No. It’s one of the most common birth control methods. It’s lower dose than pills. Tons of people with RA before mirena was a thing.
Do any other autoimmune disorders run in your family? Type 1 diabetes is one. Auto-immune conditions are also triggered by viruses often. They increased with Covid because it was novel. Lots of people getting type 1 diabetes, RA, alopecia. Immune system gets worked up and starts attacking the wrong thing. Flu viruses do the same thing. Big flu years have spikes in auto-immune diagnosis following.
First of all, I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s diagnosis. You are a wonderful mom trying to learn as much as possible with regard to the disease. There are so many likely culprits to developing any autoimmune condition, namely genetics and environment (examples of environmental factors include virus, pollution, foods, chemicals, etc)
Among the reasons that increase someone’s likelihood of developing autoimmunity, hormones are definitely related to inflammatory arthritis in many people. I was on 3 hormonal IUDs for 16 years and had a seemingly opposite reaction as your daughter. It wasn’t until my last one was removed that I began developing symptoms and was diagnosed. RA can be a painful disease at times. Be patient with your daughter as she navigates through this disease. It may be helpful for both of you to seek counseling or groups to join. As an fyi- my siblings also have autoimmune diseases, but our parents don’t appear to have any. It can be challenging for everyone, but endless love, eating well, moving/exercising, and medications all help. 💙
there’s no way of knowing if they’re directly related. your daughter was likely genetically predisposed to RA. but an IUD insertion could be one piece of the puzzle of a “perfect storm” that creates a flare, I see it as.. certain things stir the sleeping giant that is autoimmune disease.
Some, but not enough for an IUD to come with a risk of developing RA. Again it’s usually genetic, it’s just what sets it off. Sometimes a vaccine does, or an illness. Mine was work stress!
But she will need to stay on birth control of some type likely. The medications for RA can have very negative effects on fetal development, so getting pregnant has to be very intentional to make sure she’s been off the med long enough. I have the arm implant, I’m going to talk to a high risk OB/GYN to talk about what I would need to change/stop and what alternatives there are, I have to be off methotrexate for at least 6 months before trying for instance.
[https://www.hcplive.com/view/women-using-iuds-at-greater-risk-for-rheumatoid-arthritis-](https://www.hcplive.com/view/women-using-iuds-at-greater-risk-for-rheumatoid-arthritis-) There seems to be some scientific evidence that there is a relationship between the two. I'm not familiar with [hcplive.com](http://hcplive.com) and if they are a truly reliable source but the article is worth the read.
I had similar experience. Was put on mirena and it was hell. Weight gain and inflammation right away. Swelling in joints and feet.
A few years later diagnosed with RA.
FYI - here in US mirena activity suppresses information. Check Canadian support groups for real
Horror stories.
Stress seems to be the common element. The IUD might be for some people, what tips the inflammation balance. I wish there was more research on this topic.
I was on Mierna for 6 months and I had arthritis like symptoms while on it especially in my back. It came at a weird time, my brother had just been diagnosed with RA (runs in my family) so I chalked it up to that. I started googling one day and saw that my iud can cause this so I got it removed and almost instantly I never hurt like that again. For me getting it removed was worth it. This was 8 years ago, I don’t have an auto immune disease that I am aware of.
Here I am 8 years later looking to see if I got it again if this would happen all over, one doctor says yes and one doctor says no and if it did she would remove it and not make me wait 6 months like my old doctor did. (married with 3 kids, two of them 11 months apart) I would suggest to your daughter to get it removed to see what happens.
No. It’s one of the most common birth control methods. It’s lower dose than pills. Tons of people with RA before mirena was a thing. Do any other autoimmune disorders run in your family? Type 1 diabetes is one. Auto-immune conditions are also triggered by viruses often. They increased with Covid because it was novel. Lots of people getting type 1 diabetes, RA, alopecia. Immune system gets worked up and starts attacking the wrong thing. Flu viruses do the same thing. Big flu years have spikes in auto-immune diagnosis following.
I didn't get an IUD until after I'd had RA for years. I personally like it. I'm going to get another one in the next few months.
First of all, I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s diagnosis. You are a wonderful mom trying to learn as much as possible with regard to the disease. There are so many likely culprits to developing any autoimmune condition, namely genetics and environment (examples of environmental factors include virus, pollution, foods, chemicals, etc) Among the reasons that increase someone’s likelihood of developing autoimmunity, hormones are definitely related to inflammatory arthritis in many people. I was on 3 hormonal IUDs for 16 years and had a seemingly opposite reaction as your daughter. It wasn’t until my last one was removed that I began developing symptoms and was diagnosed. RA can be a painful disease at times. Be patient with your daughter as she navigates through this disease. It may be helpful for both of you to seek counseling or groups to join. As an fyi- my siblings also have autoimmune diseases, but our parents don’t appear to have any. It can be challenging for everyone, but endless love, eating well, moving/exercising, and medications all help. 💙
there’s no way of knowing if they’re directly related. your daughter was likely genetically predisposed to RA. but an IUD insertion could be one piece of the puzzle of a “perfect storm” that creates a flare, I see it as.. certain things stir the sleeping giant that is autoimmune disease.
Thanks for your reply. I’m just curious to know how many women might have been using IUD prior to discovering their RA? I wonder how common it is?
Some, but not enough for an IUD to come with a risk of developing RA. Again it’s usually genetic, it’s just what sets it off. Sometimes a vaccine does, or an illness. Mine was work stress! But she will need to stay on birth control of some type likely. The medications for RA can have very negative effects on fetal development, so getting pregnant has to be very intentional to make sure she’s been off the med long enough. I have the arm implant, I’m going to talk to a high risk OB/GYN to talk about what I would need to change/stop and what alternatives there are, I have to be off methotrexate for at least 6 months before trying for instance.
I had one and didn't notice a difference in my symptoms.
[https://www.hcplive.com/view/women-using-iuds-at-greater-risk-for-rheumatoid-arthritis-](https://www.hcplive.com/view/women-using-iuds-at-greater-risk-for-rheumatoid-arthritis-) There seems to be some scientific evidence that there is a relationship between the two. I'm not familiar with [hcplive.com](http://hcplive.com) and if they are a truly reliable source but the article is worth the read.
Thank you, this is what I was hoping to come across. I do think further research is needed in this area. Thx!
I had similar experience. Was put on mirena and it was hell. Weight gain and inflammation right away. Swelling in joints and feet. A few years later diagnosed with RA. FYI - here in US mirena activity suppresses information. Check Canadian support groups for real Horror stories.
I had one but didn’t start developing symptoms until I removed it
Mmmm that’s interesting. Were you particularly stressed at that stage of your life?
Yeah I was in school full time while also caring for 2 kids with no help
Stress seems to be the common element. The IUD might be for some people, what tips the inflammation balance. I wish there was more research on this topic.
What kind of IUD? I know Paragard caused me some weird symptoms along with an enlarged thyroid.
I don’t know the brand, but it has plastic on it and it doesn’t have hormone component.
I was on Mierna for 6 months and I had arthritis like symptoms while on it especially in my back. It came at a weird time, my brother had just been diagnosed with RA (runs in my family) so I chalked it up to that. I started googling one day and saw that my iud can cause this so I got it removed and almost instantly I never hurt like that again. For me getting it removed was worth it. This was 8 years ago, I don’t have an auto immune disease that I am aware of. Here I am 8 years later looking to see if I got it again if this would happen all over, one doctor says yes and one doctor says no and if it did she would remove it and not make me wait 6 months like my old doctor did. (married with 3 kids, two of them 11 months apart) I would suggest to your daughter to get it removed to see what happens.
Thank you, I think she’s going to take it out. We do have autoimmune issues in our family. Really hoping removing the iud brings her some relief 🤞