Brittle hair symptoms and conditions

I'm 27 years old and have been married for four months. I've been on the nuvaring for about 2 years straight (i've been on bc for a total of 9 years more on than off). The first year was great despite the weight gain and constant bloating. My partner and I agreed that the pros outweighed the cons. But for the past 4-6 months or so I've been experiencing the following symptoms, all gradual but definitely in effect:

vaginal dryness, itching, yeasty discharge, migraines on the OFF week, nasal dryness, dry eyes/ intolerance to contact lenses, irritability, mood swings, weight gain, brittle hair, short-term memory loss, severe anxiety.

it seems to me that the cons outweigh the one pro that we were defending. pregnancy. i am definitely speaking with my doctor and getting more information on hormone-FREE pregnancy protection.

Holy Moly...Basically I think all birth control methods suck, especially hormone based ones. Women always bear the brunt of the hideous side effects.
Used rhythm method for years, no problem. Conceived 2 kids when I wanted to. Afterwards, I thought Mirena would be good idea. AWFUL! Stupid thing poked him and me. OUT! Started Nuvaring 2.5 months ago. Sound familiar: Great for first month...I thought. Didn't fall out which was the big thing I had heard about. Now, noticing 1) weight gain despite running, tennis, etc. and following weight watchers. 2) Thin, brittle hair. 3) knee and joint pain which makes exercise hard (thought it was my sneakers) in addition to upper-thigh soreness. 4) IBS symptoms for first time in 38 years! Bloating, diarrhea, gas, etc. 5) trouble staying asleep despite fatigue 6) new level of fatigue 7) vaginal dryness which never had EVER before hormones! 8) increasing disinterest in sex.
So, yup, took it out yesterday after finding this site. NO more hormones for me! Abstinence or condoms, I guess. Geesh.

My mother was prescribed this horrible drug for prevention purposes about a year ago. She has experienced severe hair loss, unexplained cough and sore throat pain, flu-like symptoms with fever, severe headaches. Doctors prescribed sinus medication and hydrocortisone shots in the scalp for hair loss and occasional shoulder pain that was explained by her doctors to be arthritis (at times severe). She was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor and treated with temodar and radiation for brain cancer. Before fosomax, she was a very healthy 63 year woman with no health issues whatsoever. She went for annual physical and was prescribed this medication. In the last few months, her doctors increased dose of Caltrate-D from 600mg a day to 2400mg/day because of cancer treatment. Immediately, she began to experience severe neck and shoulder pain on the left side. In a few weeks, it has spread to both shoulders and upper arms. She is unable to wash lower back, raise arms to comb hair, lift herself up from sitting position, brush her teeth. A few weeks ago, she experienced the sensation of an abscessed tooth. A dentist told her several teeth would need a root canal. She has pain in upper arms that feel like burning fire. She is getting weaker in the arms. Pain is spreading to the hips. I pray this doesn't go any further and will reverse after we stop this dangerous drug. Has anyone shown signs of improvement after stopping this drug? How long did it take to see improvement? What if anything can you do for the pain and sore muscles and joints?

I love this page! I have been taking Levoxyl for about 6 months now and my joints are killing me. Especially my wrists and ankles. It hurts to even pick up a half gallon of milk or hold my kids. I am also so exhausted all the time. I was put on 50mcg when I started the medicine but I was not having any symptoms before I started taking the medicine. I am trying to wean myself off of the pills and am down to 25mcg. I am taking b12 and b6 to help fight the fatigue. I also am having a huge problem with my periods, I get them every 2 weeks, and they last a week. This is not fun at all. I am also getting cold sores like crazy. Before I started taking this medicine I would maybe get 1 a year, if that. Now I get at least 1 a month, sometimes 2. It is really frustrating. My skin has changed, so dry and I look like I have aged 10 years. My hair is brittle. I am looking into a more natural route to take, maybe the Armour thyroid would work.I have been to the Doctor who just tells me that it is not my medicine and could be something else. I know it is not something else. All of these symptoms started right after I started to take the medicine. I am going off of it to hopefully feel better. Thanks so much for all your posts out there!!!

My daughter is in her second year of college. She began using Nuvaring in her first year. Neither of us made the connection; she has experienced depression, fatigue, lethargy, brittle hair.... Do these seem to be common side effects of Nuvaring for some people?

I have a hair thinning problem on just the top of my head. Also my hair has gotten very dry and brittle breaking off when I comb or brush my hair or even run my hands through my hair. It has become "frizz city".

I am male, caucasian, sixty years old, average height, a little overweight.

I can't expressly pin my symptoms down to Lipitor, since, following 2 mild heart attacks, I am now on several drugs, namely aspirin, clopidogrel, lipitor, tildiem, cozaar and cardura.

However, the Lipitor was upped to 40mg daily after my second heart attack as routine dosage, and only since then have I noticed these symptoms - aches in wrists, knees and hips, apparent muscle weakness and tone, very dry and depleted skin in thickness and tone, dry and brittle hair, plus a tendency towards infections in nose, throat, eyes and ears and a very pronounced although erratic tinnitus. Before all this I would have called myself robust. Now I feel rather weak and sickly, although perhaps some of this can be attributed to my cardiovascular condition.

My history also includes Hogkins Disease, diagnosed 24 years ago and not recurring following treatment with radiotherapy and surgey alone.

Next week I am due to see my heart specialist and I will ask him how much of my symptoms could have been caused by Lipitor, and whether or not I can at least cut down the dose.