Hi friends - I know these questions are asked a lot, and I've read almost all the posts I can find. I had Skyla for about four years which caused some negative side effects but the derm and docs said 'oh, couldn't be the birth control, but we're not sure what it is. here are some bandaids for your dumb concerns'
i had a switcheroo from skyla to mirena in early 2023. i'd say within a couple of months or so hormonal and cystic acne appeared on my face - i've never had acne in my life. then, in early to mid 2025 i lost a LOT of hair, my hair density probably diminished by half over the span of 2-4 months. i had a lot of blood tests; one showed low iron but after taking an oral iron supplement for 1-2 months, my iron shot up to a bit too high. the doc was surprised and told me to stop the supplements. this was quite a bit after mirena was inserted.
now, for the past few weeks i've been noticing a lot of hair loss again and i'm worried because i don't have much left. i do have a lot of baby hairs that stick up a lot, so that has to be somewhat of a positive sign. i had mirena removed last week because i'm sick of these awful side effects and i'm so sick of doctors acting like my very valid concerns and very noticeable symptoms are nothing.
has anyone experienced almost 'seasonal' major hair loss with an iud? from other redditors, it looks like it might take several weeks after removal for the hair loss to slow or stop. but if the hair loss keeps going at this rate, i might be close to bald by that point.
i don't want to try Minoxidil as it is my understanding that requires long term use and the new hair it grows will fall out when you stop minoxidil.
also, anyone else exhausted by the gaslighting of docs and even friends who say they don't notice your hair loss? like can someone other than me trust my own experience please.
send help, thanks friends!