Mirena IUD?

I am er/pr negative...had one at diagnosis...had it changed last year. I love it.

I was on the pill when diagnosed and was told to stop it.  My OB doc wanted to place a Mirena IUD but my onc would not ok it.  I ended up having the copper IUD inserted, it contains no hormones.  My periods are a little heavier than before but still bearable.  Maybe this is an option for you.

Alli

I agree with Psych7 about the use of hormones. I did not follow my own rules about not manipulating what nature intended. After my child was born, I had the mirena placed because I thought it was going to make my life of painful and excessive bleeding with my periods improved. About a year later my breast became sore and I felt a lump there.I had a mammogram and ultrasound that showed one of my lymph nodes was big, but I was told to come back in a year. Upon returning 10 months later( i felt the lump was bigger), I was told that there is a suspicious mass there that needs to be biopsied (seems to be beside the lymph node). I have had the mirena in for 2 yeras and four months now. I first felt this after 16 months of use.  I should have removed the device then. I can't help but think the worst and I intend on getting the device out first before I do anything else.

I'm seriously not young enough for this group (I'm 47), but had a discussion with a gynecologist last January about my cycles. I'm still very premenopausal & I can't persuade the husband to get the V and have had some horrific cycles since a rapid stopping of BCP 18 months ago with the BC dx. BCP are a definite no-no because of the hormone levels.

the doctor brought up Mirena for the reason you state- low levels of levinorgestrel that don't circulate in the blood. It is used in the UK to help with tamoxifen SEs....but the FDA label here says it's contraindicated if you've had BC.  I'll see the oncologist again in February and will talk to her.  It's all a mystery/confused mess.

I did a search on Mirena at Medhelp.org.  Some Mirena users complain about weight gain and mood swings.  Two or three mentioned breast tenderness or discomfort as well.  They all attributed to Mirena.  Don't know their age or specific conditions.  BC is a hormone-sensitive cancer, but is it sensitive enough to react to even local effective hormone in Mirena?  Or the official literature missed something?

In response to your question yf010,you are right that the low doses of progersterone should  THEORETICALLY not enter your blood stream. The problem with this is that nothing can be 100%. We each have our own sensitivities to medications and ability to absorb more drug than others. If the progesterone is not getting into your blood stream, then how do you explain symptoms associated with the product that it should not cause? Those symptoms aren't related to hormones in the uterus (mood swings, breast tenderness, weight gain for example).

Look at the FDA product information report on Mirena and you will see that the difference with mirena vs the implant norplant and an oral contraceptive is purely that the Mirena doses released in the blood are less than the other products. There is a constant low level of the progesterone drug in the blood with mirena, versus peaks and troughs associated with the pill or the implantable progesterone device. There is a clear contraindication in women with "known or suspected carcinoma of the breast".

The document can be found at www.fda.gov/medwatch/SAFETY/2008/May_PI/Mirena_PI.pdf

So far, there have been reports of people being diagnosed with breast cancer who have used the mirena product. There is no proven link between the two, but that will be diffucult to prove in any event. It will take years of women being reported to have cancer who have used the product and someone taking the time to put the pieces together to find a strong link.  We all need to do our own homework, and satisfy ourselves that we are comfortable with the information we have been given. If after you read everything and you are OK with leaving it in, then leave it in. If not, then take it out.

I hope this helps. As an aside, I feel much better with the device removed-so it was the right decision for me. We need to be own own advocates and not soley rely on the information being given to us. After all, doctors are humans too - they don't know it all and they can make mistakes. We need to take responsibility for ourselves.

Thanks Beth, that's so true- most convenient doesn't mean best!

I have a copper Paraguard (no hormone) IUD.  I have had it for 3 years and dislike it because it causes my periods to drag on and on with periodic spotting for weeks.  My recently diagnosed cancer is ER+.  I wonder if I wlll be asked to have the IUD removed since, as a prior poster mentioned, IUDs cause spotting that could interefere with the diagnosis of uterine cancer.  Has anyone been in this position?

I also had a Mirena IUD. There is NO history of BC in my family & yet somehow I was diagnosed with it. I had the IUD in for about two years & found my lump maybe 4-5 months after having it removed. I don't know but I'll tell you one thing....I will NEVER get another Mirena or EVER recommend one to anyone.  I am/was 38 at diagnosis.

Hello all,

I also had a Mirena IUD at the time of diagnosis (was/am 35 years). My onc left me the option to keep it. For homone receptor cancers here in France, some onc's decide to remove it, some others leave the decision to the patient. I decided to get rid of it because I did not want any foreign object that is hormone related in my body. My onc is suggesting to put me a copper (no hormone) UID. Any experiences?

Totally agree with Patrice C post. We need to be our own advocates and take responsability for ourselves

JMFL,

I had Mirena when I was diagnosed, eventhough my tumor is ER-/PR-, right before starting chemo, my oncologist ordered for me to go to my GYN to exchange out the IUD, I had the Mirena taken out and the Paragard (copper only) put in.  Mirena releases small amount of estrogen thru out the cycle, my oncologist said she didn't want to take any chance.

Cil.

Good afternoon. In January 2009, at the age of 38, I was diagnosed with Stage 0, DCIS, intermediate to high grade, ER/PR+ breast cancer. Additional findings in my pathology report included background proliferative fibrocystic changes with a small fibroadenoma. There had been no history of breast cancer in my family up to this point.

My radiation oncologist suspects that the Mirena IUD, which I had inserted 3+ years prior could have been the cause of my breast cancer. Of course, there is no proof.

I had it removed a few weeks after my diagnosis and lost 20 pounds in 4 weeks. I am back to my normal weight and have never felt better. I had started gaining weight immediately after insertion, but didn't make the link to the IUD as I have always trusted that the IUD was safe - I mean, they wouldn't put it on the market if it wasn't, right? Well, I am a little older and a little wiser and I believe it isn't safe. My suspicion is if your breast cancer is fueled by ER/PR (as mine is) any type of additional synthetic hormone, like the progesterone in the Mirena IUD, isn't good for you.

I don't recommend the product to anyone.