WHERE do I begin? Let me start by saying I am SO glad I found this forum. I registered immediately. My wife, who is a nurse and Director of an outpatient psych facility, wanted me to search and read some of her findings on the infamous Mirena IUD.

We have three beautiful kids. Two girls and a boy; 8, 4 and 2. She had it inserted several months after our son was born. At first we thought it was going to be great. Man, were we wrong! Just a few months after having this thing implanted, the side effects that everyone has stated, started occurring gradually. It did not help that she is hypothyroid also. Just a couple months ago, she had EVERY single symptom discussed here and on a hypothyroidism forum (some overlap, but mostly the hair loss, constant tiredness, and mood swings). She finally found a Dr who was more understanding and less grandiose. She began treatment of the hypothyroidism. After a couple months with no change in hair loss, weight, mood, etc., she talked to me about having the IUD removed. I’m ALL for it. Although I do not fully understand some of what she’s been going through, I’ve seen first hand her dealings with all the side effects. She is the most wonderful Mother and Wife in the world, but can only handle so much. It’s time for her to feel good and be happy again.

She called me to meet her for lunch after the removal. She was cramping and uncomfortable, but was laughing and cutting up like I haven’t seen in a while. She obviously “felt” better about having this foreign object removed!

Thank all of you for posting! It definitively helped with her decision.