When an IUD is Your Post Menopause Plan
Your Questions Answered
My recent post titled The Case For Every Perimenopausal Woman Having an IUD lists 5 reasons why every perimenopausal woman should consider a progestogen IUD as part of her toolbox. Contraception, decreasing the risk of uterine cancer, and controlling out-of-control bleeding are all on the list of reasons why an IUD can be an excellent option for perimenopausal women.
Also on my list is that a progestogen IUD can be an excellent strategy for women using postmenopausal systemic estrogen who either don’t tolerate oral progestogens or have problems with bleeding.
Since I ran that post, questions keep coming in about using an IUD as part of a menopausal hormone therapy regimen, so I decided to write a post to address the following issues:
Why would a post-menopausal woman who no longer needs contraception use a levonorgestrel IUD?
Are levonorgestrel IUDs FDA-approved in postmenopausal women?
What do studies show as far as uterine protection in women using systemic estrogen?
How long will a levonorgestrel IUD provide endometrial protection?
If someone uses an IUD for more than 5 years, is there a way to know if it is still working?
How much progestogen gets in the bloodstream?
Can the lower-dose IUDs also be used for endometrial protection?
Will a progestogen IUD increase the risk of breast cancer?
Will insurance and Medicare/Medicaid cover an IUD in post-menopausal women?
