Blood loss symptoms and conditions

Hi everyone ~ I am so glad I have found all of you. I have an appt today to have the Mirena placed. I highly considering canceling the appt now. I have read probably 98% bad and only 2% good. can anyone help me decide what I should do? I was having it placed for my heavy, painful menses, the birth control is/was a bonus feature. really? I shouldn't do this eh? someone please respond.

At 32 years old, this is my first experience with birth control and I have to say that I'm completely miserable. I'm eleven days into my first pack of pills, have been bleeding (like my regular period, maybe even worse!) since Tuesday, and decided this morning that i'm DONE. I'm taking this pill for contraceptive reasons only - and if I keep taking them, I won't need them anyway because my boyfriend will surely have dumped me. I'm moody, I'm tired, I have headaches, I can't sleep, my cramps are horrible today (and I've never had cramps in my life), and this out of control blood loss is a little concerning. I called my doc's office yesterday to see if I can stop abruptly, and they told me to finish the whole pack and THEN stop - but I cannot take one more day of this nonsense. My biggest concern with stopping midway through my pack is that I'll be really screwing up my cycle, but something is definitely already screwed up, so how much worse can if really get? Does anyone have any experience with just stopping birth control abruptly, and if so, what should I expect? THANKS!

What a MISTAKE! I had my dreadful Mirena INSTALLED September 2. My doctor had me convinced this was the answer to my prayers. It was suppose to control my heavy painful periods. I was not using it for birth control. Unfortunately the effects were exactly the opposite. I have a very high pain tolerance, but when I got home from the dr. office the pain was more like labor pains than menstrual cramps. When the excessive bleeding, cramping, bloating, lower back pain persisted I started to look for answers. I was so grateful to find this site! It has been pure torture trying to live with this thing in me. I am happy to share I just had it removed. I only lasted 15 days! My husband came with me because he has never seen me so weak, in pain, dizzy and light headed. All symptoms from the excessive amount of blood loss. I am confident that the women who shared their stories truly helped me to make the right decision today. Thank you

Hi All, Hope everyone is holding up well. I've been on warfarin for year and a half now and like most of you i find it has changed my life a lot. I'm only 22 and i hate taken warfarin. I have gained weight and feel depressed. The thing that scares me the most is that i was sick at the weekend and i found there was blood in my sick!!! Has this ever happened to anyone before as it scared me a little.

For me, mostly, Yaz has been heaven sent. I had a horrible case of PMDD and it is much more manageable now. My only complaint is that after 15 months of being on Yaz, I have been bleeding now for 17 days with no end in sight. This bleeding started mid-pack and is much more severe within a couple of hours of taking a pill. Anyone else experience this?

i hope you can help me. my daughter is almost 17 and started on yaz for severe cramps, heavy bleeding, and pmdd. within 2 weeks, the boyfriend that she hated to be apart from, annoyed her. he was all she thought about before.
about a week later, she said that everyone was bothering her and she needed a break from everyone. she stayed in her room in the evenings-not like her. she even broke up with her boyfriend. she said she wasn't upset with him, just not interested. she got back with him 2 days later. her gyn switched her to loestrin. after 2 days, she seemed to be doing better, but only for 3 days. i don't know if it's the hormones or if she's going through something. she is normally an upbeat, optimistic person. i don't know what to do. she was very serious and happy with this boy 3 weeks ago. i don't know if she could be depressed because she doesn't feel the same about him or she doesn't feel the same about him because of the pills. any opinions or suggestions?

Hi there. I am so glad I found this website too. My mirena was fitted in Dec 2005. Since then I have been on anti-depressants twice. I have terrible mood swings, am constantly ratty with my two young sons and my husband, I feel like I am constantly stressed out and definitely feel like I can't relax. I am always shattered. I feel my heart "tremmoring" quite a lot. My hips and top half of my legs ache most days. I feel bloated quite a lot too, like the feeling before a period, or even slight labor pains. I have a constant vaginal discharge, and have slight bleeding after intercourse. I had convinced myself I had cancer from some of these symptoms, but have just had smear test results and all is fine. So it must all be down to the mirena. The only thing is though I am SOOOOOO scared of having it removed, frightened of the pain and of the bleeding immediately after! I would like to hear from people who have had it removed, did it hurt and was the blood loss severe?

I was put on Femcom FE a few weeks ago after having a blood transfusion due to heavy blood loss. I have just started my second pack and have strange feelings in my chest. I am not in any pain, but I have been short of breath and have feelings similar to indigestion. Would be interested to hear if anyone else has had similar symptoms.

About three and a half years ago, I was having extremely heavy periods that were causing anemia. My truly wonderful, trustworthy, kind GYN suggested the Mirena because it would lessen/delete my periods. I had 3 days of severe cramping after insertion, but within a month - no periods! At all! For just over three years! This was fabulous, I thought.

Over time, I began to wonder if my weight gain was related, but could find nothing online and the doc said absolutely not. I weighed 156 back then, weigh 173 now no matter what I do. Hmmm.

Then, about 4 months ago, I got my first period sort of thing. Mostly, it was 16 days of sticky, gunky brown smudges on light pads. Very odd. Next period included huge "flakes" of gummy brown stuff - still no reed or pink blood. Really unsettling. It lasted 12 days. Made GYN appt. A week later, my "period" began again - erratic - had 7 days of brown gunk. Asked GYN to remove the Mirena.

That was 10 days ago. I have three children - I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I have passed dozens of blood clots, and put together they'd EASILY weigh as much as a placenta and a half!!! Some look like cow's liver and are just as big, others are like huge night crawler worms or the size of fried eggs! I can't go out in public because they are so heavy, they fall out of the pad and slide down my leg! (Although I can hold the larger ones in until I get to the toilet now - not a skill I wanted to learn!) The bleeding is intense - a 100% soaked pad every 2-3 hours except when sleeping, when it slows a bit.

Called the nurse today and she said, "It just sounds like your period." Uh, no, it doesn't. It sounds like I've lost a gallon of blood. I've been dizzy and tired - got myself started on Burdock Root from the healthfood store and I'm slowly stabilizing my iron levels - but the blood loss and the huge clots (8-10 per day!) are really freaking me out. I was a BIG fan of the Mirena IUD until I got this one taken out. Just freaky, scary, odd. What the heck was it doing in there? Holding all that old blood inside me? Blood clots take time to form. What are these clots? Self-aborting would-be babies? If the IUD works by agitating the uterine wall, how in the world did all these huge clots get stuck in me? Why weren't they reabsorbed or "agitated" right out? They are not water soluble - I can hold one under running water and it doesn't dissolve or leak red. They have significant weight and mass. It's the most unsettling thing I've ever experienced - I really suspect this is blood/tissue my body couldn't remove while I was using the Mirena, or else partially formed embryos. Really creepy whatever they are. IF they are damaged embryos, then I've technically been pregnant many times in the last 3 yrs. IUDs don't prevent pregnancy, they prevent impregnated embryos from embedding in the uterine wall. That's why I suspect that's what these all are.

I wish there was more research than the pamphlet they gave me on "Choosing the Mirena" before insertion.

I had open heart surgery August 23rd 2006 for a conginital heart defeat (Aortic Valve replaced with mechanical St Jude valve). I wanted a bio valve but Drs insisted I should have the mechanical valve because of my age (45 at the time).

Prior to my heart surgery I was a performer, singer/songwriter/actress/comedianne and I loved what I did. It was my life. Now, after 2+ years post-op and on Warfarin (7.5 mg daily for life) I feel like life has ended and I'm just a walking dead person. The effects I feel daily are as follows...

Dizziness
Severe Headaches
Blurred vision
Memory Loss
Fatigue
Weight Gain
Trouble concentating
Fluttering effect in my head/ears- Hard to explain
Hair loss
Unexplained pains in chest & left side of my body
Unable to sleep well
Tiredness- even when I've done nothing to be tired for
Nausea
Gas & Diarrhea off and on
teeth pain- Like I've drank something very cold
feeling in my head similar to a brain freeze- like you ate ice cream too fast
Night bleeds in my month- wake up with a mouth full of blood daily
What do think, is that enough??

I'm going in tomorrow for a cat scan because the headaches have been so bad they feel I need to be checked for brain tumor and/or internal bleeding. When I tell the Drs I think this is due to Wafarin they pratically laugh in my face as if to say, "Silly silly woman, don't be foolish! We know whats best for you. Remember, we saved your life!" Really? Did you?!

I want nothing more than to get off this rat poison and regain my life, but to do so could mean a stroke or heart attack. I would go under the knife again to have the mechanical valve removed and replaced with a biological valve, but do you think my insurance company (Kieser) would pay for a "silly" thing like that? Right!

Welcome to the greatest country in the world!

I'm going to start a website to help people like us. I want your stories, please send me your info, together we might make a change, what can it hurt to try? Email me ******

B.

My husband entered the hospital in Nov of 2005 for a surgery. He almost died in the recovery room and from there things went from bad to worse. They put him on a massive dosage of Prednisone. 95 days later we were able to come home. About 2 weeks later he started vomiting and lost all energy. We returned to the hospital and the diagnosis came down as acute adrenal insufficiency. He was pumped full of Prednisone again. From there he went to a very slow wean and he got completely off the drug. No problems. This year he suffered a fall resulting in extreme trauma and blood loss. Back to the hospital where it was determined that his adrenals were again in crisis. Got him all mended and on the way out the door when a nurse decided that he should have a pneumovax. Within 24 hours we were back in the hospital with my husband in critical condition with three life threatening situations. His kidneys were shutting down, his blood pressure was beyond the danger zone (low) and he had cellulitis. Back home again to another slow wean. We are down to 5mg now and are hopeful at the next appointment to be able to start weaning further and back to zero. We were given Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate for injection in case of any trauma in the future. In addition, my husband now wears a MediAlert bracelet which notes his condition and that in case of accident/trauma Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate is to be given. Anyone on steroids should register with MediAlert at ******

What everyone needs to know is that the adrenals are responsible for a person's feeling of well being. When you are on a steroid, you need to wean very, very slowly to let your adrenals start doing the job on their own. The reason Prednisone is often prescribed is that it comes in as low of a dosage as 1mg and can be split 4 ways for 1/4th mg per dosage. For those that cannot tolerate Prednisone, Hydrocortisone is available. 10 mg of Hydrocortisone is the same as 2.5 mg of Prednisone. Hydrocortisone can also be split.

I'm 34 and my children are 3 and 5 years old. I had my Mirena coil fitted on 12 Sept 2007, so have now had it just over a year. During that time, I've had bouts of intense abdominal pain, almost constant vaginal discharge, bleeding after exercise or sex and a curious sensation in the region of the uterus that feels like when a baby moves inside you. My doctor dismisses all my symptoms as being nothing at all to do with the coil, but having read the other posts on this site I'm not so sure....
I'm also constantly exhausted and get spots. I am a coward though, and having the coil fitted was so excruciatingly painful that I'm not sure I can face having it taken out so (relatively) soon. I'm off to see the female GP at my practice next week so it will be interesting to hear her take on things.

I posted on here a few weeks ago complaining about my excessive hair loss to the point of seeing through my hair. I went to my obgyn after reading this forum. He said he is not surprised....that anything containing progestin causes hair loss. Also any traumatic experience....to expect hair loss to start from 3-6 months post trauma....I had a baby, a mirena, marital separation, and 2 d&c, along with a bad delivery and severe blood loss, ALL in a matter of 4 weeks. So, it could be all or one....either way he was not scoffing at my claim of the mirena being the culprit of the hair loss. We agreed to give it a few weeks and see if the loss slowed, if not I will return to have it removed......I also put on a quick 10+ ponds which I am not happy about, but my appetite is raging. I am still breastfeeding too, so I don't know which one is the cause. I also lost hair and gained weight last baby....so who knows. I will keep everyone posted.

Staci from SC

Has anyone had extreme heavy bleeding/clots after having the Mirena removed? This is day 3. The last time I had such heavy bleeding I had just had my son. When do you start to worry about the bleeding?

I've been taking Osteo Bi-flex with MSM Advanced for about a month and the only significant and serious problem is that I bleed deep red blood from the slightest injury and have a hard time getting the bleeding to stop. I have never had an issue of this type before and cannot afford blood loss because I get radio frequency treatments in my back and bleeding is the most serious issue of the treatment. I am due for one now but I would be terrified at this point nor would my Pain management doctor touch me under the circumstances. Has anyone else out there ever experienced a bleeding problem while taking Osteo Bi-flex with MSM Advanced?
by MSB

Thank God I found this site. My doctor thinks I'm mad, she has a Mirena herself and thinks it's wonderful. I had the Mirena put in because of severe blood loss anemia two years ago. I've had a headache on the left side of my head for 18 months. Heart palpitations right before my unpredictable periods, chest pain, serious stomach upsets, numbness and tingling that made me think I had MS or a brain tumor, and countless other frightening symptoms. I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma when I was 23 which was successfully treated, this Mirena has had me concerned daily that I had relapsed and that it just wasn't being picked up. I've been so frightened of what's been happening to me, but now I will INSIST that the thing is removed right away. Thank you so much for you honesty about your symptoms, I no longer feel alone.

I am 42, no children, never pregnant.
I had Mirena inserted about 7 months ago.

I thought I finally found THE REMEDY against heavy periods and condom use.

Since then I've had practically constant spotting. My period (heavy, as usual) followed by spotting. The first couple of months continuous blood loss, the last 2 months it was 3 weeks of bleeding (1st week heavy), only 1 week not.

Because of all the blood loss, there is no doubt I have am low on ferritin, thus and suffering from an iron deficiency. I am tired and lack energy. There is no drive to take any action whatsoever. Could be lack of iron, could be Mirena...

I wear contact lenses and had a left EYE that showed bubbles, the surface wasn't flat anymore. My eye was irritating. Not suspecting/thinking of any relation to Mirena, I went to see 3 different ophthalmologists, 5 visits in total. I took every kind of medicine you can imagine against viral and bacterial infections (as heavy as Prednisolone) etc. They only made things worse. None of the ophthalmologists actually found the origin of my "bubbles". Finally, triggered by the fact that my eye problems started at about the same time as I had my Mirena inserted, I started to do some research on the internet and found a website describing scientific research on mice that stated that sex hormones influence the surface of the eye... All of a sudden all became crystal clear to me....

My THROAT is sore. Like having acid reflux. I went to see my doctor, had and echo done, went to see an ENT-specialist to looked into my throat with a camera. No one found anything special (except a red throat). I am practically sure that this phenomenon has to do with Mirena as well as I also have this problem since I have Mirena (and not ever before...).

I have all kinds of strange pains in my MUSCLES and JOINTS, especially in the lower BACK (which is hurting a lot like a hernia - I never have had back pains in that area before) but also my elbow and fingers and thumb. Sometimes my right leg is just paralyzed for a 10 secs and I am hardly able to raise my foot to walk. I feel like an old woman.

I feel SWOLLEN in my stomach, sometimes have slight pains or a weird feeling. I have the impression I can feel the IUD, especially at some movements.

I've had very sore BREASTS for some time (weeks in a row), but that's over now.

I sometimes suffer on and off from CONSTIPATION, which is very unusual (especially with my healthy diet (practically vegetarian, regularly organic food, lots of whole-wheat items, fruits and vegetables).

I always had some ACNE but it has gotten significantly worse.

I SWEAT at night and more easily during the day, something I never used to.

I lack sex drive and for the first time in my life I experienced intimate dryness. This is the best birth control I've ever experienced, because I have no LIBIDO at all...

Overall I am not feeling good / active / in good physical shape with my normal energy/drive. Also my MOOD has not been so optimistic as usual.

I am definitively going to have this Mirena taken out. Toooo many problems with this type of "birth control". It coasted me a lot of money and time, months of health problems. Back to condoms again. Something I am not looking forward to... but I do look forward in getting my libido back...

The thing that really makes me angry is that it is still is up to the women to stuff themselves with hormones. Why, in the last 40 years or so that the birth control pill exists (and I've taken it for 15 years or so, bloating me and killing my libido...), medicine never has come up with birth control for men???
I've had it with hormones. No more for me. I eagerly pass my turn is to the other 50% of the population. Let the male gender be suffering from lack of libido for some time (so women can make fun of them faking a headache...) and the rest of the side-effects of hormones. Women have enough problems with their period already... There's no justice in the way nature has arranged things and (male) scientists have only made thing worse.

I am glad to see this site.

I love the NuvaRing. All in all, it has been great. It took a few months to get over headaches and nausea, but I finally did.

The problem, however, just started last Monday. I switched to a 28 day in, 7 day out schedule. On day 21 (my former removal day), I started spotting. Then it progressed to heavy bleeding. It is now day 6, and I haven't stopped. I am due to remove the ring tomorrow for a 7 day break, and I hope I won't bleed then, too. I am so weak and tired; I've been taking iron supplements to help with the blood loss and anemia. I hope my cycle balances out, and this doesn't happen again! It's been frightening.

I hope someone else can understand where I am coming from here. I started the NuvaRing about 3 weeks ago and it was my first form of birth control. I thought everything would be fine, but the only problem is that I am still on my period! It's been 3 weeks and it hasn't stopped yet. I know this is because of the NuvaRing because it's never happened to me before. Some people have told me that this can happen to some women when they start the ring, it still feels wrong to be losing this much blood. I'm taking 2 vitamins a day to keep from becoming anemic, but I guess my question is has this happened to anyone else? Is this normal, or should I be worried? I don't want to go to the doctor now and be fine in 3 days, but I just want it to stop. I'm currently on my ring-free week because I read that it can get better after you put the second one in, but if anyone has any insight at all, I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

I was prescribed to take 30mg/day (Prednisone) to try to reduce the inflammation brought upon by Ulcerative Colitis. I have taken Prednisone before....up to 60mg/day, when I was first diagnosed with UC. I don't really remember all of the side effects I experienced, but I do remember my calves and feet swelling, a bit a of moon face and very little weight gain due to the UC. Does anyone have any suggestions to how/and when I should take the daily dose of Prednisone (early morning, with food...what kind of food)? Also, I would love to hear from anyone with Ulcerative Colitis and how they are coping with the disease. From their diet when in remission to during a flare-up! Thanks...

I JUST started Loestrin 24 Fe (day one) and have been reading many articles and websites (anything from the literature in the research journals to the Mayo Clinic posts). I have just read through this entire site and took in all the feedback from the women who have shared the side effects. I have NEVER taken BC until now. I am trying it to keep monthly bleeding and mood swings to a minimum. BUT, I see some serious side effects (depression, acne, weight gain) - these seem worse than just dealing with the monthly symptoms and taking some pain relievers.

Should I STOP? Any advice from veteran birth control users?
Michele

When i first went on yasmin i had my period for a month!!!!!! I'm not talking a little bit of spotting i'm talking constant heavy flow for a month....It was not fun......I didn't realise it was the pill at the time, but i spoke to my cousin and she said she had the same thing.....It's made me feel tired and depressed, and i have absolutely no sex drive.....My poor boyfriend....he's so supportive....but every relationship needs intimacy........

I have gained over 5kilos since takig this which has made me quite miserable......I was already on the side of chubby now i am just plain overweight......i'm sick of these pharmaceutical companies with these new drugs promising this and that.........

the problem is without the pill i have heavy periods to the point of severe blood loss anaemia, so i guess ill have to weigh up the pros and cons.....hope everyone else out there is managing ok

I have been on Toprol XL for over 2 years and I can't believe what I am reading on this website. I am so glad that I googled. I have had many of the same problems and I am taking 100 mgs once a day. I cannot lose wait, my memory is horrible, I am always tired, I even had the itching thing go on, my joints ache some thing fierce, so bad that I went to a joint specialsit to have them checked because I thought that I may be getting arthritis at 37. I suffer from both depression and anxiety and was given this medication called Lexapro and had a panic attack in the middle of the night so that was the end of that. I have also had the sleeplessness and the sleeping too much and most importantly the edema of the hands, ankles and feet. I can't wear shoes that are too flat because they swell, I can't wear shoes that are too high because they swell, I can't eat salt because they swell, I can't stay out in the heat or humidity for too long cause they swell, I am so tired of swelling I want to scream. I also get very bad leg cramps and leg pain when I walk too far, also my menstural cycle is crazy. I bleed so much (sorry guys) that I have to buy new at least 2-3 new pairs of jeans a month because of "damage". I get overly fatigued and everything because fo blood loss. I am so tired of this it is not funny, but I like the fact that it is time released and is somewhat gentle. I am going to speak to my doc next week about changing though because I thought that I was in a very small group that was having these issues, even down to the inability to lose weight.

.Hi this is Sue again guest#33546. I am writing to follow up on my previous article, posted on 11/29/06. I saw my gynecologist on 12/1/06, after the prometrium he had me on failed to stop the bleeding. On December 4th I had surgery to stop extremely heavy bleeding and clots the size of a quarter that lasted 24 days. After speaking with Bristol Myers about my side effects, and them informing me this could continue until the drug was out of my system I decided a premarin injection probably would not work either, since the prometrium did not. I could not go on bleeding the way I was for several more months until this drug ran it's course and was out of my system. I was extremely tired, weak, and dizzy due to blood loss. I had a hysteroscopy, D and C , and an endometrial ablation also known as , performed to stop the bleeding. I was dehydrated and was given 5 bags of fluid in the hospital probably due to blood loss. During my pre op testing my blood pressure was elevated to 162 over 90. I have always had low blood pressure. They did an ekg and my heart rate was also elevated. Another side effect I failed to mention in my previous article was severe charley horse type cramping in my calves and feet while sleeping at night. The bleeding has lightened up to a brownish discharge now which is normal and can last for up to 2 weeks post-op. Besides informing Bristol Myers of my side effects I also contacted the FDA.

I recently had a kenalog injection in my buttock for hayfever. I have very serious hayfever, and nose sprays do not work for me. It worked very effectively for a 2 weeks, but has now worn off completely. The steroid has given me unusually heavy periods lasting for over a month at a time and i now have a serious iron deficiency which has caused aneamia due to the blood loss.