While I havent been in exactly your position, my doctor told me that all hormone IUDs (IUSs) are progesterone based, thats linked to androgens and can indeed cause acne. I would definitely have thought that the hormones were entering your blood stream, otherwise they would not be effecting anything in your body (as in, not helping your periods, since the hormone fluctuation and such that tell you to bleed too heavily, or in my case cause pain, are not located solely against your uterus wall).

What exactly was the problem with your periods if you don't mind me asking?

I personally had problems with my periods, and for other reasons can't take hormones, so I opted for a copper IUD. Since that doesn't contain hormones it hasnt been a problem for my skin, although it obviously hasnt helped my extreme period pain (and I do mean extreme, I can blackout/faint/be sick/collapse). I simply deal with that once a month, dont go anywhere for the week and take a lot of painkillers. I'm sure it's not continue-able since I now require a job, but we shall see.

If the problem with your periods wasnt pain, but indeed heavy bleeding (which I'm pretty sure progesterones dont help so that would be weird) or irregularity, that suggests there might be a hormone balance problem anyway, which you could get checked...albeit not with your current IUD in. My Doctor told me they could supplement very low dose hormones to help my pain, lower than even the other IUSs, so you could potentially get a copper IUD, test your hormones, and attempt to correct any other problems that way. Generally progesterone hormones cause acne, but estrogen ones tend to help (like the combined pill).

Oh, and prehaps I should point out that I have been on both a combined, and progesterone only pill before I had my IUD fitted! Obviously there were lengthly lengthy conversations with my Dr about this which is why I know a fair bit about it now!

One of my good friends went on the Mirena and within a year had moderate acne and gained 40 pounds. She has never had more than a pimple or two in her life and has always been skinny. No real lifestyle changes or stressors added. She's now off it and her skin has cleared and the weight is (slowly) coming off.

Mirena is a pretty low dose of progesterone, but it can definitely affect you negatively if you're sensitive to it.

I'm also on a copper IUD like ClearDreaming and love it. It took me 3 months for my periods to adjust though. Just a side note, if you do look into getting a copper IUD instead, please get it inserted by an IUD specialist. IUDs are very hard to insert and I wouldn't count on being lucky. I had mine inserted by a nurse who only does IUDs and has inserted thousands. My relative had an IUD inserted by an experienced OB/GYN in the doctor's office next door to mine, who was not an IUD specialist....my relative hemorraghed so bad she had to have hers removed. Skill of insertion is everything in how well your IUD works.

i get really bad cramping around my period like i said, i'm a full time grad student, so it's not like i can stay in bed anytime im not feeling well. I use to be on the pill, but i tend to forget to take it, and i have sucky insurance so it got expensive. i figured since i'm not planning on having children for a long while, the mirena seemed like a good option. i did research, and i read that the hormones are localized in the uterus. I never associated my previous acne with hormones, so i wasn't too worried about it. Now i'm wondering if i should get it removed once im done with the accutane. i sure as heck wouldn't want to go through a third round!

Thanks for your response! I might look into switching to the copper IUD, but heavy bleeding and cramps might be just as bad as acne.

While I havent been in exactly your position, my doctor told me that all hormone IUDs (IUSs) are progesterone based, thats linked to androgens and can indeed cause acne. I would definitely have thought that the hormones were entering your blood stream, otherwise they would not be effecting anything in your body (as in, not helping your periods, since the hormone fluctuation and such that tell you to bleed too heavily, or in my case cause pain, are not located solely against your uterus wall).

 

What exactly was the problem with your periods if you don't mind me asking?

 

I personally had problems with my periods, and for other reasons can't take hormones, so I opted for a copper IUD. Since that doesn't contain hormones it hasnt been a problem for my skin, although it obviously hasnt helped my extreme period pain (and I do mean extreme, I can blackout/faint/be sick/collapse). I simply deal with that once a month, dont go anywhere for the week and take a lot of painkillers. I'm sure it's not continue-able since I now require a job, but we shall see.

 

If the problem with your periods wasnt pain, but indeed heavy bleeding (which I'm pretty sure progesterones dont help so that would be weird) or irregularity, that suggests there might be a hormone balance problem anyway, which you could get checked...albeit not with your current IUD in. My Doctor told me they could supplement very low dose hormones to help my pain, lower than even the other IUSs, so you could potentially get a copper IUD, test your hormones, and attempt to correct any other problems that way. Generally progesterone hormones cause acne, but estrogen ones tend to help (like the combined pill).

 

Oh, and prehaps I should point out that I have been on both a combined, and progesterone only pill before I had my IUD fitted! Obviously there were lengthly lengthy conversations with my Dr about this which is why I know a fair bit about it now!

 

Well if it makes you feel any better my Dr said it should only effect your periods for the first 3 months, she told me I could get it taken out the same day if it made my periods worse. I've had one period since I've had it fitted and it hasnt been heavier or more painful (ha, as if that would be possible). But it's hard to tell with these things isn't it, they effect everyone differently!

No Dr before the one I've had now has ever taken my period pain seriously, but I was once shoo-ed way with something I think was called Methanamic acid, so they obvious can give you different painkillers if you wanted to go down that route later too, as well or instead of some sort of hormoney thing. Sometimes I hate being a girl, I totally understand your stress, the progesterone pill made me break out like crazy mad, I was not impressed.

I don't know if you ever decided what to do about your Mirena, but I have had a somewhat negative experience with the Mirena that I will share, in case it the information should be useful. First, a little about my situation before the Mirena:

light, regular periods

moderate acne when untreated (ie, no benzoil peroxide, antibiotics, or other meds/creams)

very thin and energetic, very active (mountain running, marathons, ice climbing, etc)

moderate emotional lability related to hormones (ie, some PMS but not too crazy)

very strong sex drive

with Mirena

no periods, but frequent spotting

horrible acne, even when using regimen gel, salycylic acid, clindamicin gel, and spironolactone

still thin (but gained 15 lbs) NO energy. sleep 10 hours a night and still exhausted

blah emotionally, to absolutely teary. I cry at commercials now. also, can't concentrate on anything.

virtually no sex drive, even though I am very in love with my very attractive partner

I got my first Mirena 11 years ago...at first I loved it (no nausea, no periods, don't have to remember to take a pill...) but my skin was kind of bad after it was inserted (weird acne on my scalp and back, which I'd never really had), really oily skin. So I went on spironolactone and used topical gels and ointments and generally I liked having the IUD. I didn't notice immediate weight gain or lack of energy, but I did notice a marked decrease in libido.

Fast forward 5 years to IUD #2: the worst breakout I've ever had, lasting 6 months to a year (it's been 5 years and I still have some scars on my back). Again, I didn't realize what caused the breakout (there had been 2 weeks in between removal of one and insertion of the other, so I thought that was the cause of the breakout).

Fast forward another 5 years...now I have worse acne than I've ever had, weight gain of at least 10 pounds even though I bike and run at least 50 miles a week, and exhaustion beyond what I've ever experienced. Also, weird belly fat and abdominal bloating that made me look pregnant. Still, it was time for IUD #3 (I really don't want kids!) I didn't connect any of the dots until after the insertion. within a week you could have filled a small refinery with the oil from my skin. my back instantly broke out, as well as my scalp. Every day since I had it put in, there are wads of hair clogging my drain after a shower. I had thought my hair had gotten thinner over the years, but hey, I'm 36 now so I thought I was just getting old. But I'd noticed that it had gotten thicker towards the end of the last 5 years (maybe as the progesterone levels decreased). But all of that new growth was reversed when it all fell out...also, I have had the worst case of the blahs ever. don't want to go anywhere or do anything, just eat and sleep. and I have the worst sugar cravings imaginable. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I now have several ovarian cysts...supposedly benign but still a little concerning.

After I realized what was going on, I went straight to my NP and had her take the thing out. (that was today) I've been researching side effects for Mirena, as well as the amount of time it takes to return to normal. Aside from the acne side effects of Mirena, there are a lot of horror stories out there about the "Mirena Crash" experienced post removal. Just because some women experience this, doesn't mean that you would have the same experience, but I feel that it would have been nice to know about all these possible side effects 11 years ago. Some women have never felt the same after removal, others have felt normal after one month. My point in sharing this with you is to give you a different perspective than what your NP or OB might have shared. For some women, the Mirena is amazing, for others it's a nightmare.

Perhaps for you, an oral BCP like Ortho Tri Cyclen would be better (could control the bleeding but also help with acne).

I hope that by now you have addressed the issue and are happily able to focus on graduate school!

The mirena causes serious damage to the female body, and the only way to get rid of these side effects for good is to remove the mirena and take natural supplements, herbs and foods and consider natural therapies that will eliminate estrogen dominance, help restore the balance of progesterone and estrogen hormones, and detoxify the body from all the toxins present in mirena such as silicone and copper. mirenadetox has been immensely helpful to my recovery and I seriously recommend it

I had the Mirena IUD and it never caused any acne for me personally. I did gain weight though, which I tend to do from any birth control. I was on depo and that's how I gained a majority of my weight. I switched over to mirena in hopes that the lower dose hormones would not cause any more weight gain. Unfortunately that didn't make a difference, so I had it removed. Finally now I am losing weight slowly.

My dermatologist did warn me that it can affect acne, in most cases making it worse, never better in her experience. I would recommend you get it removed and try the copper IUD instead. I would personally rather have a painful period then have to do Accutane again. That's all relative though.

I think it's no coincidence that after having it inserted you broke out to the point of Accutane being treatment option for you. I would imagine that once the you finish your course it will only be a matter of time before you acne returns, if the mirena is left in. It's a bummer I know because it is a great birth control option. That's my two cents good luck with your Accutane course! I hope that your able to get everything under control with the birth control and the period pain as well. Being a woman sure has it's disadvantages at times doesn't it.

I've used Mirena twice now, and both times my acne became severe. Over the counter products are doing nothing. My dermatologist started me on Minocycline to help with the deep cystic acne. But I'm going to start the accutane.

Other than the severe acne, the IUD has worked great for me. I've been told that normal healthy, thinner woman will eventually not have periods on Mirena which was true for me the first time around.

I was told the Mirena would make my periods much lighter and wasn't questioned about past acne and the doctors knew I had Hashimoto's. Instead I had constant bleeding.....usual heavy. I went to the doctor for removal at 4 months and they said I hadn't tried it long enough. I bled solidly for 7 months and finally had it removed. I realized cystic acne breakouts were due to the progesterone in the Mirena. I also gained about 20 pounds. I've had it out a month. I stopped bleeding and prior to my first normal period had the acne flare on my entire chin. I'm waiting on blood tests but am told I had way to much of the progesterone and it takes two months to detoxify and will be gradual. Please give any suggestions on getting hormones balanced and weight loss post Mirena. Thanks!

I'm having the worst acne of my life now that I am on Mirena. I am turning 28 and just surpassed the 1 yr mark in Nov. I am no longer having periods. Today, I started having some cramping, but no blood yet.

My BC history is as follows: Age 13 ortho evera or tricyclin pills made me very ill, the patch until the ring came out, the ring for years, Paragard for 2 yrs until my body rejected it, briefly back on the ring, then Mirena.

I like the idea of no maintenance the IUDs provide. I didn't like the idea of hormones at first, so I went with Paragard. I had many of the usual side effects which I struggled through until the cramps became daily and severe. It turned out it was falling out.

After realizing my new distaste for the ring, I decided to try Mirena.

There must have been some misunderstanding because I thought it was supposed to help with acne not give me the worst acne to date! Not having a period is kind of nice, but I occasionally cramp though nothing like Paragard when I'd fall to the floor in pain.

I was briefly on accutane prior to Mirena and I lost hearing in one ear (regained) and had pressure in my head (still have it), so after 2 pills, I quit that.

My skin has become oily yet dry. Its pretty gross. I stopped moisturuzing because of the ridiculousness, I feel like all of my pores have become huge especially on my lower T zone nose chin cheeks.

So that's not an option for me.

I have also gone from 120/125lbs-to almost 200 in the year I have had it. I am not sure if thus is outrageous side effect wise, but am contemplating removing it. I used to be a model, needless to say, I am not getting much work anymore. Any suggestions?

I got my Mirena almost four months ago and have no periods (a bit of spotting), lost almost five pounds and have same sex drive/emotional level as before! I mostly love it, except for my acne has all come back

I was on a pretty heavy dose of birth control pills for almost five years and gained quite a bit of weight, before we realized my migraines were triggered by the estrogen in BCP and she wanted me to stop taking the pills. The pills were doing wonders for my acne and I washed my face twice a day and put Epiduo on if a pimple was coming up. It was all so easy, I forgot why I went on the pill in the first place (I couldn't imagine that my acne was that bad). Since Mirena has localized hormones all my hormonal acne is back and worse than ever. I have it on my back/ shoulders and jawlines and my skin is so oily! I love Mirena so am not giving up yet, but my gyno did not stress the acne side effects enough

Now I went to the derm and I'm on week two of Spironolactone.

Hey ladies I'm about to turn 25 and have had my Mirena in for about 3yrs. And completed my second round of Accutane about 1 and half yrs ago.

A brief little sum up of my past:

I had light acne on my face, back, and upper right arm in high school during the usual puberty ages when teenagers tend to have flare ups. My derm at the time had recommended Accutane but I wasn't too comfortable with it especially with my acne not being all that bad.

Unfortunately I am and always have been extremely anal about my skin and freak out over any bumps on it. Also I am a terrible picker so no pimple has ever stood a chance of surviving

When I was 21 I started to get cystic achne on my face and back and due to my need to kill all pimples I was beginning to get scars and blemishes. I still didn't have a severe case of acne but I was on the highest dose of acne meds out and had tried all topical, prescription & over the counter, medications that were out. My new derm recommended Accutane and said that he was 99.9% sure this would clear up everything for me. I decided that I would give it a go esp after of all the positive outcomes I had heard.

I did amazing while I was on Accutane, I literally counted my pimples during the treatment and I only had 2!! Besides the little bumps on my arm never clearing up the only negative effect I had was that I started to get Malasma, better known as "the mask of pregnancy", although I wasn't pregnant. They said I was having a reaction to my birth control and needed to go on something with less progesterone and estrogen in it. My best option was the IUD Mirena. After having the IUD inserted I was on my way to having clear skin.

Fast forward 3 months post Accutane and I started to have little pimples here and there and then I started getting cysts again. I begged my derm to put me back on Accutane but he refused telling me I had to wait at least a year bc it might just be side effects of coming off the meds and could clear up after the meds were all out of my system.

In the meantime I went and saw a specialist bc my derms solution wasn't satisfying for me. The specialist told me that what was on my arm was something called Karatosis Pilarious and that it came from overly dry skin. So no surprise that Accutane didn't help make it go away. Either way he to told me I had to wait a year.

About a year and a half later and my acne back on my face I went back to my childhood derm and he put me on Accutane.

Round 2:

within 3 weeks I got mono for the second time, it's not true that if u have it once you'll never get it again, and had such a bad case of it I had to go on steroids to keep my throat from swelling closed. My derm said there was no way the mono flared up from the Accuatne so I continued my treatment. It took about 2 months and intense hormonal treatment to get my immune system back to a decent level after the mono. And my skin was still in horrible condition but in a whole new kind of way. If I even attempted to pick on it my skin would slide and tear off my face leaving me with oozing/bleeding tears all over my face. And on top of that the little bumps that were once only on my right upper arm had now spread over both my arms, onto my butt, and straight down my legs. My derm continued to reassure me that this wasn't unusual for the second round of Accutane to not affect me like the first round did and that I should finish the treatment. So I did....

A few months after getting off the Accutane nothing had changed and I now had the strangest acne-like bumps all over me. I started seeing as many doctors as I could bc the bumps were getting worse and beginning to go onto my neck, chest, face and scalp. They were getting severely infected, would ooze and crust up and I was beginning to get scarred that the infections were in my blood. After doing every test known to man and seeing every doctor and specialist I could I have been left with no answers.

I started to wonder if maybe my IUD was causing all this but my GYN said she had never heard of this kind of reaction so I tossed that idea out bc I absolutely love my IUD.

It's been 2 1/2 years now that this skin condition, that seems to be undetectable to all tests, has been spreading all over my body and leaving me with scars and blemishes everywhere. I used to model and would have loved to have made a career out of it but my skin literally has begun to ruin my life. I stopped all prescriptions I was on and have been off them for about a year, I Have a very balanced diet and take probiotics and vitamins everyday. I now see a homeopathic doctor that gives me IVs and blood ozone treatments twice a week every week and I've been doing this for about 3 months. It seems to help but only temporarily and stress is a major cause for flare ups with me and like everyone else's lives, life is stressful. And it's not as simple as "try to reduce your stress levels" which I've been told by all of my many doctors.

My new doctor says he needs to reset my immune system and this will take time. Unfortunately within the past 2 weeks all the progress I thought we were making reversed and my skin has flared up the worst it ever has. My only thought after reading and hearing about all these horrifying Mirena/skin stories is that my IUD might just be what is causing all my problems I plan on having it removed next week and am soo depressed about it but fingers crossed it's the one solution that will help. I will keep you all updated on the results.

If anyone else has had similar skin problems due to their Mirena or to Accutane please let me know I am desperate for answers and would love to hear if you've found a solution.

Hello, I am new on this forum. I am 45 year a old and have had body acne starting with my back from approx the age of 40 - which corrsponds to when I got the mirena. It has really been getting me down and i decided to ask for accutane - after 2 years of asking one doctor finally agreed after I told him that i was going to order over internet if i didnt get a prescription from a doctor. I have been taking it for approx 2 months (10mg) and the back has cleared up but still have it on my arms and thighs!! Al though milder I think. However

A dermatologist did believe there could be a link with the mirena as she has seen other cases - so so Much for it not entering the bloodstream as per my gyne! So i am getting it out next week even if it means me having to put up with heavy periods! I hope this Will be the solution as i feel quite if not very depressed over it. Wearing long sleeves etc and not daring to show myself In a bathing suit which my children do not understand. I am sincerely looking forward to the winter. But i am reassured by your posts establishing a connection between mirena and acne. Isnt it sad that even the doctors dont know what theyre talking about.

Hi guys
I currently have a mirena coil for my endometriosis. I started getting hormonal acne a few months after I got it. The doctors tried telling me it wasn't the coil but I never had these issues before I took any hormonal pills etc or even when I was on a combined pill. After about a year of battling with the doctors and nearly going on accutane they decided to try giving me yasmin (combined pill) within two weeks my acne had gone but it couldn't possibly have been caused by the miracle coil....
Apparently it's safe to have the coil and pill at the same time. I'm getting a lot of hormones but my endometriosis issues seem under wraps and my acne has gone.

1) I'm really sick of the lies we're being told from doctors. Not in your bloodstream. That's ridiculous...
2) Mirena is levonorgestrel. The same as was used in Norplant back in the 80s. They took it off the market because of the side effects. Women died. The crap is scary. I refused to let my doctor put one in me. Instead, I have the copper IUD, Paragard. No hormones. 10 years instead of 5. Yippee.

How i wish i had researched more about mirena before i got it(Aug 2014). I really had gotten to a point where i thought my body was broken down beyond repair( 30 years old). I know this is 5years since the original post but hopefully this helps someone out there. Here are the problems i noticed with mirena:
1.Unretractable Cystic acne.
My acne responded well to proactiv prior to having it in. Actually, i had gotten to a point after the birth of my last born, i didnt need to use it at all. After having it in, i noticed shortly after that i started to break out again. First it was moderate, then the angry, pus-filled cysts started to appear. NOTHING i did helped, from clean eating to essential oils to 1 gal of h20 a day, multivits with probio and omega, to $100 worth of OTC products.
2.Hair loss (and the hair that remained had serious mid-shaft splits from the root. I had cut it all off only to grow with more mid shaft splits!) ugh. And the mysterious bald spots. I thought at first it was traction alopecia but after chopping all my hair off, those areas didnt grow and i started noticing new bald spots. My scalp couldnt stay moisturizef.
3. (Belly) fat gain. I cant say i gained weight since it didnt really show on the scale. What happened is i became more flabby. Flabs everywhere!!( no offense to anyone) i have never seen so much adipose tissue on my body. Mostly in the trunk area. On a good day i would not be bloated, on a bad day, i looked like i was pregnant. I worked out faithfully for several months( am talking about HIIT, cardio and weights) only to see a 2lb drop in weight.
4. Moodiness tinged with times of serious depression. I really didnt know what was going on in my life, everything seemed to have been unravelling. I would be angry n hostile without knowing exactly why which was so uncharacteristic of me.
So please, if u r thinking of getting mirena, run. Run as fast as your legs can carry you. Matter of fact, run for the hills!!

p.s. I did get the whole spill about it not being systemic (blood stream) that the hormones would stay localised in my uterus. And i believed it ;(

I waned to add my experience here in case it will help anyone else. I turned to these forums when all hell broke loose on my face after getting Mirena, and if nothing else, they provided a sense of community and comfort that I wasn't the only one.

My 2016 timeline went like this:

I got my Mirena inserted in Feb 2016 and all went fine, minus the insane amount of pain getting it inserted. Within about a month or two my face started breaking out constantly into painful acne. I have never had perfect skin, but I had also never experienced anything like this either. It was incredibly depressing and I avoided leaving my house as much as possible because I was so ashamed. No matter what I did or tried, I woke up with big new pimples and cysts all over my cheeks, jawline, forehead, and neck every single day. None of my old skin routines were helping at all and it was very hard to conceal.

I read some forums that said it might just take your body about 6 months to adjust, so I figured I would wait until that point to see if it got better.

After 7 months, and being in a wedding with the worst acne I had experienced thus far, I was done. I finally womaned up and went to the derm. I had VERY negative experiences with my past derm which was why I put it off so long, silly I know.

This new derm was amazing, she is my new hero in fact. She said that getting this kind of acne with a Mirena is very common (despite what the OBGYN docs say), and that she was going to start me on 100mg of Spironolactione and .1% Tretanoin.

Ladies, my skin started clearing up almost instantly. I stopped having breakouts after starting the pills. She did warn that it would probably get worse for about a month before getting matter as the medication would cause my skin to purge, but I did not experience that.

This was October 2016. By December, my skin was totally clear, minus the remaining acne scars and a few little weird bumps along the jawline.

In January 2017 we decided to bump up my dose to 150mg for crystal clear skin, and with the continued use of the Tretanoin, the scarring is almost gone too. I am so thankful every day to have clear skin now, I even get compliments on it. I know what a miserable struggle it is to face the world with disfiguring acne, and I thought there was no end in sight.

I hope this helps even just one of you beautiful souls! Don't lose hope!

I've done some research on the Mirena and i believe it is a huge cause for acne, and other problems. I had the Mirena in for about 3 in a half years. I've had extreme belly bloating to the point where I look pregnant and i am constantly getting asked if iam pregnant. (probably because of all the blood trapped in the stomach) I have severe acne were I have 20 pimples on my face as of right now. I even have acne medication I've been using that's prescribed from the doctor, that hasn't been working. I wash my face twice a day, using non oily lotion. I drink so much water it's crazy, I try and consume dairy in moderation and eat fruits and vegetables. And as you know stress is a big trigger for acne, so that is something I don't really do to much of. ( Thankyou God for his helping me of that) So I have tried everything and recently I've done some research on the mirena and concluded it is the mirena that is causing my acne, and belly bloating. I noticed I also am in the beginning cycle of my period and my face is now completely full of acne, I have one on my check that is so huge and gross. I'm getting my mirena removed as soon as possible. NEVER getting anything similar to this or even taking any other forms of birth controls, I'm going to be all natural, period and all.

It's deffinitely mirena that's causing your acne. If you need birth control ( i realize you say you don't think you want to use bcanymore)... but if you do need to use it then use YAZ OR YASMIN. They contain drosperinone which is a type of progestin that blocks DHT receptors.

First of all, before you get mirena, know your body. My body always reacted strongly to toxins and different changes. Like bloating, constipation or acne after eating to much sugar/salt/lipids... you will know of that is your case.

so the first month with Mirena was really painful. Uteral cramps at every end of the day and some spotting. From the first month I completely lost my period. I also completely lost my libido, which has never been so strong as I had always took hormones as birth control (previously on pills) 

for the past 2 years I had mild acne like 3-4 pimples every month. But with Mirena, my face was covered with it. Mostly around my mouth and on my forehead (but then it spread to my cheeks) I lost all my self confidence. I removed mirena after 6 months and my doctor gave me minocycline 500mg 2x a day + topical/acid cream. 

I tried A LOT of cleanser/hydrating cream/mask/sun protector but my skin always reacted with redness, irritation and dryness. Then I found the ‰minence products. I bought the beggening package Clean Skin and my skin is now so much better. Please ladies give this brand a try it is 100% natural and feels sooooo good. At the same time I took caps of Vitamin A, Zinc and Gattilier tree + detox tea every night and I slowly recover. 4 months after I removed it, I have maybe 2 new pimples every week, but still have so many scares... 

I am now on IUD Mona Lisa and I didnt have a single cramp after its instalation + my libido has never been this strong
it's 100% natural, no hormones, and cost pennies comparatevly to Mirena!

1st picture is 1 week after the installation of mirena
2 nd picture is 1 month after REMOVING of mirena
3 is 4 months after the removing ...

On 10/07/2012 at 6:33 PM, luckymee said:

aloha all

 

Alright, so I know I'm only 23, but I feel like this issue might be more applicable to the "adult" population. More specifically, adult women. I had very mild, but extremely persistent acne that started when i was 18. A year later, a derm finally put me on accutane (highest dose was 40mg). It went great and my skin responded fabulously. Fast forward to 5 months ago. I decided to get the IUD mirena. It's got very low hormones (that i needed for my horrible periods) which are slowly released. According to my doctor, these hormones are released into the uterus, and do not enter the blood stream. A month after having it inserted, I started breaking out like crazy. I couldn't keep it under control. As a full time grad student, I didn't even want to go to class. I contemplated getting it removed, but other than what it's doing to my skin, I love it! I went to my derm and he agreed that he thought it was the mirena causing my acne. It's funny how doctors constantly disagree about the cause of acne! Anyways, have any of you ladies out there experienced this? If so, what did you do? No one i've met with the IUD has had any issues with it. I'm on a second round of accutane at the moment, and it's working great as it did the first time. I'm just scared as soon as i go off of it, the acne will come back because I still have the mirena. BEING A WOMAN CAN BE SO FRUSTRATING!

 

mahalo for reading! have a great day

Hello,
I am having the exact same problem!  
i had severe acne from the age of 15, and it took the doctors until I was 23 to finally refer me to a derma. I was beyond mentally and physically scared from my acne. My face would constantly hurt even if I washed with just warm or cold water. I have tried every product under the sun. Wether hat be medicated or natural. When I finally got to see a dermatologist they put me on Accutane on the highest dosage. The dermatologist was astounded that they took my doctors that many years to refer me. So I took the Accutane, and my skin was amazing! My skin had been clear until last year. I changed my pill because I am living in a different country. This different type of pill caused my skin to flare again! So back on the Accutane and off the pill. I returned back home and got the pill that didn™t cause my skin to flare up. 
Fast forward to this year. I was told I couldn™t take that pill anymore because of he risk of migraines. I was advised that I should get the Mirena due to the low hormonal dosage. I would never get this thing again!
My acne has come back with revenge! This time just as bad as I had it when I was young. I have only had the mirena in for two months and it has already impacted me physically and mentally. I don™t want to go out anywhere because my skin is that bad. I put make up on and nothing helps. my gynaecologist told me to keep it in, and go see a dermatologist to sort out my skin. 
This time I am refusing this. My in was amazing when I was not on any form of contraception. 
So now  I would say that the doctors really don™t know about the effects of the mirena when it comes to acne.

Naomi07d i sympathise with you. I think anytime you deal with hormonal birth control you are at risk of skin issues because it just puts your body in different sorts. i was on the depo shot for a year and had the worst skin of my life during it. got off as soon as i could and i remember after having babies and going back on birth control i wanted to avoid anything that had to do with depo. doctors recommended mirena because it has the "lowest amount of progesterone" (i think thats what its called). but i hated it, literally booked an appointment to have it out a week after it was put in. Am on theortho-evra patch and have no issues at all but i know some have concerns with that because of the oestrogen.

In terms of acne though, I can share my experience in case it helps at all.

I hope this doesn't offend in anyway or come across in the wrong way, I can't recommend any medicine or creams. But I can share my experience in hopes that it might help. I know exactly how you are feeling. Depression and negative thoughts are the worst.

From my own experience it has been fear of acne, the shame that it made me feel, and the belief that it was just a part of my identity after carrying it for so long. As crazy as it might sound, It wasn't until I actually started challenging those thoughts and beliefs internally, that things changed for me.

I had cystic acne for 10 long years (from 15-25) and honestly just thought that was it, there was never a time when I didn't have a pimple on my face. I felt like makeup would make it worse so I didn't always wear it, and then you just feel like everyone is always looking at you like there's something wrong with you. Some would feel sympathetic towards me which just made it even worse and to drive home the fact that there was something wrong with me. i was always in pain, physically and/or mentally. I tried tetracycline in my teens but i didn't want to live on pills for the rest of my life so i didn't continue with it. tried lots of different things from washing my face with sea salt, (dabbing it with dettol - very stupid) applying seudocrem, even using proactiv all the way to the most expensive skin care products with the dermatologist. They either did nothing or only made it worse.

I remember just being 25, had my first baby, and hoped that maybe somehow the change in hormones from pregnancy would like reboot my system and somehow give me clear skin, but that didn't work. And when my daughter looked and pointed at my face asking me what that was... it just made me sink inside. I hated my face. And everyday looking in the mirror, being reminded of what was wrong, just sucked.

I didn't find any miracle product or solution that worked. I diduse wisdom and started drinking more water instead of juice. But that was pretty much the ONLY change in my diet. The big shift really was when I just decided that I was done, I had enough, and I was going to believe that I was healed. I know it's probably a bit out there or sounds too simple, but something just rose up within me, and I decided that I didn't have to identify myself as an acne sufferer anymore. It didn't clear up in my teens like it usually does, so there was nothing else I was waiting for. I just had it. And if it was going to go away, then I had to change what I believed. And so as hard as it was, I just started looking in the mirror and telling myself that I love myself, looking at the acne and saying you are just a symptom, you have no right in my body and you have to leave. And just believing that i had a right to be healed and I wasn't going to be afraid anymore, and I didn't have to carry this "identity" any longer.

Our cells in our body they respond to what we think and what we say, i think this is why depression and negative thoughts can really affect our skin so much. Sometimes its fear that keeps that acne continuing in our body. Because we give so much attention to it. Every time we look in the mirror, it "speaks" to you, and so we feed it with our fears and worry. We're always checking on it, seeing if its still there, if it's gotten any better. It like consumes all our life and thoughts. And then it obviously becomes a circle, with the acne causing more negative thoughts. I read somewhere that whenever we have skin problems, it's almost always related to our thoughts. There is some sort of toxicity in our bodies that is trying to escape, but because of the fear that we attach to the acne, we harbor it in our bodies and it doesn't get to leave. (Of course the condition of our skin obviously correlates to what we are eating as well, but if thats the case then it clears up when rectified). But those other persistent long-seated issues, is something else going on.

Anyways, long story short, after doing that, within 6 weeks everything cleared and I no longer suffer from acne. The only thing I use on my skin is a tea-tree cream once in a while. And It's been 4 years now. I remember finding a video of me from like 8 years ago and I couldn't believe how bad it was. I guess I was just so used to it, but looking back now that my skin is clear, I realise how much it has really changed. Last year my mom actually commented on my skin and that it looks really pretty (that was without any makeup or anything). That has never happened in my life. I thought I was plagued forever but letting go of that fear, and believing that I could be healed is what did it for me.

Not sure if that resonates with you at all, but i'd be happy to answer any questions. And good luck!