Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
Inserted Mirena IUD. Getting Abdominal Pain, Missing Period, Started Brown Spotting. Reason?
Question: Hi,
I have a mirena IUD (11 months) and was placed on a five day dose of Flagyl to treat BV beginning March 29th. I am married an active sex life. I expected to get my period, typically a regular 28-29 day cycle, on March 31st, but I did not. It was not until April 4th that I got minimal gritty brown spotting, which lasted for only 4 days. As a result of frequent pain in the LLQ of my abdomen, and unusually long IUD strings, my provider ordered a u/s. Results of the u/s on April 9 indicated there were no abnormalities and IUD was positioned appropriately. Could the Flagyl be the cause of the missed period and brown spotting? Nothing explains the pain and unusually long strings.
I have a mirena IUD (11 months) and was placed on a five day dose of Flagyl to treat BV beginning March 29th. I am married an active sex life. I expected to get my period, typically a regular 28-29 day cycle, on March 31st, but I did not. It was not until April 4th that I got minimal gritty brown spotting, which lasted for only 4 days. As a result of frequent pain in the LLQ of my abdomen, and unusually long IUD strings, my provider ordered a u/s. Results of the u/s on April 9 indicated there were no abnormalities and IUD was positioned appropriately. Could the Flagyl be the cause of the missed period and brown spotting? Nothing explains the pain and unusually long strings.
Hello, I would be happy to help you with your questions.
Neither BV nor the medications used to treat BV will have any affect on your cycle. With regard to why you bled more irregularly and lighter, the following will explain this finding:
1. With the IUD, you are still 'cycling' so there is often still a period. There is occasionally variation in terms of when you ovulate, and this can lead to irregularity in your cycle
2. The Mirena IUD is associated with lighter cycles. In most women, by 11 months, they get very little bleeding at all. So the fact that the bleeding was lighter (even with it being late) is more normal than abnormal
3. I guess that I might suppose that if there is any migration or movement of the IUD itself, that this might cause some disruption in the uterine lining that could lead to cramping, variably long strings, and confusing spotting.
Hopefully they trimmed the strings. It is very reassuring to have performed an ultrasound and seen that the IUD is in the correct location. The pain was likely related to the formation of an ovarian cyst (which occurs monthly) and sometimes is associated with pain that has a rapid onset and slow resolution (like you described). Finally, with irregular bleeding, even in the setting of an IUD, a pregnancy test should always be performed, regardless of what they saw or did not see on ultrasound.
I hope that this helps. Please ask if you have any followup questions.
Neither BV nor the medications used to treat BV will have any affect on your cycle. With regard to why you bled more irregularly and lighter, the following will explain this finding:
1. With the IUD, you are still 'cycling' so there is often still a period. There is occasionally variation in terms of when you ovulate, and this can lead to irregularity in your cycle
2. The Mirena IUD is associated with lighter cycles. In most women, by 11 months, they get very little bleeding at all. So the fact that the bleeding was lighter (even with it being late) is more normal than abnormal
3. I guess that I might suppose that if there is any migration or movement of the IUD itself, that this might cause some disruption in the uterine lining that could lead to cramping, variably long strings, and confusing spotting.
Hopefully they trimmed the strings. It is very reassuring to have performed an ultrasound and seen that the IUD is in the correct location. The pain was likely related to the formation of an ovarian cyst (which occurs monthly) and sometimes is associated with pain that has a rapid onset and slow resolution (like you described). Finally, with irregular bleeding, even in the setting of an IUD, a pregnancy test should always be performed, regardless of what they saw or did not see on ultrasound.
I hope that this helps. Please ask if you have any followup questions.
Note: Revert back with your gynae reports to get a clear medical analysis by our expert Gynecologic Oncologist. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
