Hi, I'm from the UK and had the Mirena inserted about 8 months ago and at first I thought it was great - my periods got lighter and I didn't really experience any side effects at first.

However, I had been following a running programme and was steadily losing weight as well as toning up after having 2 children. Then, I noticed that the weight loss slowed down and then I found I was gaining about 4 lbs within a week every 4 weeks. It took me a few cycles of this happening to link the Mirena and periods with this weight gain because I stopped having periods. I have never had water retention like this before.

But that's not the worst thing and I could probably live with that but, in the last six months i have been suffering from the most terrible acne on my face and back - great, big, festering, painful, huge spots that take about a week to come to a head and then about 2 weeks to go away - I am only spot free for a week before it all starts again. I never had acne as a teenager and before having the Mirena only ever wore a light covering of face powder - I now have to wear industrial strength foundation, concealer and face powder.

I found your site this morning because i am thinking of getting it removed - I would rather have heavy periods and use a mooncup than go through the spot and bloat cycle, and, i have come across another side effect that I didn't even link with the Mirena, namely, joint pain. At the moment i have had to give yoga a miss for 2 weeks because my right elbow is painful. My left shoulder also aches so much so that I have given up swimming. I have been getting twinges in my hips and knee that i have never experienced before and put that down to running too hard and so have eased off a bit but know it's not really this as last year I was running more miles a week.

Even as I am typing this down it is all clicking into place and the only option open to me is having this bloody thing removed pronto!