IUD and Spotting and No Period

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-08-2004
IUD and Spotting and No Period
3
Sat, 10-23-2004 - 2:49am
Ok I posted a few days ago about how my gf was having her period well it turns out she was spotting really heavy and getting cramps bc she has an IUD in her. This is around the time of the month that she usually gets her period. She has been spotting light for like the last week or so and on the 20th it was alot heavier with some cramping. Then she said it went back to light spotting with no cramping. Is it possible she can miss a period and just spot all the time or will her period come eventually? She has been eating alot more too she has the mirena IUD in so I'm sure that some weight gain is possible. But then again she goes without smoking for a few days too so I guess that's normal haha. Anyway if for some reason she was pregnant which I doubt is the case would she still be spotting like she has been? Do girls even bleed when they are pregnant? Only reason I'm asking this is because her full period has not come yet. She got this IUD in her on her last period so this is gonna be the full month now. I know that when you first have it in that your body takes time to get use to it and i'm just worrying just because I care that's all. If anyone can help me or share stories please help a loving guy out here.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-11-2004
Sat, 10-23-2004 - 10:23am
Your girlfriend's doctor should have told her this, but the Mirena IUD reduces bleeding during periods. Many women don't get periods at all, and if they do, then it's going to be much lighter. My first period after getting mine was only spotting, and this is perfectly normal. The spotting your girlfriend is having is her period, and it probably won't get any heavier.

It's extremely unlikely that she could get pregnant while using Mirena. Mirena causes many women to not have periods at all, so the only way she would know for sure if she was pregnant would be to do a home pregnancy test.

Weight gain is not supposed to be a side effect. A study between women with the Mirena IUD and the non-hormonal copper IUD show no difference between weight gain between the two groups.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Sat, 10-23-2004 - 10:25am
Spotting is really really common for new IUD users! You knew that... ;) The Mirena shouldn't be putting any weight on your girlfriend, though I suppose there are isolated cases of women who are super-sensitive to even the small amount of hormones.

One thing to remember is that some women's bodies are really sensitive to disturbance and sometimes ovulation can be delayed by physical stress. If ovulation is delayed, her period will be delayed, and that typical bleeding pattern can be complicated by a progestin-secreting foreign body in her uterus. The foreign body part makes her spot, but the progestin secreted in the uterus tends to restrict the growth of the lining of her uterus so that her period may be different the next time she has one, but she may not know for sure because of the spotting. I think I might throw up my hands and not try to figure it out, but I don't like mulling things over too much!

Some women will have spotting in early pregnancy. Some women will even have light periods in early pregnancy. But IUD is such an effective method of contraception that I don't think I'd worry about it. It's protection that you KNOW is there, and it's impossible for you to screw it up (unlike the pill), and it's about as effective as you can get and still have sex.

I hope that helps! I'm not sure if it does, but I think at this point I'd just expect weird bleeding to continue for a while and the period thing should sort itself out if given enough time. If she wants to know when she's ovulating (which will help predict her next period), she can start charting her basal body temperature (her other fertility indicators of cervical mucuous and position might be unavailable right now), and if either of you wants information on that, you can recommend the book "Taking Control of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler as an excellent reference on women's menstrual cycles.

Hang in there!

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sat, 10-23-2004 - 6:52pm
Yeah,it's possible to skip periods with an IUD....The first few months after it's first put in they can be heavier,longer,more frequent (more than once a month)....As time goes on it should get better--the cramping too...I had cramps that came and went for a few months after getting it put in (they weren't constant)-some were pretty strong.Mega doses of ibuprofen work well for that (300-600mg every 6-8 hours-but be sure to ok it with her dr first).....Recently I went 10 weeks w/o having a period (I've had the IUD for over a year) but then to make up for it,I spotted for 16+ days (some days more heavy than others)......hope she's feeling better soon....