Best thing since sliced bread symptoms and conditions

I had mirena put in in Oct 08. My symptoms are: dizziness, sweating, nausea, (these symptoms can be mild and brief (seconds); or last a few minutes. I had severe dizziness in May and June of 2009. I also get acne on my shoulders, neck, face, and my T zone is very oily (especially my forehead). I am using good acne products to try to combat this problem, but I continue to have a problem. Some of my acne is like welts and I even have this going on on my scalp. I wrecked my car in December 2008. At that time I was very foggy headed. I blamed the foggy headedness on being stressed and overworked. I am 40 years old. My children are 10 and 13, therefore I know my symptoms are not post pregnancy. Today, I questioned if I wasn't going through early menopause. My doctor said this mirena would be wonderful and that after six months I would not have a period anymore. I have a period every two weeks. My periods are very light, but I still have them every two weeks, and they last for two weeks. I have been wondering if my body will adjust, and if I will eventually get to this heavenly place of now periods and bliss?

This is absolutely NUTS! I had the Mirena inserted August 2007 because I was SURE I didn't want any more children but because I was only 26 they refused a tubal and suggested Mirena (which they talked about like it was the best thing since sliced bread). Well I fell for it, insertion wasn't horrible, hurt for a split second and a bit crampy for a while but nothing major...then I bled for 5 or 6 days HEAVILY. Then it died down to an annoying amount, just enough to have to use a tampon...for 3 MONTHS STRAIGHT! I was just about fed up and ready to have it removed when I stopped bleeding and haven't bled since (with the exception of very rare barely there pink spotting after sex a few times). Ive loved not having my period and none of the emotional ups and downs that I had always had with the pill or the patch. Everything was fine until about the 1 year mark, when suddenly one night I thought I was having a heart attack, no joke! my heart was beating really fast, and hard, my left arm was tingling, my chest felt tight....only to have every test in the book come back completely NORMAL. Talk about feeling delusional! I quit smoking, quit drinking, started eating like a health nut and exercising 6-7 days a week...and it seems I gradually feel worse and worse every day. I've noticed the past few months several things, bad acne on my back, sometimes on my shoulders and chest as well, which I have never experienced in my life, I'm "fuzzy" on my back, face and chest (blond but like peach fuzz), i've notice dark hairs on my chin that i pluck but seem to return right away, and sudden bouts of depression and mood swings that are very uncharacteristic for me. Looking back there have been several times where i was really tired, dizzy and nauseous and bought and took pregnancy tests thinking I HAD to be pregnant only to have a negative result. I don't think my sex drive has been affected though I've always been more like a male in that regard (lol) so if it has I guess it would just be more along the "normal" lines now than lacking. We have decided we want to try to have another baby but I've read on other sites the horrible side effects (like the "crash") after removal and how horrible your periods can end up being and now I'm petrified to get it taken out as much as I am to leave it in!

For all of you who have had it taken out, how long did you bleed, how badly and did you experience the "crash" emotionally?

I am relieved to find that I'm not the only one feeling these side effects!

On January 30, 2009 I had my Mirena put in (about 4.5 months after the birth of my son). The doctor never went over the side effects just touted it as the best thing since sliced bread. It was more painful than labor, delivery or the healing afterwards! I bled so much it looked like the linens were from a child-birth and that was just putting the dang thing in! The doctor had to waste one before she could get it seated correctly.

I bled for three months after insertion non-stop. Sometimes it was very heavy and sometimes it was lighter - but it was always there. I cramped all the time.

Since then I have stopped bleeding all the time but I start bleeding/spotting again at the drop of a hat. If I twist, turn or bend the wrong way I start bleeding. Sex makes me bleed. I think I am single-handedly keeping Always and Carefree in business at this point. I have been bitchy, cold, no sex drive, reclusive, back pain almost all of the time, bloating, unable to lose weight, short tempered and maybe worst of all I SMELL! I am a very clean person. I have only ever had one single sex partner (my husband). Since the Mirena was put in, I feel goopy, gross and wet all of the time and there is a smell which I cannot describe except to say "dirty" or "used". I may also be keeping Summer's Eve "personal" wash in business too.

At this point, I am very seriously considering having the Mirena removed. I thought a lot of what I was feeling was in my head or not related but apparently I was wrong.

I have 3 children. My last was born in October of 2003. Mirena inserted December 2003. It has been the "best thing since sliced bread" for me. I never had any significant side effects and it completely wiped out my period.( Ive always had a light flow anyway and never any cramps- yeah I'm lucky) and I of course never got pregnant over the 5 years it was in. I just had it replaced yesterday.

I think that having a light period & previously having children helped in my situation and maybe that is the case for those of us that have no issues.

I also think that having it inserted shortly after giving birth may have allowed me to chalk up some side effects to post partum. But still, nothing that I can remember.

I'm bummed to see so many complaints because it really has been a great experience for me.

Good Luck All.

I had the Mirena Coil inserted in Jan 2008 (age 42), for heavy and painful periods and fibroids.I was told by my Gynaecologist that ''It's the best thing since sliced bread''....It took a few months for the bleeding to slow down and I was bleeding approx every 2 weeks, sometimes bright red clots, then 'old' brown blood. I would (and still am) experiencing pain before, during and after a period, particularly in my pelvis and low back and across the front of my tummy. In July 2008 I had pain constantly for 2 weeks, yet basic swabs for std (I'm in a monogamous relationship), revealed no abnormality and no uti. I was having regular check ups with my Gynaecologist, telling her how much pain I was in. I persevered for the 'recommended' year of having it in place. In Jan 2009 I began with excruciating pain which lasted 3 weeks. I had a routine pap smear which was normal except for Actinomyces. As I was symptomatic I asked my GP to remove the Mirena. It was sent for histology and revealed it had grown Gram Positive Cocci. I am still waiting for extended culture results. A high vaginal swab also revealed I had Bacterial Vaginosis and Mixed Anaerobes. I am due to finish 3 weeks of Amoxycillin antibiotics tomorrow for the Positive Cocci, and am on my second lot of Clindamycin Phosphate inserted internally for the Bacterial Vaginosis as I was still in a lot of pain and in desperation went to my GUMed clinic which revealed I still had the BV despite having 1 lot of treatment. I am waiting for a Laparoscopy in April. I am so angry that I have suffered for over a year with the Mirena. I have no idea what my periods will be like in future or when they will return in full. This IUD has affected my relationship with my partner and family, my social life and my working life. I live in the UK and I would sue the makers if the opportunity arises.
M.

I can't believe I found this info, two days ago I was ready to make an appt with my Dr for some type of anti-depressant, I have never been depressed before so I started looking online at different meds, and I found all these sites about Yasmin. About 10 months ago I started taking Yasmin after I gave birth to my second child. Every month got worse and I really am changing into a totally different person, crazy (sad, numb, mean, paranoid ext..) No sex drive, vision problems. I kept waiting to be happy again. Thanks to all the women who have shared these experiences, I stopped taking this pill yesterday and I am finally excited about having control over myself again.

Hi ladies, i have had mirena coil since august 2003 and was supposed to have it removed august 2008. Due to a crap childhood i don't like anyone coming near me and my doc will not let me get it removed under general anaesthetic, but i so want to get it removed.
I have had the same problems, weight gain, depression (which doc gave me prozac for, and still taking), pains in the stomach, hair loss, mood swings (felt really sorry for the person on the other end of them), stringy brown blood (old blood),poor concentration, really bad memory and so on.
I put all my problems down to an under active thyroid which i do have, because some of the symptoms are the same. I am so glad i found this site and to know i am not the only one.
For anyone reading this site and considering having a Mirena coil fitted, i strongly suggest you think about it long and hard, i know some people have no problems at all and think it's the best thing since sliced bread, they are the extremely lucky ones.
Good luck everyone

I'm so glad that I found this site because I was beginning to think that something was seriously wrong with me. I started taking Nuvaring almost 2 months ago. 5 more days and I can take it out...FOREVER!!!!

At first, I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread...and then the weight gain began. My husband said maybe it was just that I was eating junk. Maybe...so I started back on Weight Watchers. I can not lose a single pound, and when I have counted points in the past the pounds fell off the first week or two. I've gained 15 lbs since I started Nuvaring. The strange thing is that it is all just around my stomach. It is like a big spare tire. I've gained very little in the rest of my body.

I also noticed pretty bad cramping after I put it in. It was pretty much all the time, not just during certain parts of my cycle.

Then I started to get headaches. Not little headaches, but debilitating migraine headaches. The sensitivity to light is almost unbearable when I have one of these. Many times I find myself going to bed at 8 pm when I put my son to bed. Pretty much all I ever want to do is sleep. Sex? Nope, not interested. (Very different from how I was in the past.) Huh, I guess it works as birth control because it promotes abstinence!

The worst part is that I am soooooo depressed. Like major depression. I have usually been a pretty even keel personality, but since starting Nuvaring I find myself wondering what I have to live for. I've come to the conclusion that if it weren't for my husband or son, I'd rather just be dead. I've even found myself thinking about how I would want to die. It has gotten so bad that I haven't been to work in almost 2 weeks. I have so much anxiety that I actually feel scared to go. My husband finally called a doctor for me on Wednesday and I start therapy on Monday. I hope that the side effects will go away soon after I take the ring out, but I am very afraid that I might be like this for a while.

I question how so many of us have these HORRIBLE side effects and yet no one in the medical profession has even questioned whether something is amiss. It seems to me that I better just have another child and then have my tubes tied so I don't ever have to mess with all this awful birth control stuff again. (I was bad about taking pills on time, so I ended up having spotting most of the month, which kind of defeated the purpose.)

I'm thankful that I found this site and now I know that I am not alone!

Is this a forum for trashing Lamictal? I've been on it for a year and it probably saved my life. If you have negative effects from taking it, why not drop it and try something else? I'm glad I never read all of these horror stories, as I'm sure it would have scared me enough never to have tried it. That would have been a shame .. I've never felt as symptom free as I do now; I sleep well and dream well, put in long days in my business and never have a problem remaining focused and alert. The perfect cocktail for me turned out to be 250mg Lamictal twice a day, 25mg Trazodone at night, and 40mg Citalopram. I feel really fortunate that my psychiatrist only feels the need to visit with me once every 6 months just to check in. If I miss a day, my wife notices immediately as I start to swing "up" again. Drawbacks? The cost (about 7 bucks a pill), and some weight gain which may have happened anyway .. (I'm 52). If you have the insurance to cover it, I say give it a try.

First I would like to say thank you to all the posts for filling me in on the side effects of Mirena. I wish I would have read this sooner!! Here's MY short story....II am 34 years old no children and do not want them, I was having problems with birth control for years making me sick. I saw the add on TV for Mirena and though "HEY THIS IS A GOOD OPTION FOR ME" Well....BIG MISTAKE...On Saturday December 22nd I had Mirena inserted. I was told it would take 5 minutes and have no pain at all. A little grossed out by the fact of having to do this while with my period I still went ahead with it. My 5 minute painless insertion turned out to be an excruciating 45 minutes of poking pinching and jamming this piece of plastic into my cervix. The pain was unreal but subsided a few minutes after. I though I was in the clear....OH NO....about a 1/2 hour after the cramping started. I thought my Uterus was being shredded inside me the pain was so bad. I called my OBGYN and he said this may be a result since I had no children. He told me to take Motrin and in a day or so I'd be fine. WELL.....for the past 6 days I have been in so much pain I couldn't stand up. I had horrible bloating, diarrhea, bad headaches & cold sweats in the middle of the night. During the day I was nauseous probably from the pain but who knows. I literally killed my stomach with all the Motrin I was taking. Yesterday after being in pain all week, ruining my xmas and almost my new years, I googled Mirena Side Effects and found this site!! thank you ladies....I immediately called the emergency line for my obgyn got a doctor on call and told her i wanted it OUT NOW. She made me stick it out till this morning 9am. I went in and MY GOD IN HEAVEN the pain of taking it OUT was worse then putting it IN however the pain lasted for only about 3 hours and I'm OK now. My abdomen is still bloated and very tender but I am sure that will go away. I printed all of these side effects and gave a copy to my doctors office and told them that maybe they should read up some more before they put any of their patients through this. My mother was right....it is not natural to put something foreign up into your body and it be healthy. So, to all.... DON'T DO IT!!! its not worth it!!
Happy New Year!!

I was like everyone else when I first heard about Mirena. I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread! WRONG!!! The things that have affected me the most are weight issues, bloating, MAJOR fatigue,and MAJOR MOOD SWINGS! My husband and I fight all of time because he says I'm "different and he doesn't like my mood swings. I also feel weird in my neck and head, kid of like a spacey feeling. I'm seriously contemplating whether to keep it in or get rid of it and I'm leaning towards getting rid of it! I hate not being able to enjoy my husband and 6 month old daughter because I'm moody and exhausted!!!! I'm so glad I found this website of real women with real Mirena problems, thank you all so much!