a year now I’ve been battling night sweats, fatigue, and now sudden, drastic hair loss. I lose hundreds of hairs a day and my hair that is growing back is super thin. I TRIED to tell my GP about it. She did not believe it could do that. I BEGGED the Endocrinologist to consider it as a cause. She declined to accpept it. I PLEADED again with my OBGYN to take it out…well she tried and couldn’t find it! Which might explain the constant poking feeling I have on the left side of my abdomen, my bloated feeling, and the overall poor health I’ve felt. I am livid to read this site that women are suffering so much and being misled about side effects.
I started taking “Thyroid Soothe” a supplement from Native Remedies for T3 and T4 support and Saw Palmetto to get rid of the DHT in my blood stream which may be Mirena inspired. I feel better and I’m growing hair but I am getting my Mirena surgically removed next week and will never have the same trust in doctors!!!
I have always had very thick hair. Over the last year I have been losing a lot of hair. Tonight I noticed bald patches and thought I would google mirena and hair loss. I’ve not had a period in the 2+ years I’ve had it in and thought that might be a side effect of low hormone levels or something. I was horrified to discover all the information posted about this ‘uncommon’ side effect. I am upset with myself for not researching this more and hope the side effects aren’t permanent once I get it out.
Having the Mirena coil inserted is possibly the worst decision I have ever made. My doctor first offered me a choice of Mirena or a hysterectomy for my very very heavy periods that made me severely anemic to the point of being life threatening. And since a hysterectomy is irreversible, I decided to try the Mirena coil. I am 43 years old with an adult child, so birth control wasn’t really my top reason for choosing Mirena, it was to slow down, lessen, and shorten my periods. I had Mirena inserted in May 2010. My bleeding had slowed down but the light periods lasted for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. Annoying. I have had a 50% reduction in my hair volume, my hair is everywhere around the house I can’t walk in a room without hair appearing on the tile or in the sink in the bathroom. My doctor permitted me to have a hysterectomy one week ago and this morning is the first time I have brushed my hair without a ton of hair (50 strands?) being in the brush. There was only one! I was so happy and hope that now that the evil Mirena, along with my uterus, being removed has finally solved my bleeding and hair loss problems! I wish I would have just gotten a hysterectomy four months ago instead of going through the Mirena nightmare. What woman wants to bleed all the time and lose her hair!!!!!!!?
Thanks for this site and I hope others can take heed and make the correct choice for their womanhood.
All the best
Val
I have only had my Mirena IUD in for 3 months, and I want it out already. My hair loss isnt getting any better, it’ s actually getting worse. I wasnt told about any side effects by my OB when she suggested I get it with the exception of occasional spotting and bleeding… that was a joke, I bleed more then I ever did before. When my insurace kicks back in in a month I am getting it removed…. Thank you so much for this web site.. My OB wants me to get my tyroid checked due to the hair lose..I know it’s due to the Mirena, why pay the extra money for getting tested when I can just get it taken out.. Thank you once again
O dear!!! What have I done!!! I thought the Mirena was the perfect solution! I didn’t think before having it inserted 2 months ago.
Biggest mistake ever! Now having severe acne and scarring over face and neck area, which I haven’t even experienced in my teens. I consulted a GP who advised to remove the Mirena A.S.A.P. and rather go back on the pill.
Cannot believe all the side effects listed above…
High blood sugar, Low energy, weight gain, ACNE, stomach cramps, menstrual cramps, nervous, mood changes, breast tenderness are all the side effects I have been experiencing for the past 2 months! From being a absolutely normal HEALTHY woman which never have any menstrual pains, cramps or any side effects whatsoever to having all these issues. So dissappointed that I did not do research before I had the Mirena inserted. This has taught me a expensive lesson! All the money down the drain!
Having it removed on Monday and going back on the pill – holding thumbs the acne will clear up soon and the side effects will pass…
On my god. I have been dealing with hair loss for over a year. Seeing derms, spending $$ on perscips and Doctors with no help. My sister just found this site and told me to check it out. I am so mad and happy at the same time. I am hoping that this stops my issues. I go on Monday to have it removed.
Thank You,
Sheri S.
I’ve had the mirena since December 10, 2007. I have always had fine hair but a lot of it. Since having the mirena placed I did not like the other women who have posted their horrifying stories have severe cramps or bleeding. I did consider other forms of birth control and was talked into getting the mirena by my OB/GYN. I asked her 3 simple questions; will I gain weight, will I get acne and will my hair fall out. Her answers to me were no, maybe and no. And she couldn’t have been more wrong. My skin is that of a 13 year old and I weigh more now than I did when I was 8 months pregnant. As far as my hair, its sickening to think that I once complained about it before when I am now experiencing what seems to be male pattern baldness. I am 28 and in beauty school and for my hair to fall out as much as it does it depresses me to no end. I have seen many different doctors and have countless blood tests done to try to find out why my hair is falling out and my skin is breaking out. Finally after talking to my teacher and going over every possible reason why my hair and skin were so bad she asked me if I take any birth control not thinking I told her I do not take any pills but I have a mirena iud. She told me to Google mirena and hair loss and I stumbled across this site. I am absolutely grateful for all you women who are strong enough to put your stories on here. I am making an appt to have this wretched thing taken out of my body and hoping to return to my once normal self!
I had mine in back in Feb. 08 and thought all was well. The next summer i started having dizzyness but thought maybe I didn’t get enough sleep or something. Around the same time when washing my hair I noticed larger amount of hair in my hands. I have always lost some while washing as I have very thick hair. So still not thinking much of it just continued on. That same year in Dec. is saw a very small pink bald spot and thought “whaaat”. The next spring the spot became larger the size of a quarter. I finally got into my doctor he had no idea sent me to a derm. He did some treatments but knowone asked about birth controll and I still had no idea. Well here it is Dec. and my sister is the one who put it together. I have many bald spots now and very thin hair. I had the thing removed last Monday and I feel awful. My question is will my hair come back? The pink spots are as smooth as a scar and feel the hair will not come back in these spots. By the way none of my docs think this is why I lost my hair. I am so very sad and depressed it hurts. If anyone has any advise for me it will be appreciated.
I have been googling Mirena’s side effects for the longest time now, trying to determine if what I’ve been experiencing can be tied to it or not. I had Mirena inserted after my daughter was born, almost 4 years ago. I did have slight cramping afterwards, but nothing major. I’ve suffered from endometriosis since I was 16, so I was thrilled at the fact Mirena stopped my periods all together. I was also excited to have a contraceptive that prevented pregnancy so effectively. However, those are the only 2 positive side-effects I’ve experienced while on Mirena. Weeks after insertion I noticed these 2 areas around the smile lines of my face of bumps and enlarged pores. They almost resemble acne scars, but I’ve never had acne. I’ve always had extremely clear skin, even during puberty…but not the case anymore. I continue to get breakouts and I can’t even remember what it was like to have clear skin. I’ve tried every prescription out there & invested hundreds of dollars on every type of chemical peel, but they either don’t work or are only a temporary fix. My hair started thinning over the last couple years, but I’ve noticed it’s become its worst over this last year. I now have to part and style my hair certain ways in an attempt to cover it up. The thickness of my ponytail is pitiful compared to what it used to be. At the suggestion of my doctor I’ve been taking biotin and folic acid for months, but have noticed no improvement. It did take a very long time to lose the baby weight I’d put on and during a moment of desperation I went to a “fat doctor” some of my coworkers had been to. I was put on phentermine and did lose about 10 lbs from that, but the side-effects of that were even worse than the Mirena, so I would not — under ANY circumstances — recommend phentermine to anyone!!! I’ve always been a healthy person, eating a good diet and exercising frequently. It wasn’t until I got into running — I average 5-10 miles/week — that I’ve been able to get past the plateau point of weight loss. It’s frustrating, though, because it’s been almost impossible to lose weight, and I feel that with as hard as I work at it, I should be a lot smaller. The libido hasn’t been much of an issue, I think that’s been at a healthy level. I’ve asked my OBGYN about these side-effects and she even had bloodwork done last week to test my thyroid levels. They came back normal and she suggests I see an endocrinologist. She swears my side-effects are not related to Mirena, that they may just be “the cards I was dealt genetically.” This was very discouraging to hear, and I’m on the verge of scheduling an appointment to have this removed. I’ve had it for almost 4 years anyway, it would only be a year early. It was just so nice to be able to read other womens’ blogs & feel like I’m not alone in this. It really seems like the doctors are holding back information from us. Are they getting a kick-back from the pharmaceutical companies for this??? Sorry to ramble — had to get this off my chest! 🙂
I have had Mirena since November 2010 and I immediately noticed the hair loss. At first I thought it had to do with the fact that I recently had a baby, however I know its not from that. After doing some research and finding this is a situation that is common, the plan is to get it removed tomorrow (first thing in the morning). The depression was also outrageous and completely uncontrollable. I wish I would have knew this was gonna happen believe me I wouldn’t ever ever took Mirena!!!!
SIGNED! I can not believe this! I got the Mirena inserted late 2008, and I still have it! While on Mirena, I had a few SEVERE cramps that felt as if my abdomen was being stabbed and ripped from my body. I would crouch down and unable to move until the pain surpassed. It never crossed my mind that perhaps this was the Mirena. Several months later I noticed my hair beginning to thin around the temples. Gradually it became worse and began to bald. The bald spots were growing and the thinnig spread. I am only 21 years old! I’ve always been healthy and a full head of hair runs in the family. I’ve been searching online for hair loss explanations and found that a cause mat be a hormonal imbalance which got me thinking it might be my birth control. Sure enough most everyone else that has or has had Mirena has similar problems. I need to get this thing out of me immediately! DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUCCESS STORIES IN GROWING THEIR HAIR BACK????
I started Mirena because I was diagnosed with severe endometriosis. Mirena seemingly took care of that symptom, and unlike others, I actually lost about 10 pounds during the 8 months while it was inserted. However, about 5 months in I suddenly had scalp problems — major scalp problems which I thought there must’ve been some other cause — change in haircare products, etc. It kept getting worse and soon, my hair was everywhere. Fortunately, I found a site that did mention this problem with other women, but my doctors all refused to admit that it is a side effect of Mirena. They downright refuse. I’m 42 years old, never had hair or scalp problems and definitely never had hair loss before. The only major change in my life — Mirena. It’s only been a month, I hope my scalp returns to normal soon and I hope that the hair loss slows down. It might be too much to ask for my hair to return, but at least stop losing it all over the place. The Mirena folks need to wake up — this is a huge problem. Men may hate going bald and want their hair — women downright need their hair. Definitely a double standard, please…women out there thinking about Mirena — don’t do it.
Oh…Val McComb — how long did it take before you noticed your hair was no longer falling out??? I think so many of us here would love to know that it stopped and there is hope….
Im 21 and I went in to get Mirena a week ago, but the doctor couldnt get it through my cervix and ever since then I have been having heavy bleeding. Im so mad at the doctor. Did she mess up my cervix.. Advice please…I sign the petition!
I had Mirena installed in 9/10. From the first week I bled heavily and almost non-stop (currently). The longest time I went without having the heavy bleeding was 2 weeks straight just about a month ago. The WORST part is the hair loss. I’ve always had a beautiful, thick head of hair which is almost non-existent. I don’t have bald patches (I’m literally praying that doesn’t happen), but it’s thinned BADLY. I called the Dr. at least once a month for the last 5 months and they said it’s “normal”. The day I went in to have it removed the doctor said “Oh no that’s not normal you should have called”. REALLY?!?! They never once told the doctor and I was NEVER warned that my hair would come out in handfuls every day.
Hi there
I wish I had come across your website before I had my mirena put in! I’ve just had it removed after 10 months and after a list of side effects as long as my arm. I had the following : Hair loss – handfulls of it – enough for my boyfriend to notice – especially when I blocked the drain every time i showered – washing my hair i would literally end up with huge amounts falling out . I also had acne start up (when I’ve NEVER struggled with so much as a pimple), weight gain (which I couldn’t get rid of despite gyming for 5 days a week and dancing four to five times a week, greasy hair, greasy skin (probably what caused the acne), long disgusting hair around my nipples and on my stomach and the blonde fuzz I had on my lip turned dark as well, cysts (apparently courtesy of the mirena too), bad cramps at random times, And to top all of that off I was spotting, on average, for about 19 days a month! Glad it’s out – home my body returns to normal now!
I had the mirena since 12/10. I’ve notice about 2 months later my hair began to shed sooooo bad. I jus started crying. Also my periods last so long and I also had a fowl smell. I’ve had bad headache my eyes began to bother me so bad. I jus want this thing out of me asap!!!! The doctor never stated any fact of the danager this mirena can cause. If the has an effect like this on my body. What more interner problems it can and will cause……. Thank u all for sharing ur stories…….
I had mirena for 2 weeks back in December of 2003, I got severely depressed and shot myself on the face! Can I sue, join a law suit becaue of it? Need your advised and help
Suzy Q
I am currently a Mirena user. While I still feel that at this time in my life, this birth control option is the best one for me, I also have experienced side effects from this device that I was not told about. And let me tell you I do my homework on all the birth control options before I chose this route. I had the Mirena placed before I deployed for a number of reasons, the main one being on the off-chance of my capture, that I would not get impregnated, and frankly the no period’s is a wonderful thing.
However, upon return from Iraq I found that my sex drive had taken a terrible dive which my fiance is not happy about and neither am I. I’ve always had thin hair, and yet more and more of it was found everywhere, with huge tuffs of it coming out when I brushed or combed it. And one of those little symptoms that was listed as less severe was anything but…
A few months ago I had horrible blinding pain in my lower stomach after sex to the point that I could not walk. I was taken to the ER and after an excruciating exam where the ultrasound damn near had her teeth kicked in (if I could have moved) it was discovered that I had a huge ovarian cyst that had burst flooding my body with caustic fluid. After being given another drug for the pain, I went into seizures and my blood pressure get dropping lower and lower where I had to have a doctor by my side for 6 hours until I stabilized. Three days later I had to have surgery, something I still have not recovered from.
It is my hope that the company gets enough complaints that they at the very least explain the possible side-effects…ALL of them, so that women like me can make informed decisions about what we place into our bodies.
Hey I had Mirena inserted in November 2007. I noticed the hair loss and immediately switched beauticians thinking something went wrong. So last year I found an awesome beautician and thought I need a hair cut. I never related my hair loss to Mirena until a couple of weeks ago. My hair is growing slower than it has ever did. I have had Mirena for 3 years and have been suffering from hair loss for just about all the time.
Does anyone knows how long it takes your hair to recuperate from this medical disaster?
Signed!!!! I had the IUD put in 3months ago my lots of my hair is falling out and im a crying mess!! I never seen Hair loss as a listed side effect and im so pissed!! My hair is so thin just after 3 months and Im so scared.. I lost my health insurance and dont know how I am going to get this stupid thing out!!!!
I had the Mirena put in 05/10 because my dr said it would help with my heavy painful periods. That was my only option for birth control because I have a thyroid condition.
Well…getting that thing put inside me was the worst!
It was great the first few months then all of sudden with each cycle my period was heavier and more painful. But on top of that, like many others here, the sex drive was none existent and i would spot for a week before and a week after my period. So if I was lucky I’d have 1 week a month free of bleeding.
I had already decided to call my dr today to have it removed because this weekend was the worst pain I’ve ever had, but to my surprise my body knew what was good for me and decided to purge that thing out of my uterus.
I guess all the problems I had for the past 7 months were due to my body rejecting it. Funny thing is that as soon as it came out on its own…
Voila! No more pain! Saves me a copay having it removed.
I definitely agree with everyone here that Bayer did not disclose enough about the severity of the side effects.
Hi Kristy!
Geeze — so sorry to hear about your IUD issues. I don’t know what these Dr’s are up to but the IUD was never a good idea even back in the day. I had the unfortuante luck of have the infamous CU7 and I still cannot figure out why these health care practitioners bring back things that are so dangerous. They wait until everyone has forgotten about stuff like that and spring it on you young gals and it is a crime I tell you! If I were you — and I don’t know where you live and the public health services in your area, but that is where I would begin. Also call the Gyno and explain your situation I would even go as far as going there in person in the middle of the day and demand to talk to someone about what is happening. Just like Clark Howard tells us listeners — the best way to get service is to go to the store on Saturday with your complaint — and don’t use your inside voice LOL. I don’t know if I would get loud but upset — hey it could not hurt to go in and cry infront of the entire waiting room! I really feel for you and other women who have been talked into this piece of crap! Remember that you are this Dr’s customer — you deserve to be heard!
OMG!!!i cant belive im just finding out now why my hair has been falling out !!!i had the mirena put in a year ago and i lost over half of my hair,I went to my doctor about the hairloss she couldnt find any reason besides my b12 being low,i have been takeing weekly shots of b12 for months with no help.i just typed in mirena and hairloss wow im getting it out asap!!!!
OMG! I am so sad, so scared and so relieved all at once. No one told me about this. My gorgeous hair – my one true attribute – has become thin, lank and UGLY! Over 50% gone 🙁 🙁 :(. I have to wait ANOTHER 6 weeks before I can get this stupid horrible device OUT. I will celebrate with Champagne when it happens! I have had the numb arms, (not carpal tunnel), extreme hair loss, weight gains. I just feel……not healthy. Am taking a bazillion different vitamins, hoping to make me feel better and grow my hair. Thank you all for sharing your stories. I feel so comforted knowing that there are other women like me going through this. Unfortunately it won’t grow my hair back, but it will reassure me I am not going crazy! HAng in there! Oh, and I want to give the brewers yeast thingo a go – As I live in Australia, can it be ANY type of powdered yeast??
Mirena IUD is EVIL and I want it out of my body NOW! Sadly, I had a failed attempt at getting it removed last week as my strings are no where to be found and am scheduled for outpatient surgery in a couple weeks to get rid of it. The hormonal mood swings which have felt like 2 years of constant PMS are so bad that it’s ruining my relationship – that relationship being the only reason I got the IUD in the first place. I know that I am not someone who can handle hormones in my body and my OBGYN knew that as well but she insisted that these hormones were different. These hormones were low doses. These hormones were localized to my lady parts. Not one of her patients has ever complained about hormonal side effects as a result of the Mirena IUD. I call BS. In fact, while my OBGYN insisted all of this two years ago when I got it, her nurse made it sound fairly common when I went in to get it out last week!
I had the Paragard IUD (copper) before this for 5 years and it was fine – except for 10 day periods every 3 weeks. Who needs birth control when you’re bleeding all the dang time?
Anyways, I noticed the other day that my hair is thinning terribly – and this was a horrible realization! I’ve always had very, very thick hair and always shed a lot of it, and haven’t noticed that happening more necessarily… but all of a sudden I can see my scalp, especially if I have it pulled up at all – and especially in the bangs area along my part line. I wanted to lie down on the floor and never get up again. It didn’t help when my boyfriend informed me that he’s noticed it for quite some time… (but not said anything!)
I hope that my hair will eventually start to thicken back up and may have to consult a dermatologist in the mean time. I’m so pissed about how bad the Mirena IUD has been for my body, my health, my sanity and my well-being. I’m also pissed that my OBGYN is such a big advocate (it almost seemed as if she got some huge kickback from the drug co for it?). I’m pissed at the lack of mention of side effects like hair loss and pissed that the Canadian version of the pamphlet gives so much more information. I’m pissed that the pamphlet directed me to see my doctor for more information and that she was full of crap. Bottom line, I’m just pissed and will be thrilled when this god forsaken thing comes out!!
*rant over*
Hang in there ladies…
Today before I read this I had looked up side effects for Mirena.. and its crazy how many I have.. as soon as I read them I called my doctor made an appointment and i’m getting it taken out asap. I’ve told my doctor I want it out i’ll just get my tubes tithed before and he convinces me to keep in it would be better. Why do they do that do they get like money or something for you keeping your IUD in I hate when they try to convince you to do something you know isn’t good for you! Not this time i’m tired of the headaches the abdominal pains especially the weight gain! Thank you! I know it was just a coincedencei came across this it is definetly reassurance!
my name is julie i have this mirena for a while but i have notice that my hair was shedding more then it use i have ver thick hair now my hair is very thin i cant belive this is happeing to me i can cry this is vey upsetting to me i am very young i dont want my hair to be gone over some depo my doctors told me that nobody had any propblems with hair loss then i decided to look it up and what do u know its a side affect i will be changing this is there any vitems i can take to gain my hair back i cant belive this is happing to me
I went to the doctor to have an ultrasound done which turned into a CT Scan the radiologist came in right away and said “Well it’s a good thing we did the CT Scan because you have 4 kidney stones and I found your IUD.” Here is the things I went in because of kidney stones not because I was missing my IUD. I thought my IUD had fall out in 2008 I went to the doctor she did a pelvic exam and she said it’s gone I even went on a birth control pill. I have had severe depression I have hardly any hair left on my head among many of other odd things and we could never find a cause well I think I just found my cause. The IUD is sitting out side my uterus between that and my spine. I am so mad.
I had Mirena put in several months ago, after the birth of my second child. With in the last month ,my already thin hair is falling out in clumps! I go to the doctors this week and im going to ask to have it removed. I also have suffered from lower back pain and severe mood swings! I wish i had read this article first!
I still have the Mirena and have been dealing with my hair falling out excessively for almost 2 years now – it is definitely not as thick as it used to be. I also have lower back pain, low energy and am very emotional, but never once did I think about a possible connection until today!
I have been discounting my symptoms it to stress and depression – and so has every doctor that I have brought up the issue with.
Thank you so much for posting this! I am making an appointment at this moment to have it removed so that maybe I can have my life back soon!
I’m so glad I found this website. I didn’t do any research before getting the mirena. But since getting it I have lost a ton of hair and gained quite a bit of weight and since I just had a baby and I’m still breastfeeding I should be losing weight not gaining. Plus I have been moody and I always have sharp pains on the right side of my lower abdomen. And some other not so lovely side affects. But now that I know what’s causing all this I will be calling the doc to get it removed. I have only had it for about 2 months but I don’t think it’s worth all the trouble. I rather not have sex then to end up fat and bald. Thank you everyone.
I am so happy that i found this site. I have had my Mirena in for 3 1/2 years. havent had any side effects that i noticed UNTIL THE PAST FEW MONTHS.. I have ENORMOUS bald spots. One in the front by my hairline, and another in the back by my hairline. I saw my family doctor, who said i needed a dermatologist, but since i am low income, i couldnt afford a dermatologist, and my health care plan wont cover one either. I started growing hair in weird spots, mostly on my chin. I joked that it was running from my head to my neck and chin. But it was quite serious. To the point where i hated going out in public and became very depressed over it. I still am, but since i have had my mirena out for almost a month now, i finally started seeing some hair growth (white) and i have dark dark brown hair originally. and my hair stopped almost immediately growing from my chin and neck. Mirena is absolutely horrible and i will make sure everyone i know knows how horrible this IUD truely is. Thank god that i figured out what was causing my hair loss before i was totally bald and before i fully gave up on a normal life.
~Emily
I have this evil thing infor 2o months,i gain weight,so stress out,i was in school not doing good cause i cant concentrate.i lost more than 50 percent of my hair.i have no interest in sex n my husband sometimes thinks its because im cheating.its been actually weeks he dont sleep in the same rome with me /this little evil device cause pain and suffering in my marriage.not to maintion daily haidache that cause me to withdraw classes,severe abdominal pain,insomnia n so much more.doctors keep telling me it s lack of vitamin,i take it everyday,nothing change.today i decided to google it and im glad i come across this information and tomorrow first time in the morning im callyn my ogyn to remove the evil thing out of my boddy
I really want to sign this but I can’t figure out how to do it…I have had so many side effects and I have only had it for about 4 months. If someone could tell me how to sign it or sign it for me I would appriciate it MEGHAN CANNON. I mean all the symptoms I’m having are really causeing my whole life day to day to just really difficult.
Please visit http://www.mirena-awareness.webs.com for more info on the Mirena IUD and the potential problems it can cause.
I had the Mirena IUD inserted in June 2010 and now exactly one year later I have had my period for over 24 days. I called to schedule my yearly checkup and told the nurse and she said we can discuss that when you come in to the office in 4 weeks. R u kidding me??? I now have to possibly go on vacation and bring flo along with me. It seems like they didnt care.. I dont know what to do I have 3 children but I am terrible at taking pills and the shot made me gain weight. For the first year with the iud i had regular periods that lasted 4 days.. I do remember one night at the beginning of June I had these horrible pains I was hunched over for 30 minutes then wam the next morning I got my period and have had it ever since except 2 days.
I had the mirena placed 2 months ago and am now having hair loss, irritability, stress threshold is much lower, and have been bleeding the entire time except for maybe one day. I truely believe that Mirena should list all side effects wether or not it is common or not. All other drug companies have to list possible side effects! I’m a nurse practitioner and I didn’t even know of some of these possible side effects!
Hi Ladies
I’ve had Mirena for 4 months now. The amount of hair falling out of my head is out of control. I’m so upset about it, luckily I still have a full head of hair but how much can fall out before I can say the same. My son is 6 months old and I thought maybe it’s from the after affects of having a baby but with my daughter I didn’t shed for this long.
Not sure what I should do… Have it removed? I have also been bleeding ever since it was put it, still breast feeding so that is also something that shouldn’t be.
What did you do in place of the Mirena (for those that had it removed?)
Thanks
I am 28 years old and coming up on two years with the Mirena. I had horrbile cramps the first couple months. I could barely sit up from laying down and could not walk up stairs because of shooting pains down my legs. Everything evened out and I get some cramping now, but no more than other birth control. I rarely get my period which I enjoy, but I lose SO much hair everytime I shower. This has not leveled off and has not stopped. My hair was so increadibly thick before the Mirena – hair stylists would say it was thickest they had ever worked with. My hair is about 30% thinner now and about average thickness, so the gyno will not admit I have a problem. I actually prefer my hair how it is now. It’s much easier to style and not so heavy on my head, but I don’t want to keep the Mirena in and wait for actual bald spots or extremely thin hair to take it out – which is what the gyno is waiting for. I am also worried the hair loss is irreversible. Will it ever come back?
I also have the same question as Joyce “What did you do in place of the Mirena (for those that had it removed?)” This was about my last option for birth control. The pill and ring gave me constant spotting and horrible mood swings that no one in my life could tolerate, so I had to keep myself in solitude during my period every month, not to mention the constant crying. All female barrier methods of birth control give me bladder and candida infections. I am allergic to latex and sensative to the latex alternatives. I am not a canidate for the copper IUD because my normal periods are too heavy. I don’t have kids yet, so I don’t want my partner to get snipped. What else is there!?
Thanks for your help!
I have just discovered this website but no-one has written on it since January so I was not sure if it was still working. I have been losing my hair steadily for the last year and today it just came to me that perhaps it was something to do with my Mirena coil. On reading through this website the answer seems pretty obvious that it is and I have already made an appointment to have it removed – they can’t fit me in for a couple of weeks though. Can anyone who has written on here or experienced this tell me if your hair is growing back once you had the Mirena removed. There are loads of stories and experiences here but I am panicing a bit because nobody has written to say that you can get it back – does the brewer’s yeast method work Lauren? Can anyone advise me please ? I have always had a really good head of hair and now I have lost over 50% I would say, I have not had a cut for at least 2 years (other than a trim up) and the hairdresser can’t understand it, the whole texture of my hair has changed. Please advise if you read this.
I am so happy that I found this website. I got the Mirena about 17mths ago right after my 2nd child. I have noticed how much hair I lose in the shower and was concerned but didnt think anything of it until just a couple weeks ago, I acutally notice my part line was thinning and some bald spots are slowly appearing. I am so upset about this and didnt know what to think. I asked my GYN if it could be the Mirena and she said no because it shouldnt be changing my hormone levels. Also, last year, a couple months after I had it put in, I had constant dizziness and vertigo. I thought it had to do with the Mirena, since it had been the only recent change in my body, but the doctors told me it was allergies. I still have occasional dizziness…not to mention the 2-3 week period! I am getting the Mirena taken out as soon as possible, calling my doctor when they open. If anyone reads this, can you let me know if my hair will ever grow back?
I am looking into gathering women for a class action suit against the makers of Mirena for not disclosing the effects of hair loss – like so many other women I am experiencing extreme hair loss and would not have had this inserted had I been aware of the side affects. Please email your information to mirenalawsuit@hotmail.com if interested in joining this. Thank you and good luck to all of us suffering from this very debilitating side affect.
count me in i cant sleep and my hair is coming out. i didnt think anything of i when i got a bold spot because i had alepica when i was younger. i was looking in my mirrior a second ago thinking what could it be thats making my hair break i understoof it bold spot but why the brakage everywhere else than it hit me. so i googled it and here i am thank u so much
HI, I must say I am shocked at all of these posts! I have had the Mirena in for almost 5 years (I am up for renewal) & I have not had any of these side effects, on the contrary, I am saving up so that I can have the Mirena replaced after the 5 year period is up as it is the first form of contraceptive for me that has had no side effects.
Had my daughter may 22,2011 had iud put in july 3,2011. Ive been experiencing hair loss! Im thinkin about taking it out myself. Ive been taking prenatal & hair skin and nail vitamins i even changed my shampoo!!! Its still falling out everywhere! I never had the problem with my first child. Taking it out and getting back on yaz!
I can’t believe I am just finding out the real reason for my hair loss I’ve been experiencing the last 3 years. I’ve lost almost 50 % of my hair and I thought it was because of the birth of my 2 nd son. But seriously it’s been a mystery for the past 3 years. I’m going to make an appointment asap to get it removed. I’m so mad at myself for not figuring it out sooner.
I am a mother of three who has suffered with endometriosis since my early 20’s. The mirena was recommended by my gynecologist to assist with problems associated with the disease. Not wanting to go through a hysterectomy in my mid 30’s I went for it and have been pain free for the past 3 and a half years. I didn’t experience any side effects initially and had no complications having the device inserted. My periods stopped immediately and I would only get slight spotting every few months. It really has been wonderful for me EXCEPT for the hair loss. My hair loss started a few months before having the device inserted as I was going through Lupron injections to treat the endometriosis. This is a drug that puts you in a temporary menopause to hopefully put the disease in remission. Lupron was not a long-term fix so I opted for the mirena. The IUD was working so well for me that I put my hair loss aside, but after 3 years of losing my already fine hair, I can’t take it anymore. I would definitely say I have lost 50% of my hair volume especially from the front, top and sides (just like a man).. I am having the device removed in the next few days and am hoping that it won’t take too long for my hair to stop falling out and start growing back.
OMG!!!!
I have been experiencing hair loss for 2 years now! At first, I thought it was because of having children. My doctor and dermatologist both said that it’s a combination of having children and getting older. I’m only 36!!!!!
I always wondered if it was because of this…and now I know! I’ve already left a msg with my gyno to get it removed…and I want it done like TODAY!!!!!!
I have lost 50% or more of my hair and I am absolutely appalled!
Thanks, ladies for the posting! It has really helped!
Just recently I decided to do some research on hair loss because what I thought was post partum shedding has certainly last far too long. Something just didn’t feel right. The amount of hair I’ve been losing has not decreased any and I literally lose hair by the hands full. It has become so thin that I can see my scalp on the top of my head. Maybe that was the turning point for me. And right in my face… Mirena has been the cause all along. I never thought it was the Mirena because I have had NO OTHER SIDE EFFECTS from it. Its been so great not having to remember to take a pill or not become nauseas from a birth control method. I barely even get my period which has been great as well. But, thinking back… My hair loss started right when I had the Mirena inserted! How could I have overlooked that so long… Its been over a year now. I have spent well over $500 buying different hair products… Conditioners, Protein Treatments, Moisturizing Treatment, Garlic Treatments, Keratin Treatments…. None really worked. Having my Mirena taken out tomorrow and I hope to see some results pretty soon. Seeing as it started up almost immediately… Maybe it can stop just as quickly!
I had Mirena in 2004 and didn’t notice issues for 5 years. Again I had a new Mirena in Nov. 2009 and have lost 20% of my hair or more. I have been going to Dr.s since 2009 for hair loss and am glad I found this site. I am having the Mirena removed ASAP. Seems like other sites that have good reviews are from users who had Mirena for less than one year. I think the truth about Mirena is found out commonly around 18 months to 2 years when the hair loss is significant enough and we then seek answers that doctors aren’t providing such as this site. Thanks to all that have posted their experience.
Hi there,
Glad that I am doing my research, but kind of in a catch 22 situation. I recently had a lump removed from my breast in which my Breast Surgeon has advised that if it returns it could put me at risk of breast cancer. One of the preventions is to go off the pill and she suggested rather to insert the Mirena!!! But now reading all these posts i am quite worried…
What to do. Continue on the pill and increase the possibility of my lump growing back and facing possible breast cancer. Or insert Mirena and suffer with hair loss and other side-effects, or just use the good old fashion condom which is not 100% safe against falling pregnant…
Confused and worried?
Does the fem loop (condom) still exist? Or are there any other alternatives?
I have been having symptoms that I didn’t even know were caused by mirena. I have had mine in for three and a half years now and my hair loss is so bad I have bald spots that I cannot cover up. My doctor checked me for everything under the sun and everything came back negative. So we figured it was stress related. My doctor put me on a pill to help so I was checking on google to see if it would cause mirena not to work and I came across this website. I am having it removed as soon as I can. Thank you so much for the information.
Hi all! Also really happy to see all these postings. I had mine inserted about a year ago & just had it taken out. Like most of you; I have lost almost 50% of my hair which was also thin already! It has been 30 days now & the shedding has slowed down, but still happening. While I am definitely going to try Lauren’s suggestion with the yeast; I have a few others. My hair dresser turned me on to the Bosley Hair system which I think has helped the texture & appearance. Plus a good friend also told me about Shen Min vitamin for hair loss in woman. Both have also helped. Fingers crossed it stops soon! Thank you all for sharing your stories. They really need to make woman aware this can happen! My GYNO also denied the hair loss was a result of the IUD, but I told her to take it out anyway.
Thank you ladies for all your postings. I had my daughter in April and Mirena inserted in June. I always do research on things before I do them, so I googled “Mirena reviews”, and they were great, so I got it put in. All of a sudden I noticed a lot of hair falling out, but I just thought it was from the pregnancy, so I gave it another month and no change. I was loosing so much hair, especially in the shower, hand fulls. So I remembered reading that hair loss was a side effect in the Mirena borchure, but I never read any testimonials with hair loss when I went online before I got it put in. I just figured it was uncommon, it wouldn’t happen to me. This time I googled “Mirena hair loss”, what a difference, there were so many stories of women having this problem. Then, I took a good look at my hair and noticed patches of missing hair, I freaked, called the doctor and got it taken out the next day. This was the first time my doctor has heard of this happening, she told me to keep her updated. Within 3 days I lost 3 pounds and my husband noticed I was more relaxed, not so stressed out all the time. Within 2 weeks my hair loss stopped completely and my hair is growing in where I had patches. I gave my doctor the update and she was so happy that my hair stopped falling out and now she knows for future reference that this could be the cause of hair loss. If it wasn’t for all the postings, I wouldn’t have known. Thank You!
I loved my Mirena, had it in nearly a year, but for the hair loss problem. I didn’t associate it with the Mirena at first, thought it was after a GA for tonsillectomy, but it was a gradual thing and every time I washed my hair it fell out in what felt like clumps, like you get when you’ve just delivered a baby, but every day for months. My doctor said we actually shed about 100 hairs a day, but this seemed much more. My hair was definitely thinner and my receding fringe (which I’ve always had, even as a child) became much, much thinner where you could see my scalp. I had my thyroid function checked, which was normal, tried hair and skin vitamins, natural plant oestrogen supplements and even Regain! Finally had the Mirena removed after about a year, and my hair gradually got better over about a 6 to 12 month period. It’s a shame because in every other respect it was brilliant, I was even amenorrhoeic (no periods at all) but let’s face it, no-one wants to be thinning and frightened of becoming bald.
I did not have hair loss but did get acne problems which I was not warned about. Pimples won’t go away. I am having this thing taken out Friday and going to a more permanent method as I don’t want any more kids. This sucked as it was expensive and I’ve only had a year and a half.
Just made my appt to get my Mirena taken out next week. I have been experiencing depression, anxiety, trouble sleeping, headaches, cramps, bloating, increased appetite and I still have breast milk even though I weaned my son a month ago. I’m 130 lbs and 5’4 and overall fit, but recently someone assumed I’m pregnant because the bloating is so bad! It was the hair loss that helped me find this site and make the decision to take it out. My hair has been coming out in strands beginning 2 months after I got the Mirena put in. I never got it checked out because I assumed it was because I just had a baby. The “baby” is 19 months and my hair is still falling out in strands! I have seen so many specialists and every doctor assumes my symptoms are a result of postpardum. Women that recently had a baby are the most common users of Mirena. I’m assuming that’s why doctors haven’t made the connection that these symptoms are from the Mirena. I pray that taking the Mirena out will help!!
wow i haave had alot of the same side affects and mine even shifted once and they said it was nothing to worry about. I also have had alot of infections with it along with bleeding alot of the time after sex. This is such a big issue for me and my bf. It make me not want to be with my bf. and well the cyist i have is 5cm and it has been there now for some time and when i went to the ob they find one on the right side as well. i am been trying to find a doctor that takes my insurance to make an appointment to have this thing take out and now that i have read this i am doing this asap. I cant wait to get this thing out of me.I had iot now for almost four years. So it is time find a different birth control.
thank you so much
Omg!! I just made my appt for next week to get my Mirena taken out. I’ve had it for over a year after I had my son. I just wanted a form of birth control that I didn’t have to worry about. Instead it has made me miserable. Im 25years old n until the mirena I never once in my life experianced acne, bloating,cramps or hair loss. Now I get allthe above. Its so depressin. Everytime I wash or brush my hair I have chunls of hair in my garbage pail. I seeen a episode on Dr.Oz where he proved high levels of estrogen (especially woman who take birth control) is what causes the abnormal amounts of hair loss. Im highly depressed in knowin I might never get my hair back. I use to have long thick hair that ran down my back now its like doll hair…no natural oils n super super thin. I hate doin my hair cuz I kno with every touch it falls out more n more. When I complained to my doctor they told me all symptoms will b gone in 6months ….that was over a yr ago n sad to say symptons got worse not better. Im happy im gettin it removed but scared bein I kno the pain I went thru to get it in. I feel a lil better to see there’s woman jus like me n I hope I can have a success story as well. Thanks ladies!
I’m glad I’m not alone, but also very sorry for all you’re experiences. I have suffered for 17 years with very heavy bleeding that was irregular also, I have 3 children and I’m 33 years old. I had the mirena fitted 5 months ago and have begged 2 doctors to take it out but they refused. I have had the worse mood swings, impatient with my children that makes you worse with guilt. Sore breasts for weeks on end to the point where I cant even rest my arms at my side because its so painful, bloated pregnant belly, swelling, Weight gain, headaches, depression, so many yeast infections its unreal, as I have only ever had them when I have been pregnant. The biggest problem though is the hair loss, I have the thickest hair ever, but now the top and back of my hair has snapped off to a few inches long, its awful. It looks so bad and the condition of it means I cant do anything with it. The very bottom of my hair is still okay but again the condition is just starting to break. I feel depressed about my hair because it looks so bad, and its damaged right to the roots. Apart from shaving it off I don’t know what to do?? I just feel so alone and unhappy and people must think I’m mad. I never wanted this coil, but it was men’t to cure the bleeding… I would rather have constant bleeding than this any day. Thank you!!
Thank you so much for your informative website. I am currently experiencing severe side effects from my Mirena. I had it inserted in October of 2010. From then on I have experienced swollen ovaries, heart palpitations, leg numbness, and frequent headaches. Lately I have noticed my hair has been falling out in little clumps. Nobody close to me believes all of this could be a side effect of my Mirena. I’m getting it removed in a week. I hope this subsides. Thanks again for your website. I intend to sign your petition as well as file a report to the FDA through my doctor.
I had the iud for less than a month and my hair is shedding like crazy, I will replace this with the copper iud, I cant believe that IUD is still given by doctors, it should be stopped. It damages you in so many way.
Hello Everyone,
I am almost in tears reading this site. One, because I knew I wasn’t crazy. No matter how many test the doctors have taken and how many office visits I have had; I KNEW that what and how I was feeling was NOT normal for me. I have been telling my close friends and family members that I just don’t feel like myself. Then the questions started, have you gone to the doctor; what did the test say; are you stressed! I began pondering, am I stressed, am I depressed, but gut kept saying “this is not me.” I feel so relieved, sane, normal, and excited at the same time! I am NOT alone!
I had my Mirena placed in Sept. 2010 after having my third child. I didn’t notice anything serious at the beginning, I was breastfeeding and had maintained the beautiful mane that I had throughout my pregnancy. Nine months later, Feb. 2011, I had stopped BF and began noticing that my once beautiful, shiny dark hair was shedding and becoming dull. By April I realized that I needed to just leave my hair alone, so I wore a wig for a while. My scalp began to hurt and my shedding became falling out! I didn’t worry at that time because I was stressed. I changed my ways, started counseling, began working out so that I can tighten up. Still no change and began putting on more pounds; extremely confused. BUT in the mist of it all I found me again. I am doing all that I need to do and still no changes with my hair or the way I was/am feeling! I think I have lost more than 50% of my hair, nausea, headaches, extreme exhaustion, unexplainable moodiness (ask the family) and more.
It was not until last friday, Jan 6th 2012, that I was speaking w/ my hairdresser, Lashonda W., we contemplated, filtered out the possibles, and then she asked me about BC. I told her I have the Mirena and she said remove it immediately. I still didn’t believe it, but I recently became sick and had the opportunity to rest/think. Could this really be it! Two days later I find myself googling and came across this site. I immediately called my husband over to read w/ me 80 % of the side effects applied to me. He didn’t think much about it, but agreed. UNTIL I read one specific side effect “Discharge of Milk in Women when Not Breastfeeding- Severe!” This is me almost a year later! (The light bulb has come on, 100Watt!)
I know that was a long story but I could not help myself. I have been stressing myself out, second guessing my life, my emotions, my body when I knew something was wrong, I just could not put my finger on it! Thank you, Admin. I have developed so much peace inside right now. Interesting part is, I had scheduled the removal on my way home from work today; didn’t really want to, but had to find out for myself. Again, I say thank you! I have so much to say, but know that this is already way too much.
Sincerely,
Inner Peace has been found!
Even as a nurse all of this information is so helpful. I’ve been questioning the reason for my long term hair loss even knowing hormones play a major role in hair loss. I am getting mine removed ASAP! Consider me SIGNED!!! And thank you for this info! I hope it grows back for all of us, it really can impact your self-esteem.
I have an IUD with hormones a mirena. My hair started thining about two ago. I’ve had this type of IUD for about four years. I checked my thyroid it was normal , and my other blood tests are normal. My vitamin D was low and I now take vitamins every day. However I am going to switch to a differant IUD because it may be why I’m losing my hair. I read alot about it and it may be a leading factor. I’m only 43 and I’ve always had a thick head of curly hair before this.
Hi
I cant believe I have found this site that proves what iv been feeling for so long. I got the mirena in Oct 2010 and have experienced many of the symptoms mentioned above. I have even seen the doctor for anxiety (which I have never before suffered from), major head aches (so bad they prevent me from caring for my babies), I often feel moody for no apparent reason, and my hair has fallen out so much Im embarrassed. All of these NEW symptoms are just too many to be coincidental. Consider me signed. I’m removing this ASAP!!
An invaluable resource that exists is Planned Parenthood. When I realized that the Mirena was the culprit responsible for my hair loss, acne, swollen abdomen, digestion issues, possibly headaches and a few other symptoms to boot, I also had difficulty getting the thing removed. Mostly because I’m a MediCal recipient and it takes several weeks to get seen by my busy doctors. So I called up Planned Parenthood and literally had the thing out the next morning.
I am eternally grateful for the organization that has assisted me since my female health issues since teenage years and to now.
It’s hard to state how much of an impact such side effects have on an individual, specifically one side effect; emotion. My self esteem literally plummeted, I questioned myself, what was wrong with me, I became unhappy, I actually felt broken, inept, less than. Just knowing the source of my physical symptoms restored my spirit. I am not healed yet, except my self esteem is doing way better and hopefully, I’ll have the hair that someone my age is supposed to have in the future. It is egregious to hide these risks. Full disclosure, please. And pardon the pun, but women in this society, like many others, consistently get the shaft when it comes to gender-specific health issues and family-planning.
I had my Mirena removed a few days ago after struggling with hair loss, weight gain, mood swing and loss of libido. I also already feel like I have a bit more energy and can already feel a change in my mood and libido.
Could someone please email me that brewer’s yeast recipe as I’d like to see if it works for me too?
I will also sign the petition and I also warn all my friends against getting the Mirena inserted. (The removal was a total waste of time and money as I could’ve easily done it myself!)
Thanks for writing about this. I wish I had done my research beforehand.
OMG!
I had Mirena put in in December 2011. I noticed that my hair all of a sudden became very dry and coarse a week or so ago (March 2012) and I thought that it may be my shampoo or conditioner, so I changed them both. Just this morning, I noticed a bald spot the size of a nickel. I freaked out bc I have always been very healthy and have had good hair. I have also noticed weight gain, cramping, tender breasts, fatigue, low sex drive…The list goes on. I usually do not have any side effects to any meds, however, I seem to have all of the Mirena side effects, form the more common ones to the less than 5% ones.
My first thought was thyroid, but my Mirena always sat on the back of my mind. Now that I have read this and know what all of you have been through I am almost convinced that it is my Mirena.
My biggest questions are:
Once the hair loss starts, how fast does it fall out? And,
Does it grow back????
This has been a WONDERFUL site and I am VERY grateful to all of you who have blogged and for Bonnie who posted originally. This is a LONG list of women with problems from Mirena and I think it is safe to say that these conditions are much higher than the noted 5% or less!!! If I had known that Mirena would cause these problems I would have NEVER TOUCHED IT!! I also had a HORRIBLE experience with the insertion of Mirena! It was extremely painful!! And I have a high pain tollerance. I was up doing almost normal daily activities the day after my C-Section, however having Mirena put in floored me for a couple of days. I mostly dissapointed in the fact that I did research before hand and I for some reason missed this webpage! This information NEEDS TO BE VERY PUBLIC!! I hate the thought if more women getting Mirena and having to go through this! Hair loss as I have just found out, and as all of you know, is horrifying and extremely embarrassing to a woman. My self confidence completly left me this morning when I noticed the bald spot. I feel completly humiliated:(
For those of you wo have had Mirena removed, what type of birth control did you go with afterwards????
O, CONSIDER THIS SIGNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello… I had Mirena for nearly 5 months. I had waist long thick hair , and now I have only memories about hair I used to have :((( . As they started to fall after a month , I’ve lost 50 % in few month . I have removed Mirena 2 months ago ,but the hair still keep falling…Now I can see the scalp through it. Every day its getting more difficult to hide it … My self-esteem dropped to zero . I cry when I need to wash them ,because they tend to shed more at shower 🙁 . And I pray every day hoping the hair loss to stop soon . I wish I have never put it in my body . Wish you all good luck.
I have had mirena since aug of 2012. Since having this put in I have had symptoms that make me feel like my body will never go back to normal! I have horrible acne- not only does my face now constantly have a blemish (or 5) I also have spots on my chest and back- something I’ve never dealt with!! I also have gained 25-30 lbs that absolutely won’t budge! I’ve taken phentermine and been in thyroid medicine to try to remedy the symptoms and while on the phentermine I lost about 15 lbs in 3 months and that was because I was starving myself! I’m tired all the time and my anxiety attacks are out of control! And I’ve also noticed since I’ve had this that my hips and knees hurt when I stand sometimes so badly I can hardly move- so I googles ‘my hips and knees hurt so bad I can hardle stamd’ and the first site that popped up was about women having this same pain since mirena……. Coincindence?!?! I’d say not! I have an apt with my gyno in June and I think I’m going to ask her to remove it and discuss other options!
Good luck everyone! I’m very much over my mirena!
Hi Everyone,
I wish I could write a book for everyone, I’ve learned so much in my search for hairloss (HL) answers. Many HL issues arising from Birth control are a result of low progesterone (due to man-made progestin in the birth control hormones). If progesterone is lowered (and this happens from age 35 up with ou without birth control hormones) estrogen and testosterone can get imbalanced. If too much testosterone (like me), hair loss, acne and oily skin can show up. I use bio-identical progesterone in high doses each month and my hair has stopped the shedding and scalp pain. It can balance estrogen too which can cause weight gain among other things. Dr. John Lee’s books are great and support this as well as the website progesteronetherapy.com.
I have had the Mierna in for about two months and 50% of my hair has fallen out. I’m so sad 🙁 I thought my hair loss was due to stress but this website is so wonderful and has helped me out so much. I now want to get the Mirena tooken out ASAP! Does anyone suggest Any good birthcontrol besides the pill?
There is no doubt in my mind that mirena is bad for you! I have had terrible hair loss, mood swings and anxiety not to mention loss of sex drive…I am calling tomorrow to get mine removed! I pray my hair will grow back…mine was thin to begin with. What a terrible way to start a day and trying to look presentable in public. I am very upset and beyond reprieve! I really would like my money back, and my GYN told me there was no such reports! Baaa humbug! really?
I am getting my Mirena removed today at 2:00 pm!! I have had it in since October of 2011. I noticed my hair falling out like crazy all over the place. Then hair on my chin. Sweating like a rain shower. Gained like 25 lbs. Extreme mood swings, anxiety /depression. I can not wait to get this thing out. I guess I will have to get a hysterectomy if I start bleeding again. This did stop the bleeding but no thanks I’d rather bleed than lose half of my hair. I can’t even like grab the top front of my hair I am afraid one more hair will fall out.
OMG!!!!! I am so glad that all of you women took the time to comment on your hair loss issue with the Mirena. I have been experiencing extreme hair loss this last year and thought maybe it was just stress because of going to school and having six kids to care for full-time. I got my Mirena in at my 6 week postpartum visit and didn’t think anything of it when I did the “typical shedding” from having a baby. But when it continued and got much worse I inquired about my hair loss to my primary doc he thought it was just stress. My OB doc said he would send me to a specialist if it continued. How do these doctors not know this is a side effect of the Mirena when they are inserting them on a regular basis? I’m freaked out!!! I want my hair back! I have also had the fatigue and the bloated abdomen that won’t go away. I am very slender and I can tell people look at my belly like they think I must be pregnant and in my first trimester but don’t want to ask…lol! I am going in tomorrow and having this thing removed. I just don’t know what to do about BC though. I don’t want to risk getting pregnant and I don’t trust condoms. What do I do?
I have a appointment tomorrow to get my mirena. I can tell you after reading all of these comments that I am canceling first thing in the morning. I am curious like the other Holly about what to do about birth control now. I don’t trust condoms either so what birth control is safe?
I am a 45 year old African American female. I used to have thick, curly, long hair. My hair has thinned over the years, probably due to my thryoid goiter that I discovered after the birth of my first child in 20o2. My thyroid levels have always been around .25. This could be the reason why my hair has thinnned over the past few years. However, after the birth of my twins in 2005 we decided to use condoms as a form of birth control. My OBGYN always recommended the Mirena to me, but never mentioned that hair loss could be a side effect. I finally gave in and got the Mirena in August 2012. I started to notice increased shedding. My mother in law approached me one day and said that she noticed that my hair is thinning quite a bit. I never even thought that the Mirena was the cause of my rapidly thinning hair. She suggested that I take MSM, because of the nail and hair growth benefits. I started taking 4 MSM capsules daily in April 2012. I saw no decrease in hair shedding. Then one day I washed my hair and placed my hair in a ponytail and I saw my scalp! I was devastated to say the least. I made an appointment with my endocrinologist and my thryroid levels were the same at .25. I asked the doctor is this reason why I am losing my hair. He said, possibly. He suggested that I take 5000 mcg of Biotin, which I started on 6/15.
After my visit with my endocrinologist, my conscience told me to go online and look up “side effects of Mirena and hair loss”. Sure enough, there was blog after blog about women losing their hair due to the Mirena IUD. I immediately called my OBGYN and made an appointment to remove it on Thursday, June 14th. My OBGYN asked why I wanted to remove it and I told her that I believe I was losing my hair because of it. She admitted that she experienced hair loss as a result of the Mirena, also. But, she did not realize that her hair loss was associated with the MIRENA until another patient asked her to remove it because of her hair loss. My doctor said that she had the Mirena in for 2.5 years and after it was removed her hair loss stopped. I was relieved to hear that her hair did grow back. My doctor,who is African American, did mention that she noticed that those patients that did complain about hair loss were mostly African American women.
So, what am I doing to combat this hair loss? My endocrinologist said that my thryroid levels or hyperthryroidism was not high enough to place me on medication everyday. However, he did prescribe me 5mg of Methimazole to take 2 days a week for the next 6 months. Eventhough, I believe the Mirena caused most of the rapid hair loss, I just want to make sure that my thyroid levels are not attributing to the hair loss as well.
Based on all of my research from this website, I have the following daily regimen:
1 capsule of 5000 mcg Biotin (started 6/15)
2 capsules Bella Nutri hair vitamins (started 5/15)
4 capsules of MSM (started 4/15-my nails grew, but no results on hair)
1 rounded tbsp of Solgar yeast with 6 oz. of water (started 6/13)
2 capsules of Evening Primrose oil (started 6/23)
I oil my scalp everyday with VARITKA oil and I even put yeast infection cream on my edges to try and grow it back. Yep, I am trying everything!
Also, my friend sent me a bottle of NATURE FX Hair Growth Serum that I am going to use daily as well. I did notice when I washed my hair on Saturday, June 23rd that I had very little shedding. I lost approximately 15 hairs, instead of 100-150 hairs. This is promising. I combed my hair everyday since and I still shed hair, but only 7-15 hairs each day.
I will write back in 3 months and update you all on my progress. Thank God for this forum!
I have had an equally horrific experience with mirena. I am a mother of two and had the Mirena fitted 8 months after my second son was born, it was a gruelling experience! Finally, after 4 years and much reserach I realised that the Mirena is responsible for my extreme hair loss, I cannot begin to tell you how distressing it is to loose so much hair! Apart from this I was always exhausted and suffered from acne and had made a decision to have Mirena removed. After visiting the Dr who had fitted the Mirena to have it removed, much tugging, and needless to say PAIN! The strings of the Mirena broke off! I was referred to a second DR who under general anaesthetic did a Hysteroscope, to reveal that the Mirena was gone!!! I have a re-troverted uterus and the Dr. confirmed that because of the backward leaning position of my uterus, it made insertion harder and my uterus was probably partially perforated during insertion. The Mirena was eventually located by x-ray and CT scan and is currently in between my uterus and bladder. I contacted Mirena, telling them about this experience and further stated that I felt it was BAYER’s responsibility to provide healthcare professionals with strict guidelines for inserting the Mirena especially in the case of a re-troverted uterus and in addition fully disclosing to their patients what the possible side effects are. I also feel that since a ‘perforated uterus’ seems to be more common that what we all realise, I wanted to know what research BAYER had conducted as to the long term effects of this problem, and what are they doing about preventing it! I contacted Mirena, and was fobbed off by them! I also spoke to an obnoxtious sales representative trying to belittle what had happened to me. I now have to have the Mirena removed surgically, and am furious both with the DR and Mirena at the lack of care and the pain and anguish I had suffered at their hands. I feel Mirena do not respect their patients and certainly do not care!! I now have to find a Dr who can remove the Mirena and have incurred unnecessary cost!
I sign it too
I had mine fitted in march and have diabeties i was not informed that my blood sugar would go up, or that it would be effected, it was so high that I have now been put on insulin which is what I didn’t want, when I mentioned it to my nurse she said no it cant be that, so I am now on 22 insolin, now I know why, I’m also suffering from servere hair loss I can clean my comb then brush my hair again and still its coming out……
So thank you very much ladies i am off to my dr’s tomorrow and they will be having it with both barrels…….
I have had my own personal testimony with this IUD. After 80% of my hair feel out I told my doctor about it and she told me it could a hormonal imbalance. So she told me to come in and get some blood test done. In about a week all of the results were negative. I even thought I had a thyroid problem. My mother told me it must be a poor diet while nursing. I had real bad post pardum stress, weight gain after I had lost 20lbs after 8 weeks of giving birth. Finally hair lost which lead up to me wearing a wig. I would not want anyone to endure the pain that I went through. But, I had to stay strong for my presious little boy that was depending on me.
SIGNED!!!
OMG I know this is very old but I just had a Mirena put in this past May and I have had a headache for over a month, losing my hair, bruising everywhere for no reason at all! I am certain this is the cause of it and I will make an appointment right away to have it removed! Thank you so much for the info
Wow!! I am so thankful to read all of these posts here to tonight. I am scheduled to have my hair loss contraption removed on Monday 7/23 and I cant wait. I am on my 2nd mitena since 2006 and have been struggling emotionally with massive hair loss for the past 6 years. I tooike many of you have been to multiple doctors and dermatologists and no one ever suggested the mirena to be the cause. I considered everything and no one could explain it. I dont even remember what my thickness was but I now have to wrap a pony tail holder around my hair 6x before it holds my pony tight. When I asked the nurse at my OB/GYN if she had heard of this she said, no, never. I’m sure she’s lying and was insistant upon knowing why I wanted it out. I’m praying the hair loss will stop and that somd thickness will return. Prayers for all of you my sisters that your hair comes back. I tried to sign petition but think the link is old. Anything I can do now to help the cause?
I’m so glad I found this website. I’m 29-years old woman from Finland and had my Mirena inserted this April. Somewhere in July my hair started to fall off in a way I never experienced. I tried to google side effects of Mirena but the Finnish sites did not give much information. I went to a doctor once and she just told me to wait for few more months and laughed at my fear of losing my hair! I’m so gonna have it removed asap, reading your comments helped me to make that decision.
When I first got my IUD I notice my hair is falling out a lot. I’m in the shower a lot of hair coming out, brushing my hair, untie my hair, and pulling my hair back too. I went to the doctor and I told her. She said it maybe stress because I work and go to school but even before I start working and going to school this happen. Even. My cousin said the same thing and she a stay at home mom. I have cramps for no reason. Mood swing. Getting so emotional over little thing. I thought its just me but my cousin is the same way.
Im 20 years old,i first got mirena in the summer of 2011,when i first got it my doctors told me,it was a very safe procedure when ever i wanted to remove mirena i could simply come back and get it removed. I also asked him would i be infertile when they took it out,he said no my fertility will go right back to normal as soon as its out.While on mierna the doctors told me i would have bleeding for 2 weeks at the most,and that id have some cramping,but after that my periods would become shorter lighter if not stop completely.That was a lie i bled heavily non stop for over a month,when i did stop bleeding it would be for abt 18 days (i counted),and after that i had a cycle for about 16 days.The whole time i was on mirena i had EXTREME abdominal pain to the point where i couldnt move,it felt as tho someone was squeezing my cervix or even poking it,getting it inserted was also a little painful. any who,my mother suggested i call the doctor on call it was a saturday i believe,i called explained what happened&he gave me mad attitude.He told me if i was in so much pain i should go to the E.R. and questioned me asking if it hurt so bad why wait til a weekend to call?(in my defense i thought i could take the pain until my next doctors appt.)But i took his advice&went to the e.r. the doctors there gave me a pelvic exam,and as soon as they opened me up,they could see mi I.U.D. sticking out,he said it looked painful,and he could “possibly”take it out but he advised me to have the doctor who put it in remove it,i said ok.The following monday a nurse called me back from my doctors office and said my doctor went out of town but theres another doctor in the same building that was familiar with mirena and she could take a look at it.Now my original plan was to get the old one removed and get a new one placed in.When i met with the doctor she took one look and said i can see its hanging out,who ever put this in did it wrong! i have to remove it….when she tried to take it out she said that it was stuck on something she didnt knw what&she literally had to yank it out.After she removed my I.U.D she looked around for a little bit and said,my I.U.D. traveled through my uterus and came back down the wrong way,she also stated that i had to have been in alot of pain and that my body rejected it,and if it happened once it will happen again,she advised me never to get Mirena again.For the whole 3/4 months i had mirena it was hell and even when i wasnt bleeding i was still in severe pain.It is now a year later and my boyfriend and i have had unprotected sex from feb-may just about everyday im not saying im trying to get pregnant but were both confused on why i havnt conceived yet?ive been pregnant twice before i got an I.U.D. one abortion then a miscarriage 3 years after that,my doctor couldnt explain the miscarriage he said it was just one of those things that just happens,so my question is where can i take a fertility test,does it seem as though mirena could make me infertile and do i have a lawsuit?
I’ve had the Mirena in for about 3 months. I noticed after about a month my hair would come out in handfuls, especially in the shower and when I brushed it. I just couldn’t take it anymore so I pulled it out myself….. Really hoping the hair loss will stop & start to grow back! Good luck to all of you ladies.
I had the Mirena device for two months about 4 years ago. I developed a horrible infection and had to go to the ER. I had it removed and was given antibiotics and spent two weeks having allergic reactions to the meds. I’m not sure if I was having toxic shock or an infection looking back. Years later I developed Celiac disease and Scarring Alopecia. Both of these conditions are started from some sort of traumatic health event. I feel like this is the event that started my health problems. I’d give anything to go back in time and not use it.
Unfortunately am also having my hair fall off????ladies am so sorry that we all hard to go thru this! I will also take mind out. I pray we all get our hair back! Thanks for sharing I really appreciate it. Best of luck!!!
Im so glad I am not the only one, I have had my 2nd mirena in for almost a year now (the 1st one i had removed because it was put in incorrectly and was causing severe abdominal pain) i have had nothing but issues since day one i bleed for months at a time, mood swings, gained weight, stomach pains,intense breat pain, and i have noticed more and more hair falling out until this week i noticed a small bald spot on the top of my head, i have no real birth control options due to the fact that i have leiden factor V so i had a blood clot during my pregnancy and can not use any other forms of birth control so at this point I am at my wits end. i am calling as soon as i stop typing this to schedule an appointment to have it removed for once and for all. just seeing that i am not the only one makes me feel like I am not going crazy 🙂
severe hair loss after mirena iud removal..
Signed,
shantal dena
i had the mirena in for a year and my hair was thinning to the point my fiance was researching why. we found this forum. i read this to it’s entirety 2 days ago, got the mirena out this morning! after reading all of y’alls comments i called every obgyn, health clinic/dept for an appt. but everyone insisted for a consult appt. first and then the removal a month after that! no thanks. then i remembered planned parenthood! they took me in immediately. and now mirena free! crossing my fingers for new hairgrowth!! doc said to try extra strength biotin and folic acid.. good luck ladies! SO GRATEFUL FOR THIS SITE!!
ladies, im sorry to hear about you loosing your hair !!! due to mirena , I have had mirena in for 4 1/2 yrs and I haven’t lost hair but I have had bad bladder infections, and I haven’t gotten a period since it came out. And without a period I can’t have children either. I am only sharing this because I don’t believe it should be on the market.
Wow I am so glade to hear this I’m calling first thing in the morning to get mine taken out. I have hade it for two years now and now I know why I am losing hair. Thanks you guys
Well I havent had this side effect but I’m conc erned bout it making it so I can’t have babies. I don’t need a baby now I know I’m just concerned about the future you know. I am 16 years old. Any thoughts our comments? I’m kind of freaked out because o saw a commercial talking about problems with Mirena.Should I get it removed?
I had the mirena for over four years and didn’t really give any of my symptoms a second thought I just got mine out at the beginning of august 2012, just before I heard about a potential recall.. To think, I’ve shed like crazy for yece I got it out (however not sure if the miranas to blame) I knew nothing about any of this..
Apologizes for my first comment my phone was glitchy.
I had the mirena for over 3 years, and never gave any of my symptoms a second thought… I’ve shed like crazy for years and am still, Had little to no sex drive that put a damper on my marriage, started to get depressed easily, cramping during sex, no motivation, tired all the time(still).. I was too late to sign the petition, but wish I would’ve..
I am a African American female age 48 and have experienced hair thining in the crown of my scalp, on the sides and rear of my of my scalp. I have had the mirena for 5 years and just had it removed 12/11/12. I was also on blood pressure meds and have stopped taking those in Oct 2012. I weigh 150lbs and 5′ 4″ size 8…very active as far as exercise is concerned and I visit the salon once a week for a wash and set. I do not use flat irons or culing irons on my hair between salon visit, therefore my hair shld not be shedding and thinning like it is. It has to be the mirena. I was considering brading my hair and wearing a sew in to give it a break from the relaxer treatment that I have once every six weeks. I have an appt for next thurs 12/20/12 to have it inserted again for another 5 years. I am not sure that I am going to have this done since reading all of the comments on this page. Thanks ladies for your comments.
Iv had the marina in for about 3 months but i am very quickly goin to get it taken out. But i have a question. Have any of you been extreamly thirsty after getting it put in. For about a month now ill iv been doing is drink water large amouts of it too. Its like i cant get enough. I looked it up on the internet, its saying it could be from high blood sugar.. And go freakin figure its one of the side effects. Iv had many other side effects along with it. I cant wait to get this out!
Hi everyone! Bonnie, thank you so very much for creating this post. I’d had the 5-year Mirena for 4 years up until 2 months ago, when I had it removed.
Quick story – Now, I can look back + realize that the reason my hair had ‘shed’ these past few years was due to the IUD. At one point, I even began eating (high quality) meat after being vegan for years, because I was desperate, and thought I was radically lacking iron and/or protein. This past year it began to fall out much more quickly, and I made a connection to a ‘5 week mark’ – that is, every time I went to my hairdresser (every 5 weeks), I’d have another hair loss episode. I’m not on any meds, take tons of supplements, and at 44, am pretty healthy to my knowledge.
It took my hairdresser to ask, “Didn’t you say you have an IUD? Maybe it’s messing up your hormones?” to make the connection. I left the salon that day, sat in my car to Google this idea, and straightaway found this blog, which was enough to convince me to have it removed. That was a Saturday. It was removed by 10:30 that following Monday morning. (I read some of your posts with alarm; no doctor can make the decision for you not to remove it; it is their JOB to do as you request. If they refuse, find another doctor. Good grief! That is illegal!)
I came back on this site because I’d not seen anyone ‘follow up’ with whether hair grows back after the IUD removal (desperately 2 months ago I’d scrolled, looking for this answer). I want to share: YES, YOUR HAIR GROWS BACK. It’s been 2 months since I had it removed, and after the first 4 weeks or so, I noticed it feel slightly thicker in my ponytail, and hair didn’t fall out after a shampoo. Now, 8 weeks later, it’s noticeably (to me) thicker. I’d imagine that this would be the same for everyone. And my cycle started up again on cue; 5 weeks later.
Thank you again Bonnie, and EVERYONE for your posts. Stay calm, have your IUDs removed, and trust that the yucky hormones are leaving your body as each day goes by. You WILL begin to notice a difference in your hair. The hormones in your body are only temporarily, but the longer you keep the IUD in, they keep ‘working’.
Best wishes, and happy new year 2013! xo
Thank you soooo much I didn’t understand why my hair was falling out myself I said could of been stress.
The IUD has been the worst thing I could have ever done to my body, from constant bleeding the entire 9 weeks I have had it, to hair thinning, bladder infection, bacterial infection, chronic pelvic pain the entire time, headaches, back aches, all from the first week it was put in. I begged my doc after 6 weeks to take it out, he said give it one more month to see if my body starts to adjust. Well its safe to say it hasnt changed, and it comes out in two days, thank god. Its the worst form of contraceptive I have ever used, and i have been on the ring, loved it, pill, and depo. I have two kids and just wanted another alternative to tubal ligation, and I thought this was the answer, awful, just awful! I cannot wait to have my body back, hopefuly with no lasting effects from the IUD.
I love my Mirena! Have several friends that also love theirs. Just sayin’. Everyone reacts differently to medications, and you have to be informed and aware of your own body.
hi
i live in israel
i hava my mirne for a year and ahalf and hava hair loss and swollen stomak+ cant sleep at nights. the doctors didnt say it could happen/ thank u 4 the information/
i am getting it out!
Hi! Iam 35 and have 2 kids (11 and 6) I started to use merina in Nov 2012 because it’s supose to be safe, can’t have more children withaut risk for My life I have major scaring in My abdomens after My csections.
I live in Sweden, and here are almost no pages on the internet about mirena sideaffects so we Google it on Englich, OMG!!!! I had My mirena for 37 days before My hair starting to fall out in lumps leaving a 5cm emty spot on My head. I went to the doctor, he ask’t me if i taking any prescripted drugs, no i said, i diddent think of My mirena as à drug. My husband were starting to wonder what’s wrong with me, he said that the light was gone in My eyes. I was starting to feeling depressed and culdent sleep had anxiety. I forgote to mention that i was still bleeding alot not spoting.
My husband wanted me to take the IUD out , but I wanted to wait and se, it hurts to put it in so before I was sure were My symtoms was from I diddent want to go through that again. He took the time to surf the internet and found plenty of sites like this to show me. I’am sooooo tankfull for him and all of you for telling youre story and opening My eyes because My gyn had never heard about hair loss with mirena, No wonder because I think most people think it’s stress related. I can only hope that My hair will come back. I only had it in for 48 days. My heart goes out to you all !!!
I have been using mirena since aug 2012 and had constant bleeding and fatigue. In October I started to have extreme pain on the back of my neck and head along with migraines. I would wake up with a headache and fall asleep with a headache. I have taken the mirena out a few days ago and what do u know? No more headaches. My neighbor said that she was on mirena for 3 years and the mirena started moving to where her husband can feel it. It started to go into her uterus so when she had it removed it had scraped the lining of her uterus and she got an infection! She then tried to have a child and had several miscarriages. Mirena was one of the worse things I could have done with myself. It’s one of my biggest regrets 🙁
This absolutely shocks me! I had the Mirena in for 3 months. It was a nightmare. I had the worst bacterial infection that lasted the entire time I have the Mirena in. It gave me a nasty odor. Since I have had the Mirena out my hair has fallen almost all the way out. I had very very thick hair while growing up, I thought the hair loss was due to having 3 babies in 3 years but now I know that it was from the Mirena. I cannot believe what I have read today. I will sign the petition right now.
26 yrs old have one child who is 7 yrs. had mirena one year. Not
Until 8 months of having it I had globs of hair coming out in the shower.
Hair density now 50% less. Getting mirena out ASAP!
had mirena inserted in Nov 2012. I FINALLY stopped bleeding every day in early Jan 2013 and i was excited that this might work for me. Then my hair started falling out. By the handful, daily, non stop – think i have 50 % of my hair left. I made an appt to get this out of me. My doc cant see me until early Feb. I’m hoping that i wont be in a wig by that time. I’m scared to wash or brush my hair because when i do – i end up with tons of hair in my hand. I’m hoping my doc wont be difficult and will just take the damn thing out without me having to throw a tantrum (which thanks to Mirena – I am quite moody and emotionally unstable). I can handle the acne, the dry heaving through out the day, and the weight gain…. but really? Hair loss??? I have to draw the line somewhere…. Mirena should be ashamed at not accepting that their product is causing this in so many women. By what i’ve read here, this isn’t an uncommon side effect…. shame on you.
Hi , I wrote 10 months ago. I have had Mirena for nearly 5 months and my hair fell out like crazy 🙁 I took it out a year ago on january 7 of 2012 . My hair are still falling ,but not as much , about 50 strands a day. I’m still waiting for it to stop ,but it doesn’t :((( it looks horrible, because I can see my scalp through it 🙁 … I hope it’s not permanent and one day it will stop … 🙁
I’m getting this removed as soon as possible. I’ve had it for two years, I thought I could have menopause, but I think I’m fine after sterilization. In these years: less hair in the head, more hair down there (so much it is affecting sex) and mild PMS symptoms have turned to huge tension and rage, wich is a big problem, since I have BPD. I hope my sex drive does not increase, thou, several times a day would disturb other “chores”.
Mirena turned my life to a personal hell. After my son was born I got a mirena iud. About 5 months after having it put in, I tried to commit suicide. I was so depressed and had no care in the world. I kept it for 4.5 years. In that time I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder and personality affective disorder. I cycled with moods and behaviours constantly. I was at my worst when it was time for my period. I was a heavy smoker and I smoked marijauna as well. I was put on a wide array of medications to combat my symptoms. I have been on almost everything and each time it would work at first and then I’d develop extreme symptoms like rashes and mood swings and migraines and very depressed mood and I would have to change the medication again. So in deep thought, I started to wonder if mirena was my problem. I had it removed in September 2012 and currently today I am completely off all psychotropic medications, I do not smoke at all and I am doing great!!! I am now also 6 weeks pregnant. Life is back to normal now and I thank my gut feeling about the Mirena iud. I will never ever use an iud again!!!! If I get pregnant, it was meant to be!!!
Petition signed!!!…I can’t believe what I am reading! After trying so many things and even going to the dermatologist to try to get an answer to my severe hair loss I finally found an answer. Thank you so much for this informational blog. I will remove it immediately!
Hello, my name is Miranda. I wanted to Thank you for taking the time to post your story. Your story was the answer to the mystery as to why I have been losing and lost most of my hair. It was also the answer to my prayers. I have a hormone imbalance that causes my preiods to be extremely heavy (mostly large clots) that causes contraction like cramping. My primary reffered me to an ob/gyn dr. to have the Novasure procedure done to correct it. The ob/gyn convinced me that the best option for me an IUD, so I had the Mirena IUD placed on the 30th of January. Over the last 4 months I have lost the majority of my hair (over 80% of the volume). It literally comes out in hand/brushfuls daily. Its became so bad that I am honestly scared to shower, brush, style, scatch, or touch my hair. I have always had baby fine slightly thin hair, but with the amount of hairloss the Mirena IUD has caused me, I can now see my scalp. If it continues to come out like this it will only be a matter of time before I have bald spots or go completely bald. I have talked to and seen multiple dr’s looking for the answer as to why my hair was coming out. I keep getting the answer that it was most likely due to stress or nutrition. I have aslo tried mulptiple hair vitamins, prenatal vitamins, iron, and hair care products and nothing has worked. Around the same time that I had the Mirena IUD placed, my heart meds were switched, and I started some other meds. I sat down the other day and researched every med I am on and when I googled the Mirena IUD I found your story. Today I had it removed and I’m praying that I will see a change soon. Losing my hair the way I have been has caused me so much stress, anxiety, fear, an increase in depression, and a serious decrease in my self-esteem. It has consumed my mind daily and taken so much out of me. I think Mirena needs to be held accountable to all those who have suffered and to all the future women that may end up with simialr storys and suffering. Please contact me through my email if there is anything that you know I can do to help make them accountable and possible prevent even one women from ending up going through this nightmare. Again, I thank you for taking the time to tell your story and helping me and other’s find the answers that we need.
Hi ladies! Just to let you know if have the mirena uid fitted get it relived asap! I have always been a very optimistic person and people always compliment how smiley i am, i had the coil fitted october 2011 and i wasnt told of any side effects. I didnt have any sexual activity in the year and half h had mirena due to constant bleeding, i became very low in confidence and couldnt leave the house a number of times, i would get snappy with people, no concentration and i found this very strange as i am so patient usualy, i started to have small breakdowns at work and even on the bus i would end up in tears over nothing! I had two weeks from my fulltime job due to severe low feeling, no care in the world and one night i didnt want to be in the world, i went to the doctors who just fished me off with depression tablets, i knew i wasnt depressed as i had been through tough times and got through it and i felt there was nothing to be down about at this time. Ididnt take them and noticed my hair started shedding severely, i have always had a thick long head of hair, my ponytail was getting shorter and i was getting bald patches everywhere. One day i couldnt go to work and sobbed to my friend, i looked up hair loss that day as it couldnt get any worse, and i was so angry what i saw ‘mirena causes hair loss and severe depression!’ I made and appoint at my doctors and stormed in in tears, i asked him if he had ever seen me not smiling, if he had ever seen me so low, he said no, i asked if the mirena had hair loss and depression effects and he couldnt look me in the eye, i demanded that i have it removed and he didnt argue, so one week later i did. That was 3 months ago, i was also diagnosed ad being severly anaemic, so take iron at the moment too, i slowly started to feel myself again, no crying, smiling, bubbly and a good outlook on things as i used to, my hair isnt growing back yet, but then i have only had it removed 12 weeks so fingers crossed it will start growing soon please! Anyone? Please please if u have mirena or are considering it DONT! It destroys peoples life and thats not an exageration! Listen ladies
I had mirena iud for 2 years. I would bleed for days, 30 or more straight days. The past 2 months I’ve been having severe lower back pain, headaches, and non stop bleeding. My hair has been falling too, for 2 years. Now it’s thin in the front. I finally went to my gyn on Saturday he said the iud was infected. He wanted to give me medication to see if the pain would stop. I told him no, remove it. As he was pulling it out I felt the difference in my body. It was stuck for a little bit but he was able to get it out. I am so thankful it’s out of me. My gyn said he will put a new one in next month. I will let him know that will never happen. I didn’t know it can cause hair loss until now. Thank you soooo much.
I’ve had Mirena for a little over a year and EVERY bad side effect has happened. I will be getting it out next month and opting for sterilization instead!
I’ve read countless positive and negative reviews of IUD’s. It’s too bad you had such a bad experience but how do you know that it was related to your hair loss? Many other sources say that birth control generally helps hair loss because it reduces levels of male hormones. Also, other people on this blog agreeing doesn’t really confirm anything because we’re all struggling with hair loss and don’t know what the cause is. I’m sorry, I just don’t see any good evidence supporting this and surveying this blog is somewhat of a biased sample.
Thank you Ladies for sharing. My story is a repeat, I have just turned 44….. Mirena inserted June 2012, as “the safe and most least invasive way” to control heavy periods. I have has the device in for 11 months and for the past 7 months noticed drastic hair loss. I have lost between 50 – 60% of my hair volume. I have always had thick wavy hair which would often draw envious comments.
My periods have lightened ( a definite benefit), however break through light bleeding is continuous throughout the month and I always have had to have something with me ( a definite negative).
My skin has also changed, with rash like lumps around my chin and laugh lines. I never suffered with any form of skin complaint, even as a teenager.
I am very active and physically fit, I have gained abdominal thickening, which I have never had and it wont budge. Whilst my weight gain has been about 4-5kg, on my 163cm, it is very noticable, to my self and my clothes.
Originally I requested a endometrial ablation, but was discouraged. I have never used OC before (we have 4 children), as I dislike artifical hormone use. I have always have reservations about the safe use of the Mirena (gut feeling), and this blog site has been tremendously useful. I am thankful that I will have only left it in for 11 months……before more damage can be done.
I am very much looking forward to the return of my full head of hair.
The Mirena is coming out!!
PS: A question to Caitlin ……. When are you getting your Mirena inserted?
I have my 2nd Mirena in and this was is giving me problems. To have this one inserted was very painfull, the first one wasnt, I am going through periods where I have showing to bleeding from 8 days up to 3 weeks???? And the colour is brownish to black (sorry for the gory detail)….. I dont have a medical aid, and I dont have the funds to see a gino…. I can’t feel the string but then again I could also not feel the 1st one and it was there.
Where can we knock for help? I am in South Africa and was only once contacted by the Mirena company ….I dont have their number, dont know how to get it, on the internet there is no South Africa contact number.
Hair loss doesnt bother me as much but I cant sleep at night due to itchiness during nights, I feel that I smell bad down under and I know it is not an infection. I feel unwomanly and want to feel my sexy self again!! Do I need to remove this one and get another? Is there another option?? I dont want to take the pill, I had a bad experience on them, and the Mirena worked well for me the first 5 years. Thanks for this blog I will definitely sign the petition.
I had my IUD removed after only 1 month because of how much it affected my body. I started noticing increased hair loss 2 months later and have now experienced increased hair loss for the past 4 months. I am now noticing eye lash and eyebrow loss. Has anyone else noticed that? If this doesn’t stop soon I’m going to be bald as I didn’t have much hair to begin with. My doctor thinks it’s due to stress, however I’m thinking not! I also experience frequent foggy head and my face is sore around the eyes which I know can be caused by hormone imbalance.
I got the Mirena in Nov ’09, 13 months after baby #2, so now nearly at 4 years. I have not significantly noticed any hair loss, but if I had, that thing would have been out in a flash. I have experienced very little pain – only occasional twinges (some of which have been sudden and double me over). My bleeding has been very infrequent and very light… and I do admit I very much enjoy not having that ‘pit-of-the-stomach OMG could I be pregnant’ feeling which was one of the reasons for opting for the Mirena after ‘scare’ number 3.
After reading the other side-effects though, I’m having second thoughts about keeping it in for another year. Low/non-existant sex drive (which hasn’t exactly affected relationship with my SO but lets just say it’s out of character so is affecting the relationship with myself!).. slight weight gain which is hard to attribute directly to the Mirena or mainly due to lack of motivation to do anything. I’ve been having a lot of nasty thoughts which shouldn’t be entering my head, but they just pop in there and thankfully that’s as far as it gets. I had a couple of UTI’s in 2010 which were excruciating and agonising, and thankfully found a natural cure (Craisins. Cranberry pills did not work). Had some horrible headaches, but not that often and I always credited those to dehydration.. Insomnia.. well, it’s nearly 2am and I’m typing this… but when I sleep I can sleep for a long time (sometimes 12 hours) and not want to get out of bed.
In this 4th year however, I have noticed those side effects are fading a little, or perhaps there’s the old me somewhere in my head cracking the whip more often. Whenever I choose to get it removed (which could be sooner now rather than later), I hope I can leave the paranoia, anxiety (which I’m currently going thru right now wondering whether to post this or not after reading it thru for the 6th time..), moderate depression/agoraphobia behind, enjoy my boys more and not be such a grumpy-bum. I wish I can find a better alternative next time round. 🙂
Reading some (ok, most) of the other ladies’ posts.. my heart goes out to you all, especially those who have suffered complications and continuing hair loss.. In the end Bayer is a large part of a big pharmaceutical giant octopus who are just after your money.
Hola, me acabo de sacar el DIU Mirena después de dos años de portarlo, sufrí una grave pérdida de cabello, cambios de humor, cansancio, depresión, aumento de peso. Fue una pesadilla, lo sigue siendo. Espero recuperar mi cabello y regular lo demás; ojalá eso se pueda ¿alguién puede decirme si los efectos sobre la caída del cabello son reversibles?
Hello, I just get the Mirena IUD after two years of porting, I suffered a severe hair loss, mood swings, fatigue, depression, weight gain. It was a nightmare, it still is. I hope to get my hair and otherwise regulate, hopefully it can, can someone tell me if the effects are reversible hair loss?
Is anyone still there?
I had my Mirena for 11 months with NO issues. Then came the cysts, my hair stylist 2 months ago noticed a small bald patch in my hair. I kept an eye on it and it grew then came the headaches. I had my IUD removed 3 weeks ago. The headaches continue and I’ve since developed another bald spot on the top of my head. Plus overall thinning. I am down to only washing my hair twice a week.
My OB is adamant none of my issues are connected and that it is definitely not the IUD. I’m convinced it is all from Mirena. Or what I like to call the worst mistake I’ve ever made. I’m one week away from my long wait for the dermatologist. Hoping he can provide some answers since it seems no one else can. I’m feeling very frustrated and as if one No one will admit the common denominator here.
Thank you all for sharing. I was at a total loss until I came upon others stories.
Hi… already 1 year and 7 months after I took out mirena. Unfortunately hair are still thining all over my head (not drastically) , you can see wide patches and scalp. Some new hair are growing ( it’s a good news). Now I loose about 20-40 hair a day, not so bad, but before mirena I never had problems with my hair 🙁 . I went to gyn, she did hormone tests and I am not ovulating after mirena … It was the biggest mistake to choose Mirena. I’m thinking now is it permament that hair loss ? Or one day it will stop. If so, how many years more need to pass … ?
im in !!!! i have had my iud in for for 4 1/2 years my 5 year mark in nmay 2014 and i am begging my doctor to take it out i used to have thick hair and now it is very thin and big clumps of hair come out when i shower and brush my hair… and the weight gain i have gained almost 40 lbs in the last 4 years and i am an active person and healthy eater
Just had my IUD removed today (had it in for 6 months) and noticed significant hair loss 3 mos after insertion date. I went to my dermatologist yesterday who said my hair loss appeared to be hormonally related. On the way out the door I mentioned that I had an IUD inserted 6mos prior and she said that there is an increase for acne and potential hair loss. Googled up ‘hair loss and Mirena’ and immediately had it removed today. It’s the only thing I can think of and luckily my OBGYN agreed. But – we can’t get too upset here. The pamphlet clearly states that in less then 5% of patients, hair loss has been reported. So if we line up 100 women, 5 of us will report the hair loss. My OBGYN said he’d buy a lottery ticket on those odds – so of all the billions of people using the internet and looking up this relationship, of course we will see a lot. My OB said that some women are super sensitive to hormones and that you truly don’t know how you will react. I just want my hair to STOP falling out. I know this hormone will last in my system for a few more months. 🙁
I’m so glad I’ve found this site, but so sorry for what everyone’s been going through. I got mirena a year and three months ago. I’m engaged so wanted long term birth control. The pill (I’ve tried several) gave me severe depression, so it’s not an option. I’m also a carrier of hemophilia – we tend to get horrendous, long, heavy, painful periods. Paragard isn’t an option because it exacerbates these symptoms. I’d read so many good things about mirena in this regard and my gynecologist agreed this would be my best option. I mostly love it. My period doesn’t have me sick to my stomach an missing work for the first time in my life (I’m 27). But almost immediately after getting it my acne became quite severe, only around my mouth and chin. I had bad acne as a teen, but it cleared up in my early 20s. About 6 months ago I suspected my hair was falling out. I thought I was just being paranoid . It’s not terrible but I can see scalp in places. I finally brought it up to my dermatologist and she told me I need rogaine. I almost vomited. I can’t believe my suspicions were right. Sadly hair loss runs in my family, so I have no way of knowing if this is genetic, the mirena, or both. My gynecologist recommended spironolactone. Has anyone had success regrowing hair on spironolactone while leaving mirena in? I’m at a crossroads. Either I go bald, or I deal with god-awful periods for the next 15 years.
Oh my goodness, I am so glad I found this site. I can’t believe how many women have had the same experience with Mirena! The last 4 years have been a nightmare. Wasn’t until recently that I started putting everything together. Depression, mood swings, cramping, bloating, constant hair shedding (recently coming out in handfuls), sleep issues…
I just shrugged everything off as stress, or lack of sleep, or just getting older. That is until my hair became so thin that I can see my scalp. I googled female hair loss and am HORRIFIED by all of the Mirena stories. I have always had really thin hair, but at least my head was covered! I am hoping that my hair loss will stop and my hair will being to grow back once this thing is removed.
It is good to know that I am not the only woman walking around with half of their hair, though I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
I wish there were more update stories. I (and so many women) could really use the hope!
Mirena was the WORST decision I have ever made.
Ok so I want to share my story. I had the mirena inserted August 2012. Over a year ago. To be honest I thought this was great. No periods or worriers of getting pregnant. It was simple to put in and I had no side effects. Well so I thought. My sister got married in June I was bridesmaid. The hairdresser was disgusted with my hair as it was so thin. We had to change the style of everyone’s hair just so they could get mine to look the same. It was so thin but I thought nothing of it as I always found I had thin hair. Then I noticed bald patch at the front of my head at the temples. There was always lots of hair in my brush and I was forever cleaning it. I did a bit of research and read brushing your hair is really bad for it. I thought it was just the cheep brush I was using. I got myself a wide tooth comb and was disgusted at the amount of hair was coming out. It was in clumps not just single strands. My hair has become very wispy and my pony tail is thinner than my little finger. I went to see the doctor who did 9 different blood tests. She told me that if they came back normal then it was life and there was nothing the nhs could do for me. The blood tests came back on Friday and all of them are normal. I was climbing the walls. My wedding is in August and I am terrified that I will be bald for it. I have been crying all weekend, feel sick to the stomach. I then decided to some research on sat night and found this article. Bingo it’s the coil, I have been having some of the other symptoms also. Tired all the time, moody, anxious, memory loss etc. I am sure that this is my problem. I rang my gp this morning who thinks that my hair loss is due to stress and not the coil. I am sure she is wrong and I demanded to have it removed I cried my eyes out down the phone and demanded an appointment for this morning. She told me to come straight in. I have also went to the health shop and bought a few different kids of vitamins. I have also got nixion shampoos and other treatments. I am feeling so stressed out about this, I’m angry that I have put this rubbish into my body. I feel like going to my solicitor and claiming for compensation for what they have put me through. I am interested in hearing other ppl story’s. How long did it take for your hair to stop falling out? Have you had much regrowth etc. Oh god I so hope and pray that it is the mirena that is making my hair fall out and it stops now that it has been removed.
Hi Bonny, I know it has been a long time since you posted this but was wondering if you could give us an update on the hair loss situation. I had mine removed last week and I think it has got worse. I also had to get my hair cut up short as it was so badly broken and weak.
Iam 22 and ived had mirena for 3 months and my front head is litteraly bald!! It growing but it looms horrible and keep falling im think of just cutting the res off! Im takeing mine out the 3o!! So ladies if you have it and have the same problem REMOVE IT!
Hello, fellow Mirena posters. I am sorry that I have not seen any of your messages. Oh my! Unfortunately, the site doesn’t let me know when someone posts a comment here…..
i have actually been meaning to post some sort of update here as to how my hair is doing now, all these years later. And so….
i still have a small degree of hairloss that comes and goes, a condition known as CTE. And I do still firmly believe that indeed my initial, horrific, dramatic shed was caused by the Mirena. I believe that the now two major sheds I have were hormone dependent. I do so wish that after getting the Mirena removed, I had just let things lie and let my hair come back on it’s own if it chose to, but as we all know here, that is so hard to do. it’s incredibly compelling to try anything and everything to make the hair come back. PLease, come back! And so I tried all sorts of pills and potions and had some degree of success with certain things, but never stuck with anything long enough….. just moved onto whatever I newly read about that might work. Long story short, after I put down all the supplements and snake oils I tried, my hair actually came back in fantastically well. Oh, it was beautiful! And then I had a miscarriage. And so just a few months later, buh bye to the hair again. As I said, my hairloss is obviously hormonally related, though I also get more minimal sheds seasonally sometimes. Anyway, after a year of watching my hair go back down various drains, I started wearing hair. I started with a bonded topper and moved onto a full wig last November. My own hair I keep in a very workable short cut and I do wear it short too sometimes and it’s fine. is it amazing? i don’t think so. Honestly i am not sure because I do not pay attention to it anymore. My current haircut works well under my wig and looks just fine when I choose not to wear it. After letting hairloss rule my life for waaaaaay too long, I just didn’t want to live with it anymore. And so I don’t. And I get compliments on my short hair all the time when I wear it out and about but there’s no way that I’m facing any later hormonal changes and the hairloss that would probably follow by sinking back into a depression. So – I WEAR A WIG AND I LOVE MY WIG! 🙂 Cheers to great wigs.
To address a comment above – my blog is in no way intended to be an objective overview of Mirena. This is my blog. it’s about me and what happened to my body and my mental state when I had the Mirena. No, I am not a doctor. I am a woman who faced a whole host of side effects from Mirena (fact) whether or not anyone believes that it actually caused my hairloss. Personally, I believe that it did and as far as my own body goes, I am certainly entitled to post my opinion. And it seems that there are many other ladies here who have faced very serious side effects from Mirena, hairloss possibly being one of them. For most of us, we will never know exactly what factor(s) caused the situation we find ourselves in with our hair. For a few of us, there may be definitive answers. For a lot of us, we may never know, and can only hope that we can pinpoint something that works to help or a solution for moving on. Whatever gets you through and works for you – i say cheers to that! And my thing for getting me past what was a long and horrible chapter is not having Mirena anymore and finding extra hair that makes me smile. 🙂
Every drug that’s out there has side effects. Have you seen the whole list of crazy side effects at the end of every med commercial on TV? if everyone had all the super scary side effects listed on those commercials, there would be some serious problems. But obviously, for them to list them, someone had those side effects. Fortunately, we are all different in how we react to things. I personally, had a very negative reaction to the Mirena and had a whole bunch of side effects that made me feel super shitty. And kinda mean.
I say “brava” to all the ladies that faced ANY detrimental side effects from the Mirena and kicked it to the curb, just like I say the same thing to anyone who nixed anything medication that was causing more harm than good. And I say cheers to anyone sharing their story here. And I say oh swish to all the ladies who have had their hair grow back (many have!), to the other ladies that have found a way to slow or halt their hairloss and to all the ladies that have found other solutions that make them happy.
UPDATE!! I have posted here in the past but I am here to post again hoping to help anyone I can that has Mirena hair loss or isn’t sure if the Mirena can cause hair loss. Ok. Yes it does cause hair loss and can in many women, maybe not all women but enough. My Mirena has been out now for 18 months. I got pregnant right away and had a baby then have gone through my normal PP hair loss. Last time though I put Mirena in 6 weeks after birth and lost hair thinking ok normal PP hair loss it will get better..NOT it never stopped!! My hair never got better in fact it got WAY WORSE by the time I took that evil Mirena BC out my hair was balding and so thin and horrible. This time NO Mirena or any BC my hair is getting back to it’s thickness and I didn’t lose half the hair that I did when I had Mirena SO YES Mirena was the issue with me and I will NEVER get it again of course nor will I ever recommend it without telling someone what “can” happen to them with their hair. I was scared not knowing if my hair would ever recover but it has!!! So for those of you effected from the Mirena and hair loss your hair can return to normal, it may take time but it will and that’s why I’m writing in 🙂
I am a Mirena user, have been for 3yrs. During that time I have experienced various levels of hairloss. I have hypothyroidism as well and take low dose daily Synthroid for the pasy year. Two weeks ago I shaved what was left of my hair off. I had 90% loss and just assumed it was alopecia or related to thyroid. Now I see it may also be caused by the Mirena. I’m going to get my bloodwork done for my thyroid levels shortly and am thinking I should consider having the Mirena removed as well. I originally had it inserted following an ablation due to heavy, painful periods. I’d be interested in hearing more feedback from people that have had their Mirena’s removed and if your hair is growing back. For me, the only side effect of the Mirena is the hairloss and I wonder if it will actually help if I have it removed or will it simply remain the same since I’ve had the Mirena inserted for so long?
Oh where can I start I have 4 Children and finally I said now time for a very good birth control and decided the Mirena would be best little did I know after reading through the other side effects I said” Well it comment I see nothing wrong”. I got it put in Jan 2014 of course like Ob gyn said heavy bleeding and all the other horrible feelings I felt. I started to see strings of hair and I didn’t think of it but as day and weeks went by I started see more all over my bed sometime I’ll see my baby clothes with strands of hair. I realize that my hair loss was progressing I was laying in bed with my kids watching a movie I got up I seen my pillow case with a ball of hair I instantly freak out was scared my oldest child seen and couldn’t believe it I almost cry. The only good thing about it is that I caught it in time I only had the mirena on for 2months its March and I’m getting my mirena Out never again would I want to go through this horrible experience again. I read through comments and I have Hope that everything will be okay and back to normal. Thanks you all.
I’m very sorry for all women proclaimed here, and I understand very well because Mirena already wearing 6yars. I lost 50% of my hair.I appalled when I found this site. Why could not detect it earlier. It’s a shame. Does the hair will be good again?
I just found this site. My daughter had the Mirena put in when she was 18 and she’s 21 now. She had it put in before going of to college due to very heavy periods. Since she has been on depression/anxiety medicine and her hair is falling out as well. I’m wondering if the Mirena has something to do with her depression. If so, she needs to get this out ASAP!!! She is so unhappy and wants to feel normal again. Thanks for any feedback.
I have had the Mirena in for 4 years now. While it was a blessing in reducing my menstruation, (the reason for the iud to begin with, I was 50 with premenopausal symptoms). My hair loss was incredible. I went to my primary of whom did some blood work, said everything was ok, to go next to my Gyno. I did, she said that my hair loss was probably due to coloring my hair! Then I mentioned to her “I am a salon Owner, not only do we use the lowest form of ammonia color available, I use 1.5 percent of ammonia, which is so very low!” She totally dismissed what I had said! It has been so demoralizing for me with my hair loss. Being a salon owner of a pretty progressive business, and have had to hide my hair because of the feelings I get while people will converse with me staring at my scalp! Thankfully, being in my business, I’ve learned a lot through “smoke and mirrors” to camouflage the appearance . But the devastation hasn’t stopped. Not only has it fallen out to about 50%, it is fine, coarse and extremely fragile. I have also been using Minoxidil for the last year or so, with slight result. I landed on this site today, and are calling immediately for this IUD removal. I only pray that my hair may grow back to it’s original state.
Hello. I am a former Mirena user. I had my IUD inserted 04/11 and just got it removed 01/16. Unfortunately my hair started to thin out a few weeks after IUD insertion. I thought it was a just breakage. As time continue, I notice my hair volume start to thin; but at a slow rate over the next few years. then this year I decided to goggle Mirena and hair loss. To my surprise, as I read thru this website and another website. I knew it wasn’t me bugging about my hair loss. I am in my 30’s and I even got my doctor to do hormonal bloodwork to see if I was pre-menopausal. It all came back normal. also I went to see a trichnologist and he said my hair follicle was fine. Now I just hope and pray my hair will grow back in to the small bald patches and to it’s fullness again. I’m so glad I got the mirena removal. Never again to IUD”s. I will also sign the petition if it’s still avail.
I wanted to share an encouraging story about my Mirena hair loss:
I had the Mirena for 11 years. I was on my third Mirena (inserted in May) and over the summer I noticed my hair just seemed different, less volume, curl, etc. In early January, my hair stylist asked me when I started balding! He pointed out a receding hairline at both of my temples. I hadn’t noticed because I have a lot of hair to begin with. Thanks to some YouTube videos from women who shared their hair loss stories, I realized my pattern of hair thinning was the same as theirs. I also realized my hair had thinned all over my head. I had the Mirena removed a little over three weeks ago, saw a derm specializing in hair loss and started Rogaine to be safe (he said I may discontinue after 8-9 months). Guess what…my baby hairs have already grown a half inch! Stay hopeful ladies. Also, I no longer bleed after intercourse, my skin is clearing up, and I am pretty sure I just ovulated earlier in the week. Anyone coming off the Mirena should also get a full physical and blood workup and take vitamins if recommended by their physician.
I just tried to sign this petition but it’s closed. I didn’t put two and two together but now now that my hair loss is associated with Mirena. I am three years into my second one. I thought it was just from aging. I’m 37 and have sort of a receding hairline and bald spots close to my temples.
I had the Mirena for a total of 3 months. I’ve had it out for 2 months and my hair is still falling out like crazy. I’m so depressed. I wish I could contact some of these ladies who posted years ago to see how long it took to grow back. I have baby hairs sprouting but it’s not coming in as fast as it’s coming out.
Thank you for sharing your story! I’ve also been experiencing extreme hair loss, but I never though it could be related to the Mirena. I called my doctor and made an appointment to get it remove. I wish I’ve found out earlier!
Hi, just wanted to say that i read your blog and so much of it resonated with me. I had the Mirena coil fitted as my ferritin levels were very low and taking 3 iron tablets per day were not making enough of a difference. From discussion with GP, I mentioned my very heavy and painful periods. I went into hospital for investigation and it was a hormone balance, the lining of my womb was very soft and jelly like so I had a d&c and then had the coil fitted. I had so many of the side effects described, my skin was so bad, they thought it was an infection and I was given antibiotics, horrific mood swings and terrible headaches behind my left eye. However, for the last 10 years I had been suffering from hair loss, it was suggested I had male pattern baldness possibly from too much testosterone, yet the periods were due to much estrogen! One side affect I wasnt expecting from having the coil fitted is my hair loss stopped immediately! However I could only cope with having it for a year due to the other side effects, yet my hair grew thick and fast and is longer than its been in years. But since having it removed its falling out at an alarming rate. I just don’t know where to turn – GP has been useless and refused to believe its anything to do with the coil and so far from looking on the internet, all I have read is that the coil has caused hair loss, not stopped it. Any advice please?
I had the Mirena IUD inserted in March 2017. Soon after, I began to have a full-blown IBS episode (which I’d had one in 2011), so when my hair started thinning and a multitude of other things happened, I blamed the IBS and a preexisting spine injury. However, with regards to my brain – I experienced problems there too, as well as worsening depression. I also developed ovarian cysts, obtaining multiple (costly) ultrasounds to check on their size and never once did any doctor remind me that Mirena causes them – I spent months worried I had cancer or something.
Some history: In Jan. 2016 I got a concussion. I had post concussion symptoms for roughly a year (inc. headache, nausea, foggy brain, etc.). These symptoms had essentially gone away (with occasional headaches and some nausea, although that could be related to my IBS). I had the Mirena IUD inserted in March 2017 to address increased cramps and bleeding apparently associated with perimenopause. For several months I was dealing with my IBS flare-up which caused a host of other issues. However, beginning in the fall of 2017, I began to experience more headaches reminiscent of post-concussion headaches, and eventually they became almost daily. I was also experiencing problems with concentration again. I talked to my chiropractor about this (who’s had special training regarding concussions and been more helpful in managing it than any other doctors), and blamed the recurrence on extra computer work and stress. Around Dec/Jan., I noticed my ‘brain fog’ was getting worse, making concentration and communication more difficult. It became hard to switch subjects or respond quickly, as if my brain were sluggish – which was something I dealt with the first year after my concussion, but that had resolved. I started to worry I was doing something to cause my post-concussion to get worse, as the fogginess just kept getting worse. I began taking fish oil in January (2018), which helped a lot with headaches, but the fogginess has continued and even gotten worse. I also found my hair was thinning well beyond my IBS episode, which had come back under control the previous fall (for the most part). I began searching online and found Mirena was tied to hair loss and many other things, including a ‘foggy brain.’ I began to find more info about the cranial pressure impacts and things are starting to fall into place. I had the IUD removed last week and am hoping things will resolve soon. This has affected my work, sleep, and my social interactions as I’ve become anxious over communication; when you can’t respond right away or form the right words immediately, it’s embarrassing and frustrating so you just begin avoiding social situations. I’m self-employed and my work requires public interaction, so this is a big problem!
Update:
It’s been almost 2 months since I had the IUD removed. Within the first few days, my brain fog started to clear up. Big time! My head was also tingly – hopefully a good sign for hair growth. My body is now trying to readjust itself; my cycle is still out of whack but I have had a couple of periods. My hormones are all over the place and I noticed starting about 2 weeks ago (so about 5-6 weeks after the IUD was removed), my depression got much worse, and I had about a week-long IBS flareup; still worse than usual but slightly improved now. I have wondered if I’m currently experiencing the “Mirena Crash”, which I have read can start within weeks or months from removal when your body is temporarily without enough hormones while your natural system is trying to kick back into gear). My hair has continued to thin, but I’m not giving up hope. I have learned more about hair cycles, and looking back, I see that my hair started to fall out more after I had the IUD inserted (but I blamed my IBS flare-up as I can’t get enough nutrition when it happens so my hair thins). Then about 8 months after insertion, my hair almost stopped falling out – just a few strands when I brushed. However what was left kept thinning, to where each strand is smaller and my hair is thin and brittle (which note: it’s down to my lower back and it makes me sick at the idea I may have to cut it off if this doesn’t improve). I’ve started taking Viviscal and using Wild Hair Growth oil with fingers crossed. As my hair started to fall out again, it appears to be about the “normal” amount that sheds each day. There are small bulbs (aka “clubs”) on the ends of what is falling out, which according to what I’ve read, may be “good” news – when our hair follicles start working again, new hair growth will push out old hair. In the meantime, my scalp is showing more, but I’m hoping things are moving in the right direction. I read on other posts that it can get worse before it gets better.
Looking back, I realize I was happier with life and more comfortable with myself before I got the IUD (and depression was better controlled). I had started dating (because I had been feeling better over the previous couple of years…hmm, while I was not on any birth control…) and met someone right around the time I had it inserted. He was a good guy who was very understanding about my 2-month long heavy period and major cramping after insertion, as well as when my IBS flare-up came on (which I now suspect the IUD contributed to bringing it on). However, my depression got worse, mood swings galore, plus the brain fog started and along with some other ‘confidence’ issues I think most people with chronic medical conditions have, I was not feeling like the greatest catch, so I stayed in that relationship even though it became clear he wasn’t the one. Looking back, it was like another woman was in that relationship (which lasted for about 8 months). I had given up a lot of who I was and accepted far too much of who he was simply because someone seemed to like me despite all of my medical crap. I also remember questioning how I felt because I just didn’t seem excited enough about him, but yet I stayed in the relationship (I started therapy right around the time we broke up, as I’d been realizing I needed to figure out stress management along with why I’d become a different person with low self esteem).
So, I’m posting this because other posts have been so helpful to me with regards to figuring this all out, and realizing I’m not alone. I know that the Mirena IUD seems to work for a lot of women, but Bayer and our doctors need to warn us about the side effects, and because a lot of us don’t realize some of these medical problems are tied to the Mirena, they should check in with Mirena users periodically. Maybe a survey every three months to ask us about symptoms; at least that might help women clue in when things are going bad and realize it could be the Mirena. Also, patients who have had concussions should be warned, just as patients with depression/mental health issues and sensitivity to past hormones should be warned (I had told my doctors that the Depo shot years ago had really messed me up…yet I learned too late that Mirena is basically providing the same synthetic hormone) – I even asked about it specifically and was told it was such a “low dose” and side effects were minimal. BS!). I have read that Bayer previously got in trouble for not clearly disclosing all of the side effects, and that they are revealed more in Canada than in US pamphlets (I checked recently and it does appear Canada’s version provides a bit more honesty). But doctors need to take this seriously too. I guess I needed to do more research before I had the IUD inserted, but I trusted the doctor that said it would be fine and at most, warned me about things like the IUD moving, but not the other stuff (and I admit I was perhaps overly anxious for help with reducing cramps). I should know better, as I’ve had to learn how to manage my chronic medical conditions mostly on my own. Oh, and yes, my sex drive slowly dwindled over the first six months after insertion and pretty much died a quiet death by fall. It’s returned in ‘spurts’ since removal.
Sorry for the long post, but I hope it helps other women avoid what I have been going through, or even recognize what may be happening sooner – before it gets this bad. And I was astonished at how few results came up when I searched for “Mirena” and “concussion”, even though their information does ‘admit’ to causing increased intracranial pressure (again, why wouldn’t a doctor warn a patient with post-concussion issues?!) I’ve also seen some information suggesting the device, which apparently contains silicone, may be causing silicone poisoning as a lot of the symptoms are the same. Whether it’s that and/or due to hormonal impacts and cranial pressure, I have no idea, but figure it’s worth mentioning.
I’ll try to post an update in a few months – fingers crossed things are much better!
Hello ladies,
I had my mirena coil inserted last February and I’ve also been experiencing extreme hair loss, but I never though it could be related to Mirena! I was desperated so as soons as I realised Mirena could be causing it I got it removed. It was only 2 weeks ago and the hair loss has not stopped yet. I am also suffering of scalp tension, has anyone else experienced that symptom?
I’ve had my Mirena our 2 weeks and my hair loss is getting much worse. This is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me