IUD and weight gain?

I've had the Mirena twice, so I've had an IUD for almost 10 years now. I've never experienced weight gain due to that, although I have experienced it because of huge amounts of stress at my job.

Sometimes a lifestyle change is the amount of stress you're dealing with. Since I switched jobs, I've lost 30 lbs with minimal changes to my diet/exercise.

Weight gain can occur on ANY form of bc. When your hormones get thrown off balance you gain weight. Sounds like this may not be the right bc for you. I recently lost 5 lbs within the first month I went completely off my pill. I am letting my body reset before I discuss other options with my OB

I have gained 40lbs in the last five years since being on mirena. I get it out in June and I am eager to see if I lose any of that weight.

I have had my second mirena for a year. I gained weight once I got the first one, but became a college athlete (after not doing HS sports) shortly after so I lost some weight. I gained back three times what I lost as soon as I finished with athletics. Even with moderate exercise and somewhat careful dieting I haven't been able to lose any weight. I think it's partly because of hormones from the IUD.

Yes! I had my Skyla inserted 03/06/2015 and I weighed 153. Its now been a little over 2 years and I've gained 35 pounds! THIRTY FIVE!! I have had a desk job and not very active even before the IUD, and my diet hasn't changed. I know there is no "evidence", but the scale keeps creeping higher and higher and nothing in my life should be causing that... getting mine removed on Tuesday and switching back to the OCP I was on before I got this IUD. Hoping I don't gain more from the switch #sofrustrated

I don't have murena but i have nexplanon becquse its not supposed to make you gain weight because i can only use progesterone based birthcontrol like Nicole. I gained some weight. And i know it wasnt me because im a weight loss counselor. Have been for 4 years. And i haven't had anybody that it didn't help.... But hormones will really make it hard to maintain a healthy weight let alone lose weight

Long, science-y post:

I just had Mirena removed (yesterday!) after nearly 5 years. My doctor told me that it absolutely did not cause me to gain weight. I certainly don't think it was the sole culprit of the 40 lbs that I've put on. However, I reviewed the literature, and most studies of Mirena that I've seen either (1) only follow patients for a few months to a year, (2) limit their sample to women under 25, and/or (3) completely dismiss low dose progestin-only contraceptive as having any potential systemic effects including weight gain. Furthermore, overweight and obese women are generally pushed in the direction of long-term contraceptive devices over the pill because there is some evidence of a decrease in effectiveness in overweight and obese women. Finally, I just read a study, published this month, that suggests that Mirena may make you prone to an exaggerated stress response (when compared to other types of BC and no BC under the same stimuli). This was evidenced by much higher levels of cortisol secreted by women on Mirena than women not on Mirena. (For those inclined to learn more: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28315609)

There is no evidence that Mirena causes weight gain--not necessarily because it doesn't cause weight gain over time, but simply because there are not enough well-designed studies to document this.

The only BC with a known side effect of weight gain is Depo Provera (the shot). Additionally, there is some evidence that Black/African American race is a risk factor of weight gain with progestin-only contraceptive.

(Full disclosure: I am not an expert, but I have a masters degree in public health and have worked in academic research for nearly a decade.)

I recognize that this is more than you asked for, but I feel like posting anyway.

I had the Copper no hormone one in for 5 years and never had issues, I just recently got it taken out and have gained weight non stop but I believe it's because of stress and very poor eating.

Well hell. I just had an IUD placed this week. I'm 5 mos away from the big day.

I gained 40 pounds with the IUD in my first year and was bleeding DAILY. I finally got it removed and got the implant in my arm and have been able to lose weight now. Dang IUD. Worst decision of my life.

I had paragaurd its copper iud .. never gained weight but its not hormonal .. i would assume anything with hormoans could assist in weight gain

View Quoted Comment Did you happen to lose any of that weight? I have Mirena and have gained a lot of weight and was just wondering

I gained weight, had random mysterious pains and then ended up in the ER with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. It was an absolutely horrible 4.5 years for me. I wouldn't do it again for anything in the world.

View Quoted Comment How long did you have the IUD before you had it removed?

I've had the Kyleena IUD for the past 8 months and am now ~30lbs up and the heaviest I've ever weighed in my life. For perspective I'm 33 and very active, weight lifting & cardio 5x a week and nutrition tracked and logged with a coach for the past several years. Since getting the implant I've been going out of my mind trying to figure out why the scale has consistently moved up and my body composition has changed to be definitely more fat than muscle regardless of exercise and diet. After ruling out all other factors, I fully believe it's the IUD.

Do you have Mirena or Paragard? Mirena is made of plastic and releases low dose hormones to prevent pregnancy (good for about 5-7 years I think) whereas Paragard is copper and contains no hormones and is good for 10-12 years.

ANY form of birth control containing hormones can cause any sort of hormonal side affects associated with birth control, including weight gain. Hormones can impact your metabolism which can impact weight regardless of whether or not energy input (food) and output (exercise) are the same. If there are no other lifestyle factors that you feel may be the cause of your weight gain, and you have Mirena (or another brand of hormone releasing plastic IUD) and suspect that the IUD may be causing weight gain, I would discuss switching to Paragard with your doctor.

The Paragard IUD is physically a bit longer/bigger than the Mirena one, and if you have copper allergies obviously you can't use it, so it isn't a good option for some women. However it is by far the longest lasting form of birth control available (besides abstinence or only having sex with same biological sex partners). I've had a Paragard IUD implanted for the past 14 years (not the same one, mind you) and haven't had any issues with weight gain, acne, mood swings, or other side affects commonly associated with hormonal forms of birth control, nor have I ever gotten pregnant. I love it!

View Quoted Comment

Just gotta HIGH FIVE you for your awesome response and reading the literature. The idea that hormones don't impact metabolism even in small doses, just never sat well with me. If the birth control contains enough hormones to change a woman's body chemistry so that she cannot get pregnant, its reasonable to think that it could impact her body chemistry in other ways as well. The ONLY form of BC I have ever been on is the Paragard (copper w/o hormones) IUD for that very reason. I've got enough of my own natural hormones, thank you very much!

My undergrad was in health and exercise science; my master's is in an unrelated field but boy do I love some good white papers for sorting out the facts.

View Quoted Comment I had the Kyleena inserted 2 months before my wedding in June 2017. I was working out 4-5 days a week and meeting w a personal trainer. I did not lose another lbs before my wedding from the time that iud was placed. After a year I was up 20ish lbs. another 6 months and I gained another 20lbs. I worked out 5 days a week, cardio, weightlifting, logging all my food intake in MyFitnessPal. It is a damn lie to tell people that IUDs cannot cause weight gain, and it’s all calories in v calories out. I’m an RN, And this stupid implant has caused so much stress, anxiety, and poor body image. I did a bod pod analysis, and I have an extra 12 liters of fluid extracellularly. 9 months later and I’m still fighting all the side effects from it. My gyn said it could take a year for it to completely wear off, and my body to resume to normal. Hormone imbalance is real.

I had mirena complications after my 2nd round with it including lowering my drive so please be careful and yes I gained like 15 pounds because its hormonal. Lost weight after it was removed

I had the Mirena for 5 years, never had weight issues. I just had the Mirena replaced with Liletta IUD in early December....I gained 17 lbs in a 3 month period (from 130 to 147). Even with eating healthy, weight does not budge. I feel bloated and gross. Do not know how to explain it. I am having it taken out on the 27th. Hoping the weight come right off 🤞🏻