Mirena Coil & depression

[Christel]

Can anyone help me please? Since my lap surgery for endo & endometriomas , where I also had a mirena fitted, I've felt very depressed.

I'm crying all the time. I have suffered badly with depression on & off for years but have been fine for about a year so I'm really worried it's connected to the mirena.

Please help/advise .

[Impatient]

It might be the mirena, but post op depression is so common too. As that happens regardless of the operation and the meds, male or female, it has to be considered as part and parcel of a general anaesthetic and the trauma that your body has been put through,and is going through as a result of what ever was done to it and the healing process, and is more likely to be the cause than the mirena itself ( i am not ruling out the mirena- but post op depression is statistically more likely/)

Having said that, there is help available for post op depression, as with all forms of depression and the first step is to discuss it with yor GP and probably next step get back on anti-depressants. Recognising that you are slipping back in to depression is so important and don't let it slip back any further because it will, if you leave it to get worse.

If you aready know how much better you can feel in yourself after a course of AD meds for a few months then I am sending you (and this isn't meant to hurt in any way)

a cyber boot up the bum to get back to the Doc and back on tablets again.

There are different kinds of depression, different causes of depression and different ways of addressing it too. In all cases leaving it to get better by itself is the longest route to recovery. If you are prone to it anyway (and some of us are), it really doesn't take much stress, emotionally or physically, to start heading back in to the doldrums of depression. We are fragile souls and operations (regardless of what they are for) are notorious for causing post op depression.

There is a chance it could be the change in hormone balance from the mirena and this could settle down once the mirena has kicked in and stopped your periods. It doesn't work for everyone, and not all women can put up with that till it does get to work, but if you can hold on to the mirena till it really does have a chance to make an improvement, it could make such a difference and hopefully will.

Because it could be either the op or the mirena and neither you, nor I, knows which, and nor will the Doc, it is probably best to get on the AD tablets for a while. By the time the mirena does get to work, you probably won't be needing the AD tablets by then anyway and the mirena should level out your mood too, as you won't be having the fluctuations from periods and period pains complicating things.

Please call GP today, and get an appointment as soon as poss, you might need a double appointment if you want to dicuss all the issues as a normal appointment doesn't give you much time. If you had a post op infection you would visit the GP and this is no different in needing medical help to get through.

Hugs to you.

[Christel]

Hi there.

Thank you very much . You are always very helpful.

The last thing I want to do is go back on AD meds. I was on them 20 years & free of them for 6 months now . If I hadn't come off them I would not have found out I have Endo .

Coming off them was incredibly hard , I had dreadful withdrawal for 2 months .

I didn't know about post surgery depression so just hearing that has made me feel a bit more level .

I slept till gone 2 but have to go back to work tomorrow which is filling me with dread.

Also having a lot of cramps today . Still very swollen but I understand that can last well over a month.

[Impatient in reply to Christel]

Ah yes, after 20 years of them every day you probably were thrilled when you did manage to come off them, and be clear of them

and i do understand how worrying it must be to contemplate having to use them again so soon. We are fragile things, us lot who are prone to depression and contemplating going back on them is a significant decision when you had such a hard time with the withdrawel last time, but it does offer you the quicker road to recovery and is an option.

~stay strong as you can, avoid anything emotional and stressful (good and bad, funny and sad) as that depletes the scarce seratonin levels even further. Best of Luck and i hope it does settle down rapidly and you can return to a normal you asap.

[Ria29]

I have been an emotion wreck since having my coil fitted 2 weeks ago. On the plus side I now have a sex drive, sex isnt hurting and i am finding it enjoyable. (first time for everything),

I hate all these birthcontrol methods and they way they can mess with us. My fav was the implant, not weightgain, no dresspion, no pms, no periods, (and no sex drive), cant win them all.

I have been thinking about going to the doctor re the coil and depression but I cant bare the idea that they will suggest removing it as it hurt so much putting it in.

[Christel]

Thank you both ladies . Sorry for slow response. I had to go back to work on Friday which really drained me. I've not used any birth controll for about 20 years. Every type of the pill made me put on a lot of weight & seemed to be terrible all round for me.

I really feel I was pushed into having the coil & I'm already panicking about having it removed (if I do) as having a smear has not been possible due to pain.