Question for the ladies with the coil - poss TMI

ChescasFeather

Hey,

So I recently came off the pill and got the Marina coil fitted but I have not only noticed the expected changes in mood while my hormones settle etc., but a crazy change in my relationship with food. It's like I'm so not hungry at all but I'll get a small craving for something (generally processed carby foods) and even though I'll drink water or tea its like the cravings won't subside like they used to.
I feel like I get on track and am making progress but then suddenly this happens and by the end of the week I've pretty much undone all the hard work so I'm basically just losing and gaining the same few pounds
I also did notice a period of straight weight gain

Looking at my food diary I can see the quality of my food choices is 100 times worse than it used to be prior to having this fitted.....

I'm not silly and I know it's deffo a mind over matter thing - I need to have the will power to just say "NO!" and stick to the healthy eating plan!

Anyone else had experiences with the coil effecting their weight in any way?

x

rbfdac

I've had the Mirena for over 6 months now and haven't noticed any of this. I gave birth 10 months ago and was around 325 lbs when the mirena went in. I got down to 317 with no change in diet before starting my weight loss three months ago. No weight gain after mirena, no appetite change after mirena and when I decided to get back to eating healthy, I had no issue and no crazy cravings.
You said it yourself-- you just need to have the will power to stick to healthy eating. It's a mind over matter thing and if the mirena has anything at all to do with your cravings/weight gain, it's very minimal.

acquilla30

I pulled out my mirena last year. The hormones had me feeling pregnant like symptoms for the year and a half I had it. I def had intense food cravings. Once it was gone, my food cravings went away.

rbfdac

Wanted to add--- I call it very far fetched to blame Mirena, specifically, for the food cravings and otherwise unusual feelings, but I will backtrack slightly and say that there could be an actual physical factor at play, rather than just "it's all in your head". Mirena is a hormonal birth control and hormones do tend to contribute to food cravings and whatnot, but this is also to be said of any other hormonal birth control, not just this specific IUD. I was on an oral contraceptive for 9 years before going off to conceive my child, so it's possible that I was used to the hormone flow and wasn't affected. That being said, I think Mirena is awesome and before considering any sort of removal (which I'm not sure that you are), I would give it some thought. You might just have the same issues with another hormonal birth control as well until you get used to it.

Blueseraphchaos

I had the mirena for 5 years, had to have it taken out and not replaced due to getting surgery. I gained a bunch of weight, for various reasons. My body certainly doesn't agree with whatever hormone is in the mirena. No matter what i did, i couldn't lose weight. I could prevent gaining more, but just couldn't lose...lost 30 pounds in the months after i had it removed. Got on depo, gained it all back and then some....got off the depo, changed to a different hormone in pill form, losing weight again. The depo made me crave tons of junk and also retain water like nothing else...but even looking at my food log on here when i was on depo, weighing and measuring food, my diet wasn't terrible but i had the same problem of not being able to lose weight, just not gain...

I don't have any advice, just an experience. Everyone reacts differently to hormones, and considering that no one knows for sure exactly how the mirena works (that's even on their website, haha), I'd say there's no way to know exactly what it will do to you until you have it in already. I loved the mirena except for some of the side effects, but i probably wouldn't get it again. Pills take a little more effort, but there's such a wide variety of hormones that i figure if the one I'm on starts having weird side effects, it's easier to change immediately.

I'd say just keep an eye on everything for awhile. If you decide it's not working for you, you can always ask your doctor about something else, or get the copper IUD (no hormones!). Also, to get rid of cravings, a lot of times I'll do some exercise, which both burns some extra calories and usually gets rid of the craving. Good luck!

williams969

I've had two Mirenas over the course of my adult life. Never had any appetite/food choice concerns. Weight remained steady throughout. Mind over matter, perhaps. In fact, I only gained weight AFTER I chose to not be on hormonal BC methods any longer. I know hormonal BC (or lack of) had nothing to do with my gain.

shadow2soul

I've only had mine since July 25, but no problems yet.

This is how things have gone so far:






While it's not causing me any problems that doesn't mean that it's not possible for you to have negative effects with it. Everyone's body handles BC differently.

ChescasFeather

Thanks for your replies!
Seems everyone reacts differently - but deffo wannna work on will power somehing I never had an issue with before so shouldnt now!
- x