Pain throughout cycle after switching Mirena for Kyleena

Moderators: talkhealth, Geckoella

Post Reply
2 posts
ukefromtheyukon
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2020 10:53 am
Quote

by ukefromtheyukon on Sun Jan 12, 2020 12:04 pm

Pain throughout cycle after switching Mirena for Kyleena

I had a Mirena for 5 years, and when it was time replace it the GP recommended I go for Kyleena because that is the typical recommendation for a 22yo. I repeated that I wanted a Mirena because I knew it worked well for me, and I felt like I was pressured into a Kyleena by a practitioner.
A few weeks later I had the Mirena removed and Kyleena inserted at a gyno clinic because my strings were too short for the GP to remove. After I had my pants back on the gyno remembered that we should have done a test for infections, and we skipped it.

When I had the Mirena inserted (July 2014) it was relatively painless and recovery took a day or two. I never had a period again for 5 years, my cyclical cramps were minor (dull lower back pain only for a few days.) Before Mirena I also experienced minor cramps. I was very satisfied with my first IUD. Once during a routine STI test (2017) (for which I had no symptoms, btw) I showed positive for bacterial vaginosis, which is apparently fairly normal for IUD havers. Since it wasn't a problem, the doc said I didn't need treatment if I didn't want it.

When I had the Kyleena inserted (May 2019), it was bad. It hurt to take the old one out, to put the new one in, to walk away from the office. I bled for days and couldn't do much but lay in bed because of the pain. I began to have periods again. My cycle became filled with cramps and pain that I had never had before in my life: not only lower back cramps, but pain in my lower abdomen on the front and in my ovaries. These symptoms are persistent throughout the cycle. eg. I do not only have pain in my ovaries when I would be ovulating, but at least every few days. Likewise with uterine cramps: not only during the period and PMS. Occasionally I also feel a cramp around my vaginal canal or pubic bone.
Sex is not a problem. Sometimes sex with my partner relieves the symptoms. An aside: I've been monogamous since Oct 2018.

In August 2019 I went to a gyno to talk about my symptoms. I waited a few months to see if my body would adjust to the drop in levonorgestrel. The gyno did a pelvic exam with ultrasound (I can upload the ultrasound images if asked), complemented my perfect egg-donating ovaries, wrote me a prescription for lactobacilli suppositories, and told me to take NSAID painkillers for my symptoms. She basically said that I'm fine, stop worrying about it. However, taking painkillers all the time can't be a good solution. I felt like my concerns weren't respected, and it feels bad to have been told that my problems aren't a problem, if you know what I mean. This made me not want to waste more time and money on more doctors.

In September 2019 I had a UTI, and diagnosis came with a STI and pregnancy test. I was not pregnant, nor did I have any infections. The antibiotics treated the infection just fine.

Oct-Nov-Dec, I experimented with taking 300mg magnesium supplements daily. This seemed to reduce the frequency of pain so bad I was doubled over and crying, but my digestive system never quite adjusted. I didn't consider it to be worth it.

It is now January 2020, and I'm sick and tired of days spent in bed with a hot water bottle feeling useless. It's bad for my mental health and for my relationship. I also believe that taking painkillers often is not good.
For the past few months I am only feeling cramps in my left ovary (it used to alternate) and pain is becoming more frequent and worse. My periods have shortened from 3-4 days to 1-2, and spaced further apart.

I have been travelling since 2018, so I don't have the option of seeing the same doctor repeatedly. Also, fruitless visits such as the one in August are too expensive for me to pay out of pocket.


TLDR: After changing IUDs, I have pain in my reproductive system all the time. A gyno brushed off my symptoms and told me to take painkillers.



Any advice, comments, related experience, resources, anything, would be appreciated.
Thank you.

User avatar
talkhealth
Posts: 1782
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 3:29 pm
Quote

by talkhealth on Tue Feb 18, 2020 3:18 pm

Re: Pain throughout cycle after switching Mirena for Kyleena

Hi ukefromtheyukon,

Thank you for posting to the forum. Sorry to hear that you have had a frustrating and painful journey while using the Kyleena IUD. Hopefully you will soon receive some replies from other members who may have had or currently experiencing similar symptoms while using the device.

Unfortunately we are unable to give specific medical advice on individual conditions here, but from 2 - 13 March, we will be having an Online Clinic on Gynaecology. Clinical experts will be available to answer any questions then. Please find a link to the clinic here:

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... y_2020.php

Kind regards
talkhealth
talkhealth
Visit our events page https://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/events

Post Reply
2 posts