Hi Ladies! I've already been to my OB for advice on this one, but I am not convinced with her answer, so looking for other solutions. Here's the problem:
First a little background: I have two children, the first is 2 years and the youngest is 17 months. When the youngest was 10 weeks I had a copper IUD inserted. I breastfeed her for 12 months, so my I knew at that point my body and cycles were going to be a little off.
After I weened her, my period returned and started to regulate. But after a few months, I started to bleed between periods, have mood swings, constant cramps and spotting, and odd discharge. It seemed like I would have PMS for two weeks, period for one week, then only a week break before it started over again. I began to worry it was my IUD, so I made an appointment with my OB.
Well, my OB checked and the IUD was in place. She said my body may just be getting back to normal from two kids and breastfeeding. Her solution for my PMS and mood swings was to put me on Prozac for one week a month, (what?!?!? I hate even taking Advil!) She talked me in to keeping the IUD in, my pap came back normal as well, so I carried on....
Well, It's been several weeks. I was better for a few weeks, but now some of the symptoms are back. I just don't feel right...just not like myself at all. Tired, crampy, spotting a lot between cycles, (sorry if this is TMI) lots of strange brown and bloody discharge. Just to be safe, I even took a pregnancy test - negative. I'm thinking of having the IUD removed...but it is my best option for birth control, so I hate to go that route if it is something else. We recently had to get new insurance on our own...and it's pretty weak. High co-pays, no maternity coverage, you get the idea. I want to get this taken care of soon....what to do?!?!?!??!
Maybe try an herbal hormone therapy. My sister swears by it and it makes her periods lighter and more regular... incluing her moods. I can find out the name if interested.
Good luck.
The copper IUD works by irritating the lining of your uterus and preventing implantation. Extra bleeding, breakthrough bleeding (between periods) and cramping are very common side effects. Actually in trials about 12% of women have their IUD removed during the first year because of bleeding problems.
Everyone reacts differently to differnt drugs and medical devices, if you like the convenience and safety of an IUD, but have side effects with the Paraguard, you could consider trying a Mirena IUD, which releases small amounts of hormones and typically reduces bleeding (after an initial adjustment of about 6 months or so).
Good luck!
Hi there!
I went through having my body totally screwed up by the Depo shots, which really put me off that type of thing. It took years, but I finally decided that Mother Nature has designed us women to work certain ways and I didn't do well monkeying with her plan....my husband had to participate in the birth control instead of just putting it off on me. If it were me, I'd get off the IUD and take some dandelion root capsules, which are great for getting rid of excess "stuff", including hormones...etc...
I noticed that particularly when I'm nursing, I'm sensitive to milk with growth hormones in it--soy, also, or anything that could mess me up really MESSED ME UP when nursing.
Best wishes and blessings
I also have the Merena...LOVE IT!!
I had the mirena... I liked it a lot, but think it made me too hormonal. Not sure if I'd go back to an IUD again.
I have no idea what to tell you. I'm so sorry. That does not sound like fun. But like some others, I would get your levels checked. Maybe your thyroid checked. Or maybe your body doesn't like copper or is allergic to copper? lol. I have no idea, but I think you are right that it is doing very strange things to your body. I know it doesn't have hormones in it, but it must cause some sort of reaction. My friend felt terrible with it and even got insomnia. Everything cleared up when she took it out.
Anyway, to help your mood swings, try taking 1000 mil of fish oil a day. My midwife recommended it to a friend and now she swears by it cause she didn't have to go on prozac. There's always progesterone cream. Or if you get your levels tested and you have low progesterone, you can also take it as a pill called prometrium. I took this and it helped so much.
Good luck to you!
I had the Worst luck w/ Paragaurd ! after 10 looong months i finally had it removed and had the Mirena put in. after 2 weeks - my issues were Gone! my body needed the hormones, I thought I was doing a good thing by having the Paraguard put in because it had no hormones at all - Wrong, it wasnt right for me. I bled more often than not - heavy painful sharp, I was in misery all the time :-( no way to life life enjoying your little one. She checked it several times and it was in the correct spot - I just wasnt right for my body. I would have it removed - and if you dont need the prozac - get off it! be forward w/ her this is Your body and your life! GL hope it gets taken care of soon!
Do not take Prozac. That is the dumbest advice I have ever heard! I know so many different women that have had hormonal problems from BCP and from IUDs, but doctors almost always tell us that it is something else and not the BCP or IUD. Get that stupid thing out of your body and try a form of birth control that doesn't make your periods whacko anymore.
I know there are lots of women that do the IUD and BCP and are fine, but there are a lot of us that make our periods and hormones go off balance. The BCP made me crazy and have spotting and after I went off, my hormones stayed whacko. Same with several of my friends, most of my friends it didn't screw up their body. PMS is worsened by hormonal imbalances. You don't need to add Prozac to all the chaos. I have two friends on the IUD and it made them lose their sex drive almost completely. And their docs told them it wasn't the IUD. They got it taken out and they are back to normal.
You know your body better than the doctor. Get a different birth control and don't take Prozac, for heaven's sake!!!!!!!!! How about a diaphragm or some other barrier method where your hormones don't have to wig out on you all the time.
The copper IUD does not carry hormones so it shouldn't have an effect on your emotions. I had the copper IUD for 2 1/2 years and also breastfed for a while. My worst symptoms were cramping and discomfort during intercourse. If you are having such extreme mood swings my best guess would be that your body is still adjusting to the change in
breast feeding. Don't be afraid to consider the Prozac just until your body has time to stabilize, you might be surprised in how much it helps. Good Luck!
The paraguard won't do anything to ya if you take it out OR leave it in (all it does is prevent pregnancy, no hormones at all), but some women ARE hormonally imbalanced (aka the women that hormonal birth control evens out moods / irregular periods / etc.) Having the copper iud is just like going au naturale.
A friend of mine is on BOTH paraguard & takes birth control pills (not to prevent pregnancy) but to stabilize her mood swings and period and skin (which became a mess off of hormones). She uses both... the paraguard for pregnancy protection, and the hormone pills for her other issues. She takes very LOW dose BC pills (she and her doc tried a range of them to find out which worked best).
She chose not to remove the paraguard because she got pregnant on birth control pills TWICE. Once on antibiotics (which negates bc pills), and once because she missed a day at just the right time. She despises how hit/miss the pills are contraceptively, but loves what they do for her period/ mood/ skin. She jokes she feels like the virgin taking pills at in middle/highschool not for sex, but for skin... although those close to her know that her skin was her lowest concern.
It sounds a lot like what I went through. I had a very bad case of estrogen dominance. I couldn't stand to even be around me let alone all the people I love. I had to get off every estrogen like milk products, and beef, chicken (ok I completely went off meat) I got some wild yam cream and started to put it on my wrists a couple of times a day. After a few months, all my symptoms went away. No more awful mood swings, regulated periods, and I really enjoyed life! Does your IUD have hormones released? Find out everything you can about estrogen dominance and wild yam cream which helps your body create progesterone.
Hormones control so much and we don't realize it. I am much more at ease since I got mine evened out. I would go to a doctor who specializes in bio-identical hormones and have a complete blood screen done. This will also tell you many other vitamins that your body is lacking. It sounds like your progesterone is low and that is causing problems. Doctors like to prescribe anti-depressants for everything but don't take them.
