Interesting results so far.

Well, here I am, 3:40 AM writing a blog with no idea if anyone will see it or care.  But, I suppose it's a good way for me to keep track of things, and if others see it and are interested in sharing along the way, well I've never been known to be a shy person, so that works for me.

A little bit of info about me.  My name is Ali, I am 43 years old, have 4 kids and have been married to my best friend for almost 21 years now.  After baby #4 (he is now 6 years old) I found it harder and harder to remember things because I was too busy chasing after 4 kids (things like taking those pesky birth control pills).  Well, we felt plenty blessed with our 4 kids and so we knew we needed something more to ensure we didn't need to run out and repurchase all of those baby items we had just sold at our last yard sale.  So, when I went in for my annual exam my provider suggested I try the Mirena IUD.  She said it released a low dose hormone, was good for 5 years and had virtually no side effects, and the best part...many women stopped getting periods, and that was just fine by me!

So, about 4 years ago I went ahead and had a Mirena inserted.  Within a couple of months I started developing cystic acne and the dermatologist I saw linked it back to the Mirena.  My provider who inserted it insisted it was not the Mirena and even called me back a week after I approached her about it and said she had been in touch with the manufacturer about it and they too reassured her it had nothing to do with the Mirena.    Over the next 4 years I developed other problems such as increase in the cystic acne, insulin resistance, I had to have my gallbladder removed after a severe attack (I mentioned to my provider at my annual exam after the first year of the Mirena that I thought I was having gallbladder attacks and she said I didn't fit the profile and dismissed it as gas pain), increase in facial hair, sudden weight gain and a few other quirky things here and there.  Prior to that I was in great shape and had even run some marathons.  At any rate after being told with every new health issue that I "did not fit the profile" for someone to have developed it, I started researching the Mirena more and more and what I found was tons of complaints from women like me about similar problems that they developed since having the Mirena IUD inserted, many linking it to the synthetic hormone used (Levonorgestrel).  So I went in about 12 days ago and had it removed.  I am going to track any changes I may notice since having it removed on this blog.  Please feel free to share any experiences you may have had with the Mirena as well.

So far, 12 days later the cystic acne is completely gone on my back and has cleared up 90% on my face!  Unbelievable!  For the past 4 years I have been on steady doses of antibiotics for months at a time, retina-A, spent hundreds of dollars on products such as Proactive and Murad, not to mention all the money spent on super good concealer and other make up.  The whole time I was told it could never be the Mirena.  I find it highly unlikely that it was a coincidence that it developed shortly after the Mirena was inserted, stayed steady for 4 years and then cleared up within days of having it removed.  I will see if I can post some pictures for you all to see.  If the pics show up they are from about 3 months ago, 2 months ago, one month ago (and that is how my face has pretty consistently looked for the past 4 years), followed by the last two which are one week after the Mirena was removed and 11 days after it was removed.  HUGE difference!

I am not wearing make up in any of them, and I took them all with my phone so the quality would be the same.  Some of the acne would stay in the same spot for months on end!!!  I wish I had taken pictures of my back because the results there are just as dramatic.

So far I would dare say that this proves the cystic acne was INDEED a result of the Mirena!

My gallbladder is gone, so I can only go by what I am reading out there and assume that too was a result of this nasty device.  I'm curious to see if it affects my insulin resistance, weight gain, and other issues.