Dress sizes symptoms and conditions

Well, I've finally figured out how it is that Mirena works as birth control: if you're not having sex, you can't get pregnant. The first few weeks after having it inserted (about 2.5 months ago), I was fine - spotting pretty regularly, and having significant cramping, but nothing I couldn't handle. Then slowly I began having other side effects: dry, brittle hair that falls out in handfuls, dry skin, irritability, depression, fatigue, lack of motivation to do anything physical, extreme bloating through my mid-section (I am too terrified to get on the scale to see how much I've gained, but it's been about 4-6 dress sizes), swollen hands, migraines, and no sex drive. I mean, ZERO. My husband and I had a very active sex life which has now gone down to a couple times a month if I'm not too tired at night. I was a runner up until this summer (used to do 4-6 miles three or four times a week) and now I can't go more than a mile without becoming completely exhausted. I absolutely intend on getting it out, but ironically I'm so brain-dead tired all the time I can't seem to remember to make the phone call.

I did my research prior to getting Mirena, and read page after page of women who had extreme side effects from the hormone, but somehow assumed I would be one of the blessed few to escape them. That was big, fat, giant mistake. Bad pun intended.

Over two years ago I had a very severe case of shingles which had gone untreated for over 4 days. I was given acyclovir for the virus, acetaminophen for the pain, a diuretic to lessen the high blood pressure and weight gain I would suffer from taking prednisone. I started with 60 mg of prednisone and the dosage gradually eliminated over 6 weeks time. I gained over 40 pounds.
After the prednisone I suffered the following side effects: gained 15 more pounds, feet and ankles started swelling, I stopped sweating except profusely on my forehead. It took a year before I could sweat on my whole head, but nowhere else.

This year I am now sweating on my chest and head and nowhere else, I have gone down two dress sizes without changing my eating habits or exercise habits. My face is still round.

I am hoping the fact that I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian (30 years) isn't what's making the side effects last this long. This was the first time I had ever been given prednisone, and was told only about the high blood pressure and weight gain as a problem.

wow i cant believe what i have been reading. I have been struggling with weight gain and mood swings for the past 7 months. My doctor thought it was post natel depression so put me on tablets. After gaining 15 kilos i went back begging for weight lose tablets but wasn't able to have them because of the anti doctors. It wasn't until yesterday when i was helping my friend find a suitable birth control did i work out that it was the merina that had been causing me to feel this way and why i'd put on so much weight. I've gone up nearly 3 dress sizes. I'm am now heavier then when i was full term with my third child, who is now 13 months old. I'm going to my doctors tomorrow to get this horrible thing out. Then i'll have to ween off the anti d's, which i probably didn't need in the first place. It has had such a bad effect on my marriage to the point we are now attending counselling.

ive been on Yasmin for 5 months. its been the worst 5 months of my life. been VERY depressed desperate and had suicidal thoughts. its made me cry and cry and cry. im still currently taking this but am waiting to finish this pack and change to loestrin 20. all women react to different pills. but from my own experience i wouldn't go near this pill. i wish id changed pill sooner because i cant handle my life at the moment.

Let me just say that like so many other women on this site I have been stressing over the predicament that Mirena has put us in. Yes, I was warned about having not had children that I am not a good candidate for it but I am in my early twenties and don't want children any time soon and I had been on Depo shots for as long as my Dr. would let me, so don't judge. The fact of the matter is that for the past two years since the insertion I have wondered what the hell is wrong with me!!! I have been extremely moody, depressed, and have had several strange symptoms including headaches, acne, weight gain, and the overall feeling of someone in the nineties instead of being 22. I have never been a lazy person or someone prone to acne. I have been to the doctor several times and she keeps saying it's not Mirena; I'm not convinced!!! I have not had a menstrual cycle since I started depo five years ago, you would think I would be a happy person but I'm not. I don't know what to do, I'm afraid to take it out and be wrong about it and get pregnant. But on the other hand I'm severely depressed about the weight gain and the more and more I exercise and diet doesn't matter. I have gained over 20 pounds and gone up 2 dress sizes, because of this I don't feel like having sex because I'm tired or I don't feel sexy. My marriage is suffering from my mood swings, lack of libido, and not wanting to do fun things people my age do. I've lost several friendships by not wanting to leave the house, I feel like it's starting to take over my entire life. I thought it was just me having these problems but the more I read other peoples posts the more I feel like I'm not alone. You don't have to be forty and have 3 kids to know what it feels like to have symptoms like this and be told over and over it's just in your head. Thanks to every one who wrote on this web site, it's comforting to know you're not the only one having problems. When I get it removed I will post again with how it has changed.

Had the mirena coil fitted just over a year ago now, and wanting to have it out. The first couple of months of having it in i turned into a monster, i was constantly in a bad mood and would tear into anyone for no reason at all and that aint me as i am very laid back. This then calmed down and i returned to normal, and now every now and again every time me and partner had sex i wouldn't be able to move due to awful pain felt like the coil had pierced my wall or something, this would die down after a couple of hours and a packet of pain killers, it hasn't happened for a while thank god but now i am getting constant period like pains. I have gained 3 stone in weight and gone up 2 dress sizes and i have upped my excessing and diet but its just not shifting at all and i seem to be getting more headaches and my boobs just don't seem to stop growing. Although my skin is acne free as it has never been and i have had no periods for nearly a year now which is nice. But i have had enough and want it out, i want to feel normal again.

I am 3 weeks post removal and I am still experiencing aches and pains throughout my body, still have the 10lb weight gain, some mood swings and extreme tiredness and some periodic bloating...I am fed up! I have 2 questions: Has anyone found anything about this hormone levonorgestrel and how long it takes to get out of your system? Second, if anyone knows of any suits against these people, let me know because this is really interfering with my life and with my children and my boyfriend!! This is ridiculous, I didn't know about all of this crap prior to getting the Mirena and wouldn't have gotten it if I did know, and I am still paying for it after removal! Please let me know...thanks!! : )

Effexor XR worked at getting rid of a deep depression when nothing else seemed to help, made me less irritable and more pleasant to be around and rekindled some long-lost interests and made me less reactive and defensive.. AT FIRST.... within a couple months I found myself in a numb kind of depression, there was this irritable sad feeling in my head that I tried to get rid of by eating sweets, something I was never to fond of. I packed 20 pounds on my 5 foot 1 frame which is several dress sizes. I would have gained more if I didn't have periods of dieting and exercising here and there, but mostly I wasn't motivated, I would do things like sleep through doctor's appointments and not even care.. My sex drive was so gone I started thinking I was asexual, no joke.. I kept on craving junk food and couldn't stop, I also couldn't sleep at all.. It felt as if my stomach to my groin area were numb, that's why I kept on eating, to see if I could feel something but I never felt full... To me sleeping, having an orgasm and feeling full are basic human functions and to take them away is well.. depressing... I choose to accept my brain chemistry as is , that was part of the problem, feeling like we have to be happy and smiling all the time... My personality "flaws" are automatically cured when I accept them cause' they are no longer flaws and that makes me more positive and happy!

Weight gain about 13 lbs in 5 months, HELP...My diet is great, and I do not eat sweets and high fat foods..I am not overweight, but am heading there. ANYONE ELSE???

Hello Sherry,

I also gained 10 pounds and went up two dress sizes. (actually 15 cuz I gained 5 right before I went off) Well I guess we'll just give it time. We can be thankful it's winter time and can dress in sweaters and heavy coats!

It looks like we are on the same time line and schedule so let's keep each other posted on our progress.

Mollie

Sherry,

I am just like you I have gained 10 pounds with coming off and went up two dress sizes. (actually 15 pounds cuz I gained 5 before I went of)

Anyway I guess we can be thankful that winter is here and can bundle up in sweaters and coats!

It's nice to hear that you are on the same schedule as me, hopefully we can keep each other updated!

Mollie

Hi Silke, Hi mollie and everyone else.
Just to chime in (again!) on the topic of weight gain, I'm also 6 months post yasmin and still the weight is not moving. No matter what I do or how little I eat it still stays the same.

Mollie, I'm glad you finally got one doctor out of the whole universe to admit that this can be a result from the pill. My doctor said 6 months should be the most it shall take for all the symptoms to fade. Well here I am six months and all and still no improvement. Honestly I'm thinking it'll never change and it's hard for me to get used to the idea that I now look like a blob. I've gained 10 lbs-went up two dress sizes. Even my face is bigger. Silke-I like the description of pudding. That more or less fits the bill. (sigh) It's so unfair.

Anyone out there thinking of going on the pill, please do yourself a favor and don't ruin your body knowingly. I wish I checked this out before.

Take care,
Shery

Well, if I would have had the chance to read such postings and experiences like these here 6 years ago, when I started taking this hellsent drug, without knowing, what I was doing to my body, I would have been very thankful. Ok, I don't know if I would have believed, that the same thing could happen to me, because I had been taking bcp for 5 years before Yasmin without ANY problems!!! But I definitely would have taken the chance and had thrown away the pill package as fast as I could have....

Nobody can say, how your body will react to a bcp, everybody's different. But believe me, there are better ways for bcp and even much better and more riskless pills than that one!!

The first years being on bcp at all (about 11 years ago) I didn't gain ANY weight, I was just about 110 lbs (55 kg in german weight), very slim and healthy. The weight gain after all startet about 4 or 5 years being on bcp very slowly year by year. Well, but still not in that way as under Yasmin!! I just gained about 10 pounds over about 5 years and I could live with that, because I still didn't look fat or plumper.

But seeing different photos of me during my "Yasmin-years" I can see, that every year taking it I started more looking like I was "pumped full" with water or anything else, even in my face and my neck. Everything on my body started looking like pudding. Just a very unnatural look and very unusual for me, like I was always very slim and never had any problems with my weight before!!

And nevertheless I still didn't look as bad as I'm doing now after getting off this hellsent drug. My weight went up 2 dress sizes (40 pounds!!!) within only 3 (!) months!!! I was so shocked, because I never had looked like this before.

Altogether I can say now, that taking bcps has made me go up the amount of 50 pounds in weight and never eating more than before or doing anything else different than before!! I don't have to tell you, that I'm no longer feeling like the old me.... and that just besides all the other health problems and not really living for about 3 years now, not to mention the 8 months since december last year, when I really thought, my life would end...!!! (And still not really back to normal after 8 months of not taking this poison!!! Well, 5 years of taking Yasmin have taken their tribute....)

So please don't only think twice but triple ore more about taking this Yasmin stuff any longer!!! It's not too late now to stop!!

Best wishes and take care!!

Silke

Hi Mollie!!

Well, what I say now might sound a bit strange, but I'M SO HAPPY TO HEAR, WHAT you're DOC said!!! It's so relieving to see, that a doctor is telling you that you could do NOTHING against the weight gain after getting off the pill!!

Believe me, it's much harder to hear things from a doc like "you should eat less" or "you should do everything to come off that weight immediately" and so on!! Because I just know, that I didn't eat too much the last months and I know, that it couldn't be normal to go up 2 dress sizes within just 3 (!) months (it's been 40 lbs I had gained after getting off Yasmin within such a short time!!!) WITHOUT eating cakes and chocolate and big amounts of other food every day.

And that it might last ONE year to get off the weight again I've heard from another woman in another german forum, too!! She also had gained about 40 lbs after getting off a bcp and after about ONE Year everything has eased up and normalized finally!! I can't say how, and if it happens suddenly, but just the hope that it WILL get away some day gives me hope again and gives me more patience again!!

There's really not much doctor's that really admit that getting off a bcp can cause such a weight gain and I'm so happy to hear, that your doctor does!!

All the best wishes and much patience to everyone out there suffering!!

Silke

Well I'm here again..

It's been 6 months since I've been off and the weight is not budging!! I feel disgusting, I've never been this big in my life. I see that lots of other people feel the same way, so that at least comforts me. I'm up 2 dress sizes and am bloated! Also I still have acne on my neck.

I hear that everyone says be patient, but for some reason I just can't believe that someday in the future the weight will come off.? Is this true?

I recently had a cyst on my ovary which is gone now, but the doctor there told me that there was basically nothing I could do to make the weight come off. It was nice to finally here that from a doctor. She said give it a YEAR!!

Anyway if anyone wants to post who has lost the weight please do, and how does it suddenly come off??

Thanks ,

Mollie

HEY SILKE, RITA AND ALL YOU WONDERFUL LADIES WHO POST HERE SO TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER IN THIS TIME OF STRUGGLE....

AS I SAID IM NOW 5MNTHS POST PILL AFTER BEING 4MONTHS ON IT..THIS MONTH THE HEART PALPS HAS COME BACK AFTER FINALLY DISAPPEARING.
ALSO THE BLOATING HAS INTENSIFIED DRASTICALLY.
HEY WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FACT THAT THINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO GET BETTER WITH TIME.FOR ME ITS ACTUALLY GETTING WORSE. IVE GONE UP TWO DRESS SIZES AND I DESPISE THE WAY I LOOK..WHICH IS AN OVERSIZED PIMPLE...HE HE..IM SO DEPRESSED ABOUT IT AND ITS REALLY HURTING MY OVERALL DAILY FUNCTION.
I DRINK DANDELION TEA, RED RASPBERRY TEA, VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS AN
D WHAT NOT. NOTHING SEEMS TO HELP AT ALL. I AM WONDERING IF THERE'S AT LEAST ONE PERSON WHO CAN TELL US....WHEN IF AT ALL IS THERE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL????«
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO TAKES THE TIME TO POST HERE AND TO HELP EASE OUR PAIN. GOD BLESS U ALL.
SHERRY

my life changed,since i started taking paxil.before that it was hell for me...but now,after reading all these stories about the withdrawal, i m scared I've also gained about 40 pounds on Paxil and don't feel like exercising or doing anything energetic. Still, the panic attacks were much worse, I was ready to kill myself.

While it is true that any BCP will have side effects within the first few months while your body adjusts (in response to a few posts down), you need to take the severity of them into account. If I was only experiencing a bit of bloating or minimal weight fluctuation, etc, I would be unconcerned. However, I wake up in the middle of anxiety attacks, panicky and almost out of my mind with edginess. I have gone up two dress sizes, have constant light discharge, am moody beyond belief and to the point where it is damaging my life...and I have only been on this pill for three weeks. If you are experiencing side effects which interfere severely with your regular lifestyle or have a large impact on your physical and mental well being, discontinue use and seek help from your medical professional IMMEDIATELY. There is a better way for you.

I hope I do not have the effects that some of you reported after quitting Yasmine. My life is messed up enough already. I will keep you posted. God be with you.