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Mirena and UC?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 1/28/2012 1:25 AM (GMT 0)
My symptoms first started about 2 months after I had mirena put in. My mom swears it must be the iud that started the uc. All drs I ask say absolutely no. Anyone find mirena exacerbates symptoms?
Posted 1/28/2012 1:34 AM (GMT 0)
I don't know, but I find your username hilarious. :D lol
Posted 1/28/2012 2:10 AM (GMT 0)
Many women experience exacerbated symptoms in response to their cycle, so maybe the hormones play a part in your
symptoms-

Carlie
Posted 1/28/2012 11:23 AM (GMT 0)
That's interesting . I have the same thing ,iud, started having sypmtoms of uc about when my son was 8 months , they told me for a year I had hemroids before they did a colonoscopy and said uc. I get mine out soon . I'll let you know if anything changes.
Posted 1/28/2012 11:53 AM (GMT 0)
Mirena is supposed to be your safest choice.
That was my second choice and after the pill will definatly go for the mirena.
Its supposed to be non invasive, quite gentle on the hormones...

HOwever i just think having a new birth control method in you is always a few months of adaptation. I started the combined pill 3 months ago and took back to back to avoid my periods cause they are triggering my UC.

However my body doesnt understand yet and some symptoms might arise. I would say to give 3-6 months trial. Thats what my doctor said anyway.

The gould think about mirena though is you can decide at anytime to take it off and returned back automatically to your normal cycle.
Posted 1/28/2012 6:20 PM (GMT 0)
I have had the iud for 1 1/2 years now and symptoms have not gone away except with being on prednisone.

Blondie, mine also started around when my daughter was about 8 months. I think I am going to call and have it removed. It has been great for me otherwise, but it always in the back of my mind as to whether it is causing the flare up to not end. Worth a shot I gues... Good luck with yours!
Posted 1/29/2012 12:25 AM (GMT 0)
Gottago, if you want to stick with an IUD, you might want to consider getting just the spiral, sans hormones. This should effectively provide you with birth control but without the IBD symptoms... Guess it depends on whether you want the progestin provided with Mirena for some reason.
Posted 1/29/2012 1:34 AM (GMT 0)
Many people seem to develop UC udring or after pregnancy, perhaps from hormones. Maybe the IUD has something to do with it but I think it's probably due to the pregnancy hormones at some point. I think if I were in your shoes, I'd be questioning the IUD but I am not sure if removing it will help the UC symptoms. I hope so. I agree with cherchez, a non-hormonal IUD may be a better option. I'd love to get one of those but I get terrible acne when I am not on hormones. I wonder if hormones are partly the cause of my UC.
Posted 1/29/2012 2:12 AM (GMT 0)
I know removal won't cure the UC, but maybe, just maybe it will help? It isn't a medical necessity and it will no longer be in the back of my mind wondering... I don't need the hormones for anything. Just heard you get much lighter periods with it than the copper one. I will keep you posted!
Posted 1/31/2012 2:51 AM (GMT 0)
I'm one of those who experienced worse symptoms after giving birth. Twice. As was told by my GI and oby-gin that this could happen, as it seems that hormonal changes play a role in UC symptoms with women.
First time, I had to be back on Colazal, full dose within a month after my daughter was born. Second time around, I was in full remission before getting pregnant, went off all meds during pregnancy, and after my son was born had a mild symptoms for a while. But was able to sustain them with suppositories.
Getting into account that the hormones are getting back on track within 3-6 months after pregnancy, maybe Mirena wasn't the cause for flaring up? I'll see how it works for me, as I've been having it for a week now. IUD for the first time, and in my case no recently deliveries. My oby-gin told me that it can actually help with my symptoms as it is really "mild" on hormones and can stop my periods completely. Will see.
Posted 3/20/2013 4:19 PM (GMT 0)
I had the Mirena put in when my youngest daughter was three months old. That was September of 2010. In November of that year my ulcerative colitis flared up once again. My GI at the time put me on steroids to try to get the flare under control. I was also taking lialda four times a day. After a few months on that treatment I started to finally feel a bit better. Then in April I flared up again. More steroids. I switched docs at that time because I felt the original was not really helping just masking the problem. In July we tried imuran( which made me extremely ill) and finally settled on starting Humira twice monthly. I am still having the same symptoms with no relief. According to my lab work there is no inflammation present but I can not get rid of the chronic diarrhea. I just recently started thinking that maybe my iud is exacerbating the symptoms so I am considering having it taken out to see if I can finally get some relief. Fingers crossed that it helps!
Posted 3/20/2013 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck Cvella. I found no change with the IUD removal. My ob had said that it could actually help the flaring because of the hormones in it, but I still went ahead with removal. Like I said, no change that I noticed.
Posted 3/20/2013 5:39 PM (GMT 0)
I had Mirena for 18 months. Had break through bleeding the entire time and worsening symptoms. I had it removed and then went into a 6 week, heavy period. Lost so much blood. Taking it out did not help my UC at all. I ended up having a hysterectomy but left my ovaries in. This helped for a short time. Apparently when you remove the uterus the ovaries are not able to function at full capacity due to the lowered blood supply. After the ovaries start to draw blood from other sources, they ramp back up to their normal amounts. I hope this is a sign that when I hit menopause, I will feel soooo much better!
Posted 3/20/2013 6:22 PM (GMT 0)
I had a Hysterectomy (still have ovaries) in May 2010, issues with my stomach started in July 2010....when I asked my GYN, she looked at me like I was crazy?  My GI said "anything is possible"
Posted 3/20/2013 11:38 PM (GMT 0)
I don't see the connection. Unless you were off BC pills for a long time and then you put in Mirena, may be the hormones flare up your condition but it will certainly not cause/start UC.
Posted 3/21/2013 12:46 AM (GMT 0)
I was on the pill during my first two flares, but my third and current flare started when I wasn't on any hormonal birth control (it was triggered by antibiotic use). I had Mirena inserted about nine months later. It has had no effect on my symptoms.

If you want to have your Mirena replaced with Paragard (the copper IUD), I don't recommend it. The copper IUD works by increasing inflammation (recruitment of leukocytes especially) in the uterus. I was going to get Paragard originally, since I didn't want to go back on anything with hormones, but after reading up on how it works, I knew it wasn't the right option for me, since I have enough inflammation in my pelvic region already.

I LOVE Mirena, but I understand it's not for everyone.
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