Cervix symptoms and conditions

I got my Mirena IUD (5yr) inserted on 30September2009 and it was very painful. Probably because im only 19 and my husband and i have no kids. Its not 21November2009 and im still having heavy bleeding. I did notice that i had an increase in hair loss, my hair sheds like crazy but until Mirena it is coming out in very small clumps. I also noticed that my face has broke out more with acne. Around 01November2009 i had HORRIBLE HORRIBLE cramps, i ended up going to my doctors asap and they found a cyst. I dont know if it was a cyst caused my the Mirena or if it was only noticeable until the Mirena. I had my doctor go in and check for my strings and she couldn't find them, so i got an xray to find out the my Mirena has shifted a bit and my strings are now up in my Cervix. My husband is in the Army and is Deployed so i dont know how sex it. Everyone's information has helped me out a lot. and i hope that my long crazy journey has helped someone as well. :)

I have had the Mirena in for 5 years and just had it replaced this past June, I myself have alot of the same side effects, feeling like I could pee my pants at times. I am 48 yrs old. When I had a new one put it, the Dr. had a really hard time due to my uterus/cervix being tilted (which I was not aware of). Has anyone ever had pain in their rectum after a bowel movement, or like right now I have the pain there, very painful. Not sure if it is due to my uterus/cervix tilted, Mirena? I feel tired alot, moodiness, I thought that was part of the perimenopausal, but reading the other side effects from younger women, it is the same.

oh and i forgot to list skin rash too

Follow up!!! (don't mind my spelling, it sucks!)
so i just left the ER. Come to find out, i am right! the mirena string is gone! it went up into my cervix and they said something like to the right side of my abdominal cavity going twords my right fallopian tube and has caused fluid build up which is also causing pain. they said my right overy is ovulating and that is some pain added to it. they also said they are worried bout infection and gave me a shot in my but and put me on antibiotics for 2 weeks and gave me 800 mg Motrin and told me they can not take it out but to call the OB in the morning and schedule to have it removed asap. she said they will have to put me out with anesthesia and dilate my cervix almost like I was being forced into labor... they said they will try and take it out that way.. and if that dont work, they have to do surgery to get it out. this sucks!!!! i will NEVERRR EVERRR recommend this thing to ANYONE!!! all my friends who have it are now also worried and want theirs out too! soooo many people complaining about it and it has some NASTYY side affects! now i know why i get so irritated... mad so easily... and can cry so easily too... it has caused a lot of problems in me and my bfs relationship.. once he sat here with me yesterday and read most of u, he was like wow... its not that im purposely ALWAYS being a B*TCH! lol!! thank you everyone for posting so i know im not crazy!!

I have had mirena since oct 2007. i have had a lot of problems since. i have just recently the past 5 months or so, been able to loose any weight! i actually gained 15 lbs after i had it put in. also it had rejected itself the first time after about 6 months. and the main reason i started searching today on here is because for the past 3 weeks right after my last period, i haven't been able to find the string. i can completely feel my cervix because im short spaced. there is NOO string hanging out and i have had serious cramping. about a week ago i was standing at my microwave and all of a sudden i started having a lot of white/clear discharge leaking down my leg.. i wasn't sure what was up because i was also having some cramping. i figured i HAD to be ovulating. so i took an ovulation test and i was right! i was ovulating. 4 days later i took another test after the discharge went away and it was neg. i called my doctors today because ive been having a lot of bad cramping. she told me you do NOT ovulate while u have the mirena and the test should never had been positive. she said the string can go inside my cervix but it wouldn't cause any cramping but she said if the mirena was moving or shifting, she said i will get a lot of cramping and it can be dangerous. im nervous and she said if the cramping gets worse to go to the er. she said tomorrow i need to have a pregnancy test and an ultrasound done. i am nervous and i want this thing out of me!! when i touch my cervix, i get sharp pains. the same pains i had when i was dilating with my daughter. this sucks!! i will also agree with others.. the weight gain/hard to loose is deff something that has happened, still breaking out, more cramping when bleeding, mood swings, i STILL lactate after over 2 yrs of stopping breastfeeding, i still am VERYY sensitive and cry easily, my lower back hurts all the time, always tired/lazy, i feel pregnant still!!!! i prolly have every symptom u could think off. another thing i want to know is.. can the mirena make it so i can get sick more easily...? like lowering my immune system?? i get sick with a cold or nasel infection or fevers or something everyyyy month!! i am ALWAYS sick!! ive had strep throat prolly 6 times in the past 2 yrs. fevers prolly 5 times.. im sick as we speak with a nasel infection, wooping cough, diarea, sleepyness, head ache... and ive been sick since 10/20/09 and its 11/9/09 today... no fevers so i know it isnt swine flu.. but damn! im always sick!! ever since i had my daughter... which is also around the same time i had the mirena put in... welll... theres my story... mirena needs to be taken off the shelves and if anything happens to my cervix or makes it so i cannot have kids, so help me god ill sue the livin shit out of them!!! yaz got sued... mirena should be too!!!

I'm on my 6th day of Mirena. I just had sex for the first time since insertion. I noticed that the threads are curled up and behind my cervix, rather than to the side where they have been every day.

What I'm really writing about is; starting yesterday I've had this lump feeling in my throat. it makes me want to gag and I cannot make it go away. I had this when on Yasmin. I developed a severe allergy to Yasmin and my entire face swelled. But it started with the lump in throat feeling. I have also had ringing in the ears all day, I even have it now. I haven't had that in years.

I'm on my 6th day of Mirena. I just had sex for the first time since insertion. I noticed that the threads are curled up and behind my cervix, rather than to the side where they have been every day.

What I'm really writing about is; starting yesterday I've had this lump feeling in my throat. it makes me want to gag and I cannot make it go away. I had this when on Yasmin. I developed a severe allergy to Yasmin and my entire face swelled. But it started with the lump in throat feeling. I have also had ringing in the ears all day, I even have it now. I haven't had that in years.

Is anyone/has anyone experienced this side effect? You would definitely know if you have it. It feels like something is in my throat.

I have had MIRENA for about two months now. Not real sure about it . During intercourse my husband says he can feel it. I was told that he would not notice it there at all. Now he actually said it felt like it was poking him. How is this normal ? When I'm not bleeding we still can not enjoy our sex life because of MIRENA. I believe i'm going to have it removed. Has anyone else experienced this problem???

Wow, I'm speechless I came across this website! I just had to share my experience! I had my Mirena removed yesterday. I'm 29 years old, I had it put in 5 years ago under General Anaesthetic whilst having a laporoscopy for Endomentriosis, I was advised by my doctor to give Mirena a go - at that stage I was desperate for a bit of relief from such heavy bleeding and cramps. Reading everyone elses side effects, has made me realize, I have suffered a bit over the last 5 years! I gained 25kgs, and could never understand how I could not shift the weight, I'm really active, play a lot of sport, and eat healthy, I was diagnosed with depression also, and have been taking anti-depressants for 4 of the the last 5 years, I've at times been very short fused, angry, and anxious. Now I've had the Mirena removed, I can't wait to see if I can shift my extra weight with ease! Having it removed was absolutely horrific! The pain was so bad, all I can describe it like, is someone giving your cervix a Chinese burn! OUCH!! I have been bleeding quite heavily, but have been told this is normal????? Is it??? My husband and I hope to start a family soon, so fingers crossed all goes well! I know for some woman out there, the Mirena is great! But for those of us who suffered... I feel your pain... literally!

I've had my Mirena out for nearly 2 weeks now, after 15 months of living with the side effects. I've posted before about fatigue, crankiness & irritability, low-grade depression, weight gain, poor sleep, headaches, etc -- same old story as everyone else -- that came on gradually over the months. I'm still SO grateful to this website for making it clear to me that this wasn't just typical exhaustion due to having 2 little kids (now 3yrs & 16mos) or post-natal depression. Anyway, getting the Mirena removed turned out to be an ordeal in itself -- the strings disappeared and the doctor couldn't see anything with a speculum, so I had to wait 3 weeks to get an ultrasound and it turned out to be in the right place (phew!). Then I had to wait nearly 2 months to have a hysteroscopy -- they dilate your cervix and poke a camera up inside your uterus so they can see where the coil is, then they can pull it out. The poking and prodding was a huge drag, uncomfortable but not excruciating. When they actually pulled it out it barely hurt at all. I was a bit sore for a day or two, like mild period pains but nothing serious.

So, here's the update so far: My sex drive came back the very next day after being completely gone for ages! That was such a nice feeling again, to actually want to be with my husband instead of just going along for the sake of the marriage! I haven't felt sick or achey in my joints since it came out either, and the headaches are pretty much gone after being a constant in my life. I'm sleeping easier, and generally feel healthy again -- such a relief! My energy levels are still really really low though; I sure hope they start to come back soon. I think it's going to take awhile since I'd pretty much stopped exercising due to feeling so ill and tired all the time. I'll have to build myself back up through eating better and getting back to the gym, so unfortunately I think the weight-gain and fatigue are going to take longer to 'cure'. But still, I'm so glad to have it out and know that whatever happens to my health now, at least it's not being caused by hormones that just don't belong there.

Hang in there everyone; and don't be afraid of the pain in having it removed.

Ok, I have PCOS and had the Mirena put in 3 months after the birth of my last child in 2004 and thought it was great. No more fluctuations never knowing when or if I was getting a period...I just never had one, have not had one in 5 years years. The strings disappeared several years ago, had an U/S and they said it was still in place. I have had zero libido in that time, terrible mood swings, fluctuating weight and depression, thyroid problems, etc etc, all put down to depression. Well 6 months ago the headaches started, the vertigo... the ensuing DR trips have turned up an abnormal brain MRI and not much else no one has thought to think of the IUD. The MRI shows possible demyelination, vasculitis or sequelae to migraines...these are little white spots in my brain. If I find out these things are caused by this IUD there will be hell to pay. I am due to have it removed at the 5 yr mark in November..... I guess dig it out if they can find the strings. Will be interested to hear comments on this.

My horrible experience is finally over with Mirena as of today and I’m SOO relieved. I had Mirena inserted after my daughter was born because I liked the idea of not needing to remember to take a pill (esp with mommy brain). For the first few months, it was fine because I was breast feeding and did not have a period at all. However, once I stopped breast feeding, Mirena kicked it and it was awful. Granted, I think I’m in that 10-20% that has annoying side effects and does not like it. But, I would feel nausea a few days a month (and I did not have that when I was pregnant), I would have cramps 3 out of the 4 weeks in a month, spotting all the time, periods were all over the place (which would have been okay, but the spotting was really annoying), more headaches than normal and I felt tired all the time. Yes, it is tiring taking care of a toddler, but I was sleeping 9 hours a night and I was still tired. I basically felt like I was pregnant when I was not. No thanks.

So, I called the doctor’s office and they said they have heard of headaches, but not cramping. The doctor never called me about it (I spoke to the nurse), so after doing my own research, I decided to just get it out. So, I go in for the IUD removal. The doctor comes in and brings in a nursing student to view how easy it is. I guess that cursed me since she could not find the strings. It was sooo painful. The doctor has the student try to look to see if she can find the strings (I was mortified, just want I want, is someone else looking down there). She can’t find the damn thing, so she asks for an IUD removal hook. Just want I want to hear is the work hook and my cervix. So, she finally gives up after I’m ready to bite her head of because I’m in so much pain and screaming for an epi (the only pain I could compare it to was getting an internal exam during labor before the epidural).

The doctor sends me for an u/s to make sure the IUD is in there. Thank goodness it’s in there. That was also not fun since I had to had an internal u/s and that was a bit painful. The tech says it’s in there okay, the string just curled up.

So, fast forward to today. I went to the doctor’s office to have it out via a scope. Starting last night, I had to insert a tablet into my vagina so that the cervix would dilate. Waking up this morning, I felt really weird and had cramping from my cervix being dilated. Once at the doctors, they did a pregnancy test to make sure that I was not pregnant. Luckily, I was not. They then took my blood pressure and O2 level. My o2 level was fine but my BP was high because I was nervous. No big deal since it’s usually low and I’m quiet healthy. I then get a shot of toradol in my butt and have to wait about 20 minutes to kick in. I just felt kind of woozy. They then bring me in the room and the fun begins. Legs in stirrups, 2 nurses and a tech (who did not know what she was doing and was making me nervous). They gave me a shot of lidocaine in my uterus before the procedure. That was moderately uncomfortable, but luckily, a nice nurse let me squeeze her hand during that. The doctor then sends the camera up there and also sends water up my vagina so that she can work the camera. That was really weird to have water flowing out all over. The doctor got soaked, but I’m sure she’s used to it. I had lots of cramping going on and she see the IUD, grabs some kind of instrument and pulls it out. When she pulls it out, she noticed that the strings were all twisted, so that’s why I would not come out. I actually saw it out and was very relieved. The whole procedure probably lasted about 5-8 minutes, but it seemed like forever. They then cleaned me up and told me I’ll have cramping today. I’m still crampy now, so I’m taking advil every 4 hours. Hopefully, I feel fine by tomorrow.
The doctors office did give me the option to take valium and percocet for the procedure, but then I would not be able to drive home. So, I did not take it since it was hard enough to get someone to babysit, let alone drive me home. But, if you are the nervous time and have a ride, I say go for the other drugs! I was fine as soon as it was done and got out of there ASAP! I hope I’m not back in the office for a very long time. I’m going on the pill as soon as my cycle returns to normal since at least I did not have problems with that before.
I know I’m in the minority with these problems, but I wish I knew all the complications that I could have had since it would have saved me a ton of time, stress and money. I can only imagine how much it would cost to have the damn thing out, thank goodness I have decent insurance.

I got the Mirena 1 year ago, at age 46, when my youngest child was 13. My doctor did not do anything to dilate my cervix and the insertion hurt very badly. I almost told them to forget it! I have a high threshold for pain and had both my children without any medical intervention, so it is saying a lot to say the Mirena insertion hurt. I decided to get it because of my heavy periods. My periods are much lighter, but last just as long (6+ days). Since May I've had a weird rash on my legs and tailbone. The one on my tailbone looks like a bruise. My shins are mottled and itchy. I've been to numerous doctors and tried many different medications. They have gotten better, but have not cleared up. It seems that my legs are not getting adequate circulation. Also, my belly and area below my navel are bright pink and itchy. I, too, feel bloated and pregnant all the time. Ugh! I experience heart flutters and once ended up in the emergency room because the school nurse, where I work, thought I was having a heart attack. Does anyone else have a rash like I describe? This darn think was so expensive, I hate to have it removed but, if it is causing this rash, I'll have it removed right away!

I had Mirena implanted a week ago. The procedure was a little uncomfortable, but nowhere near as bad as what I expected. My doctor prescribed Citocek (?) to dilate my cervix. I took two the night before and two the morning of the procedure so maybe that's what helped so much. My doctor even commented on easy it was. I bled heavily for a couple hours after the procedure and had light spotting the next day, and have not had any more since then.

But this morning I have very bad cramps and it feels like they're getting worse. I came online to see if other women still have cramping a week afterwards. Looks like a lot of you have had really bad side effects. I can only hope that this will pass and I'll love it like so many others, including the nurse that helped with the insertion!

cannot believe how many stories I have read about mirena and hair loss etc..etc.. etc.. I have experienced many of the side effects that everyone is mentioning.. I actually feel I could live with most of them if it weren't for the hair loss. I have had ( copying from other post.. ridiculous right?)Tired all the time ~ Depression ~ Hungry all the time ~ leg cramps ~ HAIR LOSS TO THE POINT OF BALDING IN SEVERAL AREAS ~ oily skin and bad breakouts ~ Mood swings (huge...yelling fits at my husband and the kids) ~ fluttering in uterus~Sore breasts.. I have medium thick hair that is about 10 inches. I noticed a bald spot in June and now have discovered 4-5 others starting. I just had the iud removed today and my OB pretty much tried to convince me that there is no way that the IUD is causing my issues. I have never had any of these issues before. I got the Mirena on 4/30 of 08 and noticed slowly but surely all of the side effects mentioned. My OB told me that the progesterone could not be causing my issues because it is such a small dosage that it would be comparable to spitting in the ocean as far as the amount that is in my blood stream. She said because I am black and 35 that I may have an autoimmune disorder and that I should stop reading blogs. I told her that all of my research wasn't from a blog and that ALOPECIA is a side effect just not mentioned in my pamphlet that I can find. I understand what she is saying and that she is the one that is the dr. but nobody knows my body better than I do.. I am in it!! I have !never had any problems and have been healthy my entire life. There is no history of autoimmune disease in my family. I am going to my primary care doctor.. to have some blood tests done. I think that the mirena has caused an autoimmune response in my body.. it may not necessarily be the progesterone..although I don't rule it out no matter what she says . the progesterone is synthetic and has an androgynous like activity that is similar to testosterone the main thing that causes male pattern baldness. also Mirena is made out of Silicone.. perhaps those of us that are having hair loss are having it due to our body trying to fight off the foreign invader of the IUD itself. I was going to go and have the Paragard inserted.. because i was thinking it may just be the progesterone.. nope... I read that many women are complaining of ACNE and HAIRLOSS even with that because its made out of copper. So with that being said.. not sure what to do.. may have to go back on Yasmin.. didn't seem to have any problems with that.. I really just don't want to risk putting another hormone in my body.. We all need to get together and look into a class action suit because I am tired of being made to feel crazy by doctors.. sometimes what seems to not be possible is .. especially when there are so many women having the same problem. Feel free to e-mail me re: a class action suit.. if they took depo off Mirena needs to come of too. It seems like it has really screwed a lot of peoples system up.. Hopefully I won't find out I know have a thyroid problem etc.. etc..

Wow, what a relief. Thank you all for your stories and experiences with Mirena. I had Mirena placed in May 2009 and like others was not warned about the "discomfort" of the placement. I am 45 and have never had a child and my cervix was understandably angry at the unwanted visitor. I am an athlete and I like to think my pain thresh hold is high, and I almost came off the table with the pain and cramping. I bled for almost a month straight, sometimes heavy. I was told this would subside and it did.

Now three months in I was talking with a nursing buddy of mine (yes I am a nurse, cardiac) and she was telling me of her experience with Mirena and hair loss and blurred vision and weight gain. I am beginning to understand my last few months. Allow me to share. I have gained 10lbs in the last two months and have severe hunger symptoms if I go over 5 hrs without food. My typically flat stomach is now round and I feel bloated all the time. (I have even taken some of my girlfriends diuretics) I have night sweats and a few weeks ago I almost ripped my husbands head off for just a small disagreement. I remember planning our divorce in my mind!! My nipples get so sensitive to touch at times it hurts to wear a bra. I could go on and on but I am convinces this little uterine invader is coming out this week. If my obgyn won't do it, I will find another.

Thank you ladies for sharing, this is how we learn. I will keep you updated

Oh Mirena..... how i wanted you to work so badly.... But alas, you have failed me.

I got the Mirena IUD inserted in February of 2009. The insertion was terribly painful, but my doctor had warned of that since I haven't had any children and I would have a smaller uterus than women who had. The pain and nausea caused by the insertion went away within 8-12 hours. For the first three months, it did everything it was supposed to do: normal periods, no weight gain, no (new) mood swings, effective contraception... Beginning on day 1 of the fourth month, things went crazy. I have had 10 periods in 6 months, some lasting about 8 days and starting again 7-8 days later. I had a two day long migraine (I've never had one before this). I have been unbelievably moody, have experienced an extremely decreased sex-drive, bloating, exhaustion, the list goes on.

So when I couldn't take it anymore, I went to the doctor and the strings were no where to be found. Then I went for an ultrasound and sure enough, the Mirena had relocated itself between my cervix and rectum........... Not to mention, there's a 4.5cm cyst on one of my ovaries. The next step is a laparoscopy (procedure where the enter through the belly button) to retrieve the Mirena and check out the cyst.

I thought Mirena was going to be such a dream, but it's turned out to be a nightmare. I never had any adverse side effects from the pill in the 6 years I used it prior to Mirena and now I wish I had never switched. I know people that it's worked for without trouble, but unfortunately I was not that lucky. Like most of you, I had researched more than I felt necessary and read all the negative side effects others experienced, I just hoped that wouldn't happen to me. I'm not telling anyone not to get it, I would just advise that you don't switch to Mirena if you have something that is working properly. It's simply not worth it (financially, physically or emotionally).

Just hope that you don't end up like me and many other people with no health insurance and the doctor telling you your IUD has to be surgically removed because the strings have disintegrated. And before they refer you to surgery they will try to remove the IUD anyways with a hook while opening your cervix.....and let me add you will be given no anesthesia, your legs and arms will go numb and you will scream because it is the worst pain ever. And then you will finally blackout because you can no longer handle the pain and when you wake up you have to be driven home and put to bed because you cant find your composure for the rest of the evening. And it really sucks having to fork over $3000 to the hospital to have surgery when you have no insurance and cannot be insured due to pre-existing conditions.
I have not had the surgery yet, and will keep you all updated..... but does anyone know if we have a case for a lawsuit here?? I'm wondering if we could all get in on filing one. The Mirena has ruined my marriage, ruined my self-worth, ruined my body, given me anxiety to no limit, and now is costing me nothing but time and money with trips back and forth for 2 months now to the doctor and hospital just to try and have it removed.

So I went to see a CNM today about getting my mirena removed, and she couldn't do it! The strings are hidden inside of my cervix and she couldn't get them swabbed down enough to bring them out so she could grab them. She poked and prodded me down there for almost an hour before giving up. I had to go have an u/s to see if the mirena is still where it should be, because she is worried about the possibility of it being embedded into my uterus. I haven't heard back from her yet on the results. If it's still in place, then I have to make another appointment for a week or two from now to see if within my cycle things will shift enough for her to be able to get the strings to come out.
I am very upset about all this. I just wanted to have it out today and be done with it. Now it's an issue. My husband is a soldier and can't just take a day off when need be. I scheduled the appointment today specifically around his schedule. Now we have to try and schedule another one and it's an hour drive both ways. I'm crampy and sore from all the poking around in my cervix and I'm still stuck with this damn MIRENA! "Easily reversible birth control" my butt!

ABNORMAL PAPSMEAR I have never had one in my life me and my husband get tested regularly and we both practice safe sex which is no sex really since having our daughter (she is six months). I got on the Nuvaring three months ago and found it uncomfortable, I would bleed, cramp, mood swing and eat i am a very active person right after i had my daughter i was back in the gym but as soon as i got the ring i hated the word gym. With the ring in i never wanted to have sex because penis dry walls and round spring that doesn't stay in place never quite turned me on lol i told my doctor and she said my body was just adjusting i also told her about the bumps on my cervix and she said i didn't know what i was talking about, now i have to have a colscopy to figure out why my papsmear is abnormal. I honestly think it was the ring. I take yaz now I like it

I've been on Loestrin for four months now. Previously, I had a hormonal IUD, which was in for 2 months and I had it taken out because I had HORRIBLE HORRIBLE side effects. Cystic acne, had my period the whole time it was in, it stabbed my boyfriend when we had sex, made me incredibly depressed, I sobbed myself to sleep every night, and then the icing on the cake was when it started to slip out, but then got embedded in my cervix halfway through and caused me intense pain that wasn't helped at all by any pain medication, over the counter or under the table ;)

So then I switched to NuvaRing. I had that for two months. First it gave me a yeast infection. It also caused intercourse to be very painful, my boyfriend could feel it when we had sex, and I could feel it at all times. It also made me INSANE. I didn't trust anyone, was a total paranoid freak, and at one point I locked myself in the bathroom screaming and crying because I thought my boyfriend was trying to kill me. I was pretty close to actually hallucinating. I would describe my side effects with NuvaRing as similar to paranoid schizophrenia.

Then I was on Ortho Tri-Cyclen, which gave me a migraine every single day which once again was incurable by any drug. So I was only on that for a few days.

Since then I've been on Loestrin. I am not completely happy with it, but I've stuck it out because compared to side effects of other hormonal birth control, they've been relatively mild. If I miss a single pill, I'll get my period, but true to form, they only last three or four days at the most. Before I started birth control, I hardly ever got cramps, but on Loestrin I get pretty bad ones. The worst thing is my skin. When I wasn't on birth control, I had beautiful skin. Maybe the week before my period I'd get one pimple that cleared up quickly with spot treatment, but now I have between 10 and 20 big, red, angry pimples on my face at all times. I've spent literally hundreds of dollars on Proactive, Neutrogena SkinID, Mario Badescu, UV acne "zappers," and many many other face washes, lotions, masks, scrubs, etc, but NOTHING helps. The weird part is that for the first 2 months I was on Loestrin my skin was fine. It wasn't until the past month and this month that it's been a problem.

I'm going to wait it out for at least another 2 months to see if my body gets used to it and my skin calms down, but if these flare ups last longer than that I'm going to have to try something else. I don't want to unnecessarily switch pills because I've had such horrible results in the past that I'd kind of rather stick to the devil I know.

I would also estimate that once or twice a month, I get a killer migraine. I assume it's related to the Loestrin because I used to get them only once or twice a year. The only thing that helps with them is going to sleep, usually with the help of a couple Tylenol PM or 5 or 6 Benadryl or Dramamine. To give you an idea, the first month on Loestrin when I got a migraine, I took 2 Excedrin Migraine, 2 Excedrin Tension Headache, 2 aspirin, 4 Motrin, 2 Tylenol, 1 Aleve, AND 1 Percocet over the course of 6 hours, and it did not help ONE BIT. I hope that this will also improve over time.

I had mine inserted in August of 2008. Dr. attempted first insertion and realized my cervix was curved so had me take medication to soften it and come back for insertion the next day. Yes, it hurt going in (1 minute of severe pain) but comparing it to two painful births I have has plus severe cramps I used to experience monthly, it was well worth it for me. I have only had one side effect and that was feeling lightheaded at times within 3 months of insertion. Other than that, I have been pleased at my very light periods (four days with only pantyliners needed) and lack of cramps. I have not experienced any of the other symptoms many others have experienced and neither have the three people I know who have also had Mirena inserted and are happy with it. I am glad I did not read this board before having mine inserted because it would have steered me away from it and I truly feel that having had it put in, I am functioning well after experiencing 25 years of intensely painful periods and 10 days of heavy bleeding. I feel like a new person!

I've had my mirena for almost 3 years. I decided to get one when my last child was 6 months old, in Oct. of 2006. My CNM assured me that it was a good choice for me, even though I was breastfeeding. For the past year, I have not been able to find the strings. I read that sometimes they can soften up and curl around the cervix, but they are NOT there. I imagine they must have moved up into my cervix or uterus. This scares me a lot. Along with that, I have had many side effects, and I've noticed they have gotten worse as of late....

-Hair loss, oily hair, dandruff, weight gain, oily skin/break outs (I stopped having breakouts once I hit my early 20's and I am 29 years old with pimples again). Terrible mood swings, nausea (as of late), fluttering/spasms in my uterus (as of late), heavy breasts (as of late). I'm actually thinking about taking a preg. test tomorrow to make sure I'm not preggo, that is how bad my symptoms are right now. I have not had a period in so long, I'm not even sure when the last time was.

I'm going in a few days to see about having the mirena removed. I'm very nervous because I don't even know if it's still where it should be. As far as BC is concerned, it's great, because I can't remember to take a pill, but it isn't worth all the other things that come with this IUD. It's mindless BC but it's also worrisome for my own health BC! At this point, I'm thinking about getting rid of hormonal BC all together and using a diaphragm and practicing Fertility Awareness. I'd rather take my chances with something that is not going to make me crazy, sick, or put me at the possibility of major surgery/loss of my womanly parts.

WOW i can't believe what I am reading on here! this is exactly what's been going on with me for years (i've had two mirenas; one for five years and then a new one was put in last may):
acne
VERY stubborn weight gain
anxiety
mood swings
abdominal pain
digestive issues
pain with sex
thyroid issues
...i just made an appt to get my mirena out on Wednesday! thank you ladies!

I am 41 year old medical professional. I have been using NuvaRing for 3 years, since my youngest son was born. I have recently developed severe heart palpitations and bigeminy (an irregular heart rhythm which occurs 20 or more times a day). My heart tests are normal. I stopped all allergy and other meds except NR when my heart problems started. I also have constant anxiety and feeling down, moodiness, insomnia with frequent waking during the night, fatigue and constant feeling sleepy, very low libido and vaginal dryness, frequent yeast infections, and skin itching and rash. I am trying to get an IUD but my GYN can't get a good pap smear because my cervix is so friable (bleeds easily) and the blood obscures the cervical cells. I took my ring out today because my friend saw an ad from a lawyer talking about the side effects of Nuvaring and thinks my heart problems are from the ring. I am done. Either my husband can get a vasectomy or it is back to condoms! It's not worth it! Good luck to all of you.