Early menopause symptoms and conditions

I've had the Mirena since Aug. 2006 - three years now. I considered having it removed because of intense irritability, depression, suicidal thoughts, and lack of interest in sex the past 5 months. I went to my doctor's office this morning to have it removed, but kept an open mind to alternatives. I'm 39 years old, and the doctor indicated that at my age, some of these issues are normal. I found a list of Menopause side effects, and many are similar to Mirena's side effects! At any rate, I asked if there is a way to offset these side effects so that I can keep the Mirena. She gave me an estrogen patch called "Vivelle", and I'm hoping that will help. Has anyone else tried estrogen therapy to offset Mirena's side effects? I still have the Mirena and will follow up in a few weeks.

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 have had my mirena for about 1 1/2 months now, and so far i love it, i have had the spotting for the first month which doesn't bother me and now my period is on and i do have very bad diarrhea which im sure is associated with the period more than the mirena itself. haven't had any lack of sex drive in fact i 've wanted to have more sex, and i haven't' been irritable or anything else, so some of the side effects i believe everyone is having may be made up, think about it if you read over and over and over again how bad the mirena is your going to begin to feel that way i know if i tell myself that my arm hurts all day long then eventually it feels like it hurts..neways all im saying is relax stop reading these scary ass posts and do something to take your mind off of it, i know 3 other people who have the mirena that live down the road from me and NONE of them have had any of these problems...ladies i think you are just trying to find something to blame it on...

I am a 39 year old mother of two teenager daughters. I had my original Mirena inserted in July, 2002 due to extreme bleeding for many months. I would bleed for about 24 days out of every month and felt horrible. As I was only 32 years old at the time, my GYN did not want to perform a hysterectomy and suggested the Mirena. I bled for a couple of months after insertion, but shortly thereafter I had no bleeding and have had no period ever since. This is the side effect that is fantastic!

Shortly after having the Mirena inserted, my marriage fell apart and I was feeling very depressed, EXTREMELY EXHAUSTED and overall "crappy". I assumed that this was all due to my life circumstances. I gained significant weight in my mid-section, I had (and still have) constant headaches, I am always still very very tired, am dizzy, fuzzy-minded, blurred vision, achey, etc. etc. etc. I never once thought about the Mirena being the cause of any of these symptoms.

My doctor has checked my bloodwork numerous time to ensure my iron levels, etc. were okay as well as my thyroid - every time the results were normal so I thought it must all be in my head and all be due to me being somewhat depressed, etc. due to my marital breakdown.

I had my 2nd Mirena put in in December, 2009 as the first one was in for the full 5 years. It was a little painful getting it taken out and the new one put in, but for me the pain was worth it to continue to be period-free for another 5 years!

Recently I have been experiencing hot flashes and night sweats so I asked my doctor if I could be going through menopause. She ordered bloodwork to check my hormones and informed me last week that yes, in fact I am quite far into menopause!!! (remember, age 39)! Because I have not had a period in almost 6 years, I did have the early warning signs of menopause such as missed or irregular periods.

I wondered why I would be going through it so early so googled "Mirena and early menopause" which brought me to this site. When I started reading all the side effects, I wondered if it was maybe the Mirena that cause a lot my problems over the years and it wasn't in fact the dissolving of my marriage and change in life circumstances.

I now have to decide what to do. My doctor stated that I should (because of my young age) go on Hormone Replacement for quality of life. (I am close to my decision and believe that HRT is beneficial for me) - hopefully this will help with the terrible symptoms of menopause I have been having.

I am wondering if having the Mirena inserted had any part in accelerating my body into menopause. I am thinking of having it removed before starting HRT because even though the doctor told me that there is a very low hormone dosage in the Mirena, I don't want to over-do it with hormones as that could cause me even more problems. It would be amazing if I had it removed that I would feel the way I used to feel back 6 years ago (minus the husband)

FYI, before I had the Mirena inserted the first time I read and re-read the pamphlet which contained all the possible side effects, etc. But, as I stated above, my life changed dramatically very shortly after insertion so it never occurred to me that some of my problems may be related to the Mirena.

If this device does accelerate a woman's body into menopause, this should be well publicized as it would be tragic for young women who use this as a form of contraception early in their life to only find out later that they are no longer able to conceive due to their body going though "the change".

I have been getting kenalog injections for about 4 years now. I am 38 years old and have been in pre-mature menopause for about 3 years. I just received another shot last Monday and noticed I have been spotting a little bit. My pap came back normal. I have to get more blood work this week. I am growing more and more concerned that this whole "early" menopause may be from kenalog. I have been "freaking out" a little bit this past week because I haven't felt well either. I've never had a problem with weight gain until i started these injections and now I am over-weight and tired all the time. I'm starting to think that this whole kenalog shot is a big mistake.

I had my mirena inserted about 13 months ago before Christmas after the birth of my 2nd child , I was naturally shedding the baby weight until Mirena came into my life and then I gained 10lbs effortlessly within 2 months! even though my diet is always the same (I am coeliac). I had to start working out running 4 times a week and gradually have lost 8lbs but its been a huge battle.
Last May I woke up one morning bright red covered in a sunburn type rash all over my body it was scary, my joints ached so bad and my hands and feet were really swollen as if my body was reacting to something.. my gp did some blood tests and nothing it kept happening for 2 weeks and then the rash went,..I put it down to a virus at the time but felt as weak as a kitten and suffered night sweats, anxiety and flu like symptoms for months.

Ive had to really fight to keep up my running because most of the time I feel tired and depressed and run down and I have awful PMT the past few months have been dreadful I feel rubbish most of the time..everyone is getting on my nerves, I have little sex drive too and I am sure its down to the Mirena..its side affects remind me of the mini-pill which I took once for a few months it sent me so extremely loopy (paranoid and anxious) that my husband flushed them down the toilet!! well I think its the same/similar type of synthetic hormone that my body DOES NOT agree with.

I saw my Gp the other day and asked her about the side affects and she still said that I shouldn't have any after a year and it was very rare but after reading about it on here I cant believe it... its obvious and Im getting it removed. Ive had over a year of feeling terrible and various ailments so much so that I think my immune system (which is already sensitive) has suffered.

MEMORY LOSS, acne, mood swings, fuzzy mind, dizziness, dry hair, low sex drive, insomnia, depression, feeling like a baby was kicking inside my belly.

I had Mirena put in February 2008 and it is now one year later. I have had such extreme memory loss for several months now that I was really starting to feel like I was losing my mind. I am only 32 and have the memory of an 85 year old. My mind was so fuzzy I almost couldn't function some days. I attributed it to lack of sleep because I've also had a lot of insomnia over the past few months. I started drinking more and more coffee to wake my mind up and get rid of the fuzzy feeling, it seemed to help but certainly attributed to my insomnia so it was a vicious cycle. After reading all the other posts, I am getting it taken out ASAP. I also experienced the dry hair, acne, mood swings and low sex drive. I really hope I get my mind back once it's gone!

I've have the Mirena in for about 4 months now. I'm not sure if this is a side affect or not but I've been having horrible hot flashes. They are so bad that I hardly have enough time to get completely ready in the morning. I don't wear make up that much anymore because I'm to hot. My son is 6 months old now so my hormones should be pretty much back to normal. I've had my thyroid checked and it's not that. I've also been having anxiety whick I've NEVER had before. I don't know if that's due to having 3 kids now or the Mirena. Has anyone else experienced these side affects? I also haven't lost much weight since I've had my son which is also very odd.

I have been feeling most of these symptoms for a while but thought it was just in my head or that I was going through early menopause but I am only 38.
Immediately I gained weight in my stomach area which made me mad but I dealt with it. I have have really long periods where I used to have a 3 day period. Now I have anxiety and mood swings where I just feel like being mean. I hate how I am to my husband, mom and kids. I feel like I can't concentrate and I can't remember a conversation that I had 2 days ago. I really feel like I was deceived of all these bad side effects. I just called to have this bitch removed and the nurse said she has never heard of any bad side effects. I guess I am one of the unlucky ones. I also exercise and diet constantly and can't seem to lose the extra weight I put on. It's so frustrating when I try so hard.Now I am a little nervous about getting it taken out. I plan on taking a xanex b.c it hurt so bad when I had it put in! I also am a little nervous about what birth control to use next. I don't want to deal with hormones again. It's not worth it. Also the sex drive is very low for me. I really wish I would have seen this blog ahead of time. I would NEVER of had the mirena inserted and I wouldn't have wasted a year and a half of my life on being miserable!! I'm getting this removed 9am on Friday!!

Hi all,

I had my mirena out on September 11th, so almost a month ago! I persevered with it for almost three years but I had a hideous time with it: insertion was the worst pain ever; it felt like I had constant period pain; my periods never got any lighter but got longer - in fact for the past 12 months I had two periods a month. I had two scans to check it was in position, which is was (which is something to be thankful for)

I got forgetful, I was so tired which is unheard of, I had night sweats - convinced myself that at 31 I was having an early menopause! And the weight gain, wow. I have been swimming almost every day since Jan and not a single bit of weight loss, despite a very healthy diet.

Having it taken out was pretty uneventful. Ten seconds and it had gone. The bloating seemed to go within a few days, I wasn't tired, this could be psychological but I just knew I felt better!

In just over three weeks I lost 10lbs. Now of course this could be due to more exercise I have been doing, due to having more energy, but considering how much I was doing from January with no effect, it makes you think.

I know three or four friends who have it and LOVE it, guess I am one of the unlucky ones. The doc did ask (who was fine about taking it out) 'would you like another one?' No thank you!

THE MIRENA HAS RUINED MY LIFE. AFTER 2 YEARS OF HELL, I HAD IT REMOVED, THEN I STARTED YAZ BUT I HAVE NOT HAD MY PERIOD YET SINCE I HAD THE MIRENA REMOVED 3 MONTHS AGO. IM ALWAYS THINKING IM PREGNANT BUT THE TEST ALWAYS COME OUT NEGATIVE. WHEN WILL I GET MY PERIOD? IM TIRED OF THINKING IM PREGNANT WHEN IM NOT. WHATS WRONG WITH ME? BY THE WAY DID I MENTION I GOT OVARIAN CYSTS BECAUSE OF THE MIRENA. I NOW STOPPED TAKING BIRTH CONTROLS SINCE MY HUSBAND IS AWAY WORKING AND I DON'T NEED BIRTH CONTROL. IM STILL WAITING FOR MY PERIOD TO COME. I HOPE I AM NOT GOING THROUGH EARLY MENOPAUSE. IM ONLY 27 YEARS OLD. IVE HEARD ONE OF THE SIDE EFFECTS OF IUDS IS EARLY MENOPAUSE.

Has anyone had worse symptoms with the NR than with the pill? I was experiencing terrible migraines two days a month, right before my period started. I was also finding that my period was getting lighter and lighter as the months went by. I've been on some form of the pill for about 15 years off and on, this time for about 3 years straight. A doctor told me the NuvaRing might help with the headache...so I switched to it. the headaches are no better, I gained 11 lbs in two months and I have NO sex drive at ALL. I also get hardly any period at all. Anyone else having that problem? I got worried that I was entering early menopause, but they did a pelvic ultrasound and blood tests that were normal.

very bad experience with Mirena that after having it for 1 year (inserted at age of 43, taken out at 44) it looks like caused me an early menopause at age of 45. not one medic looking at the causes of my nausea, pains has thought that mirena might be the cause. Only after having it removed all these symptoms have calmed down but otherwise always punctual periods (before the insertion of Mirena) have not returned ....would not recommended it anyone!! also the Gynea told me that has some other cases with problematic Mirena...

Well, my first posting didn't take for some reason. I have been taking L. for about 5 weeks. I had thought that I had developed a full allergy and had begun suffering from early menopause until I read these other entries. The hacking gagging cough and clear mucus from lungs?throat . The fatigue is constant and the depression is to tears about twice a week for no known reason. I didn't have these symptoms when I was on Benicar. Guess what I'm switching back to.?!!

I have had endo for about 9 years now. 6 surgeries later, I decide to try the Lupron Shot. I took the 3 month dose twice. I did not experience any side effects until the 2nd month, which included hot flashes, mood swings, sleepiness, no interest in sex, weight gain, horrible headaches, loss of memory, pains in all my bones, breast tenderness, blured vision and so on. I am now off the shot after being on it for 6 months, and I am worse now then I was then. My pain is back from the Endo, my stomach feels like there is a huge ball in it, I have extremes of sever diarrhea to constipation. I feel like Im going to throw up every other hour..sometimes I do. My bones hurt worse than ever. I still have no memory and I cannot concentrate very well. My Dr. will not allow me to have a hyst because he feels I am to young. I am 27 married with a child..how much older do I have to be to get some relief? So, yes I liked Lupron, it did help. but I would rather get this crap taken out than go through all of this again.

I took Yaz for about 6 weeks. After week 4 I noticed I had heart palpitations, shortness of breath, abnormal mood swings - always upset and easily frustrated by the smallest things. The change in my mood was noticed by everyone from my family and boyfriend to co-workers and business associates. I myself noticed this big change. After week 5 I had a huge breakdown where I literally felt my heart thumping out of my chest...it felt like a heart attack (I can only guess). I could not breathe. I brushed it off as nothing (big mistake). Exactly 9 days later I was at work and the exact thing happened to me. This time I could not function - could not breathe, heart palpitations, the works!. I work in the medical field and so I my blood pressure was taken by a colleague and it was 168/108 on the left hand and 159/109 on the right (can you say OMG!!!). Sure enough I was rushed to the ER and they managed to bring my BP within normal range. The doctors told me I was knocking on the door of a pulmonary embolism(PE) (bolt clot in the lung) and/or a heart attack. I am a 24 y/o athletic, very fit, never even had a cold female who is extremely healthy. I take OC for PCOS for about 2+ yrs now. I made the switch from Yasmin to Yaz 6 weeks ago as I wanted to try something new with more 'so called' benefits (fewer periods and helping with moods swings that I also attribute to Yasmin).
I have done so much research and read so many experiences of other women on OC and none have as much reported MAJOR SIDE EFFECTS that Yaz and Yasmin...especially YAZ. While I agree with posts that notes that all OC have side effects; it should be noted well that YAZ is the worst.
Ladies...DO NOT TAKE YAZ IF YOU WANT TO LIVE! This is no joke.
I am happy to report that I am back to my happy healthy self. I am staying clear of all OC and will just live with my PCOS until I am ready to have kids.
Blood clots, PE, heart attack, HTN etc. is no joke. CHOOSE LIFE. They should take this drug off the market.
If you must take an OC, try ortho try-cyclen lo or talk to your doctor in details and to the health risk of them all and the one with the least side effects.
I appreciate this site for affording us ladies the opportunity to share our experiences, learn from the experiences of others and avoid a costly mistake.
God bless.
S.D. - FL
P.S. - DO NOT TAKE YAZ

I had Mirena put in on April 23rd. Since then I feel as though I'm a rollercoaster of emotions. I'm filled with rage one minute, crying the next, out of my mind...Bleeding, cramping, back pain. I delivered my 2nd child in Feb. and experienced post partum depression with my first child. I was feeling very good after the birth of my 2nd child until I had this thing put in my body.

I called my dr and was directed to 3 different people. One woman when I was trying to explain why I wanted it out actually told me to "ride out the hormones" and hung up on me!

I never got to speak to my Dr. and today tried to call again. I'm going in on Tuesday to get it out of my body. I feel very strongly about this. What upsets me the most is that this is MY body and regardless as to why I want it out of me, they should be respecting my decision NOT hanging up the phone, not acting like this "miracle" drug can do no harm when clearly it can as stated on the brochure they give you in the office. While not many may suffer there are some that do and it should be respected and not dismissed when brought to a doctor's attention!!!

I don't like how the doctor's office tried to make this as though I'm just CRAZY or this is in my head. I've been seeing a therapist for three years and she encouraged me to get this thing out of me if its causing me that much anxiety!!!

We are NOT crazy and we know our bodies best. Quite frankly I feel violated as there is a foreign object in my body that my Dr. doesn't seem to want to take out despite the fact that this is my wish.

HI EVERYONE I HAVE BEEN TAKING L24 FOR 3 MONTHS NOW AND I HAVEN'T HAD ANY SIDE EFFECTS UNTIL RECENTLY I SWEAT VERY BADLY AT NIGHT IS THEIR ANYONE ELSE LIKE THIS. BUT OVER ALL I LIKE THE PILL AND IT'S VERY HELPFUL

I have been on Mircette for over a year and a half. I'm 54, in good health and work out. Never smoked but heart disease runs in my family. I've never had any problem with moods etc. My Dr. put me on the medication to regulate my periods, hot flashes and help me get through menopause. I like the fact my periods are lighter and predictable. Lately I've had pain in my legs, like maybe my deep veins and severe cramps in my thighs and feet. It was just at night now I'm having the pain during the day. I am so afraid of a stroke, heart attack, or blood clots. Does anybody know if this could be a blood clot? My Dr. says that I'm not going to have any problems because it is such a low dose. Any comments from anyone?

I took one injection of Lupron for fibroids in Nov. 2001. It totally changed my life, I am no longer the same person I was before. It started with severe migraine headaches for 14 days straight and attacks of nausea, lack of appetite. I used to have a strong stomach - now I was very easily nauseated. I never went for the second shot. I began to have panic attacks regularly (I had not had them for over 20 yrs). I was tired all the time, and a person who used to work out at the gym 5 days a week - eventually I quit. Now I just walk. I feel about 65 yrs old (I am just 49). I look old, my face began to droop, my hair thinned. I had bouts of depression coupled with general anxiety. My migraines worsened. My sex drive dropped to zero, I feel almost "sexless". I used to be confident, now I was afraid of everything. I now suffer from irritable bowel syndrome - with bouts of diarrhea, bloating and severe gas pains. I have trouble eating sometimes.. I have had all the tests and no one can find anything wrong with me,and none of the doctors think all these problems are due to Lupron. But, I know - I was NOT like this before Lupron. It ruined my life. I just wish my doctor would have informed me of all the terrible side effects - she only told me about hot flashes. I looked into suing her for malpractice but the lawyers said they could not build a case with no real medical evidence that my symptoms are caused by Lupron. I just wish I had known then what I know now. I tell everyone - NEVER take Lupron. Six years later and I still feel like this. Oh what I wouldn't give to have not taken that drug.

I have been taking Yasmin for 2 years now and the side effects are horrible. Up until the last 4 - 5 months, I never had any problems with the medication. All of a sudden I started having night sweats, mood swings, anger issues, and emotionally unstable. I went to the doctor and they thought I was going through early menopause. I am only 28 years old, so of course they did all of the necessary tests. After the results came back, I was told that it was not early menopause, but they thought I may be having secondary ovarian failure. I went and had a second opinion and was told that the problem was my birth control pills. Apparently this pill can completely stop your ovaries from producing the hormones that they have to produce. My doctor told me that one of the side effects of this pill is that is shuts the ovaries down in rare cases. Well I guess I am a rare case. I am coming off of these pills and in a few months I should not have any of these symptoms. I do not recommend this product to anyone!!!!!!

hi everybody,
sitting here reading all your posts feeling really crappy.
Off yasmin now for about 8 months and trying to take it one day at a time.

I should be at my works christmas party tonight but am feeling so bad this weekend i pulled out. Cant moan to my husband as he is already annoyed at me for not going tonight.
we were really looking forward to it but i just couldnt face it. I work with such a good bunch of people and i know they will be disappointed i didnt go tonight.

regular posters will know my story. Was on yasmin for 4 very long years. Caused me huge problems, like anxiety, eyesight problems and many more. Eventually saw a very good fertility doctor who tested my hormone levels.

I started my course of hcg injections last sunday for low hormone levels.

For anybody who might know what is normal, mine were estradiol 257 and progesterone 37. Day 3 levels were normal which at least mean that i am not having an early menopause.

My fertility doctor said they are extremely low so prescribed me hcg injections. Have a friend who is a nurse so she showed me how to do the injections myself.

Have 4 injections every second day in the last week of my cycle. Does anybody know if they could make me feel so bad. I felt fine up until yesterday morning. Woke up feeling very anxious and down as well as feeling terribly irritable.

I seem to have lost so much weight in the last few weeks. None of my clothes fit me anymore. went to look for something to wear and even size 8 is too big. Are they making clothes bigger or have i really lost that much weight.

Is there anybody here who knows anything about hcg injections and their side effects. My doctor told me i would have no side effects.

I have so much anxiety again. I was feeling ok but feel like i am back to square one, like i am on yasmin again.
Could this be to do with the hcg.

I am sorry if this post is really depressing but i feel this is the only place i can really talk to people.
I would really appreciate any ideas. Hopefully when i get up in the morning i will feel better as i dont think i can go back to this again.
Thanks everyone
Murph70

hi flowerbabies,
thanks for the site advice. I am going to try it later on today. I got to speak to my doctor this morning about my results. He explained that both my estradiol and progesterone are low. He is going to correct this with hcg injections. I was afraid that i was having an early menopause or something. But he assured me that is not the case because my day 3 levels were normal. He said it is due to an inadequate corpus luteum. Whatever that means is beyond me. I will google it later. I am convinced this is a long term side effect of yasmin. I never had this problem before yasmin. I think i would have known. I found isotrexin gel the best treatment for the sourge of acne. Now completely gone after using it for 3 months.
I am glad you are feeling so much better flowerbabies. It gives encouragement to the rest of us to see somebody else get through this.
I too wish i had never started yasmin.
Thank you to all of the women here who openly tell of their fight against these problems.
Hopefully we will all someday be ok and never have to suffer like this again. Although when i think back to how i used to feel when on yasmin and while coming off it i cant believe how bad it was. Honestly i think i was close to a nervous breakdown. And having my doctor tell me it was not linked to the yasmin just made things worse. funny how things improved when i stopped taking it.
Sorry if this is so long but i feel that the women on this site are the only people who can understand how i feel as you have all been through it.
Keep posting ladies.
And the best of luck to all of you.
murph70

I was on Wellbutrin SR for 5 years and recently decided it was time to get off the stuff. Getting off the medication has been anything but pleasant. However, I know withdrawl won't last forever.

When I was on the drug, I also experienced many of the side effects that other people did; thinning hair, headaches, occasional migraines, nausea, inability to sleep, confusion, night sweats, tremors, dry mouth, etc. But, I am going through early menopause and I contributed many of the symptoms to that rather than Wellbutrin SR.

One thing I noticed with getting off the drug is an unsatiable appetite. I can eat 24/7 and still be hungry. It really sucks!