Experiences symptoms and conditions

I have had my Mirena for almost two years and I think it's the best medical decision I have made in years. I was on the pill for years and even had depo shots for a while. The depo mad me moody, irritable, and downright nutty. I have had none of those issue with Mirena. I have not had a period in a year & a half, and I have enjoyed every moment with my implant. People blog about bad experiences, but rarely share good ones. I just wanted to spread the word that it is GREAT for me. Like you, I read good & bad before I made my decision, and I am SO glad I did it despite reading blogs liek this one.

I just wanted to thank every woman who took the time to post their story. I just had a baby in March and was scheduled to have the Mirena device inserted tomorrow. I'm still breastfeeding and the pill makes me sick to my stomach all the time anyway, so my doctor made Mirena sound like such a perfect alternative. She stressed how low in hormones it was so it sounded so innocent and easy. I've just spent an hour reading all of these terrible stories and called to cancel my appointment. I'm actually going to direct my Doctor to this site and recommend she read up on a little real life, rather than pamphlets of clinical studies. My best to all of you recovering from this experience and again, thank you, thank you, thank you!

I recently began taking Loestrin 24 Fe because I actually stopped having my period. I have lost 80 pounds over the last 2 1/2 years. The Doctor explained that the weight loss had affected my hormone levels and advised me to take this pill. However, she also assured me that I would not gain weight. I have been taking the pill for two weeks, and I have already gained 4 pounds. I am a faithful Weight Watcher member and looking back over what I ate the past 14 days and how much I worked out - the weight gain does not seem possible.

Doing some independent research, this pill has the lowest levels of estrogen, supposedly meaning that it shouldn't cause weight gain like other oral contraceptives with higher estrogen levels. However, the scale shows different results and I also feel like I am retaining water. I don't want to appear "vain," but I have worked very hard for a very long time to lose 80 pounds. I do not want to see it creep back on because of medication, especially when I am only using it for regulation, not pregnancy prevention.

From reading earlier postings, I know some other people have had similar experiences. Did your Doctor change the type of birth control? Did you simply stop taking the pill and lose the weight? Does anyone have any advice? I really appreciate the help!

I too have experience a late period, 11 days late so far. In addition, I am having extreme nausea. I thought maybe I was pregnant, I took 3 tests and all are negative. I have been on the Wellbutrin for 1 month now and am not really thrilled with the results. Actually, I find it's not helping at all.

I was on Celexa for about 6 months and loved it with 2 exceptions. Hair loss and a huge loss of my sex drive.

My thought is that none of these drugs are without side effects...there is no free ride.

Anyone else have similar experiences with Wellbutrin?

I'm a 32 year old male. This is probably the 5th time I've taken Zithromax. Unlike previous experiences, this time I got a horrible rash on my face, chest, neck, and little red spots all over my body. They itch horribly and I'm hoping they go away on their own. I am going on week two and they are still around. Last year, I was given a very strong antibiotic for an infection that just wouldn't go away. I took one dose and threw the rest out because the resulting full-body rash was horrible. I think that some of us may develop an allergy to certain families of antibiotics as we age. Either that or our immune systems are degraded. Who knows. I've also been dealing with chronic anal itch for 2 years now, and that is a horrible thing to live with. FEELING OLD!

i want to start off with IM SOOOOO GLAD I FOUND THIS SITE!!!

i though.. well i wasn't actually sure what to think.. i got my mirena at the end of January 2008.. at first things were going good... yes my periods got longer.. 3 times longer then normal actually.. i wasn't too worried because the OB said that might happen at first. then slowly i started loosing my sex drive ( im only 25 that really shouldn't happen) started getting achy, especially in my joints, so i started drinking more water. then my clothes started getting tighter.. i cut out soda all together and started watching what i eat more closely..i have also had some pretty bad anexity attacks lately.. which i never had before i got this thing.. i dint know what to do i though i was going crazy.. i talked to my doctors and basically got nothing out of that.. im now in my 6th month of having mirena and i have gained almost 30 pounds!!!! yes i have been hungry all the time but i either restrain myself fream eating altogether or eat healthy snacks.. i exercise daily and still am unable to lose any weight.. the numbers on the scale just keep creeping up and up.. im am moody and easily worn out.. i have no energy at all.. which isnt good with a 3 year old that has more energy then the sun.. i had no idea that mirena could cause any of these symptoms.. but the more i have been reading about it and the more site like these i find, the more i realize that the most likely culprut of losing myself is mirena.. i have decided that on Monday im calling my OB and demanding she remove it!! i want my old self back again.. i wasn't perfect but at least ill be me.. thank you all for sharing your experiences, you made a world of difference!!!!

After reading these posts, I am glad I didn't change my mind about having the MIUD removed. I have had all sorts of problems since that evil piece of plastic was inserted. I didn't think much of it at first and thought maybe I am just tired because I have my period and cramps alllllll the time. The relationship I was in was bad and thought maybe I was tired and moody because of that. After a couple of months - boyfriend free - things didn't change. I had horrible mood swings, my concentration was shot. My work ethic went down the toliet, I felt like a 10 year old kid with ADD. No energy, back hurt on a regular basis, carpal tunnel came back with a vengence and TMJ (I don't know if that's related but I've never had it before), acne, weight gain, no sex drive, and a constant itching around my neck. I am sure the NP was ready to try to talk me out of it and wait the full 6 months for "side effects" to go away. Well, the last 5 sucked, I really didn't want to deal with this crap any longer, besides with the price of gas, I can't afford the money for the regular buying of feminine products. I am only 6 hours free of this and I am already feeling a little better. I don't have that "pressure" you feel in your belly and a have bit more energy. I am so looking forward to the next few weeks when things start to get back to normal!!! If you have any doubts about this thing....get rid of it. Its really not that bad to get it out, 99 times less painful than getting it inserted!!!

I've been on Yasmin for almost 3 years and have had no bad experiences except for a little constipation that cannot be cured by an apple a day. Prior to yasmin I tried Ortho Tri-Cyclen and Ortho-Low which both made me gain weight and become moody. I also tried the patch that made me gain a lot more weight and become extremely moody! tried the NuvaRing, and they you cannot feel it but I could and also felt really moody on it but couldn't tell with the weight since I had gained so much on the other stuff. My friend recommended Yasmin to me and since then I have loved it. You can't be on oral contraceptives and live a lazy lifestyle. You've got to be healthy and active. Exercise increases positive endorphines that will help you keep a healthy mood. When I went on Yasmin I lost 40 pounds of the weight that I gained from the other stuff. In addition some little acne I had cleared up. I have not experienced moodiness on Yasmin but again I eat healthy and exercise A LOT which I think helps tremendously.

My doctor did have me try taking "yaz" for 2 months and please DO NOT confuse the two. Yaz was completely horrible for me and my period became wacky. My OB explained that all women have hormonal changes throughout their whole life and that Yasmin may not be right for me forever but right now it seems to be the best choice. She said all women are different and some may experience it horribly.

So those of you reading all the negative posts below - please do not be scared of by it because you do not know what is good for your body by the basis of someone else experience.

If you do research on Yasmin as with any other drug you can see that there are something that you need to consider when deciding to go on this drug. Yasmin is also different because it uses potassium.

I GOT MIRENA IN ABOUT 2 1/2 MONTHS AGO AND WELL I AM NOW SUFFERING FROM THE SAME SYMPTOMS THAT ALL THESE OTHER WOMEN DESCRIBED. I HAVE PAIN THAT COMES AND GOES IN MY ABDOMINAL AREA, I FEEL TIRED ALL THE TIME, IRRITABLE, DEPRESSED, HEADACHES, BAD CONSTIPATION, WEIGHT GAIN, HAIR FALLING OUT, AND BLOATED SO BAD THAT I LOOK LIKE IM 5 MONTHS PREGO. IT SUCKS I FEEL LIKE I AM GOING INSANE TO THE POINT WHERE I CANT EVEN STAND MYSELF, I DON'T KNOW HOW MY HUSBAND DOES IT. OH AND TO TOP IT OFF 1 MONTH 1/2 INTO HAVING IT I HAD TERRIBLE PELVIC PAIN I COULD NOT EVEN WALK, AND SO I WENT TO DR. AND THEY SAID THAT I MIGHT HAVE A CYST SO NOW I HAVE TO GET AN ULTRA SOUND TO C IF IT IS A CYST OR NOT. UP UNTIL TODAY I DIDN'T CONNECT MY SYMPTOMS WITH THE MIRENA EXCEPT FOR WEIGHT GAIN AND THE POSSIBILITY OF CYSTS. THEN I WAS TALKING TO A FRIEND OF MINE THAT WAS CONSIDERING THE MIRENA AS WELL AND SHE MENTIONED IT TO HER AUNT WHO HAD IT AND HER AUNT TOLD HER NOT TO GET IT AND TLD HER HOW THE MIRENA IS THE PORTAL TO HELL. SHE CALLED ME TLD ME ABOUT IT AND WELL THEN I STARTED TO LOOK FOR OTHER WOMEN'S EXPERIENCES AND THAT IS HOW I CAME ONTO THIS PAGE, AND OTHERS ALL WITH NOTHING BUT THE SAME COMPLAINS. MAYBE 1 OR 2 GOOD EXPERIENCES BUT THE REST WERE BAD. I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT ON 7-21-08 TO HAVE IT REMOVED AND GET BACK ON THE PILL THAT I WAS TAKING FOR ALMOST 9 YRS AND NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH. I CANT WAIT FOR MONDAY TO COME. I WILL LET U ALL KNOW HOW I FEEL AND HOW MY LIFE CHANGES AFTER I GET IT REMOVED. UNTIL THEN ALL I CAN SAY IS DON'T GET MIRENA ITS THE PORTAL SO HELL!!!

I cannot disagree with these negative postings more. I absolutely love the nuvaring. I have not gained any weight...of course I diet & exercise about 5 days a week....do those of you who have experienced weight gain exercise regularly? I have also had an INCREASE in my sex drive...I have been with my fiance for 5 years, and for the past 3 of those, I have had no sex drive whatsoever. I got on the ring & bam, it's there with a vengence...the only problem with that is that we're getting married in 2 weeks & I wanted to make it special & stop having sex a couple of months before the wedding...but I just can't get enough of it. I have dealt with depression & anxiety my entire 27 years of life, so if the nuvaring is causing that...it's not any worse than normal. The only side effects I've had is the discharge, (which yes, is very annoying) and tender breasts...but I can deal with that. Although I have noticed that I cry a bit easier...but I was always a crier as well. I cry when I'm mad, sad, happy...always have, so nope...guess that's not from the ring either. ALL birth control effects everyone differently. I'm not saying this for everyone, but sometimes a lot of people like to blame certain actions & physical changes on something & maybe this is the case...for some people. I've been on the pill before & I always got off it b/c of weight gain....well, it was b/c I wasn't eating properly or exercising. I liked to blame my mood swings on the pill as well, but once I thought about it, I still had those before & after taking the pill. The only reason I quit the pill was b/c it did give me acne. Anyway, just my thoughts....& I wanted to post something positive for the ring.

I went on the ring about a year ago and I have loved it. I have been having a problem when I drink too much alcohol though and I am not sure if it has to do with the ring. Whenever I drink to the point where I don't feel good and I have a headache, I get really suicidal and freak out. My boyfriend noticed a few days ago that these episodes started around the same time I got the ring, but we aren't quite sure. Has anyone else ever had any experiences like these? I would like to know as soon as possible so I can take it out. Also, I would like to know if there are any other birth controls that people would recommend besides the pill. I don't like having to remember to take them every day.

Hello. My fiance was on nuvaring for nearly 2 years and gradually began experiencing many of the side effects listed here. The last 6 months were the worst in that the mood swings, anxiety and depression seemed to get out of control. She recently stopped using the ring about 6 weeks ago but it seems like the symptoms are still persistent. Does anyone have any experience with coming off of the ring and whether or not it could take longer than 2 months to get back to normal?

I have had progressive muscle weakness, pain in my joints with swelling of the knees, ankles and hips. My doctor said it is not related to the antibiotic and to continue taking it. The symptoms are so disabling I can barely make it to the bathroom alone and I have had to miss work. I also told him the inside of my throat felt swollen, and my tongue is turning white. It just isn't a pleasant drug to be on.

Didn't have bad side effect but kept a constant look out for what they listed on the paperwork. But I was in so much shoulder pain that I needed this too bad. (I've used it before (5 yrs) so I knew people had bad experiences).

Hunger pains were the worse but I kept food in the house and with me so that I could eat (protein) when the SHARP hunger pains happened.

Update and a question:

I posted about a week ago about some of the side effects I was experiencing from lisinopril:

-lightheadedness (including one fainting spell)
-some discomfort and tightness in my chest
-difficulty breathing (when this happened, I would force myself to breathe deeply and usually found that I was breathing OK ... just felt like I wasn't always getting enough air)
-feelings of panic
-muscle pain in back and neck
-diarrhea

I stopped taking it a little over week ago and my doctor wants to start me on diovan. After my experience with lisinopril, I want to wait a little while before starting a new med.

So my question is, how long does it take to get lisinopril completely out of your system?

I've felt some of the same side effects recently (slight dizziness, some discomfort in back and chest area). But that was after working in the Texas sun for a couple of hours in the morning. (I've heard that lots of sweating and dehydration can increase some of the side effects of lisinopril.)

Can anyone tell me your experiences after getting off lisinopril?

My father is 73 and has been taking this drug now for a few years. In the last year he has been suffering from severe hallucinations , particularly at night. The other evening he walked out of the house and went wandering around the village because he saw people in the house. Has anybody else had similar experiences taking this drug? Clive

Weight gain, swollen middle,ankles,and feet. Tired and eat every little and exercise by walking most days. Can't walk too fast because I experience shortness of breath. I take 150 mg a day.

I am having strong cramps this past week and I've had my Mirena in for almost 2 months. Wish I had seen these message boards before hand. My doctor did tell me it would take between 3-4 months for everything to settle down. Don't think I want to wait that long. Now I found out yesterday that I have an ovarian cyst...something that I didn't have 2 months ago. It really is an evil little device, isn't it? Too all of you that are having positive experiences...I wish it was me!

I am really sorry for everyone out there that had bad experiences with Quasense. I had been taking this pill for 9 months and I loved it. It had cleared up my acne and I had absolutely no spotting, my periods were lighter and they would usually last for about 2-3 days. The only side effect I had were daily headaches. I do suffer from migraines every once in a while so these headaches were nothing compared to migraines, but they started coming everyday. I talked with my mom about it and she said it could be from the pills. So I stopped taking them. The headaches went away, but other things came back. I started getting acne again, my cramping got worse. I went back to my doctor and I was prescribed an antibiotic for my acne, and a regular birth control that I can take for 3 weeks and I just skip the dummy pills and start a new pack like the Quasense. Still to this day I haven’t gotten rid of my acne and that was my only reason for going on the pill. I want to get back on Quasense because I think the headaches are worth a pretty face. And from reading all the posts I think I got off lucky with just the headaches. Or I might even consider Seasonale if everyone says its so great.

My wife started taking Reglan last year one week before she committed suicide at the age of 57. She had never been diagnosed in her life as depressed, but obviously she was at the end. Two years previous she had a hysterectomy as part of treatment for uterin cancer. Five months previous to her suicide she got sick and after many weeks was diagnosed with acid reflux. She was given Nexium for this, but continued to suffer from the reflux. I believe somewhere in this time she became depressed though she continued to deny it right up to the day she took her own life. I really do not know if the Reglan or the Nexium was behind her suicide, but I believe it is quite possible. I should be mad as hell about this, but for now I just can not get beyond the grief. I am putting this out here just to say you may want to be very careful with Reglan!!!

I have been on Wellbutrin XL for several years now and it has been the most effective for me of all the antidepressants I have tried. My husband went to pick up my refill and they inadvertently substituted the Budeprion XL. Although he questioned the pharmacist, they assured him there was no difference. I finally gave in and decided to give it a try 4 days ago and each day I get more and more depressed, irritable, unmotivated, and lethargic. I had been consuming a lot more caffeine just to keep going. I keep telling my husband that I just do not feel right and the Budeprion XL does not work as well. Until I read all these experiences, I began to think I was imaging it or I was just cycling. Now, I am fairly certain that it is a result of the ineffectiveness of the Budeprion XL. This is the end of the road for Budeprion XL and me.

I was prescribed Bactrim for 10 days. On about the 7th/8th days, I noticed my lymph nodes under my jaw were becoming very painful and swollen. By the next night my lymph nodes continued to become more swollen and painful under my jaw and spread all along under my jaw and in my neck (I looked like I had two chins!). I also then developed a fever of 102, chills, severe headache and ached all over (oh yeah, my heart was racing for days). The fever and chills made me absolutely miserable! I could barely get out of bed or off the couch for almost 4 days. The next morning after fever, chills, headache, I woke up with a red, splotchy, sunburn-like rash from my neck to my ankles, which got itchier and more painful in the next two days. My MD said the rash was a reaction to Bactrim but did not seem to know what the other symptoms were from so ordered blood tests and told me he was "concerned" for me (I was freaking out)! The bloodwork came back negative (thank God). He still didn't seem to put the other symptoms with the rash and Bactrim. I then started to research Bactrim allergies/side effects online and found this website. I found that others had experienced some of the same horrible side effects as I had. It was pretty scary until I realized this was all apparently related to Bactrim, as my MD apparently had no clue. Other's experiences helped validate what I was experiencing so thanks to you all who shared your Bactrim horror stories! I started feeling a little better 48 hours after the last Bactrim dose and at about 72 hours, I pretty much felt back to normal. No more Sulfa for me!

I am on my last of 10 days on prednisone and all I can say is Thank God! I am taking it for asthma and I feel worse than I did before! My chest feels like I am having a heart attack, I have labored breathing, I am confused and weak, terrible pain in my neck and shoulders, horrible metallic taste in my mouth that even Dentyne Ice can't take away, I feel exhausted all the time, I am starving myself only to gain a pound a day and I can't concentrate at all. There was no warning not to mix this drug with alcohol, and after a couple of drinks I black out. The thing that really sucks is that I am a professional flutist and it is affecting my breathing and ability to play! Someone please tell me these "side effects" will eventually go away as I am scared to death after reading about your experiences.

My 10 year old son has taken Singulair on and off since he was 5 years old and has been on it for the past 3.5 years. My son at an early age was affected by a bad marriage and then the divorce when he was 5 yrs old. So we always suspected that his behavior issues were caused by this and I had done everything I possibly could to give them the help he needed to get over and through his issues. He was held back his first year of Kindergarden and during his second year midstream he was placed in a special class for behavioral problem children. Nothing ever seemed to help him, everytime we would see some progress and encouragement we were always blind sighted by a behavior that was always worse. Two steps forward and them 5 steps backwards. I always knew that his problems would never get better overnight so I just kept on going. He was diagnosed with ADHD but because he has some ticking issues I had to put him on Strattera which was did not do a thing for him. I always described him as my Dr. Jeckyll/ Mr. Hyde child. He could be really good and sit still and behave but I think he had to try really hard to do so. He eventually was always overpower by the impulse to show negative behaviors. Defiant, extremely impulsive, always negative and completely miserable all the time. He also went through phases of compulsions. There was always a compulsion of the month- germs, bathroom habits, noises, repetitive words. He hated school and always complained of a stomach ache which i thought he was always faking to get out of school. He had confrontations in school everyday for most of the day. I often thought some of this was because of being tired all the time. We had battled over bedtime every single night. He was terrified to go to bed alone, I tried everything to get him to sleep alone. I wore myself out falling asleep next to him, I would then go to my own bed only to be up with him half the night going back and forth. I gave in many a night and slept with him just so we could get a good nights sleep. At age 8.5 I finally got him to go to sleep alone but the lights haf to be on and he has to know that I am still awake before he will fall asleep. He would always say he didn't want to go to sleep because when he does he has bad thoughts about me and people that he loves. He always had an extremely hard time excepting the word "no"- he would flip out and hit his head with whatever was handy, throw things, break things, scream holler etc. It would take hours to get over it. When he did he would be very remorseful and lovable. He was always in turmoil. Finally in February of this year, this graduated to a new level where he would want to just kill himself and would actually go and pull a knife out of the drawer and just shake with anger as he held the knife to his throat. I was terrified although i really didn't think he was going to harm himself he just wanted to scare me. Then at the end of March when i first heard the news about the possible side effects of Singulair, I had only heard about the suicide effect. Oh great just what I needed was this medicine causing him to do that. The doctor was thinking about taking him off if this summer because he wanted to see if he out grew his seasonal allergies so I took him off immediately. Well I had no idea about the other side effects until my son turned into a completely different kid. School noticed a huge difference in him! His grades went up, his is able to control his behavior, he is happy he is NORMAL. I never suspected this drug as the culprit due to the timing of taking it. Our lives have changed completely. When i first found this site, it seemed as though some of the parents were writing about my child. It is amazing. My son still has some old habits to break but overall he is a wonderful and normal 10 year old boy. He did not outgrow his seasonal allergies but Allegra seems to help in through it. I get so angry- his whole early childhood was ruined by this medicine. He is a labled kid in our school system. This whole experience has opened up my eyes. Thank you for letting me share my story.

Sorry people - had Mirena for a year now and have had absolutely no problems. The best thing I ever did infact. No periods, no side effects like with the pill, absolutely great. Sorry to hear that it's not like this for everyone but I am sure that there are many more people like me that have had great experiences. Good luck!