During my hiatus from Instagram, I found myself struggling with major depression. It was startling to hear Everly ask me why I was crying in the middle of lunch, when I didn’t even realize the tears were streaming down my face. “I’m just tired,” I told her. A few days later, I was finding it difficult to get out of the house, do crafts with the babies and even talk to my family. I retreated when I could. About 5% of women will experience high levels of postpartum symptoms up to three years after giving birth. A friend asked me if I thought it could be postpartum depression, because I was beyond myself and all my usual tactics to combat seasonal depression were failing. Could it have been PPD? Or could it have been the “Mirena Crash”? After having my birth control removed, I found myself feeling “off”. Fast forward several weeks and I was experiencing an almost paralyzing depression. Looking into it further, I discovered something called the “Mirena Crash” that affects around 36% of women under the age of 34. For women older than 34, this rate is even higher. 😯 What’s crazy is that nobody warned me about this. Not one doctor or nurse told me that I should keep an eye on my mental health after my IUD removal. This was after experiencing adverse symptoms 8 months in and then discovering that I was in the highest risk profile for IUD perforation or displacement, which could lead to lifelong health issues or pregnancy. ALSO helpful information they failed to share at time of placement... I’d like to touch back on this topic as I continue to research and hear from women who’ve had similar experiences. If you’ve tried hormonal birth control and had similar experiences or had GREAT experiences, please share! My greatest surprise through all of this was the failure of any medical professional that I came in contact with to outline the particular symptoms that I was considered high risk” for. I realize that we are responsible for our own informed consent, but it’s important for women to know that they may not have it lined out for them when they seek professional medical advice. #PPD #postpartumjourney #mirenaIUD #mirenacrash #naturalfamilyplanning