Depression and Hair Loss May be Linked to the Mirena IUD
Originally touted as a superior choice for women with sensitivity to other methods of hormonal birth control, the Mirena IUD promised to be the care-free and low hormone alternative to traditional family planning methods. Due to its close proximity to the uterus- less hormones could be used than in contraceptives taken orally. Praised by many in the medical industry as simply being the “best” birth control available, serious side effects are spilling out about the Mirena IUD. In 2009 the FDA forbid Bayer from advertising the Mirena IUD as a low hormone product due to a high number of women experiencing complications. More than 10% of women in clinical trials who used the Mirena experienced some type of complication. The FDA also dismissed Bayer’s commercials as being overly gratuitous, pointing out the commercial, “overstates the efficacy of Mirena, presents unsubstantiated claims, minimizes the risks of using Mirena, and includes false or misleading presentations regarding Mirena.”
Many women are understandably frustrated- consumed with feelings of irrationality and moodiness. Throughout the internet there are reports of doctors dismissively waiving serious patient symptoms, but patient testimonials show a regular occurrence of the following side effects from the Mirena IUD:
- Large amounts of unexplainable hair loss or hair thinning
- Leg / arm pain and numbness
- Inability to sleep, sleep issues
- Serious bouts of depression and suicidual thoughts (particularly in women who have never struggled w/ depression)
- Anxiety
- Acne in the vaginal area and in places where there was no history of acne problems. Cystic acne on the face, chest, back etc.
- Heart palpitations and pain
- Repeated bacterial infections in the vagina (bacterial vaginosis) which carries a distinct “rotten fish” smell
- Severe headaches, clouded vision, dizziness and memory loss
- Heavy discharge in the morning (described as “gushing” amounts of fluid)
- Mental fogginess
More minor side effects of Mirena can also be tied to similarities between other methods of hormonal birth control. They include:
- Moodiness, short of temper
- Bloating or weight gain
- Loss of sex drive
Please note that these observances are mostly anecdotal- and many doctors are still adamant that these symptoms are not tied to Mirena use. However there are countless incidences of women throughout the United States who are experiencing these symptoms.
Other, more well known complications from the Mirena include infertility, ovarian cysts, ectopic pregnancy, uterus perforation and miscarriage and birth defects. If you believe that you are experiencing serious complications from your Mirena IUD consumer sites such as mirenaiudlawsuits.net are offering free case evaluations.
I’m am currently on the mirena Iud and I’m am experience all of these symptoms and I will be make an appointment tomorrow to take it out.
Took mines out had the majority of all the symptoms as well.Including wanting to kill me and my baby. Worst mistake I have ever made just to not get pregnant. They need to BAN Mirena. I support the move I live in Texas email: natashaglitzandglam@yahoo.com. Damn Doctors need to stop pushing this product all for the love of money
Had mine removed in 2010 and still can’t have any kids it messed me up badly and I had all the side effects stated here worst thing ever I had it for almost 2 years
I have had SEVERE/SUBSTANTIAL issues w/my memory, experiencing 100% of the side effects listed…I never had problems with my memory before 2-3 yrs ago when I had the Mirena placed…It DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE BANNED AND/OR BETTER WARNINGS GIVEN BY THE PHYSICIAN AND THE MEDIA for females to make a conscious decision to continue use of the device…..
If there is going to be a class action lawsuit, I DEFINITELY WANT TO BE INCLUDED. It almost ruined my ability to keep my job as an Office Manager.
Please send follow-up as to what is going to happen in the future of the Mirena.
I’ve always been considered a highly intelligent person by my family and peers. I hold a BA in Psychology, a BA in Organizational Communication, an AS in Paralegal Studies and I graduated from the police academy in 2014. Shortly after graduation I decided to try the Mirena IUD because I already had two children and I was told by my doctor it had less side effects than the Nuva Ring and birth control pills. I did incur some side effects such as having irregular periods and foul odor every now and again. At the time of inserting the IUD my doctor made me aware the side effects would eventually go away. To this day they have not, but I still believe I can endure the irregular periods and odor oppose to having another baby. The only thing I haven’t been able to endure out of frustration is my inability to focus and recall information. Like I mentioned, I was a student four times over, a single-working-mom of two that could multitask better than a Ringling Brother’s Circus act.
When I began interviewing for my new career as a police officer, I noticed an inability to focus on study material for my job interviews which can last up to six months. This was around the summer of 2015. I attributed it to stress so I did what I normally do which was running. I’m an avid runner of half marathons. By December of 2015 I secured a job as a police officer. The first three months of training with the agency were grueling, but not any kind of stress I hadn’t handle before in the academy. I went into my new job with a positive attitude. Throughout my training I noticed a big change in my ability to recall information which failed me to be, “on point” with things. When taking a report, it was difficult for me to put the events in order. When asked questions I often drew a blank after have just studied the information a few minutes prior. I also seemed to lose my sense of self confidence which I attributed to being frustrated from not being able to quickly recall information. I began drinking large amounts of caffeine to compensate for the fog. I never told anyone at my job about my memory issues, but prior to completing my training, I resigned from my position without giving a reason. I felt it could pose a safety concern in the future if I continued. I’m hesitant to begin a new job until I fix this issue which is what I’m doing now.
I don’t think I’m losing my memories like Alzheimer’s patients. The best way to describe it is I feel like I’m watching myself decline; everything else is in tact, except two things: the process by which I learn or retain new information and the process by which I recall information. The degree of difficulty is not a factor in either situation. For instance, my mom will tell me at the beginning of the week, “Your father and I have a doctor’s appointment on Thursday at 12:30pm.” Unless I was focusing on my mom by looking directly at her while she was speaking and writing the information down then taping it to my forehead until Thursday at 12:30pm, I would not be able to lock this information into my brain. This is an example of not being able to learn or the process of retaining information. An example of not being able to recall information is how I would be speaking and not be able to say simple words like dog in the sentence, “Did you feed the dog?” I would also forget where I was physically going to. An example would be, I pick up my daughters from school every day. I drop off my car at a church nearby and walk to the school gate to retrieve my daughters. The next step is for us to walk back to the car then walk back to the car and drive home. On the walk back to the car, I would forget where I was going. I would have to look around me and piece everything together and tell myself, “You have your daughters with you, the school is to your right so you just picked them up from the gate, the next step is to look for the car then drive home.” This is all very frustrating and is noticeably happening more frequently. My mother and daughters are beginning to notice my memory issues.
I shared my story with a cousin who is a medical esthetician. We are very close so she understands that this is a serious matter to me. She mentioned to me about reading studies about certain metals causing people to have noticeable memory issues and suggested I research side effects of my IUD. I am going to call a doctor tomorrow and make an appointment to have the IUD removed and being the oil pulling regimen. Hopefully the issues I have been having with my memory issues will subside. I intend to keep daily notes after my IUD is removed. If I find that the IUD is not the cause of my memory issues, removing the IUD would at least help to eliminate that it is the cause.
Thank you for listening to my story. Hopefully there are others out there that I can learn from and more that can learn from me.
Maya