Mirena Crash Before Removal?

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I feel like I am going crazy. I have had the Mirena IUD for over 6 years now, but the past few months, I have seen a huge increase in side effects that seem to be directly tied to my IUD. I am wondering if it is expiring, and that has been causing these issues. My GP says he doesn't know if they are connected, but I have only ever had these symptoms when I was previously on a different form of birth control whose hormone levels just did not work for me personally.

I have been getting so much painful and inflamed hormonal acne. I have always had clear skin that has responded well to standard acne treatment, but this is different. It only appears during my luteal phase and in areas that I wouldn't typically get acne, like my cheeks. I am also experiencing heavy spotting and breakthrough bleeding quite consistently throughout the month. I often think I have gotten my period early because the breakthrough bleeding extends for multiple days, but then I end up getting my actual period when it was scheduled to arrive.

I also am feeling like it is impacting my mental state. I feel like I am victorian woman experiencing fits of hysteria. I just feel a little nuts, oscillating between depression, mania and rage. This is soooo out of the ordinary for me, I am going through a lot in my personal life right now, so I originally chalked it up to that, but it seems to be very inline with my luteal phase and when I am on my period. These emotions seem to come in sudden bursts and be triggered by the smallest things, like being cut off in traffic or realizing I am out of milk. I then get 2 weeks where I am back to normal.

Has anybody experienced this? My doctor doesn't want to remove the IUD "early" unless I am going to have it replaced, but I just want to be off birth control for a while.

Posted Feb 22, 2026, 5:03 PM UTC

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