Heavy periods, last hope before hysterectomy! Mirena?

[Mandyblur]

Hey everyone,

I need some help.

I don't react well to progestin only pills however these are the only ones i can take. They make me severely depressed, however my doctor wanted me to try them one last time to try and control my heavy periods. I started them in December and have been off them for 3 weeks due to severe depression, they also did very little in the way of helping with my periods.

I am ALWAYS anemic, i can't get my iron levels up enough before my next period, my hair is falling out, i'm tired constantly and well you get the message. I've been this way since a miscarriage i had in 2012 where i lost a serious amount of blood but was told to stay at home as it was "normal".

I've done the usual routes of the pill, ibuprofen, mefenamic acid.

My doctor has told me to try the mirena and has said that because the hormones go directly to the uterus that i wont experience any side effects other than spotting for the first few months.

Is this true? Is it worth a try? Or should i just get a hysterectomy done?

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[sarahfh]

Has your doctor done anything like ultrasound or hysteroscopy to check for polyps or fibroids at all? If they haven't I would be tempted to push for some tests to find out why you're bleeding so heavily rather than simply trying to stop it with hormones.

If it is something like that there is surgery which can remove them, including a hysterectomy of course (my mums was done keyhole too) and they can also as a temporary measure give you a drug which puts you into a temporary artificial menopause so you have no cycle and therefore no bleeding. It might be worth asking if any of those are an option?

 

[nobump]

As Sarahfh asked do they know the cause of your heavy bleeding? If it is down to polyps then a hysteroscopy with d&c may help you. But they can grow back.
If it's down to fibroids the op to remove them is more dangerous. If you are not wanting any more kids they can give you an endrometrial ablation which removes the lining of your womb.

Think a coil is a quick easy fix but may not be the best.

 

[LoveCakes]

I have always had very heavy periods due to my PCOS. My lining just builds up and up until it can't sustain itself then I get literally flooding where I stand up and it soaks through a tampon, extra thick pad and sometimes my clothes in 10 seconds. I would bleed heavily for 2 weeks and in total for 3-4 weeks.

I'm on the mirena now and bar annoying spotting for 2 months I now have no period at all. It's amazing and has improved my quality of life as I avoided going out before.

You can have them in for years so it's a good long term plan.

Mine was to combat pre cancerous womb cells due to the build up (very rare pre menopausal). My only other option was a hysterectomy but this way I have been able to have my lg and hopefully more

 

[LoveCakes]

A hysterectomy isn't worth taking lightly as it affects you in other ways so talk it through with your dr.

I'd also make sure you get to the bottom of the reason as much as possible.

Meant to say the pill had very little effect for me too I still bled heavily just not as much because it was more often.

 

[MindUtopia]

Do you know why you have heavy periods? A lot of what you're describing sounds like hypothyroidism (or at least the symptoms would all be very similar, including the heavy periods). Have you had your thyroid function checked?

Also, have you tried other versions of the pill? I can't take microgynon. It gives me horrendous depression and anxiety. I've tried it twice (I otherwise don't have any problems with depression and anxiety) and it literally made me feel nearly suicidal. It was really awful and scary. I have used Yasmin instead with absolutely no problems though.

Also, a lot of your symptoms are related to anaemia (caused the the heavy periods) rather than heavy periods themselves. Are you treating the anaemia? I was anaemic once and it was terrible. But getting my iron levels up, with really high potency supplementation, Floravital, Spatone, lots of leafy green veg, high dose vitamin C and lots of orange juice really helped me.

If none of that works, yes, I think it's worth trying the Mirena. Many people who can't tolerate the pill do better on it, and I would exhaust all your options before trying anything more drastic. A hysterectomy itself brings on a lot of awful side effects that are probably just as miserable as what you're experiencing now, so I'd try everything else you can first.