Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by lynn on December 3, 2011 at 1:30pm

Hi Ladies, my story is slightly different with Mirena. I had it inserted 3 months after the birth of my third child, I had it in for about a year when I decided to take it out. About 4 months later my head became sooo itchy i couldn't stand it. After about 2 weeks I noticed an area on the back of my head where there was not a bald spot, but what seemed to be an area that the hair had boken off. Within 2 weeks of this discovery, my hair began falling out all over my head, or breaking off, never did determine which. Eventually, all my hair did fall out, but never to baldness, it always seemed like there were short soft hairs all over my head.
The hairloss extended to my pubic area, armpits and slightly on my eyebrows. THis went on for 7-8 months, I feel it was related to the Mirena, but of course my doctors disaggreed with me. I was on oral steroids, gained almost 15 pounds and my hair does seem to be growing back, but very very slowly. Somedays I feel it stopped gowing and this is it. I see my Doctor this month and I know he will want me to go on steroids again, but I will decline. My clothes don't fit me the way it is, and insurance doesn't reimburse clothing. I am taking my chances with not using anything medicinal and just praying it continues to grow. I haven't found anyone whose hair fell out after Mirena was taken out. But I'm still convinced it was that.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by aunaturelle on January 25, 2012 at 2:57pm

Hi Thanks to everyone who has posted with their stories about hair loss and this method of contraception as without you i still would be wondering WHY??!!

Im 25 ive had the COPPER COIL in since jun2008.Im not going to blame the coil for everything thats gone wrong in my life but i do believe that it has contributed i have suffered from depression, anxiety, fatigue, bv and thrush near enough every month after my period,(which caused a lot of problems in my relationship as i couldnt have sex because it was so painful) aches and pains in joints, back pains, serious PMS.and the main reason im here HAIR LOSS. I have been losing hair slowly but noticably - i cant REMEMBER exactly when it started but looking at old photos its quite apparent that over time since jun 08 my hair has thinned dramatically. Ive had blood tests to find a reason and the doctor said it was my iron that came back low so ive been taking supplements with no joy. A couple of weeks ago it just got too much and ive been on the internet every moment i get the chance researching the reasons for my hair loss. Anyway, i finally came across hundreds of forums discussing the iud (both mirena and the copper paraguard) and its side effects, and i have found so many women in the same position. For anyone with the paraguard - there is a very interesting website with details of copper toxicity syndrome. However since ive done so much research i personally think that the mirena coil and the copper coil are equally causing this problem.

Im having it taken out in two weeks and i really cant wait. Im looking forward to seeing if my hair comes back, i know if im lucky and it does ill have to be patient and wait. Im just so glad that ive found the cause of this. Ill be sure to post back when ive had it removed and if i have any luck! Id be very interested to hear from anyone that has had the paraguard removed and whether hair does regrow?!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Laura on February 12, 2012 at 2:10pm

First and foremost, thank you to every woman that has posted regarding this topic. My question is when can I expect the hair loss to stop after Mirena is removed and when/if my hair will return?

I also feel like sharing my story would help to get a bit of anger lifted off my shoulders. After the birth of my second child in Sept 2011, I decided to try a new form of birth control and chose Mirena on the recommendation from my midwife. Prior to children, I used birth control pills successfully without any side effects for many years. I had the Mirena inserted at the beginning of Jan 2012 and experienced hair loss immediately within days. This was not the typical hair loss I had experienced after the birth of my first child and thought it was a bit strange my body would start doing this right after the Mirena insertion. It began by pulling out fists full hair every time I showered. There was so much hair lying around the house it seemed as though I was a shedding dog. I called my midwife and was told this was probably just stress related to having a new baby and that this is typical following childbirth. Had this been my first child that never slept I probably would have agreed and thought nothing more about Mirena being the culprit. However, I was definitely not experiencing stress from my new baby b/c he sleeps 10 -12 hours at night, is almost always content and takes great naps. After the phone call I decided to do some research online and was brought to this site. Wow! Did I ever feel as though you ladies were speaking directly to me and what my body was experiencing.

Only a week and a half after having the Mirena inserted I demanded to have it removed. My midwife was very receptive to my request and set an appt that day to have it removed (even though she still did not believe it was the Mirena causing my hair loss.) It has only been 2 weeks since the removal and my hair loss has not slowed. In fact, my eyelashes are now starting to break off as well. I was blessed with a very thick head of hair, but now I'm sure that I've lost at least half the volume. The front of my hairline is so thin it's now showing my scalp and there is a bald spot brewing in the front where I part my hair.

My midwife wanted me to keep her posted, so this week I called with an update on my eyelashes falling out. During our phone conversation the local Mirena drug rep happened to walk in the door. She was put on the phone with me and I reiterated my story. Well....she was NOT SURPRISED to hear of my hair loss. In fact, her first question was when I had my last child b/c they are seeing that women close to postpartum are more apt to experience the dramatic hair loss. In fact, breastfeeding increases it even more. WHY ARE THE REPS AND MIRENA NOT DISCLOSING THIS TO THE DOCS WHO THINK WE ARE ALL CRAZY TO THINK IT'S CONTRIBUTING TO OUR HAIR LOSS!!!WHY IS THIS NOT DISCLOSED ON THEIR INFO SHEET? She wanted to know if I had paid for my Mirena out of pocket b/c she would be able to get me reimbursed. Obviously they are aware of these problems??????

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by michele on April 29, 2012 at 4:39pm

Hello,

I am new to this site. I am 48 years old and had the Mirena inserted because my
GYN thought that it would help with my extremely heavy periods that were becoming debilitating.
It has helped with that but I have lost more than half of my hair in 18 months. At first I thought it was just an aging effect but the hair loss has increased and my scalp feels hot and itchy all the time. I was wondering if there are any natural products that work to help hair regrowth after Mirena removal. I am sure that it is hormone related and that there must be herbal remedies that could help with the hormonal imbalance that the mirena caused.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page