Elizabeth’s Story

Nearly 10 months of heck! I had the Mirena removed Nov 2019 and I had no idea what lay ahead for me… I’ve always been relatively sensitive to hormonal birth control, always took the lowest dose as the side affects were awful. So in 2014 I decided to try this IUD while my husband mulled over vasectomy. Insertion was AWFUL, but overall the Mirena was great! Little to no periods, no mood swings, or breast tenderness.. it was like a miracle. Fast forward to 2019, the 5 year mark. Scheduled appointment with OBGyn to have it removed, and both the medical assistant and my doctor informed me that I could keep it in for another 2 years. I declined, as my husband had had the vasectomy. Removal was mildly uncomfortable, but overall smoother than the insertion. I asked how long it would be for me to start menstruating again, and was given 6 weeks to 6 months. Ok, cool I thought. I’ll just go back to having a monthly cycle, and you know, live life as usual. 5 weeks and 4 days later, I started my period, and experienced some strange symptoms. I was at work and was feeling off, suddenly developed double vision in my left eye, and then all of a sudden my heart started racing and my hands started to shake uncontrollably. I had an overwhelming feeling of fear and dread. I thought I had a blood sugar drop, I ate some snacks, but the shaking and racing heart did not slow up. This episode lasted for a few hours but it did eventually subside. It was peculiar to say the least.

And.Then. February is when all hell broke loose. Two emergency room visits in one week with racing off the chart heart rate, skyrocketing blood pressure, nausea, diarrhea, hot flashes, loss of appetite. It was just chalked up to anxiety, and I was prescribed anti anxiety medications. These episodes have continued since then. I’ve never dealt with anxiety before and it is by far the worst feeling in the world,I do not wish this on anyone.

I have now been working with an acupuncturist and naturopathic doctor to balance my hormones. Both of these providers are the first ones to listen to me, as I suspected all of this was tied to the Mirena removal. I’ve recently had a hormone panel completed as part of my treatment; it indicated that progesterone is way down, and estrogen is not being metabolized efficiently. I’m taking supplements and using diet to detox. It’s getting better but it has been a long process. Had I know I would suffer for almost a year after having this IUD, I would have never had it placed to begin with.

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Submitted on September 16, 2020