Why am I so wet?

December 11, 2018 9:56 AM

IKYANMD, and I'll see a dr if there's reason to. I've had a Mirena IUD for over four years now, so haven't ovulated in that time. Suddenly I'm very very wet for no apparent reason (no sex or recent masturbation) and I wonder what's causing this.

I've had the Mirena IUD for 4 1/2 years now, and I know it'll be time to get a fresh one next summer. I may need to get it replaced sooner but not sure what the signs are.

Since I don't ovulate, I don't have those days where I'm wet and sticky for no reason. Today I'm not sticky like that, but I'm wet. Like, way wetter than I get when I'm aroused, and there hasn't been any arousal.

I do take Lamictal and am aware that sometimes it can cause hormonal changes, but I don't know what those changes would be.

I was recently on Metformin for a while but had trouble tolerating it.

I'm mostly concerned about this because it's such a drastic change, not because it looks or feels or smells problematic.

I'd love to hear from anyone here who'd gone through similar.

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

I get like that when I have bacterial vaginosis, which comes and goes for no discernible reason.
posted by dpx.mfx at 10:22 AM on December 11, 2018 [4 favorites]

One of my friends is on her second Mirena. Near the end of the first (so also around 4.5yrs) she started noticing that she had more PMS symptoms, more cramps, and she started to get light periods (previously on the Mirena she had nothing but the occasional spotting). She got it replaced right around the 5yr mark, and those symptoms went away. It seems plausible that the Mirena becomes less effective at preventing period related symptoms near the end of it's lifespan, while retaining the ability to prevent pregnancy.

I'm not a doctor, but if I had this kind of symptom and it didn't go back to normal within a couple days, I'd probably message my doctor to see if I needed to come In.
posted by insectosaurus at 11:09 AM on December 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

Seconding possible BV. It's quite common with IUDs (ask me how I know. ugh.) Easy to treat with antibiotics.
posted by ananci at 11:34 AM on December 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

I had two Mirena IUDs. My understanding is that ovulation is suppressed for most women for the first year, and mileage varies wildly after that. By the fourth year, 75% of women ovulate with their Mirena. Personally, I am certain that I ovulated while I had a Mirena in, because I experienced mild mittelschmerz with my first IUD and a TON of mittelschmerz with my second IUD. So, you may indeed be ovulating by now and the mucus production could be related to that. Only you'd know, really.

Since you're getting toward the hormonal end of your Mirena lifespan (no rush though, Mirena is proven to work for up to 7 years*), the fluid changes may be related to that, too. When I had my Mirena removed and replaced with a Paragard, I went through a HOST of "weird wetness issues." First it was watery fluid, like BV but with no accompanying smell. Then I started producing mucus with ovulation (which looks much more like my vagina has a head cold than any sort of "egg white" appearance). It could very well be the case that you're having these fluid changes because you're running low on the hormones that suppress the fluid production.

*That site also mentions ovulation statistics, btw, if you wanted a source.
posted by opossumnus at 1:32 PM on December 11, 2018 [4 favorites]

I had the same issue with a Mirena, although for me, it started immediately after I got the IUD, and lasted for the year or so I had it. it was one of the reasons I had it removed -- according to my doctor, it's just a thing that sometimes happens with the Mirena.
posted by sarcasticah at 8:38 AM on December 12, 2018

Hey there, it's a good idea to get drastic changes checked out by a professional. If the excessive discharge is persisting, and it's not a particular trauma or hardship for you to make an appointment, I would encourage you to do so, especially if you haven't had a pap smear in a while.

"I'd love to hear from anyone here who'd gone through similar."
That's me! There are differences, such as I had a Paragard IUD rather than a Mirena. But my Time of Great Waterfalls turned out to be the product of glandular cell dysplasia, and I would much prefer you make a needless trip to the doctor than find out at your next checkup that the wetness was an indicator of something actually going wrong.

Maybe it's resolved rather than progressed, and you're feeling good and appropriately dry. I hope so. But I couldn't close a tab titled "Why am I so wet?" without offering the above suggestion.

Take care.
posted by strivesc at 1:55 AM on December 20, 2018