Birth controll symptoms and conditions

I used NuvaRing for 1 year and 5 months before I threw in the towel. At first it was great. No weight gain, no change in my cycles, no problem during intercourse, everything was perfect... a great alternative to a pill. Until I started taking NuvaRing in 2008 I had not been on any birth control. The last time I was on anything was in 2000 after the birth of my only daughter. In 2000 I used Depo Provera (spelling?) and had horrible side effects from that. I had extreme hair loss & the worst mood swings you could imagine. I knew that his time around I didn't want the Depo shot & I can't remember to take a pill everyday. I struggle to take a full round of antibiotics without accidentally forgetting a dose. After talking to my Gyno in 08 I decided to try NuvaR. After getting my 6 mo. checkup with my doctor we decided to keep me on it since I was pleased with the results. So months went by, still no problem. Then one afternoon I started getting a pain in my left side that was the worst achey/uncomfortable nagging pain I had ever felt. I started to keep a log of when my pain would come & how long it lasted before it finally subsided. After a few weeks I began looking through the internet to find out more of my anatomy & try to come up with an idea of what was causing my strange pain. As it turns out the pain was in the same area as my spleen & a little piece of the liver comes across to the left side as well. I knew that this was not a kidney issue since I am prone to kidney infections at least 3 times a year. I know kidney pain & this was not it. My boyfriend started complaining about how I was always complaining about not feeling well. When we started dating in July of 08 I was somewhat outgoing, always going here or there for any get together-friends from work, daughters cheer stuff, jazz shows, beach etc. He was tired of me being tired. That is when we started wondering if I had anemia. The spleen pain could have been explained by that. Or maybe it was my gall blader we thought. I started looking for signs & symptoms but nothing was obvious. I just dealt with the pain in my side and wondered too if I was developing a stomach ulcer. Then one day my shins started hurting for no apparent reason. Then it was the forearm bones. I literally hurt inside my bones. The shins were the most painful of all. It hurt to walk, I couldn't get comfortable sitting, lying, standing, sleeping & I was at my whitts end. After talking about it with my boyfriend he said that I needed to go ahead & make an appointment because my quality of life has been reduced to zilch. I was always uncomfortable with pain or aches or moody. I went to see my doctor. Of course when I went I had a UTI, as usual-nothing abnormal about that. I told him about all my pain so we ran some tests. He did some blood work & saw that my white blood cells were through the roof. We decided to culture my urine specimen & a few days later we found I had a MRSA staff UTI. Typically you get these if you are catheterized but I fell into the unlucky 5% that just get it w/o any reason. (In the back of my mind I still wonder if NuvaRing had anything to do with it.) So, I took all the antibiotics making sure not to miss a dose. 14 days later at a check up I still had a little bit of bacteria in my urine & we ran more blood tests. My white count was even higher. Now my doctor takes my bone pain & side pain more seriously. The infection was getting better but my body was fighting something else or was it? He decided to check my kidneys by ultrasound to make sure there were no cycts. They also did a full abdominal ultrasound to look at the spleen & liver for enlargement. No enlargement but possibly a little kidney stone. Then I had an appointment with an infectious disease/internal medicine Dr. He made sure my infection was gone. I told him about all my weird pain & he ran a lot of blood work. White count still high, did a lap stain to look for leukosytes for leukemia, all was clear. So, after a week, off for a CT I went to check on the stone. Of course no stone on CT. Finally my boyfriend said hey, don't put a ring in this month & see if that's the problem. Sure enough after spending soooo much on all the tests after I took it out I was back to my old self in about a months time. I still had a pain in my side once in a while for the first 2-3 months but I have been completely symptom free now for 4 mos! The only worry I have now is that I started gaining weight after I stopped taking it. I have gained 20 lbs (some of that is because I got lazy & lethargic for so long) and my hair is beginning to come out more often in clumps again. I have an area thinning in my eyebrow & my nails are breaking more easily. I think I need to go get my thyroid checked. Yet again, I can't help but wonder- was it caused by the NuvaRing? Have I damaged myself thanks to what was supposed to be a great easy alternative to a pill? I guess we'll see how it goes. Never again will I use it, nor will I recommend it to anyone. Oh, and my love life is great again, I go places & do things again now. It's amazing how far I spiraled down before we realized it was preventable. DON'T USE THE RING!

I got mine August 2008. I have periods that last for 10 days straight. Spotting in between. No sex drive and very painful intercourse if I do have sex. Severe lower back pain and weakness. I don't think the Mirena is contributing to my short temper..but I think the bleeding, lack of sleep, and constant pain from mirena is causing me emotional problems. Plus my husband is very insensitive and clueless and thats makes it worse. He is only concerned about not getting enough Sex and apparently cares nothing for my physical aliments. I want this out!

Hi,
I am turning 22 in 3 months and have been on Yasmin for almost 5 years.
I can relate to almost all side effects listed on this site. I'm so glad I found this site now because I decided to stop taking Yasmin about a week ago. I just want to see how I fair without it.

While on Yasmin I was fine until the third year. I started experiencing severe anxiety, heart palpitations, severe mood swings. Small things infuriate me which normally never do. My skin is better but I experienced getting weird pimples that do not surface but cause deep scarring even if I do not fiddle with them. Also, I am about 5'2 and my pre Yasmin weight was 47 to 49 kg. I now weigh 53 to 55 kg so the equivalent gain of about 10 pounds in less than a year and it just keeps climbing. None of my clothes fit and this happened rapidly within a spce of 3 months. This is a lot for me as I am small in frame.The gain keeps on building around my stomach area and looks asif I am permanently bloated. IBS has been quite bad since Yasmin also.
I had a lot of suicide thoughts and feel lonely all the time. I would cry for no reason at all. For a while now I have been sooo tired and have energy for nothing. I cannot get out of bed in the morning and could easily sleep the entire day. Pre-Yasmin I would wake up at 7 every morning with no alarm and be wide awake! I used to have cool dreams, now I only have the occasional nightmare, and thats if I dream at all.
The worst was when I experienced SEVERE bloating on my stomach and strange ovary pains.(i looked asif i was 4 months preg) I had ultrasounds and x rays but they found nothing.
I was a BITCH with NO sex drive.
After a week without Yasmin, My sex drive has started creeping back and don't feel as bloated. Hopefully the weight will drop away soon as well.
Will post back here in a month.
Thank God for this site. I thought this pill was supposed to be a miracle. It is CRAP. I hope I don't need to go back on any form of birth control. I'm too scared now!

PERFORATED MY UTERUS --- The placement of the Mirena was extremely painful. I could barely drive afterwards. I was sure that something was wrong, but the doctor assured me that everything was fine. I breastfed my son for a year (I had it placed 6 weeks post-partem) which is why I had it placed in the first place. It was considered safe for breastfeeding mothers (please research side-effects of the active hormone it releases on infants. We now know why our 13 month old has had respiratory issues since he was 5 months old). Over the year, I had radial stabbing pains up my back and down my legs. It hurt during sex. At my year check up, I asked the doctor to remove it, but he could not find the strings to remove it. After an x-ray confirmed that it was still in my abdomen, he scheduled a hystoscope to find it and remove it (he assumed that it was still in my uterus). During the procedure, he could not find the Mirena in my uterus and had to perform emergency laparoscopic surgery to remove it from MY ABDOMEN. It had PERFORATED MY UTERUS. My husband and I now know of 4 women that this has happened to just by telling people our story. WE LIVE IN A SMALL TOWN!!!! THE NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS ARE UNDER REPORTED!!! PLEASE INFORM YOURSELF BEFORE GETTING THIS DEVICE.

I have nothing but positive things to say about the Mirena. I had the Mirena put in 6 weeks after my 2nd child was born and have to say it is one of the best choices I have made when it comes to a form of birth control. I went to the doctor today and she too had nothing but positive things to say, I am having it removed in June but only because we would like to have another baby!!! Keep in mind not every form of birth control works for everyone!!!

well i got my mirena in may of 07 the first three months were hell, i bled for 3 months striaght!!! i wanted it removed then and ther but my doctor talked me into keeping it. so know it has been a little over a year and a half and i am finally fed up. I am constantly bloated, eat like im pregnant some time, breaking out like crazy, i am always sleeppy, and a dry vag. & im only 19!!! i once woke up with a sharp pain in my side that felt like really bad gas... the pain lasted 8 hours and i finally went to the ER they could not figure out what was wronge with me.. since then i get the pian in my lower stomach, back and side at least once a week. i hardly get my period ] well that and im not preg. BUT at times i really fell crazy, i feel terible about myself, im depressed and tired and all these things you all have talked about, at one point i really thought i was losing my mind, i had no idea what was wrong with me. and yes as women we so have mood swings but i know something is not right, the occasionall mood swing would be heaven compaired to the constant hell i am in. i am not sure if the mirena is what is causing all these problems but its a very good possiblity. the only way i can be sure is to get it removed and see for myself. so as soon as i can i am going to get it removed. i was never told that the symtoms could be so bad all i got was a pamphlet. WHY were we not told !!! i am going to try and find a different birth controll but i dont want to fall into the same delema.

I had nuvaring in for two years, developed a blood clot in my lung, almost died, and the only trigger the doctors can come up with is the nuvaring.

ok so ive been on loestrin for about 6 months....it was fine until last month when i got my period for an entire week 3 weeks early. then i missed my period when i should have really had it, then spotted for a quick second at the beginning of the week and then another hot second at the end of that week i have been having cramps since i should have originally had my period in the beginning of july. i have symptoms like i did when i was pregnant with my son. Cramping, heartburn, feeling like ur gonna get your period everyday. this made me nervous so i took a test it said no. but still this is so odd because my doctor probably just like all of your doctors said that you should get your period very light for about 3 days...uhh what the hell is going on ..oh yeah and im moody getting sad a lot but i don't know if that has to do with other things in my life.. i am going to the dr tomorrow to try to get this worked out..i cant keep changing birth control!!!!!!!!

I am a 26 year old female and was prescribed Advair some years ago by my Asthma & Allergy doctor. I took it off and on for several years. Honestly I was scared to take it because of the side effects I thought it might have. About 16 months ago I went off birth control because my husband and I wanted to have a baby. I continued to take Advair 150/50 twice a day. I got pregnant in July and had a miscarriage Sep 1. Then while still taking Advair I got pregnant again shortly after that. After my first OB appointment it was established that the fetus/egg sack had no heartbeat. I had a D & C done in December to clear out the unsuccessful pregnancy. I decided after reading all these comments and thinking about my own side effects of taking Advair that my miscarriage were the cause of taking Advair. I believe Advair may have decreased my body's ability to clot blood properly and that is what has caused my babies not to thrive. I decided in January of 08 to stop taking Advair. I asked my doctor about the Advair and being put on another medicine in Jan and he seemed to think that there was nothing wrong with me taking Advair. I stopped taking it anyways. I decided since mostly all of my mild Asthma symptoms were caused by exercising that I would just use Proventil/Albuterol inhaler before exercise. It worked great and in Jan, Feb, March of 08 I trained for a 5k, and ran it in March under 26 minutes. I have been off Advair ever since Jan and have been fine. I used a peak flow meter to be sure my breathing was normal. I only use the Albuterol occasionally now. Furthermore I am now almost 20 weeks pregnant and doing fine. Besides the miscarriages I also blame Advair on other side effects I experienced when taking it including leg cramps, increase in heart rate, restlessness after taking in evening, night sweat, hoarseness, dry throat, headaches, and whenever I would get a cut or something it would take forever for me to stop bleeding.
now my blood clots quickly no problem. I was taking no other meds besides Advair when I experienced all this. DON'T TAKE ADVAIR...unless you feel the benefits of the drug outweigh all of the horrible side effects. Demand another med. with fewer side effects.

mirena DOES NOT prevent ovulation!! meaning you will still ovulate, but the sperm and egg cannot implant themselves which in turn will cause a miscarriage!! This is the same for all iud's, For some unknown reason docs will not tell you this, but my doctor did and strongly advises not to use iuds!! You will get pregnant! You may think your having a heavy period but really you could be passing a dead fetus! Sorry to be so blunt, please do research before you choose this method of birth control

i have been on the ring for a week now, i havent had any side effects, yet. I had to get on the ring because the high estrogen level of the pill was making my hormons go crazy and creating nuts in my breats. After reading all the side effects i dont know if i want to keep using the ring. I have not had intercorse with the ring on because im scared its going to hurt me or my partner.... any help on how to avoid pain during intercose while using the ring??? will my partner feel the ring ??

Okay soo... I have said before that I liked it... well my mind might be changing. I had a bladder infection last month and after using antibiotics to get rid of it got a yeast infection which is not abnormal, when I use antibiotics I normally get a yeast infection. Well this month around the same time I got a slight yeast infection. I have also had breast tenderness the last week or so, I had a weird discharge on saturday but it only lasted one day and I was very emotional last week. So... here is my dilemma is this because of the ring or am I pregnant? (we did have sex while I was on antibiotics which does counter-act birth controll) I took a in home pregnancy test two weeks ago and it came up negative. But I had a friend who was on birth control and her in home tests came up negative when she was pregnant(with twins even). Can anyone help me out here, let me know what you guys think? Or have any of you had negative pregnancy tests on the ring and actually been pregnant? Or has anyone gotten pregnant on the ring? Just some questions I've been having. Thanks!

I have had Mirena for about 6 months now and I have been going crazy trying to figure out what is wrong with me. To begin with I had an ovarian cyst, which my doctor insisted was not due to the IUD. I later find out it is a possible side effect of the IUD. As I am sitting here typing I am having lower abdominal pain and I feel completely bloated. I cannot wait until Monday I am going to request that my doctor see me immediately to remove this! I have had cramping, bloating, constipation, weight gain, irregular dishcharge, mood swings, and loss of sex drive. This has been hell for the past 4 months. Please don't have this put in and spread the word.

hello Flowerbabies, thank you for getting back to me and for your words of kindness. Its so good to hear that its just a hormonal issue and not a mental one. Im stronger this month and I am trying to focus on positives in my life and not the negative that is in the past, thats how Yasmin effected me with anxiety, around the time of my period I seem to keep thinking of silly stuff that happened in the past and completly blow them out of proportion in my mind, the rest of the month I wouldnt even give it a second thought and I would be as happy as ever. My doctor said it was brought on by the Yasmin, so he took me off it straight away and suggested I give my body time off birth controll as he said it doesnt agree with everyone, I have to say he was very understanding. Im on Vitamin Bcomplex and a Vit B6 can you recommend anything else to help. Flowerbabies thank you so much for your words of encouragement it really means alot, look forward to chatting to you again soon

Hello Flowerbabies,
Thank you so much for your quick response, and your words of kindness. Its so good to hear that its just a hormonal issue and not a mental one. Im stronger this month and I am trying to focus on positives in my life and not the negative that is in the past, thats how Yasmin effected me with anxiety, around the time of my period I seem to keep thinking of silly stuff that happened in the past and completly blow them out of proportion in my mind, the rest of the month I wouldnt even give it a second thought and I would be as happy as ever. My doctor said it was brought on by the Yasmin, so he took me off it straight away and suggested I give my body time off birth controll as he said it doesnt agree with everyone, I have to say he was very understanding. Im on Vitamin Bcomplex and a Vit B6 can you recommend anything else to help. Flowerbabies thank you so much for your words of encouragement it really means alot, look forward to chatting to you again soon
sweetcheeks (:

Hello Flowerbabies,
Thank you so much for your quick response, and your words of kindness. Its so good to hear that its just a hormonal issue and not a mental one. Im stronger this month and I am trying to focus on positives in my life and not the negative that is in the past, thats how Yasmin effected me with anxiety, around the time of my period I seem to keep thinking of silly stuff that happened in the past and completly blow them out of proportion in my mind, the rest of the month I wouldnt even give it a second thought and I would be as happy as ever. My doctor said it was brought on by the Yasmin, so he took me off it straight away and suggested I give my body time off birth controll as he said it doesnt agree with everyone, I have to say he was very understanding. Im on Vitamin Bcomplex and a Vit B6 can you recommend anything else to help. Flowerbabies thank you so much for your words of encouragement it really means alot, look forward to chatting to you again soon
sweetcheeks (:

Hi Flower babies, can you recommend another brand of birth controll that doesnt send your hormones crazy. Im off yasmin 5 weeks now and feeling so much better, the anxiety has really decreased and the crying constantly has stopped, i feel like im getting much better. But I am concerned about not being on the pill now I am in a relationship so I need to look at other birth controlls can you or anyone recommend a bc that doesnt do waht yasmin does to you.
Thanks (:

Hello there, hoping someone can help. I am off yasmin now for 4 weeks, how long does it take for your regular periods to start again when off birth controll. Still feeling very sad every few days. I can have good days and then really bad days, when does it stop Im sick of feeling like an emotional roller cosater, im so sick of feeling like this. I dont know what to do the depression just comes out of no were, and really feeling negative all the time, i know its my hormones, i just wish i never took this pill to start with, an absolute nightmare

Oh my god i'm so glad i found this site.. i have been on yasmine for almost a month and the only really annoying side effects i have noticed are a spotting like brown vaginal discharge, anxiety (i suddenly become nervouse and afraid of things that have never bothered me before) and fatigue. The brown discharge was worrying me the most. i thought it had something to do with the birth controll but i wasn't sure (and lack of health insurance keeps me from going to the gyn to find out) i figured i would just wait out the 3 months and hope it got better. Thank god i'm not the only one. Now i know how this stuff works, it makes you a moody, bloody unattractive-feeling mess. who could possibly have sex under such conditions? does anyone know if this stops?