Re: anyone had these symptoms?

This thread is old, but I just had to respond for others who might be lurking trying to find info on Mirena.

I had a Mirena for five years, then inserted another one for two years before I finally said forget it, and had it taken out. I really didn't have too many issues with it while it was in, however, I felt it somehow contributed to bladder issues I was having.

My problems started one month post removal, when I went into acute adrenal crisis. I had the severe version of the Mirena crash, and I never fully recovered.

It has taken two years, and a very patient naturopath wiling to run the right labs to figure out what happened. She herself has Addison's disease, so was familiar with the testing.

Long story short, lab work confirms that I likely have secondary adrenal insufficiency. How did Mirena do this, you ask? Well, here's what nobody ever tells you about Mirena. In addition to having progesterone activity, it also has glucocorticoid and mineral corticoid activity. Meaning, it becomes an exogenous (outside) source of steroids for your body. Your pituitary can't tell the difference between your natural cortisol and outside sources so it suppresses ACTH function. ACTH tells your adrenal glands to make cortisol. The whole feedback loop gets overridden by Mirena for years on end. Then, when it is abruptly removed, you can most definitely go into steroid withdrawal and adrenal crisis just as if you were on prednisone long term and stopped taking it abruptly without tapering.

True story, it happened to me. I am now on hydrocortisone, have to wear a med alert bracelet, and still don't have my life back two years post Mirena. What a nightmare!

So for anyone suspecting the Mirena has given them adrenal symptoms, yes, it most definitely has. Hopefully though you will be luckier than I was, and your body will pick production back up on its own. It will take time, but hopefully you will get there. Tweet