http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/menopause.htm

Sorry to hear the experience was such a bad one. I live in fear of this happening to me too and I read that many women find the weight gain hard to reverse.

What do women do? There seems to be so little choice. I’m not doing this for contraception, I’m doing so I don’t exsanguinate. It’s BCPs or Mirena.

Today, my massage therapist told me she’s gained weight in the 2 months since she’s gone off the Pill.

Nobody, not even doctors, can tell how a woman’s body will react to having her hormones interfered with. I am finding this very frustrating indeed.

Stephanie

You’re fabulous to write so much useful (and comforting) information. I sincerely thank you.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot and doing all the research, as you did. I even joined a facebook group called Mirena Is Evil. I’m not making that up. There seem to be 2 groups.

The trend I see is that when Mirena is used post-partum, it creates the most problems with pain and side effects. In younger women in general, it hurts more and causes more side effects because of the masculinizing effect of progesterone (so acne,etc).

There are fewer reports from older women but they are far and away more positive. Is the device used less in older women and more for contraception? Do younger women still have a lot of circulating hormone, so any intervention will be more pronounced? I don’t know. The thing has only been on the market 5 years, so much isn’t known.

I’m not a big candidate for estrogen problems (overweight, clotting tendencies, smoking, miscarriages or terminated pregnancies) except that I did have children late in life (my first at 34). I just don’t want to take pills for 5 years.

My head tells me that Mirena, with its minute dose of hormone, must be worth a try. I’ve decided to go with that one once I see the GYN in 2 days.

Holly,

OK, you are definitely more woman than me. I know your babies!! Each one is worth 2, and one is worth 3 1/2, and we both know which one that is. Actually, there are 2 of them worthy of that title.

But I don’t mean to be facetious here. When I drill down beneath the surface, I agree that there is an element of nostalgia for the sheer miraculous ability our bodies have to give and nurture life. When we look at what we have created, and how rewarding it is, it’s natural to want to keep going.

I get it. Very good point that deserves some dwelling upon. It’s been quite a ride; is it really time to get off?

So, I did research and still it just wasn’t enough—everyone had some answer—but who to trust? I started to quiz my girlfriends (who range in age from 33 to 55) and asked what they used, what their worries were about BC and what menopause was about. I heard from two of my friends who had Mirena IUDs and said it was the best. One was very candid about the procedure and what to expect. Next, step was the GYN and discussing it with her.

I was very pleased to know the GYN thought that Mirena was a great choice for BC but there was also the Copper IUD that had no hormones. She tested me and stated that I was definitely not perimenopausal and we discussed the hormone needs, etc. I was measured for an IUD and I made a decision to go with a Copper IUD. I choose this because I have vascular disease and blood clotting issues in my family history, and my sister (who is in the med field) recommended weaning off of the BC hormone and when I really am menopausal, to have blood work done. This will allow me to take my blood work to a compounding pharmacy and have them make something specifically for me and my needs.

As far as the IUD insertion, it is quick but not without discomfort. I cannot tell you that it is painless, and yet, in a couple of weeks you never knew you had it put in. It is a bad crampy pain to have it inserted and it will feel oddly uncomfortable for an hour or so. You probably will feel a bit queasy just because it is a distinct cramp pain, and something you are not used to. But that will diminish quickly and you will only get a jab cramp for a brief second here and there for a couple of weeks, while your body gets accustomed to the IUD. Then, you will never feel it…ever. (Extra info: insertion must be done while you are on your period to assure that it is correct.)

Therefore, the IUD is a wonderful, no-problem method for women who have gone through child-bearing and wish never to do it again. However, it is not for people who spit out pills that they think are too bitter or won’t give blood because they think it hurts too much. It has a small amount of pain for a large payoff time. Let’s examine the numbers—it cost me over $500 a year for BC, and it cost me $250 (with insurance covering the remainder) for the IUD. The IUD lasts 10 years, so I have a savings of nearly $5000 in that time period. Plus, no worries of change of life pregnancy too!

I have had this done in late February ’08. So far, my periods on the Copper IUD have been regular and not difficult or long. I have no cramping, my skin is normal, and a month after insertion they do a follow up to make sure all is good. During this time, they clip the long strings that allow them to insert the IUD. You cannot feel it during sex but I was hesitant the first couple of times worrying about it!! My friends on Mirena state that their periods just don’t exist so that is what I would think would work for you.

My opinion of BCP, and even the Ortho Ring (which I did like) is that the big pharmaceuticals’ make huge money off of these prescriptions and we women suffer in the pocketbook. The IUD is an excellent choice and not enough women make that decision. (Note that you won’t see much advertising on this option!)

I do hope this helps you and anyone else who is curious about IUDs. I am a very happy woman who is an IUD user, thanks to research, my friends and a very good GYN. Thanks for letting me share this with you.

(As far as my worries, distractions and memory issues, I continued to look into that, and found that I was mildly depressed after my daughter had graduated from college and moved away. It was not directly related to my hormones but may be chemically genetically age related. Having chose the IUD with hormones would not have changed that in any way so I feel I still made the right decision on the Copper vs the Mirena for me.)

Holly,
I’d love to do what you suggest. It’s certainly the right thing to do, but when? I haven’t the flexibility to drive these distances. There is a Women’s Health Center at one of the University hospitals near my home. My hesitation there is that it’s still mainstream medicine. What I’d really like is a natural doctor that I have faith in, but I wouldn’t go without recommendations and so far, no women around know of anyone. It surprised me how little the MD and GYN knew about non-synthetic hormones, even whether they work or if you need a prescription.

Jody,
I guess there are 5 tough years ahead. It’s mostly an inconvenience (so far). We have to talk about this stuff – it affects every single one of us. Our mothers’ generation didn’t talk about any of it and I think it made it harder on them.

Sonja,
The thing is, the Mirena has NO Es and the Pr is a low potency one at 1/7th the dose of the BCP! I have to think the horror stories are either related to painful insertions or the effect of extra Pr in younger women who still have lots of it. A girl at work tells me the IUD is horrible because it gave her cystic ovaries – but all younger cycling women get these occasionally and more so if exposed to any progesterone, BCP or MIrena. So there’s misunderstanding out there.
I’m still completely uncertain. I’m thinking of just going ahead and bleeding for 5 years. It’s got to stop sometime, right?

Another discussion is how do you feel about being at this stage of your life. I am struggling with the idea of loosing my period. I am mourning it. My extremely predictable period has been what I have counted, monitor and understood since I was a teenage. What do I don’t have it?