Looking for before and after Mirena success stories!

lh1626
lh1626 Posts: 241 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all.......I am frustrated and having issues losing anything more than the 1-5 pounds I have been going back and forth with. I have been doing MFP since May and have not lost anything...no inches....no nothing. I have researched every BMR/TDEE topic...post...calculator....tried an HRM....using a Fitbit now....you name it!

I was walking 3-4 days per week over the summer and doing 2-3.5 miles each time and still.......no loss. I have tried WW over the past several years three different times and gotten nowhere. I have been diligent....tracking, measuring, counting.....even bites.

I have varied my calorie intake from 1250 to 1600-1800/day. I even did maintenance for a month..... I have had my thyroid tested.....everything. I am now wondering if my Mirena is wreacking havoc on my body. 3 months after I had it put in back in 2005, I gained 30 pounds and then some. I chalked it up to post partum depression...etc.

So......sorry for the rant! : )

Has anyone had a similar experience and lost after having the Mirena removed? I am going to have it removed next month and am hoping that this is the culprit.


Any feedback would be great! I am not opening up my diary however as everyone has a different opinion on what you should and should not be eating. I am in the middle of "junk vs clean" and doing everything in moderation. I have always been able to lose on a calorie deficit and exercise....that is up until Mirena~~~~

Thanks in advance!
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Replies

  • lh1626
    lh1626 Posts: 241 Member
    Sorry....it was 2008 that I got it.
  • tiffanylacourse
    tiffanylacourse Posts: 2,986 Member
    I've never heard of this issue, but I've had my mirena in for 4 years, and come to think of it, thats when it became almost impossible to lose weight. I don't really gain either, but its frustrating to be stuck.

    I'm bumping this as I'd like to know more about this too! Thanks for posting!
  • aStrongerSteph
    aStrongerSteph Posts: 161 Member
    I'm on my second one and I love it personally. I gained a lot after the first one but, it's because, I was eating crazy...can't blame the IUD. Second one was about months ago.
  • Jennisin1
    Jennisin1 Posts: 574 Member
    I had a Mirena put in in Jan 2012, didn't have any weight gain, weaned my daughter in August, started really being serious about eating well and exercising the first of Oct and have lost 10 lbs this month.... 30 to go to pre-baby #1. I am 10 lbs lighter now then when I got prego with #2 that just turned one.

    I have wondered if Mirena effects weightloss, but it doesn't seem to bother me, but the thinnest I have been as an adult was when I was not on any birth control.

    We shall see!
  • J3nnaLyn
    J3nnaLyn Posts: 125
    Bump. Would love to hear other responses.
  • SuggieDa
    SuggieDa Posts: 2 Member
    I have had my Mirena since June 2009. I was very overweight before then and it didn't cause me to gain weight since then. Actually my weight stayed pretty much the same until February of this year when I decided it was time to lose weight after a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. I have since lost 70 pounds and still have the Mirena
  • Leigh_b
    Leigh_b Posts: 576 Member
    I have a Mirena. I had it put in right after my youngest daughter was born 3 years ago. I weighed 159lbs after she was born (about 2 weeks after) and now am 125 so have lost a total of 34lbs, 13 of them since I joined MFP. I've still got 7 lbs to go before I am at my goal and it's taken me a very long time and A LOT of hard work to get to where I am. I figure it will eventually come but I am only 5'3" and 42 years old so I've got issues working against me.
  • shaneliz05
    shaneliz05 Posts: 9
    Maybe that is my problem! Intersted to see what everyone else says. Thanks!
  • Jodycnd
    Jodycnd Posts: 56 Member
    I got mine in February 2010 and struggled to lose my baby weight (when I had fairly easily lost 45lbs of babyweight in 2007 after going on low dose pills). I used Weight Watchers in 2007 but ever since the Points Plus was introduced, I completely stalled after losing an initial 15lbs. I eventually gained that 15lbs back because I kept getting frustrated with Points Plus. Since coming on MFP in July, I have lost 15lbs-ish. I had thought my lack of losing weight was caused by Mirena but now that I've switched to calorie counting and a regular exercise program, I've had success.

    I'm a big believer in alternating strength and cardio workouts to get the best of both worlds. Maybe try something like that to build some muscle and increase your metabolism?
  • gzus7freek
    gzus7freek Posts: 494 Member
    This probably won't help you much, but I just went and had my tubes tied and an ablation done on Thursday for the same reason. To lose more weight. I think Birth Control is bad for someone that wants to lose weight. If you are done having kids you should consider having your tubes tied too. I have a few friends that have went the same route and after getting off of birth control their weight dropped too.

    Read the side effects of any birth control that you use. Most of them say weight gain or difficulty losing weight. Especially Depo shots! I put on 75+ bounds the 3 years I was on that! and no matter how hard I tried I could not lose it till I was off of it!
  • sweetCJ
    sweetCJ Posts: 144
    I have to say that I only had Mirena for 142 days, and those were the worste days of my life. So I did not have it long enough to notice weight gain, but I did notice no weight lost. The day I had it removed, I felt like a new person, I saw sunshine and I started to loose weight, not alot, but enough to say I lost 1-2 lbs per week. My suggestion to you is, have it removed and see what happens.
    Good luck!
  • SabrinaJL
    SabrinaJL Posts: 1,579 Member
    I have had my Mirena since June 2009. I was very overweight before then and it didn't cause me to gain weight since then. Actually my weight stayed pretty much the same until February of this year when I decided it was time to lose weight after a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. I have since lost 70 pounds and still have the Mirena

    Similar thing here. I was around my heaviest (245 lbs) when I got the Mirena inserted. That was in 2005. I never got any heavier. I got my 2nd Mirena in 2010 and started trying to lose weight in March of 2011. I'm currently at 175, which is the lowest my weight has been since I was 18 (I'm 35 now). I don't think it made any difference at all.
  • KodAkuraMacKyen
    KodAkuraMacKyen Posts: 737 Member
    Hello everyone. I have the Mirena as well, and have had it for 4 1/2 years. I gained weight after I got it but that was all my fault. Newly married and ate and drank everything in site. I've been able to lose 37 pounds so far and don't feel it's been a challenge at all to my weight loss or a contributor to my weight gain. I have absolutely loved it. It's worked well with my body.
  • Juliejustsaying
    Juliejustsaying Posts: 2,332 Member
    I had Mirena in a total 2 months before having it ripped out. HATE HATE HATE!! my body is far to sensitive to hormone and chemical changes. I stopped losing about the time it was put it..havne't really lost much since...but I don't know if it is really the culprit...Just hate the damn thing...I'm not 5 weeks post tubal ligation/ablation..and still having issues.

    Anyone thinking about getting a mirena I woudl say run!
  • SherryR1971
    SherryR1971 Posts: 1,170 Member
    I have always been over weight until now, and I am losing weight and have one in...of course it is about time to get a new one...it will be my third one. I would choose the protection over the weight loss, but that is just me...like my OB told me when I was complaining that I thought the pill was causing my weight to stay up..."If I take you off of it, you'll really have a weight gain in 9 months!!"
  • lh1626
    lh1626 Posts: 241 Member
    Wow...so many responses! It is interesting to see how different people react to Mirena. I was on the pill for years and never had a weight problem....>I was actually the thinnest I had ever been in my life on the pill. I can't take it anymore though because I have a blood clotting disorder.

    Mirena was my only choice at that time. I can't get my tubes tied because any type of surgery for me now is high risk due to my disorder.



    My other choice is the old "snip snip".....LOL! I already told my husband that is his winter project!
  • lindsaylou10
    lindsaylou10 Posts: 1 Member
    I had my daughter in July of 2010 and weighed about 155 after and had lost weight and gotten down to about 145 in the year that followed. In may of 2011 I got the mirena and stopped getting my period all together. After I stopped getting my period everything was fine for a few months and then I noticed the weight gain. I worked out and did MFP and weight watchers and could not lose a pound. I would just gain. When I went in mid September of 2012 I get it removed I weighed 178. I had many side effects fom the mirena. My doctor did all the blood tests and they all came back fine. I went right on the pill after removal and she told me it may take a few weeks to see any weight loss bc she had seen this before and sure enough in the third week of my pack of pills I lost 10lbs! I am hoping that is just the start! But I went from looking 7 months pregnant all in my belly to somewhat normal again. So good luck to everyone. I know some people it has been great for and others who have hated it.
  • smilesalot1969
    smilesalot1969 Posts: 392
    im just about to have my third mirena and i love it. ive lost 125lbs with one in and am only 9lbs away from goal weight. I wach my calorie intake, weight train and do 1hrs cardio a day 5 days a week
  • SlinkyPinkyBunsOfSteel
    SlinkyPinkyBunsOfSteel Posts: 661 Member
    I've had mine since March 2010. I've lost 51lbs since Jun 2011. I've not had any problems with it at all. :)
  • tinad5000
    tinad5000 Posts: 4 Member
    TRy some vitamin d3 and rasberry keatones. Dr Oz says it works I am getting some soon. I too was thin before birth control Used the pill. for 7 years . Got my tubes tied last go around. Losing weight since exersising and logging food, Slow but steady
  • davidmcgowan1987
    davidmcgowan1987 Posts: 111
    Without looking at your diary and having more info about your current stats it would be difficult to detect any other problems.

    Most people (and no one take this the wrong way, its merely an observation!)
    Most people who gain weight on a contraceptive method, do so because of an increased appetite.

    Now thats not to say everyone who does gain is over eating, but its the reason behind the weight gain side effect being written.

    Birth control meds, especially the levonorgestrel in the mirena have a tendency to reduce free (or serum) testosterone.

    While it supposedly doesnt impair sexual function... testosterone is important for muscle production, and in women, testosterone levels are already low (this is why men are generally stronger than women all other things being equal) take some more out and i can see a problem with muscle generation.

    It also decreases the amount of dihydrotestosterone (DHT)

    Now in women, an increase of DHT can lead to male features being expressed (deeper voice and facial hair) so it stands to reason that if you take even more out then you get more female features, lower muscle mass being one of those features.

    your main counter to this would be exercise and mostly you want strength training to build muscle (muscle not only burns more calories when idle than fat, but also produces some testosterone) which would counter the effect of the mirena.
  • lh1626
    lh1626 Posts: 241 Member
    I had my daughter in July of 2010 and weighed about 155 after and had lost weight and gotten down to about 145 in the year that followed. In may of 2011 I got the mirena and stopped getting my period all together. After I stopped getting my period everything was fine for a few months and then I noticed the weight gain. I worked out and did MFP and weight watchers and could not lose a pound. I would just gain. When I went in mid September of 2012 I get it removed I weighed 178. I had many side effects fom the mirena. My doctor did all the blood tests and they all came back fine. I went right on the pill after removal and she told me it may take a few weeks to see any weight loss bc she had seen this before and sure enough in the third week of my pack of pills I lost 10lbs! I am hoping that is just the start! But I went from looking 7 months pregnant all in my belly to somewhat normal again. So good luck to everyone. I know some people it has been great for and others who have hated it.




    [I felt like I was reading my own post when I read this!]
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    I had my Mirena placed at the beginning of September. Days after I started with MFP. No troubles losing weight here!!
  • Psychedelicately
    Psychedelicately Posts: 81 Member
    I was on Mirena and I gained gained gained despite what I did. I got it out a month and a half ago... suddenly I'm losing weight. :)
  • Psychedelicately
    Psychedelicately Posts: 81 Member
    I think Mirena works great for some people, others not so much. You'll know if it doesn't work for you. I felt bloated and gross all the time and I was CONSTANTLY irritable and angry. I got it out and I felt/feel soooo much happier and losing weight isn't impossible anymore!
  • Barbell_Jules
    Barbell_Jules Posts: 358 Member
    I've had my Mirena since November of 2011. Started my weight loss in January of 2012 and right now I am down 54 pounds so it hasn't caused me any issues with that.
  • YaGigi
    YaGigi Posts: 817 Member
    I hate it. Gaiined weight with it and had horrible mood changes all the time. Also had no interest in sex whatsoever, and it's really not normal for me.

    Not using it anymore.
  • lh1626
    lh1626 Posts: 241 Member
    Well...tomorrow is the day! I am scared and excited! I will update my progress and see how it goes.
  • ChasingStarlight
    ChasingStarlight Posts: 424 Member
    Good luck! Bit late now, but I have had a Mirena since Feb and I lost weight fine on it.
  • carfamily08
    carfamily08 Posts: 179
    I gained 30lbs. very unexpectedly when I had a Mirena put in back in July 2009, by that October I'd gained back all the baby weight I'd lost prior to having it placed at my post partum appointment. During October & November I had some tests run (thyroid function) which all came back fine, went on a good diet/exercise plan and the numbers should have indicated a slow loss but nothing. I had my Mirena taken out in early December and almost immediately started dropping weight. I dropped about 10-15 pounds before I got pregnant with my 2nd in January.

    I have a paraguard now after baby #3 and I love it. I'm still breastfeeding so my periods are still super light but I've lost 16 pounds in about 7 weeks since I started really kicking my butt into gear with the weight loss thing.

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