@jca and @JLeslie – It takes a while for the body to adapt to having any foreign object in it – usually 6–12 weeks depending on the device and location in the body and method of placement. Some people defense systems are hypersensitive, and they “reject” foreign materials – whether man made (IUD, knees, defibrillators) or organic material such as tissues from a donor or even grown in a lab. Such cases are rare, but are to be expected. I had never heard of hair loss or feeling crazy with the Mirena, because the hormones are low dose and administered locally within the uterus. I felt crazy because of the systemic fluctuating hormones on the pill, so my mood stabilized considerably after I got the Mirena.
I had used condoms, diaphragm, and sponges with spermicide – the chemicals irritated me. I had used many versions of ‘the pill’, but the mood swings and PMS made me borderline psychotic. Plus, I wasn’t religious about taking it at the exact same time every day, and I conceived my now 21-year-old son while on the pill.
The IUD uses only local, low-dose hormones and serves as a physical barrier to pregnany. I was 38 when I had it put in – and certain I would not ever want to be pregnant again. Since the device wasn’t that widely used at that time, they didn’t warn of the issues on insertion. I suppose it is because of cases like mine that they now recommend painkillers prior to insertion. The NuvaRing was just coming out around that time, so I never tried it – is it still available?. I liked that the IUD was something I would not have to think about for 5 years.
For me – as well as for a childless friend of mine who got hers a year or so after I did, in her early 40s – there were NO complications with the Mirena once it settled in, and we both recommend it for people. I’ll add that she has an auto-immune condition and chronic pain, and still did very well with the Mirena. As I mentioned, the IUD typically lessens bleeding and cramping, and is often recommended for women with fibroids and/or endometriosis. In my case, I got the IUD before those conditions were diagnosed, and so the fibroids didn’t cause me any complications until they got too big and had to be removed surgically. My Gyn felt that the IUD had saved me a lot of discomfort.