Post-Mirena IUD Removal: Delayed Menstruation & Fertility Concerns

Question
I had the mirena IUD removed in the beginning of May 08 and had a period after the removal then 2 weeks later in the beginning of June got my regular cycle and also in July. It is now August and still no cycle and Pregnancy tests all negative. Could there be something wrong with my body, "infertile" Can the IUD ruin your chances of having a child?

Answer
Dear Cruzita,

Unless there is an incident related to your IUD, such as a uterine injury/puncture or a uterine infection, simply using an IUD for birth control should not affect your fertility. And the Mirena IUD provides contraception by releasing hormones. More likely is that you are simply needing to try to be a little more patient.  :-)  The average amount of time it takes a couple who is actively trying to conceive to achieve pregnancy is 5-6 months. And it does not sound like you have any issues with infertility related to the IUD if you have been having regular periods every month since the removal of the Mirena.

If you still have not had a period this cycle, I would suggest waiting another 5-7 days and testing again. Although some tests claim accuracy on the first day of a missed period, I usually suggest that women wait until the week after a missed or spotty period before testing for pregnancy. This tends to minimize the incidence of false negative results and also avoids wasting money on a test for a simple delay of a period by a few days. When/if you test make sure to use 1st morning urine to get a concentrated sample for the most accurate results. If those results are negative, you can either wait for the next cycle to see if your periods resume or have your doctor's office do a quantitative blood pregnancy test (serum beta hCG). That test will give an actual amount of hCG in your bloodstream rather than just a positive/negative result. Any amount of 25 mIU/ml or more would be considered positive for pregnancy.

I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.

Brenda