Appt symptoms and conditions

I am SO glad I found this site. I have had Mirena for 7.5 years and have had these side effects mentioned here by everyone. At first the Mirena was the wonder birth control method, no periods, no cramping- I thought it was the greatest, but then I had strange things happening. I asked my doctor about these on numerous occasions,and he kept saying "the hormone level in Mirena is so low it is not detectable by a blood test" and therefore could not be causing symptons.

I've experienced a lack of libido, headaches, weight gain, hair thinning, sadness, fatigue, sleeplessness....an overall change I was attributing to getting older and going through my 30's.

OK- so why is my story like every woman's on here if there an no side effects as explained by my doctor?

After finding this site and countless others, I made an appt to have Mirena removed.

I cannot wait to feel like myself again.
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All I can say is OHMYGOD! I had no idea about all these side effects. I had my son April 4th, 09 and had the Mirena placed October 21st. Since then, I have been constantly spotting, I have headaches, and no motivation to exercise. I have been moody and felt overall like blah. I have noticed some joint stiffness and discomfort in my hands as well as muscle tenderness in my legs. I have not experienced any weight gain or loss at this moment, nor have I noticed a change in hair loss...but will definitely be aware of the possibilities. Well I have a appt. for my follow up, I am going to inform my doctor of my side effects as well as yours, and see if this really is the best option for me. The last thing I want is for this to inconvenience my life when I got it just for the opposite...Good luck ladies!

Wow... I had no idea that so many issues I am dealing with could be side effects of the Mirena. I already had an appt planned to have it removed this afternoon because my acne has gotten so bad and I want to go back to Ortho Tri-Cyclen. I didn't really associate the acne with the Mirena because I have always battled acne to some extent, but it is so much worse lately. Just like others have described, it is on my chest, neck. back, scalp... EVERYWHERE! I have invested in expensive ance treatments, but that only helps some, and i can't exactly use it all over my head and body! I never had acne all over like this prior to the Mirena.
I have had the Mirena over 3 years and didn't realize I hate it so much until now! LOL. I definitely have the bloating, unexplained weight gain, depression, etc., as well. I should have googled "mirena side effects" much sooner!

I am so glad i found this.. i have experienced a lot of the things that everyone else has.. i have been on lisinopril for six months and i am only 26 years old. I frequently have tingling in arms and legs and am usually kind of nauseous or dizzy. Mentally, i have never felt so down before and i thought it was just normal to question things in my life at 26, but i think it may be because of this drug.. i have a doctor's appt in three days and i am going to try and get off of this drug.

Hi everyone. I am so glad i found this website. I am 26 years old and i got my mirena put in October of 2007. A few months after getting it put in i noticed my hair was starting to fall out, i was real moody, hot flashes. So i went to my obgyn and he said it was my hormones so put me on birth control on top of the mirena, don't know what point of that was. But me and my husband were debating whether or not to get it taken out, because i am really bad at taking the pill but after reading everyone's stories on here yall have made up my mind for me. I'd rather get it taken out and see if my symptoms stop. The hair loss has bothered me the most. I went from having a head full of thick hair to having real thin hair, my husband was amazed at how much hair i have lost. When i wash my hair at night it just falls out like nothing, i have a big ball of hair in the tub. I even went and seen a dermatologist and he didn't know what was wrong! Calling my doctor tomorrow to make an appt. to get this taken out!

I am an active teenager and i got this birth control because i get really bad cramps and a steady boyfriend. I got my period as normal the first month then skipped four months without getting my period. i thought i was pregnant because my stomach feels totally weird almost like a little bulge where my bladder is located. Has anyone else's stomach felt weird, or different then normal? it's not that i look fatter just different. i took a pregnancy test and was not pregnant and i ended up up getting my period the 6th month of being on this. i am just wondering if this is normal?

Hey Guys,
I'm new to all this but just wanted to share my story with everyone so I feel like i'm not so alone! I'm 23 and was diagnosed with SLE 3 years ago.
It started in my joints and then moved to my kidney's real fast. I now have stage 4 nephritis, finished 6months of cyclophosphamide in Feb and have been on no less than 40-20mg of pred for about 2years. Just when things were starting to look better it has stared in my blood so they are trying to up my dose again. It has thinned my bones so I am on special meds for that now too.
I know taking the pred is something I need to do to live but it comes at a really high price. I don't even look like the same person I used too because of the moon face. I know it's shallow but at 23 it is almost as bad as having to live with this disease. I now have really low self esteem and get anxious all the time, which is affecting my job. As much as I want to come off I also worry that I would have to stop work again as the pred is what keeps me going. All I want to do is get off it though! Anyone know any alternatives? Also, just wondering if you guys are still drinking alcohol while taking pred?
Thanks for listening guys!

I'm 42 & have three children ages, 8, 10 an 16. I started my period when i was 12 & i've suffered with horrible cramps and bloating ever since. I've been on & off different birth control pills to relieve the pain (didn't start pill until i was 15) & to control the pain. After my kids, i started back on the pill. Some worked better than others but the ones that onced worked, eventually stopped. The last 3 years have been worse. One problem i had was that i'd forget to take the pill. That made the pain worse. Tried the Nuva Ring for 2 months & had constant yeast infections. 3 of my girlfriends have Mirena & recommended it to me. BTW my husband is fixed, lol...so i dont have to worry about getting pregnant, just needed the pain & bloating to go away. After much consideration, pelvic ultrasounds & blood tests to rule out anything serious, i had the mirena put in 8/09. a little painful but nothing like childbirth! i didnt have bleeding, did get my period the next month, not bad. as of now i feel great. i could stand to loose 10-15 lbs. & i finally feel good enough to get on the treadmill & the weight is coming off. BUT i just told my husband this week that i noticed my face breaking out. more like little bumps, skin isnt smooth anymore and occasionally i get a nasty pimple like the kind a teenager would get. So i searched the web for mirena and acne and found this sight. I have an appt for dermo in a few weeks but from what i've read it sounds like i'm in trouble. As long as it doesnt get any worse & no other side effects, the Mirena (so far) has done wonders for my pain. YEAH!

My daughter had switched from the birth control pill Low-Ogestrel-28 after about 2 1/2 years (no side effects at all then a little spotting mid cycle) so she saw her primary care and the dr. told her that her body had become used to that paticular pill and switched her to Yasmin. The first month was ok and then in the 2nd month I noticed a big change in her attitude..she became very short tempered during the entire month and then when she was on the placebo pills (the days prior to her period) she really became a crazy angry woman. When on the other bc the week prior found her more sensitive and crying...such a total flip in her nature.
Then on the 3rd month the vomiting began...nothing major at first - random maybe once a week and always in the morning...after juice or soymilk. So you explain it away by saying that it's first thing in the morning and theres more acid on your stomach or she was hungry when she went to bed and it's from that. She began having headaches around this time also..Ok so she stopped having anything but water with her English muffin first thing in the morning and things evened out with the stomach thing - for a little while. She was incredibly tired and had a weird sore throat - killer sore throat - never had strep before (she's 20 years old...) she got an appt. to see a N.P. in the dr. office and she asked me to go...while we were there I asked not only the medical assistant but the N.P. (nurse practitioner) about the law commercials that I had seen regarding Yasmin..they blew it off as just a bunch of ambulance chasers wanting money and that it was safe and effective. They were adamant about it. Ok I dropped it..after examination the NP told my daughter that her lymph nodes were enlarged and she had A. strep B. Mono C.all of the above. Tests ruled out Strep but we had a winner on Mono. While she had the week off from work I noticed depression along with the headaches and also the stomach problems came back. Always in the morning, but it became every morning now..we thought she was hungry and she would eat and feel fine and then about 5 minutes after finishing her breakfast with only a small amt. of water to go along with it she'd have a period where for the next 15 -30 minutes she'd either throw up (and once doing this would feel fine) or it would work itself out and she'd be fine. It had gotton to the point I don't know who dreaded the morning more her or me. We are now in the 4th month of Yasmin and this began to happen every single morning and then toward the end of the month it would start being random at nightime..no vomiting but feeling sick - like it had begun in the beginning with the morning stuff. It came to head the other day- Saturday October 10th 2009. We had gone on a overnight trip to see her grandparents and we had to leave early in the morning (4 am) so she took the pill after having a little something to eat (no liquids) by 2:30 that afternoon she all of a sudden felt like she was going to get sick..and boy did she - violently sick - then again at 6:30 - violently ill- projectile and again at 8:30. I got on the computer and started researching Yasmin....and it all came together. I told her no more pill...she is in a serious relationship and was using Yasmin not only for the terrible painful periods that she was having but for protection so we needed to take that into account...she was safe and she is now off that pill. She did not take one Sunday (11th) or Monday (12th) and I cannot tell you how much better she is. This was someone who had lived with a constant stomach ache for over 4 weeks...we could outfit a pharmacy with all the otc meds I have bought - pepto, rolaids, gaviscon, maalox, YOU Name it we have it in regards to stomach distress..and nothing really helped. A burp and feel better for a little while but it was always there..that low lying ache in the tummy. She spoke with a friend that works for a doctor on Sunday and told her about the Yasmin and the woman couldn't believe that she had been prescribed that..she told her to get off it immediately (she already had) and that the dr. that she works for will not prescribe Yasmin or yaz to any of his patients. My daughter's personality is back. She is laughing and happy and a totally different girl. Headaches are gone and most importantly NO stomach pain at all. Completely gone. She can eat and drink and no problems what-so-ever. She looked at me and said "I can't believe I lived like that for so long, I had forgotten what it felt like to feel good - like me". She is calling a Ob/Gyn practice this morning and hopefully will be seen by someone today. What a nightmare. My heart goes out to those of you that have posted and have had much worse things besides what my daughter has gone thru. The FDA needs to do something about this !! What can we do to get this information to them? DO NOT TAKE OR LET YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS TAKE YASMIN OR YAZ - IT IS HARMFUL.

Hi, I had Mirena inserted in Nov ,2007. At first , after the insertion, everything was great. Felt as though for once they had invented a new way of not getting prego! As time past completely stopped having my period for almost all of 2008. Concerned I went to my doctor and asked if this was normal. My doctor stated it was one of the side effects. Moved on to believe it was all so GREAT... Starting 2009 problems began appearing, such as, extreme back pain, cramps that would make me almost faint at work. My co-workers were always making sure i felt ok. Began to have acne in which i've never had in my life not only in my face, but also in my buttchecks. Went to dermatologist and got all sorts of prescription drugs for it.... asking myself if acne in my rear end was something common and again i never has this before, my hair was very thick and now i spend almost every other Saturday unclogging my tub due to my hair loss and im only 23 yrs old. Since the birth of my daughter , i have gained 45lbs . I got a gym member ship and began to workout 4 to 5 days a week, and began to change my eating habits since feb 2009. So far i've only lost 5lbs. And talk about depression and anxiety attacks. CRAZY, i fell so alone some days and extremely nervous almost every day. Went to two months ago to my doctor and ask to take it out, she asked me why i wanted to do such a thing? After explaining all my systems, she stated i have a early stage of menopause, i said, Menopause at age 23 ? No way.... I reschedule an appt with another doctor to have it removed.... Hopefully it all goes away! I fell bad recommending it to my friends just to find out one of them currently has cysts because of this.

i went 2 the specialist yesterday that put me on the prednisone due 2 me having crohns as the joint pain in my ankle has been so painful and his now told me that the prednisone has giving me arthritis im really upset about it im 25 and im in a lot of pain the specialist said 2 go home and rest my ankle for the weekend its been 2days and its still not better iv got 2 go back and see him on Monday and if it hasn't improved which i doubt it will his going 2 change my medication he wanted 2 up the dosage of prednisone to 30mg as im down to 10mgs now and i told him that i have received every side effect possible 2 the prednisone and its just starting to reverse and there is no way im going to le you put me on a higher dosage i want 2 come off this drug as quick as possible and he surgesseted another medication that will help with the arthritis in my ankle but it will make me nausea i told him id rather that then all the symptoms iv been having in the last month then be put back on the prednisone

I had the Mirena inserted when my daughter was 6 weeks old, August 2007. I had no problems (that I THOUGHT were related to it) until end of July this year. I had next to no period up until then and then bled for nearly 3 weeks straight. Went to the doctor who said I had a miscarriage...ok so let's take it out, it obviously doesn't work for me and go back to the pill which I had been on most of my life when I wasn't pregnant with any of my 5 children. After 3 weeks of being on the pill I had it removed on 9/10. No pain at all actually but haven't stopped bleeding since! Went back to the Dr on 9/23, felt my uterus and said seemed fine. No fibroids or polyps that he could feel. Changed my pill Rx and said it should straighten out within the next 2 cycles, if not come back...on 10/5 I went back without an appt and was told by the nurse to double up on my pills to try and stop the bleeding. I scheduled an appt to see the Dr the following am. Had an internal ultrasound done and a biopsy of the lining of my uterus. Results should be back on Tuesday... my Mom & Sister told me to look online about side effects with the Mirena and I found this page. I am comparing many of the things I have been experiencing and now realize perhaps they were ALL related to the IUD. I gained weight (am actually heavier then I was after my daughter was born and I lost all my pregnancy weight within the first month), I had terrible acne, headaches, back & neck pain, constant fatigue, emotional, decreased sex drive. It has been out 4 weeks today and although my acne has improved slightly, I feel like I have been on the brink of the flu since last Saturday, no motivation, pure exhaustion, and emotional roller coaster not to mention the cramping from my biopsy that probably wasn't necessary now I'm thinking and 4 days in a row home from work... I am hoping time will heal the way I feel once the hormones adjust themselves. The pill always helped me more then it ever hurt me. I'm glad I got the Mirena out as soon as I did. Just wish I would have known sooner what it was really doing to me!

iv been diagnosed with crohns 2months ago iv now been on prednisone for 4weeks i started on 40mg and now down 2 15 the last week my ankles have swelled up and now my right ankle is so painful to touch and walk on, and nothing is making it better, pain killers don't work, massaging it doesn't work, putting deep heat on it so to night i iced it for 15 mins and put a heat pack on it several times the pain went away for 10mins and came back its so painful im almost in tears, im down 2 15mg now so im not eating as muchas i was b4 i wasn't getting full i just keeped eating, my mood swings arnt as bad iv got moon face as they call it and i hate it as theirs no shape at all 2 my face, im getting pimples as will iv retained all this fluid and i feel like a marshmallow can someone please tell me that this pain will go away or is their something i can take 2 make it go away this is the worst medication in the whole world when i get off the prednisone and i have another flar up id rather have the runs and stomach cramps then all this drama iv been having in the last 3weeks iv also changes my whole diet and its made a huge difference 2 how i feel

Thank God for this site. I have been trying to figure out for the last year what is wrong with me! I have had such unexplainable depression and mood swings for so long and I never would have thought to attribute it to Mirena. Thank all of you ladies for posting on this site and diagnosing me, because obviously none of my doctors are qualified to do it! Everyone I have seen has done nothing but brush it off. I also had an US done the other day and they found a cyst on my ovary. My psoriasis (which I have only had a few small spots on my scalp my entire life) has flared up tremendously all over my body. I have lost all motivation to do anything and have nearly ruined all of my relationships with family and friends due to my laziness, depression, and mood swings. I will hate having a period again, but as I keep reading all of your posts I realize that having a period will be a blessing compared to dealing with all of this. I am making an appt on Monday to have it removed! Thanks so much ladies!

Hi, I am a mother of 2, and not quite 23 years old and got the Mirena inserted at my 6 week check up after having my second. I read all the literature that the Dr. gave me and I was sure that Mirena was the right thing for me (no where in the brochures did I read anything about the symptoms Ive read about here or anywhere else on the internet). I started having incredibly horrible mood swings, bloating, fatigue, nausea (sooo bad, every day) back pain, neck pain, no sex drive (!!!), depressed, lazy, headaches (to the point where I thought my head was going to explode), constantly hungry, acne, smelled maple syrup constantly, complaining all the time about everything, weight gain (only 7 lbs but I just had a baby, I need to lose weight, and I'm nursing),chest pain, and some other symptoms but the most important one is the stomach pain i was having. The pain in my stomach felt like a knife, and I kept having pain in my right side. So after a few days of this pain I went to the dr. he ordered an ultrasound of my abdomen and I am scheduled to get that done Wednesday. My doctor thinks that I may have gallbladder disease or something else seriously wrong with me that we suspect is induced by the Mirena. Keep in mind that I've had this thing in me for about 4 months!!! So after my doctors appointment I typed into google "side effects from Mirena" and Omg, I wish that I had done that before I got the thing inserted, those brochures about the Mirena make it seem like a Godsend and I am all for a lawsuit due to the problems I am having and the depression Ive felt. My 3 year old has suffered from my mood swings, every time id feel it coming I had to make her go to her room :( that poor girl deserves to have a mother that is not so depressed and ill that she can actually play, and both of them deserve that really, and im doing the best I can.... anyways I removed it myself yesterday, i had a hard time finding it but I took it out and I feel as if a huge burden has been lifted, EXCEPT I have been cramping very bad, spotting and incredibly sick, i also read about this thing called "the mirena crash" no matter how long you've had it in, if the hormones were in your system then you are effected and can feel very ill from it (and it can happen to women who had no problems while on it at all, even after 5 yrs). Im hoping that I have nothing wrong at my doctors appt on Wednesday when I get the ultrasound, and it may just be a cyst, turns out that is a side effect of mirena as well, that and bleeding the first several months (oh yeah, I did for about 2 months maybe 10 weeks altogether) Im also hoping that my daughter whom I am nursing is not sick as well :/

oh and for anybody out there thinking that the only women gaining weight are fat to begin with, well I am usually 105 lbs, after my baby I weighed 145, lost some weight, went down to 130ish gained it all back then some, losing weight is easy for me because I diet and exercise like I should, now I am doing all that and nursing a child.... and hello weight, when it really should be goodbye... well goodbye mirena I WONT miss you!!!!

Hi Everyone!
I too am thankful for having found this site. I had Mirena inserted back in April of this year. Can I tell you the pain was worse than child birth! I have 3 children and had NO drugs during child birth, so my pain threshold is high.It was so painful that after the long insertion time I almost passed out. Two weeks after having it inserted, I was riding in the car with my husband and had such bad cramping that I had to use my breathing from childbirth class! I had bleeding all the time. Not heavy, but annoying. I also felt like someone is up in my uterus pinching me hard it hurts so bad. my breasts are huge, my stomach is bloated (just in time for summer and the bikini...not) I have cramps, I feel depressed, nothing interests me anymore, I cant laugh with my kids,I am moody all the time and generally felt like crap. I made an appt. with gyno to have ultasound done to make sure it was in place correctly. It was. the OB told me I could have all these symptoms for up to a year! No way am I dealing with this for a year. I tried to hold out for a while longer and some of the symptoms have subsided a bit. The bleeding is less often, but I still get very bad pains. I have now also developed very bad back pain. It is located lower back/hips,and will sometimes travel into the front of my thigh. I thought it was due to a car accident, but having gone to a chiropractor and been fixed from the accident, it is still there. I thought it was in my head, but having read all the posts I feel pretty sure it is because of this Mirena IUD.
I made an appt. with my OB and I am having the darn thing removed!! I am glad I read these posts girls, as I was still not sure if I should leave it in for a while longer to see if things improve more. But I had to ask myself a question. Is it worth it? feeling bad physically ALL the time and sad?. the answer was simple. NO. It is coming out and I hope it wont be long before I feel like my old self again!
Best of luck to you all.

I have been taking prednisone for three years and I love it! It has helped me out with breathing problems and arthritis pain. I take a small does every day. And when I am without it I have trouble breathing and have painful arthritis pain. This drug has done wonders for me.

the same as some I've read on here,but not as severe. I have the red neck literally, a few sores in my scalp and more hair loss. as far as libido, I do have less desire, but some still there. I don't go out in the sun much because I just don't feel good if I stay out too long. some sharp pains behind eyes and occasionally up the back of left side of my head.

Since insertion I have felt lots of cramping- in between periods, severe cramping during periods, cramping after intercourse...but the most interesting symptom has been numb/tingling/warm feelings like blood isn't circulating properly through my legs - particularly my left one. It pretty much feels this way 100% of the time. This symptom started about two weeks after insertion but I didn't go back to my obgyn until my three month check-up because I was told that those feelings couldn't be related to Mirena. When my obgyn checked me out he felt the strings and said they were normally placed and everything with the iud felt fine and referred me to a chiropractor for the numb feelings. I have seen the chiropractor for four sessions and today is the fifth but I'm sure the feeling is not going to go away anytime soon because even he was surprised to know that his sessions weren't helping my leg feel any better. Also, today I have started to experience weird sharp pains in my hands (causing pain as I type this)....this is enough!!!! I am definitely scheduling an appt to take this thing out. My boyfriend has been begging me to because he is tired of my complaining.

I was on Femcon Fe for around a year. I didn't experience any negative side effects, it was easy to remember and quite effective. In May of 09 I started experiencing some weird symptoms (mind you, Ive been on this drug for almost a year by that point), my breasts were so tender it hurt to touch them, I was overly emotional, and exhausted all the time. I complained to my husband and my friends. They all joked and said "Uhoh sounds like youre pregnant". I already have one child and I figured I would KNOW if I were pregnant. Besides, I never missed a period. Never, not once. Finally, in July I broke down and made an appt with my OBGYN to discuss what was going on. My Dr. said she could almost guarantee that I wasn't pregnant and that it was a hormonal imbalance. Well, she got me a blood test and sure enough I was pregnant. 2 more blood tests down the road (because my HCG level was fluctuating strangely), they scheduled me for an ultrasound. Not only was I pregnant but I was 10 weeks pregnant! I will swear in a court of law that I never missed a period. If anything, my periods from May-July were heavier and lasted an average of 9 days. Junes period lasted almost 14 days.
Anyways, September 17th after a detailed 20 week level 2 ultrasound, my Perinatologist detected fetal birth defects. My baby has hydroureter and her left kidney is significantly malformed. The kidney will never improve and they can only monitor its function until birth and the bladder will have to be shunted immediately after birth to drain the excess fluids.
I will never EVER take another birth control pill...EVER. My daughters life will be forever altered due to Femcon. Ladies, beware.

I too have been experiencing the same side effects listed by most of you. I have also been seeing a gastroenterologist for about 9 months now because of stomach issues. All symptoms point to gallbladder disease but the tests come back normal. I called my gyne today and they seem unconcerned with what I have told them and advised me to continue to take my pills until my annual visit in October. I'm done with this pack on Saturday and am thinking of going sans pills for the next month until my appt. Any advice on what pill I should switch to when I do see my dr.?

I started taking Aviane on Sunday, and i have been on it for 4 day now. just in the 4 days i have become a NUT CASE. i warn every girl not take this birth control. I was fun, loving. optimistic person and after I took it, I have been very irritable, borderline depressed, and very sensitive. There is no good outcome to this birth control. Hopefully I'm not pregnant, stupid birth control!

I have been given three procedures with kenalog injections. First was in May when I has an epidural for my work related back injury. Though I received little pain relief from the epidural, I began to have menstrual spotting only a week after my regular period ended. This spotting continued every day for about three weeks. I had a normal end of June, beginning of July period. I started my next period the Friday before my first SI joint injection with Kenalog which was Wed. Aug 5th. Well from there my period never ended. Since then I've spotted everyday and all day long. I am sore from having to wear pads all the time. I went next to my f/u appt where they gave me another SI joint injection. I did tell them about this bleeding, but they weren't concerned. So here I am still spotting until today. This morning I woke up feeling fine besides my usual spotting I've had. Got to work, was working for about an hour to so and began to cramp. Went to bathroom and passed a clot about the size of the palm of my hand. And then consisted to have heavy bleeding soaking a pad in about 1.5-2.0 hour time. During the whole spotting I've had, I took preg. tests, with most recent one a week ago and was neg. My other concern is I have an IUD-the copper Paragard. Called my OB-GYN and she wanted to see me right away. Left work and on my way there (45 min. drive) I began feeling lightheaded and weak. My mom ended up driving me the rest of the way. Anyway, everything checked out fine-IUD ok, neg preg test, no chance for tubal preg. Was told must be side effect of the Kenalog. I've been bleeding for like 6 weeks and am soooo sore from pads all the time. I am on light duty due to my work injury and I feel I should be covered for today and tomorrow because OB-GYN wants me on bed rest to stop this heavy bleeding. I feel I should be paid under Workers' Comp since these missed days are related to a complication from the treatment of my work related injury. Any suggestions or comments from anyone?

Hello,
How long do side effects last after completing steroid treatment? I've been off of pred for 4 months for crohn's first time. I was on 40/30/20/10 for a 6 week period. When I got to 30 my legs went into extreme pain. They felt like they were on fire, burning knees. Went to several doctors. One said steroid withdrawal, one said inflammation of nerves from Crohn's. Neurologist put me on neurontin to get off of the pain meds. I am still in excruciating pain and wondering if it really is steroid withdrawal. I can barely walk at times with extreme sharp pains, like someone is stabbing me in the legs. Can't stand for long periods of time and pain pills barely touch the pain. During steroid treatment, they gave me 3 rounds of Dilaudid in the ER and I was still crying, and I don't cry. Has anybody ever had this effect this long after being off the drug??

well, I made an appt to have it removed on Thursday afternoon (it's Tuesday) but my back was so bad today I decided enough was enough and pulled it out while I was in the bath a couple of hours ago. It was really not painful at all just a little fiddly getting a good grip on the strings, it wasn't even as uncomfortable as pulling out a tampon!
Anyway I took two paracetamol just in case and had a nap. 4 hours later my back pain has completely gone and I don't feel down in the dumps any more hurrah!!! I just hope my other symptoms disappear as quickly as they appeared. I will never have this again.