Decisions to be made but tired of dealing

I am new here but look forward to the amazing support that seems to be offered. I have been dealing with heavy bleeding for the past 3-4 years. My periods are regular every 26 days or so. The first couple of days of my period are pretty severe with lots of bleeding and clots. I was found to have endometrial simple hyperplasia last winter and since then have had a D&C and 4 endometrial biopsies plus 4 vaginal ultrasounds. I have also taken 4 months of prometrium with pretty much no changes except the feelings of morning sickness. I had 2 polyps removed last winter when they removed the hyperplasia. Last week at my last appointment, they found another polyp that has formed. I also have 2 ovarian cysts that they have been watching and a fibroid that they say is nothing to worry about. The options that they are given me are placing a Mirena IUD or considering hysterectomy. I'm not sure. My thoughts are that the Mirena may help the bleeding (or not) but will do nothing for the pain from the cysts and fibroid so why not just remove them all. I don't know what to do and my anxiety has come back worrying about it. Any thoughts are appreciated.

Have you gotten another opinion? Sometimes that helps. There might be more options. You can always do the hyst later but you can't undo it, so if you're not sure, maybe an alternative would be best to start with. Try as many things, get as many opinions as you need to convince yourself yove done enough and its tight for you. Either way, hope you find a decision you can be happy with.

Hi Sunnylea,

I had mixed results with the Mirena.

I got my first one in Feb. 2002 when my daughter was 6 mo. I started bleeding while I was breastfeeding, and I kept on bleeding for 63 days. My midwife thought my hormones were out of whack so we did the Mirena because I had a history of pain, heavy bleeding, vomiting and general nastiness since I first got my period.

It worked to stop the bleeding. I had one period and a few days of spotting in 6.5 years. I loved my Mirena so much! No bleeding or cramps or PMS! Woo hoot! And then, I had the original replaced with a second one (they last about 5 years).

Within 2 weeks I gained 15 pounds. It took me almost a year to figure out that the following conditions--which almost wrecked my life--were the result of the 2nd Mirena, because they disappeared (except for the weight) when I had it removed:

IBS
Migraine headaches
Edema, esp in my hands, feet and abdomen
Increased/worsened depression and anxiety
Foggy thinking
Weird skin rashes
More frequent UTIs and bladder infections (I had 4 of each in a year)
A pelvic infection

After finding a forum like this one but for Mirenas, I decided to have it removed. All of these symptoms either disappeared or lessened. But within 2 months, my abnormal bleeding started again.

Oh, and by the way, I've had a small posterior fibroid and small ovarian cysts since I was in my 20s, and the Mirena didn't stop those for me. BUT that's my body, not yours. Your body's chemistry is unique to you.

My ob/gyn offered me 4 options for my "hyperplasia without atypia": Mirena, progestin, D&C + BCP (all with frequent biopsies) or hysterectomy. I am choosing the latter, because the progestin makes me a raving B*tch and the Mirena's side effects made my life miserable, but mostly because I know too much about cancer as a cancer science writer, and I've already gone through cancer treatment and I don't want to risk it again.

I know many women who have Mirenas who either love them or hated them. There seems to be no in-between. If I'd never tried the Mirena, I would try it now instead of opting for major surgery that can impact my quality of life permanently. You could very well get relief from it.

Blessings of healing to you,

Lynn

I had the Mirena for 5 years and totally loved it. I had no periods and the only side effect that I had was some back pain. I had the IUD inserted due to the abnormal bleeding I was having and it was worth it for those 5 years. Then after the 5 years it was time to exchange the old one for the new one and that is when all my problems started. I rejected the new one but it took 14 days of severe pain before my body aborted it and my Dr said she has never seen this happen. I went many months of heavy bleeding everyday after that and we started all of the normal testing to prove that the hysterectomy was needed. This process is long and exhausting.

Sounds to me that you owe it to yourself to try the Mirena. The actually procedure is not bad and if it works you may be able to buy yourself 5 years before you have the hysterectomy. I'm not sure of your age but I was in my mid 30's and I was not quite ready for the major surgery at that point in my life. If you chose the hysterectomy I can tell you that this was the best decision I have made.

Best of Luck with your decision. Remember that its your body and you are the only one that can make this decision. You will make the right one for you. Lots of Hugs!!!