Mirena Crash & IUDs
I had always suffered from endometriosis since I had started high school, possibly even earlier. I would miss days of school and sometimes a week from feeling sick, excruciating pain around my organs like they were cinder blocks shifting if I were to move even an inch. Asking for help from medical professionals, I ended up at a fairly young age on daily birth control pills, a very common treatment when I was young. I still had issues, but it definitely helped with the symptoms, and I would miss school here and there, even through college. I was told that after having kids, that would be cut down the endometriosis. I had two children, one at 25 and the next at 26, and then the symptoms had slowed somewhat but were less predictable throughout the month.
At the age of 35, I had a Mirena IUD put in at the recommendation of my OB/GYN. He said it was significantly better than the birth control pill, with very few side effects since such a small dosage of hormones would be in my body. I was very active, very fit, running obstacle courses, several in a weekend (and back and forth for all courses because I was the advanced bodyworker for Operation Enduring Warrior-if the wounded veterans needed me to be there to tend to them and other racers). I was a firefighter at the time as well, so there was no room for feeling sick or being slowed down due to feminine struggles.
I got the first Mirena put in when I was 36 years old and had two children. I was told that I would have no issues after insertion, just light cramping. I had pretty bad cramping for a few days, the first day in bed the whole day. I was able to move more on the second day, but not work out. After that, I thought it was amazing! I had no menstrual cycle (my cycle slowed and was less often each time until nothing and no cramps for years! After my first one was ready to expire, I was on board to definitely do it again and did. No issues and recommended it to everyone since my doctor always reminded me how safe it was with little meds, etc. I had no weight gain, no discomfort, and even forgot it was there often.
I received the third one, hoping this would take me into menopause without having symptoms of my menstrual cycle anymore. This time, from the start, it never felt right. I was uncomfortable and could feel the Mirena ALL THE TIME. I felt it when I moved, sat, worked out, and often when I was lying down, and definitely during sex. Even my husband could feel it, and it made our intimacy difficult. I had always planned on going back to have it checked. Once I did, and the doctor told me it was fine.
Immediately noticed smelling different upon using the restroom
I started gaining weight about 2 pounds a month or more, and couldn’t lose it no matter what (total 25 lbs in 2 years until it was taken out)
abdominal/pelvic pain,
Headache (I specialize in pain relief, so I was able to work on many of these symptoms)
nervousness,
bloating,
breast tenderness or pain,
changes in hair growth,
acne,
depression,
changes in mood,
loss of interest in sex (very severe, none existent)
puffiness in the face, hands, ankles, or feet.
Sleep wasn’t great-I began waking up all the time and being tired throughout the day
Waking up with severe back pain just below the kidneys across the lower spine (couldn’t roll over by myself, would whimper and cry in my sleep) My primary care doctor that had known me for decades even dismissed my symptoms and told me he wanted me to go on pain killers and when I declined he said to do stretches and preceded to give me stretches that wouldn’t do anything if it had been just from a tight lower back. (I’m a Master Personal Trainer and International Yoga instructor as well, and having pain at a certain time of day and not the rest of the time isn’t a tight muscle)
I have not recovered from my hormones being out of whack and am still having issues that I’m currently actively working on through diet and exercise, etc.
I hadn’t thought much about it being the Mirena since I’d had such success (or so I thought with the first two-I think that I had some side effects but they were so slow that I attributed them to aging-which over the years of studies, I know now that issues in the body mostly come from our body being out of alignment and/or injuries which keep our body from communicating properly.
My primary care doctor, who had known me for decades, even dismissed my symptoms and told me he wanted me to go on painkillers, and when I declined, he said to do stretches and proceeded to give me stretches that wouldn’t do anything if it had been just from a tight lower back. (I’m a Master Personal Trainer and International Yoga instructor as well, and having pain at a certain time of day and not the rest of the time isn’t a tight muscle)
I started researching side effects from the IUD since I wasn’t on any other medication, and realized that that is where the symptoms were coming from. It took me several pages of research and digging deep into Dr Google to learn that it is mostly the positive effects that get pushed to the top pages.
I called my primary care provider to tell him what I learned, and he didn’t feel that it would have anything to do with it. Since my visit with him prior, I wasn’t impressed and stopped seeing him after that, but I was hoping to give him the information.
I scheduled with my OB/GYN asking for a visit and addressed it while in there. There were tons of posters on his walls advertising the Mirena. He informed me that my complaints were unfounded and that he hadn’t heard of such a thing. I let him know what I’d found on the internet, and he scoffed at it and disregarded me. He gave me pushback about getting it removed, but I insisted. I scheduled my appointment and did some more research. I found that many IUDs had been recalled, and mine was to be one of them, but not for the reasons that I was having issues with. The company told me that they had sent a card to my doctor letting him know to recall and that I was to get a call from the office. I never had. I went in to have it removed and brought that up with the doctor, and he said he’d never heard of the recall at all. He acted like he hadn’t talked to me before. I felt like he was talking down to me. He wasn’t making eye contact with me and wasn’t jovial like he always was; he’d after all delivered both of my kids, now in their 20s. It was very disappointing. I asked if there was anything I should know about no longer having the IUD since I’d had one for almost 13 years now, and he’d said ‘Go to a normal lifestyle. My husband has had a vasectomy, so no worries there.
Within 12 hours of having it removed, I’d been feeling cramping, and I’d assumed that would happen from previous experience. Around the 12-hour mark, I started having severe vertigo. I’d had migraines (not able to speak out loud and no light at all from a messed-up spinal tap when I had Lyme disease), but this was way more. I couldn’t move, even to blink or have my husband stand 10 feet away in a doorway (without my eyes open). I could feel him there and needed to vomit. I couldn’t text, no screen time AT ALL. I was lucky I had off work, it was now almost Christmas EVE. It took me about ½ hour to make it to the bathroom (about 20 feet away), and I would crawl and lie down to rest from the spinning. The room was spinning when my eyes were closed. I couldn’t eat or drink. My husband kept saying he wanted to take me to the hospital, but I knew it was from the IUD removal since nothing else had changed for me. I thought I just needed time. To say I was upset is an understatement, I was supposed to pick up my aunt in DC (I’m in the Annapolis area) to take her back to my area to see my other aunt that had just reconnected after 30 years for Christmas Eve and I couldn’t even get out of bed or text her, I had to have my husband text her. They were both in their 80’s and could no longer drive, and my aunt’s alzheimers was so bad, and we weren’t sure how long she had to live.
My husband respected my wishes, even though I hadn’t moved in for over a day, and he started to research what else he could do since he felt helpless and was so worried. He came in with an extremely excited whisper and said, “I found it! You have Mirena Crash, it was on the 8th page of Google, and only 500 people have reported feeling that way”. I’ve done tons of studying for my doctorate in Naturapathy and remembered seeing on the Magnesium Advocacy FB page that there was an adrenal Cocktail that women could take to assist in balancing hormones. I quietly and slowly told him where to go to find the ingredients, and he mixed them up for me. Within 30 minutes, I was up and around. It was snowing and Christmas Eve evening, and I was so tired of being in bed that I was begging him to go with me downtown and go running in the snow through the Christmas lights (we always go downtown to Annapolis for the lights on Christmas Eve). I had so much energy and felt amazing. He was so concerned, he kept thinking I was going to fall or have a setback. I continued to do one at 10 am and 2 pm for the next week or two. I still will do one when I remember, once a day, around 1 pm.
The points I’d like you to take from this are: always push to advocate for yourself. Ask questions of tons of others to weigh what might be ‘normal’ for you or your circumstances. We have great resources now to be able to provide good information. If you have a gut feeling for what is best for you. Feel free to reach out to me if you’d like as well. I may not have all the answers, but I’d love to steer you in the right direction/professionals.
Adrenal cocktail (Creamsicle)
Prep time
Less than 5 mins
Ingredients
full cup of pulp free or pulp orange juice, no sugar (fresh squeezed is the best
3 ½ TBS Coconut milk unsweetened
2 scoops of collagen unflavored
½ tsp cream of tartar
½ tsp celtic salt or himalayan salt
¼ tsp vanilla (if preferred)
Instructions
Mix all ingredients in up and add ice if desired. Enjoy!
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In Health and Wellness,
Michelle S Krause LMT, CST-T
Owner of Vital Fitness Holistic Center
www.vitalfitnessholisticcenter.com
Former President of the Severna Park/Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce
Former New Member Committee Chair and Board Member of AMTA of Maryland
Council of Experts for the Menopause Support Group as seen on Good Morning America
