Brain fog symptoms and conditions

I'm 48 and got a Mirena put in last January at the suggestion of my doctor. I'd been having menstrual migraines and we thought that a steady dose of hormones might help with the dips and prevent my headaches. Well, it has helped some, as the headaches don't come every month anymore, however, I do still get them, so it hasn't really done what we hoped. Add to that my (growing!) list of symptoms and something has to be done. I am very active. I do Taekwondo 4x a week and was working out 5x a week this summer in preparation for my black belt test. You would think that I'd lose weight with the workouts I've done for the past 10 months, but no, my weight has increased over 10lbs! And it's not muscle, either: My breasts, waist, hips and thighs have all increased. I feel bloated, tired to the point of exhaustion even after 8 hours of sleep, and all of my joints are achy. The brain-fog has gotten so bad that I've had to go back on ADD meds to try to maintain my focus at work. I'd been doing my workouts for 3 years prior to getting the Mirena, and I never felt tired the way I feel it now! I'm seeing my doctor next month and this thing is out of here!

Hello I am 40 yrs old and got a lung infection which cause swelling in my lungs so the put me on high doses of prednisone via IV for 21 days in the hospital. The drug saved my life and took it at the same time.

After I got out of hospital i was on 60 mg for 6 weeks the 30mg for 6 weeks then 20mg the 10mg. It has been a living HELL over the last 5 months or so.

I told my DR. i have very bad blurred vision and he said it because the med runs my sugar up but I check my sugar and limit my sugar and it around 100 all the time which is normal soits not sugar. Then he said well them you need to see an eye dr. cuz your eyes are going bad. I begged to differ with him and told him if there was something wrong w my eyes then why is is one day I see fine and the next day all blurred and then back to normal!? it this stupid steroid if you ask me plus on day my right eye is bad and next day my left uggh!

The WORST side effect it the brain fog as yall call it. OMG I feel like im loosing my mind and going crazy. The dr. says hes never heard of such with a wise remark and says you know where your at now right? I know where i am and what I say but I feel like its not really happening. Its like im dreaming it. I feel like Im trapped in my head and I lookout blurry eyes.

Before I was a very confident independent person but now I feel scared all the time i feel hopeless and ive went through 3 girl friends over the summer because of the extreme forward attitude the med gives me. I am not the same person I was. I some time just want to die. I'm extremely tire if i do any exercise at all.

Plus I have all the other typical side effect like the moon face and weight gain. I don't even look the same cuz my eyes have huge bags under them and a double chin I never had.

I feel for all of you because i know what your going through.
I saw one comforting post in here where someone said within 2 weeks of completely getting off the pred. he was his normal self.
I CAN TELL YOU HOW GLAD I WAS TO READ THAT!

Please if you have finished the med and have got back to normal don't forget about this post. Please let us know because we need any hope we can get to keep our chins up and not loose hope and go completely crazy or worse kill ourselves.

I have about 4 more months of this LIVING HELL and I will surely let you all know if it get better. If you have come off of it and are reading this PLEASE let us know if we get back normal at least w the brain fog. I can take all the side effect ok except for the crazy dream zone zombie feeling.

I WOULDN'T WISH THIS KINDA HELL ON THE DEVIL HIM SELF!!
Let's pray for each other that the Lord keep out minds strong until we get off the nightmare drug call Prednisone.

side effects:
brain fog, blurred vision, puffy eyes, depression, confusion, dizzy, moon face, buffalo neck hump neck, hopelessness

its been 3 months now since i quit the drug and i still have ringing in the ears that comes and goes. bouts of depression are still there and i have loose stools occasionally. i have lost a lot of weight. 5-6 KGs in 3 months. my appetite is back to normal but i still feel like i am not fully recovered strength wise. just started taking probiotics and multi-vitamins. totally changed my diet to natural fruits and vegetables and meat occasionally.
The brain-Fog was horrible. thank god it cleared in a month's time.
every doctor i go to and when i tell them about the brain-fog lasting for a month. they don't believe me.
anyone would like to add tips on recovery process. it will be much appreciated.
thanks all.

For any person that got the Gardasil vaccinations and did NOT have any side effects or symptoms, PLEASE go and have a pap test done immediately! We are getting reports of these girls that had no side effects to the vaccine that are now getting cervical lesions and cervical cancer. So if you know of anyone that received Gardasil with NO side effects, PLEASE tell them to get a pap test done immediately!

My 16 yr old daughter was also injured by Gardasil. She had 2 of the 3 injections (Jan 9th and March 9th, 2009). Before Gardasil, she was a happy, healthy and vibrant teenager. Since Gardasil she is sick every day of her life. She has dizziness, overall weakness, numbness and tingling in both legs and left arm, back pain, neck pain, pressure headaches, vision problems, breathing problems, chest pains, racing heartbeats, brain fog, stomach problems, nausea, diarrhea, weight loss, hair loss, jerking all over spells...the list goes on and on.

She was an A/B student but failed her 10th grade year because she was too sick to retain what she was trying to learn (brain fog). She no longer has the energy to go off with her friends. Most days she lays in bed, in pain.

This just doesn't happen to a healthy teenager!! And it just doesn't happen to THOUSANDS of other girls with no connection except they all had the Gardasil vaccine.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out.

Please educate yourself as much as you can before you allow anyone to push this unproven and unsafe vaccine on your daughter! The guilt is overwhelming from a mothers' standpoint! I thought I was doing something to protect my daughter. Instead, I allowed the doctor to inject poison into my child and take away her life!

These 'side effects' are NOT rare! They are happening every day to literally hundreds of thousands of young girls after receiving Gardasil. The numbers in VAERS is estimated to only be between 1-10% of the true numbers! Try asking some of us moms who have to deal with these horrible side effects every day if we consider it to be RARE!

Everyone should look at the other side of the fence and research this. There are thousands of girls that are coming down with strange illnesses, paralysis, gran mal seizures, etc. after receiving Gardasil.

We are now getting reports of girls as young as age 9 that are breaking out with genital warts and severe cases of cervical cancer AFTER receiving Gardasil. Some of these girls/women did not initially have any side effects from the vaccine.

There are perfectly healthy girls all of a sudden come down with all of these strange sicknesses (some that I cant even pronounce) after getting jabbed with Gardasil. All within hours/days/weeks?

Just like Merck's 'wonderful' Vioxx...what will it take? How many dead/injured before someone takes notice?

The doctor that literally pushed this vaccine on us at a routine doctor visit told us that there were no side effects except for soreness or redness at injection site.

She also told us that it would protect her from a whole LIST of things! I had seen the commercials but had not researched it.

As a matter of fact, I never really THOUGHT about vaccines until my daughter suddenly started having all of these strange health issues.

She was ALWAYS a healthy child, happy and outgoing, active and just a joy to be around.

Now, she is a totally different child. She is always sick..always in pain..and cries a LOT, so scared that she will die in her sleep from the breathing problems. She describes it as breathing through a blanket or that an elephant is sitting on her chest.

She has SO many of the exact same symptoms as all of the other girls that have been injured.

It is NOT a coincidence! All of these Gardasil girls have the same symptoms, some worse than others, but the bottom line is the one thing they all have in common is Gardasil.

These symptoms are NOT in their heads!

My daughter started having dizziness, overall weakness, pain and numbness in both legs and left arm BEFORE we found out about any of these other girls having the same issues.

When I called her doctor that gave her the vaccine (as soon as she started with these symptoms) she said it was NOT the Gardasil vaccine that is causing it. How could she be so sure? This is such a NEW vaccine...a DANGEROUS and UNNECESSARY vaccine!

HPV is not an STD (research this!).

Cervical cancers have gone down 70% since the PAP smear came along.

This is NOT an epidemic! Why are they mandating this vaccine for as young as 9 year old girls for a vaccine that doesnt even do what they claim it will do?

Girls are now coming down with cervical lesions and HPV AFTER receiving Gardasil! I'm talking about healthy young girls that did NOT have these things BEFORE getting Gardasil.

Young girls dropping dead within hours of getting the vaccine and they think we are all stupid enough to believe it was a huge tumor that was in her heart and had spread to her lungs? (I'm speaking of the 14 yr old that just recently died after receiving Cervarix).

If that young and healthy and active young girl really DID have this so called huge tumor, she would have had symptoms. A tumor like that doesnt just up and kill it's host without a 'wasting away and painful period'.

That is a complete cover-up!

Just like the young girl that has been paralyzed and hospitalized for the last year, Ashleigh Cave. Because her mother was trying to speak out and find out what exactly happened to her daughter, they have now placed that child under protective orders! To shut the mother up?

This is all about $$$$$ at the expense of our young daughters (and now sons) health and lives!

It is an outrage!!!

Please see my posts at ******

And this website:

******

There, you can see other girls' stories and their pictures..there is also a memorial document with pictures and stories of young girls that have died after receiving Gardasil.

Educate Before You Vaccinate!!

Not trying to put a damper on your day ladies, but you will find when you get it out, your "side effects" wont all go away. Gaining weight?? No It's called as we get older we have to watch what we eat.. Hair falling out? I have had no such thing like that. Ache yes but thats with all birth control, headaches, stomach aches thats with all birth control! The Mirena was the best decision i could have EVER made!

After several attempts to lower my cholesterol, my doctor has settled on 40 mg of Lipitor, but, after reading these comments, I'm going to self-medicate and work my way off the drug completely. My main complaint is the fatigue and brain fog others have experienced. I do have a shoulder that has developed pain and weakness, and my legs don't seem to be as strong as they used to be, but it's the fatigue and memory/cognitive slowness that concern me the most. Also, like others, I assumed it was normal aging (I'm 58 and have been on statins for about eight years). I'll report my results after getting this stuff out of my system. Good luck to everyone going through this...we're not crazy after all, huh?

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?

I have been through hell with this drug, well i'm sure it was this drug, I have had minor anxiety in the past, but the anxiety i had the day after taking this was off the scale, I couldn't sleep, eat, or function in my life at all. I started to become very depressed and go into despair. I even had suicidal thoughts which freaked me out and is not like me at all. I was even taken to A and E at hospital it was that bad. I finished on Sunday and seen a bit of improvement, I was not as anxious and irritable. Today it has came back a little, I seem to have some mental confusion and memory problems also. It has been a long dark road, and I entered some scary dark places that felt horrible. Im usually so upbeat and busy. It was so not like me. I took this medication for 11 days at 100mg twice a day. Like I said i finished on Sunday, I still feel very unreal (dreamworld) depressed at times, no appetite yet and struggling to relax.

How long will this take to pass? please help I feel im going crazy

I am so happy I found this site! I have only had the Mirena in for a little over a month but I have HATED this damn thing since the day I got it. For the first week I could feel the strings and they were so itchy! To the point where it was embarrassing to be in public because I would have to wiggle around a little bit to get comfortable again. I have bled non-stop for the month and a half I have had it and the cramps have been awful, despite my gyno telling me they would only be bad for the first day or two. I am exhausted all the time- I had more energy when my son was sleeping 4 hours a night- now he is sleeping 10 or 11 hours every night straight through and I am always so tired all day long. I am having panic attacks and I constantly feel like I want to pass out. The blurred vision and brain fog is terrible! I am literally scared to leave my house by myself with the baby because I am nervous that I will pass out when I am out alone with him. I have to do break up my grocery shopping into 3 small trips each week because if I am in the store too long I start to panic and get dizzy. Having the Mirena put in was the WORST decision I have ever made. This should be the happiest time in my life - I have a new baby, just graduated college, all in all life is pretty good right now. But instead I am MISERABLE! I have my annual exam in 2 weeks and I am having it taken out-if I can wait that long. I wish I had found this site before...I never would have gotten Mirena!

I took levaquin (750) for a bronchial infection about 9 months ago. My doctor gave me individual samples with no info. on any side effects. Like most people, I trusted my doctor and took the pills without question. The aftermath has been a complete nightmare as I have suffered severe joint pain, depression and an atypical anxiety that at times that feels like a drug induced brain fog. I've seen numerous specialist searching for an underlying process causing the symptoms but nothing is ever found. Since the beginning I've contended that the Levaquin was at the root of my problem, but no doctor has ever given that thought any consideration. Prior to the Levaquin I was perfectly fine with no history of any joint pains or mood disorders. Does anyone have any ideas on how to reverse or heal the process?

First of all, I am so happy and relieved to have found this site. Thank you so much to all of the woman who have posted their experiences with the mirena. I have been so scared over the past few months that I have literally been going CRAZY. Here is my experience:

I had the mirena inserted at my 6 week check-up after giving birth to my son. I chose the mirena because my doctor recommended it. Anyways, ever since I have had my son (being my first child) have been severely stressed out (of course). Although I have had several different stressful situations go on (my sister becoming very sick, my parents getting a divorce, moving out for the first time, ex troubles) I have been feeling not only stressed, but major anxiety, and I suspect depression. Anyhow, I never contributed any of this to my birth control because I assumed that this is what stress feels like (seeing as though I am lucky to say that I have never really had serious problems to deal with). Well this is where it all came to a head..yesterday.

Since giving birth to my son six months ago, I have since become a H-U-G-E hypochondriac, extremely anxious, depressed, dizzy spells, terrible mood swings, almost daily brain fog (which I find to be the scariest), I just do not feel like the same person. I feel like I am trapped inside my head (thats the best I can describe it). I have no energy and I do not feel like doing anything and when I do all I can think about is how not right I feel. I have started questioning how I feel almost constantly. I have trouble concentrating, have headaches (which I NEVER had before) and now find it difficult to wear my contact lenses. WELL, yesterday I was at work, which also happened to be my birthday, and had such a horrible dizzy spell that I instantly became sick to my stomach, and my heart started to pound. I was so scared by this I instantly started to cry and asked to go home. My mom, who is a psych nurse (for 15 years), was at her home. I rushed over there and cried to her that something was wrong with me and demanded her to tell me if I was crazy. I have been so obsessed with feeling ill that it has consumed me and the bad part is that I know it is all in my head, I just can't overcome it. That is when she asked me if I thought that it may be my birth control? *DING DING* I haven't been on birth control for so long that I forgot how madly I have reacted to it in the past. I then remembered why I had quit taking the birth control patch 5 years ago!

That is when I looked up the side effects and found this blog! I feel so much better now. I now have hope after reading everyone else's experiences which are so similar to mine. I have already made an appointment to get it taken out tomorrow. I have also made an appointment with my family doctor to talk about my anxiety and depression symptoms and see what he suggests (since I am not usually a down or anxious person). I will definitely keep you all posted! Thank you all for posting, I think it has changed my life!

Recovering after removal of the Mirena has been fairly quick and constant for me. I removed it myself last Wednesday night and when I woke up the next morning I no longer wanted to kill myself or anyone else:) It was that immediate of an improvement. I still had migraines for the next couple of days, but then they stopped. It took about five to six days for my hair to stop falling out. My breasts stopped hurting on about day three or four. My skin started to clear up immediately too. I was blemish free by day four. The brain fog started to lift around day three or four. I don't know how soon this resumed, but I have actual energy again! I started to spot a bit on day two and then got my period on day five, right on schedule. My period has been a breeze. It hasn't been any heavier than before Mirena and it's absolutely wonderful compared to when I had Mirena. When I had my period with Mirena, I experienced morning sickness symptoms and vomited intermittently throughout the day - the entire time. I read somewhere that other women found herbal detox helpful after removal and I did that for a few days before my period started and I plan to resume it after my period. I am very happy with my decision to remove it.

LADIES.... PLEASE HELP!!!

I had my Mirena removed 6 weeks ago. Unlike most, I didn't bleed right away. It took me 3 weeks before I bleed and it wasn't heavy. I felt better knowing it was out of me but still was EXTREMELY TIRED, brain fogged, depressed. (The only side effects which have diminished were the irritability, greasy hair/skin, and acne.)

It's now been 6 weeks since it was removed and for the past 2 weeks I've been experiencing horrific anxiety and panic attacks. I'm afraid to leave the house... can't focus. Wake up anxious. Don't want to go anywhere or do anything. I'm also depressed about this. I'm still very very very tired all the time. AND THE MENSTRUAL MIGRAINES ARE STILL HERE.

IS THIS ANXIETY THE "CRASH"??? Can it happen so late? My body seems to be "behind" the norm by about 3 weeks. So really this is about the 2-3 week mark past my first withdrawal bleed.

I'M SOOOOOOOOO SCARED

let me just say i have never been the same since taking this drug almost 5 years ago! don't take it!

Have had the Mirena for a year due to needing some hormone therapy during menopause.I am 54yrs old and had my last period over 2 yrs ago-look physically like I am in my 30's. Had a breast reduction and weight reduction surgery over 10yrs ago VERY successfully lost 10# off my chest and 168# off of my body. SINCE having the Mirena I have gained over 30# and gained 2 cup sizes in my breasts! HELP!!! I have been treated by my regular doctor for mood swings with WellbutrinSR, Lexapro, Lamictal, Topamax and others-nothing has worked more than to ease some of the edge. I have gone from a size 2 to a size 10-12 in 9 months and am desperate for an answer! I feel as if all of the previous progress I had made with the weight reduction and breast reduction is all being undermined! I had a tummy tuck last September 08 and I swear my stomach was flatter before I had the surgery! I look pregnant! The surgeons have done a CT scan and can find nothing to indicate the surgery went bad. I don't know what to do as my OB-GYN tells me that "this IUD" is my best bet for hormone therapy and that it is ABSOLUTELY NOT the cause for the weight gain or breasts. Has anyone else "my age/menopausal" experienced this? Most of what I have read has been very helpful BUT all but a few are pre-menopausal and way younger. PLEASE let me know your thoughts!!

I've had numerous side effects from Synthroid, but the ones that finally scared me off the drug were the thoughts of death, dying and suicide.

These thoughts came as casually as thoughts of what I'll wear tomorrow, which was more frightening. They also came unbidden. First, I was thinking about death generally. About a month later, I began thinking about dying, and the whole process of dying. Then, when I started thinking about just walking in front of a train, I got on the Internet and did some research.

Synthroid was the only medication I take daily, so I stopped taking it at once. And about a week later, the thoughts of death, dying and suicide stopped. My doctor refuses to prescribe natural thyroid, so I'm out of luck until I find a doctor who will help me.

Wow, thank you all for your postings. I just wished I had found this before I had Mirena put in. I had it placed in Feb 2009, it's been exactly 5 months. I have been extremely tired and agitated. I didn't really associate this with the Mirena until reading the other posts. My hair comes out by the handful (with root attached), I never have solid stools, I have gained about 10 pounds even though I have been trying to lose weight through a diet and exercise program. All the weight is in my stomach and people keep asking me if I'm pregnant. I started to wonder if I could be seeing as I was crying all the time, extremely moody, and that I look at least 4 or 5 months pregnant. All pregnancy tests have come back negative. I got this put in the day before my fiance and I got engaged ( not knowing at the time) and last week we were about to call of the wedding because of my emotional state and constant conflicts. I have to wonder how much of this is caused by the Mirena. I have already made an appointment to talk to my doctor after reading what all these other women have been through. It's just so tough because with any type of birth control their are side effects so I don't want to make it out to be like this is the worst thing ever, it may be exactly what someone is looking for, but just be informed that there are some side effects because I like a lot of other women on this post was lead to believe that there were no side effects or very little side effects.

I am a 45 year old woman (NOT a new mother) who had the Mirena inserted in January of 2009. I had gone off of the pill in 2003 after 16 years of being on it - told my hub I was DONE with hormonal birth control (weight gain, headaches, etc). After the pill, the weight fell off, headaches were gone, and my brain-fog and forgetfulness vanished. 6 years later I couldn't stand the heavy periods after so many years of light ones and decided to give Mirena a try since the hormones supposedly stayed in your uterus (YEAH RIGHT!). In my head, those 5 years of Mirena protection would buy me time until menopause and my doctor agreed it was a good choice. Fast forward 7 months. The weight came back (over 20 lbs) with NO change in diet. The headaches are back. The almost constant discharge is still there - and is not pleasant smelling by any stretch. I am not a new mom and am very in-tune with my body (thank you very much to the rude posters on here who have suggested it is all in our heads) - yes I did the research and expected some side effects, but the worst side effect I have and can't stand any longer however is hip joint pain. It is so bad that I feel like an 80 year old woman in the morning that can hardly move! It gets a little better during the day, but is constant. I can't lift my grandchildren without severe pain and this is NOT NORMAL! This did NOT happen before the IUD was inserted and I just now put 2 and 2 together that Mirena could be the cause. I also have virtually no energy - my house has fallen apart since January and my husband is beside himself. I just sent an email to my doctor asking her opinion on my suspicions and will more than likely have it removed SOON! Ladies, I want to say that this is NOT IN YOUR HEAD and the people who suggest otherwise should be ashamed of themselves. If you have Mirena and have no problems, good for you - just don't criticize those who do. It works differently on different people.

UPDATE - Day 11 post removal

Still have not bled.
Still having vertigo migraines.
Still have numbness in R foot.
Still moody/irritable.
Still bloated and GAINING water weight.
Still crying (though not as much).
Still have NO energy.
Still having severe memory issues and BRAIN FOG!!!

NEW ACNE ON ARMS!!! :-(

Taking B12, B6, magnesium, multivitamin.

I'm upset/disappointed. I thought taking it out would make me feel better right away and gradually get better and better. So far I'm the only one on here who didn't bleed right away and start feeling good. Maybe more of the progestin got into my system and it will take a bit longer for it to leave?

NEED ENCOURAGEMENT!

What is wrong with all these doctors telling all of us that it CAN'T be the Mirena!!! We all have similar side effects. I am waiting for there to be one of those commercials on TV.... 'if you have used Mirena in the past you may be entitled to money due to damages'
I just want to feel better again. I wake every day hoping for the dizzy/brain fog to be gone and my mood to be back to normal.
Also, after viewing the video found on this page about Mirena I did have a great question... it states only a certain amount of hormone is released every 24hrs, how can they be so sure no more than that amount of hormone is released? With the pill you only take 1 pill which obviously gives you only that amount of hormone. This IUD is simply in you releasing hormones with no control. Just so frustrated and want to feel better again. Tomorrow will be 1 week since I had it removed.

Oh, and I forgot to mention.... the bloating is actually WORSE and I have GAINED 2 lbs since removal. Not to mention the headaches are worse and the tingling in the foot is still there.

Sorry to post again, but NO ONE REPLIED TO MY POST!

I am 5 days post removal and need reassurance. Unlike everyone else, I have NOT felt better right away. I am just as tired (if not more), more irritable, and JUST GOT ACNE on my face and arms 2 days AFTER removal! I'm still dizzy and the brain fog is just as bad. Have not bled a drop at all.

I know everyone is different, but my removal experience has been completely different... don't feel better, no bleeding/clots, no immediate improvement. IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME??? Was it not the Mirena after all???

IT'S OUT!!!!!!!!!!! What a mess I went through. For those who missed my prior posts, I got my Mirena in June 2008 after I got married. Even though I'm 29, I'm a medical student and not ready for a baby.. Within weeks I had oily skin, oily hair, hair loss, sore breasts, and no sex drive at all. But I never had a single period after the second month, so I was happy!

By August or September I was gaining a lot of weight (20lbs) and started feeling "brain fog" and fatigue. By December and January I was seeing neurologists for SEVERE migraines and dizziness. In April I developed symptoms like MS such as tingling/numbness in my head, face, and one foot... profound fatigue, and incapacitating dizziness.I've had every test done from thyroid workups to MRIs/MRAs and nerve conduction studies. I was on 3 different migraine prescriptions and was even getting nerve blocks in my neck for them.

In May I became withdrawn, irritable, depressed, and had anxiety attacks. I'm not ever a moody person, and never had PMS. But here I am, crying for no reason, yelling at my husband, snapping at my mother, and SO FREAKING EXHAUSTED that going to work is impossible, driving the car seems dangerous (severe brain fog.... like I'm drugged), and even just doing the dishes or feeding the pets takes all my effort (with tears) to complete. I don't feel like myself at all.

I found this website and thought perhaps all these symptoms were from the Mirena. So I found a new OBGYN who was awesome and said he'd take it out. I went to have it removed but the first a$$hole who put it in for me cut the strings too short so they could not be grabbed. The new doc tried to reach them but couldn't. I ended up having to have THE MOST PAINFUL PROCEDURE OF MY LIFE.... I had to take cervical dilation pills and then get a hysteroscopy which is where they shove a camera into your uterus to look around and find the little sucker. The cramps were unbelievable.... 10 times worse that getting it placed. (Mind you I've never had children so it was really bad). After he found the strings, he grabbed them and pulled. I thought I was going to die.... my poor cervix had a scope in it, an instrument holding it still, a dilator in place, a speculum in the hole, and then an instrument went in along side the scope and pulled the little bugger out. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I was in a hot sweat worse than menopause I bet!

So here I am, home, bleeding, only minor cramps. But now I wonder... how long will it be until the depression and brain fog go away? I want to be myself again. I want to be happy. I want to laugh instead of cry. I WANT TO HAVE ENERGY. My greatest fear is that I went through all the pain of putting it in, taking it out, and the cost, and the depression, fatigue, and brain fog won't go away, meaning it wasn't the Mirena to begin with. (If that was the case, I could have dealt with the weight gain, oily hair, and migraines as long as I had the nerve blocks). But I find it hard to believe that the Mirena is not the cause since so many of you women say the same thing. BUT.............. most of you had the Mirena placed after having a baby, so it's possible it was PPD?

THIS IS MY QUESTION TO ALL OF YOU OUT THERE.... did any of you WHO HAVE NEVER HAD CHILDREN have these things after getting the Mirena? Also, isn't it weird that the severe fatigue, depression, and really bad brain fog started after 9-10 months of having it and not sooner? I was on OCPs before the Mirena and did fine.... but this time I am so depressed and irritable, dizzy, and FREAKING TIRED TIRED TIRED.

:( How long until I feel better if it was the Mirena?

I found a WONDERFUL new OBGYN who will be squeezing my into his schedule on Monday for removal. YEA!!!!!!! He was SO empathetic when I spoke with him today about my symptoms. He actually believes there can be symptoms with the Mirena and he wants to read this website! (Now that's a doctor!)

My question is for all those who are POST REMOVAL... does the "brain fog" go away? How long does it take? What about the dizziness, depression, and migraines?

Thank you so much.

I have always trusted the COPPER coil and have been using it for about 10 years now...I got it taken out to have a baby, and was planning on getting "fixed" so I wouldn't have any more, but my doctor said that Mirena was even better, so I figured why not, it'll stop my periods altogether. I've only had mirena for a couple of months now, and I have to say...what everyone says here scares the hell out of me. BEFORE mirena I was on medication for panic attacks and slight depression, and I had no sex drive at all. But so far, believe it or not, I find these things getting better! I wonder if mirena has opposite effects if you've already had the symptoms...I hope so...right now I feel great...I'm becoming me again, the panic attacks have considerably subsided and I feel like I'm digging myself out of the depression...I've been ecstatic! The only real side-effects I've had are cramping one random day and tingling once. Also, I'm not gaining weight, but not losing either. The only annoying thing I find is I have that thick brown discharge instead of a period for 5 or six days, but I'm wondering if my period will stop completely eventually (hopefully) but no matter what I'll take brown sludge any day over an 8 day bledfest.

However, after reading through everyone's comments, I find myself really worried, since I've only had mirena a couple of months and a few of you said that it took like 6 months or so for anything bad to start happening. If that's the case then where will that leave me afterwards? Will my depression get worse?? I don't know what to do, and now I'm pretty nervous.