Yes the Mirena coil puts progesterone into your body, in tiny quantities. My BC was positive for oestrogen and progesterone, so the coil had to come out. I swapped it for a conventional coil (as the copper only ones seem to be widely known) and can’t tell any difference. For younger women who are still having full scale periods the potential downside of a conventional coil is that they usually cause much heavier periods, whereas the Mirena tends to cause lighter ones, or stop them altogether - which is why I had that type. Now I’m 51 and on Zoladex it doesn’t matter.
Sarah x
i had strongly hormone positive cancer in 2006 and got my mirena put in in jan 2007 for heavy bleeding on tamoxifen at my own request (im a trained family planning nurse), both my breast surgeon and gynaecologist had no complaints and were both very positive about having it as the amount of hormones are minimal.
there is a research paper that suggests that continuing on the mirena if using it at the time of diagnosis of oestrogen strong breast cancer is not recommended but equally there are anumber of papers that suggest that for women who are using tamoxifen its found to prevent against endometrial changes caused by the tamox.
i only got mine removed when i had my hysterectomy after being diagnosed with BRCA2 gene otherwise id have kept it forever.
this is american but might be of some interest (takes a few mins to load)…
springerlink.com/content/pg801321l7nv3366/
i think perhaps the differing of opinions comes from whether you had the IUS at diagnosis and whether you had strongly hormone positive cancer or not.
but i think really that you have to weigh up the risks of an unintended pregnancy/lack of sex with quality & quantity of life and that may be different for everyone.
Lulu x
its the original copper coil, the one ive just had, xx
i was told not to have the mierna coil and to be honest i do not want any more hormones into my body, im only weekly ost positive
i think there are diff opions about.x
Hi,
it has always concerned me that the high number of teachers having Bc is often mentioned. Another fact is that it is one of a few jobs where you often have to go a long time without being able to get to the ladies. So maybe teachers are more likely to dash to their GP to ask for a solution, when periods get heavier and erratic later in life and just maybe the mirena is offered because the pill is no longer given to slightly older ladies? I know people who it has helped love it, so did I but it is a multi million dollar business so we can afford to be cynical and suspicious.
Deed I really don’t wish to worry you more but I was only told about my oestrogen level until I mentioned progesterone myself. It is most common to have both so might be worth asking if you haven’t already. Secondly, I don’t really know why but I really got a big boost by making the decision to have mine removed. It seemed to be the only decision I was able to make at the time and I got a sense of relief when it was out. So even if that was a stupid idea I guess the lack of constant worry was good for me. The only other change I made was to buy organic milk after hearing dairy cows are pumped full of female hormones and organic milk cows are not. That might be a stupid idea too but it was good to be making decisions for myself and actually doing something. Good luck everyone on the post and be happy with your own decision
Lily x
Lily - the organic milk does actually make sense to me - and I consider myself far too old and set in my ways (at 41) to radically overhaul my diet/lifestye - though kudos to those who do! I’m going to look into this one more, and I may well be switching my kids over too… or switching to rice/soya milk instead.
Sophie xx
Hi Ladies,
I’ve had a mirena coil in for about four years now. I had it because i was having extremely heavy periods and terrible abdominal pain. It’s been great…or so I thought. Having read this thread i’m not so sure now. I was diagnosed with Grade 3 cancer in August and it’s hormone positive and I did queery the mirena coil with my onc, but he said it was ok to keep it. But I feel very uneasy about it all now. I think I want it removed, but wouldn’t be able to cope with the pain etc that I had previously. Not sure what my alternatives would be but I’ve decided to go back to the family planning clinic/or GP to discuss further.
I’ve changed to organic milk and dairy products and organic beef. I read somewhere that it’s better to eat lamb than beef, if it’s not organic???
Good luck everyone. Karen xx
hi blueyegirl, why not change the mirena for a conventional coil that doesn’t secrete any hormones.My daughter opted for this one as she didn’t want extra hormones in her body.
Best wishes
Leadie
hey all
i had the copper coil last thursday and im stil in pain, and have slight period, is that normal. leaflet says yeh
blue eye girl, im exactly the same as you! absolutely LOVE my mirena because i had heavy painful periods and now nothing at all!! Ive had mine for about 4 years and giving it up would be quite difficult. My specialist and my gp both agreed that it made no diff to my cancer dx as the amount of hormone is so small but after reading this thread im now questioning it???
deed
xx
Hi Girls,
I also have a mirena and have been told my 2 surgeons and my onc that I can keep it.I had such a terrible time with my periods,my life was awful.No periods = bliss
I don’t think there is any proof that it cause BC itself.It may be the women who seek to use the mirena (heavy bleeding/pms etc)have a tendency to BC?
Love
Dot
xxx
I had mirena coil as I had heavy bleeding on the coil without hormones and all was fine until I was diagnosed this January with breast cancer. I am only 32 and was also advised to not get pregnant ever again because my cancer was oestrogen + and so i needed reliable protection which also shouldn’t be the pill. My doc advised me to try the copper coil again but also said that if i bled heavily there were some tablets i could have to stop it that didn’t contain hormones… I changed over about 8 months ago now and so far have had no problems with bleeding-it may be down to my chemotherapy but time will tell as I have still had periods. I just think if you know your cancer is oestrogen + then perhaps its best to try all other options before you put the hormone in your body through choice because your doctor advises you on statistics but its not their body at risk even though they mean the best… sorry to rant, best of luck xxxxx
Hi,
I agree there is no proof so we don’ t really know exactly what may or may not be going on. The manufacturers are unlikely to risk research that might prove otherwise so i am not sure if anyone will ever test this idea. It is a bit like people asking whether they should have treatment for a higher % of success, for some 3% is not worth it and for others 3% is huge and worth trying anything for. Personally I would jump hoops for 3% and did. In my case, although I loved the effect of the mirena, I never really liked having it and was persuaded by a locum GP. She was also my friend’s locum GP years before me and talked her into having one(she had a mirena, then Bc and then a new mirena and then a recurrence). We both got BC at connecting times from having it put in. Coincidences spook me so that was my decision made. I told my 3rd friend who had BC 6 weeks before me, she was shocked and told us she had one put in the year before too.My head was just not willing to let go of the what if worry. The odd thing is that when the mirena came out I never had another period or any symptoms after that anyway.
I would hate to give anyone extra worry, don’t we have enough? I think you need to look at your individual situation to decide. I was oestrogen and progesterone positive with the prog being almost as high, it might not be the case for others.The milk came from my Goddaughter who was training to be a vet and on a dairy farm training. Now if someone could spook me about chocolate I would be slim too 
Take care
Lily x
Hi
I also had the mirena coil for painful periods, had it for about 7 years and it was my best friend, saw my onc before chemo started and because i was oestrogen and progesterone positive like lily200 i was told i had to have it taken out, still waiting for 1st proper period and hoping it doesn`t arrive !!! julie xx
i had a mirena - for my periods, as i have endometroisis. Anyway, ive had 3 mirenas over the years. I was using my third one when i got dx with bc last summer, and my onc wanted my mirena removed asap.
Can you ask your onc what they think about mirena use??
forgot to say, im 43- and havent had a period since i did FEC chemo a year ago
eva
So many questions! I’ll let you know what I find out next week ladies. Thanks for your comments. Karen x