Illustration from Feminist Women's Health Center
The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that Mirena® has been approved for use as treatment for heavy menstrual bleeding. Mirena® is an intra-uterine device (IUD) for preventing pregnancy. It combines the technology of old-school IUDs with the hormone levonorgestrel, a synthetic progesterone.
I’m a little puzzled, though, by the apparent limited usage recommended: the press release states,
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Mirena (levonorgestrel intrauterine system) to treat heavy menstrual bleeding in women who use intrauterine contraception as their method of pregnancy prevention.
This sounds like Mirena® is approved for women who already using IUDs. So if you’re already using Mirena® for birth control, congratulations. Now you can use it to reduce menstrual flow.
For those keeping score at home, Mirena® is manufactured by Bayer, also makers of beleaguered birth control pill, Yaz.
It is very odd wording. My understanding is that the Mirena is prescribed often for women who experience heavy bleeding, whether they need birth control or not. For example, perimenopausal women whose male partners have had vasectomies. And if taken literally, it would mean that women with female partners are out of luck. No Mirena for them?
Not to worry, there are other, and possibly better, ways to deal with heavy bleeding for those not needing birth control. Check out http://www.cemcor.ubc.ca for Dr. Jerilynn Prior’s articles about this menstrual concern.