Gamut symptoms and conditions

I decided to google "nuvaring side effects" after putting two and two together today...

Due to some complications, I switched from OrthoTriCyclen Lo to NuvaRing about 5 months ago. Having been on OrthLo for so many years (about 4, and Ortho regular for about 5 years), my uterline lining was shedding, which in turn caused bleeding in between my periods. I had heard good things about NR, so I asked about switching to that. First month seemed good... then I started noticing changes in my body and emotional state of mind.
Started with nausea, then I ran the gamut - headaches, back pain, fatigue, mood swings, LOSS OF SEX DRIVE & WEIGHT LOSS (the worst two).

Being that I am generally a pretty stable 27 year old woman, all of these little things stood out but I couldn't figure out what was going on. The weight gain got me good... I gained about 8 lbs - which is A LOT for me. I work out 6 days a week and have a very healthy diet - nothing had changed except my birth control, i.e. the ring. I even started up'ing my cardio 30 more minutes a day to get back to normal, but to no avail. Traumatizing. And the no yearning for sex thing is horrible too... my poor fiance.

While there is no way to tell for sure that NR is the cause of all these side effects, it only seems rationale. It would be too much of a coincidence that so many of us women have these neg effects - all similar.

After reading most of these reviews, I got on the phone and called my gyno. Plan is to stay off everything for one full period (plus the withdrawal period), then to switch back to an oral contraceptive. Just have to use condoms in the meantime - small price to pay to avoid all the nasty sides effects.

NR has already been removed. Thank you all for sharing... this made me want to share, as well.

I am a 38 year old male suffering from a combination of occipital neuralgia and migraines. For 20 years, until a year ago, i would endure pain that was only manageable with narcotic pain relievers (imagine all the gamut of such kind). I would have neck and head aches typically 3-4 times a week, accompanied by vomiting, dizziness which would put me to bed for the entire day. Work and family suffered in magnitude comparable to my own suffering. So then I finally saw my GP for that. The pain meds went up the roof, imitrex, maxalt was added to the equation with only marginal side effect. I saw a neurologist. He had me do an MRI and put me on Topamax starting from 25 mg, which I upped to 200 mg within 6 weeks. Past the initial side effects, the headaches subsided, the frequency reduced and i was able to enjoy weeks at a time with no episodes. Stayed at 200 mg for 5 months. In the meantime, the MRI came back positive for some brain inflammation. False positive they said, does not fit the clinical picture. Second MRI, same positive, this time proceeded with LP, which was negative. Third, MRI still positive; making the neurologist uncomfortable. While dealing with MRI results, the topomax had yielded positive results as far as pain management was concerned. But little by little I noticed that I was becoming more irritable, more impatient and more forgetful. Someone would have to remind me of something several times before it would even register in my mind. I empathize will all the posts that mention feeling like having Alzheimer's. I didn't care in the meantime. As long as I didn't have to deal with the pain it was ok with me. But the situation became worst and worst. I couldn't concentrate on anything, the mere task of remembering to do something was insurmountable. I would wake in the middle of the night and find myself staring at the bathroom mirror for no reason. I would have terrible panic attacks which i control with valium. But yet i continued on with topamax convincing myself and being convinced by other people around me that i just had a "personality disorder". Finally, work begun to suffer. I was loosing track of meetings, deadlines and when this happens someone knocks on your door (boss) telling you that something just doesn't click, something just doesn't feel like a personality quirk. Other people playing doctor would slap on my face that i just had ADD, that I should take something for that and get on with my life. But something was wrong. Pain or dizziness or lack of concentration etc are all electrochemical processes in your brain. It turns out that topamax was helping my headaches but it was not slowly deteriorating other cognitive abilities. Finally, the neurologist decided I should wean of the topamax, stepping down from 200 - 150 and then we go to 100 and so on. I dread the re-occurrence of the headaches. I am waiting for them to happen again at some point as I drop the dosage. But in the end of the day, I'd rather be in pain and in control of my life rather pain free and absent minded.

It's great to read all these side affects to put things in perspective. I've been on the ring for about two years now and am finally getting off it and exploring my options, which is how I got directed here. Things that now appear to be symptoms and not me getting old (at 26) and falling apart: moodiness, in that I shut off completely to my partner and feel very blank in general; depression; major digestion problems that run the gamut; cramping in my side, migraines; nausea; sensitive breasts; chest pains...Man the list goes on and so many of these have been listed here. Good to know, and I wish I had read this site two years ago instead of feeling like a hypochondriac or an over-sensitive nutcase. Thanks to everyone who's posted, but also: what do you use now, those of you who've stopped? This is the only birth control I've ever been on, besides condoms etc.

There are simply too many posts here to read but I did read MANY & many of the replies to some posts. I have found so much comfort in all of your comments. I wanted to reply to several of your posts but time doesn’t allow for that! So I’ll post my own. Forgive me for the length – I have so much to say about this. For those of you who have only just recently had your Mirena inserted and are concerned about the elongated period, mine was the same in the beginning.

This April will be 2 years that I’ve had my Mirena. I’ve experienced the whole gamut of side effects along the way and at different intervals or times. The very first was the incredibly long period. I had bleeding for roughly 25 days out of each month the first 5 months. My dr. told me that might happen but would eventually give way to short & light or no periods. He was right. I haven’t really had a period since those first 5 months. Just the occasional light day. I’ve been loving that!

I do recall in that first year, some days of cramping, and sharp pains. Again, those eventually went away after some months. I’ve experienced the opposite of many of you when it comes to weight gain. I’ve actually lost 15 pounds since being on it. Why? The nausea. Nausea that lasted all day. It began somewhere around the 5th month after insertion (and right after the periods stopped) and has subsided in the last 3 months. So the nausea affected me for about a year (some weeks worse than others). It felt like the morning sickness from my pregnancies. I had an extremely suppressed appetite for that year I had nausea on Mirena. This was a side-effect I was willing to deal with – I hate to say it but the weight loss was a pleasant surprise, when I was expecting weight gain, which I knew could happen. But the other stuff I’m about to mention….I’m DONE!...

The cystic acne has destroyed my face – specifically my chin & jaw line & in recent weeks has started to creep up my face and is now on my back & shoulders. I have what looks to be permanent scarring. I’ve had clear skin my whole life & didn’t develop acne until mid-way thru these last 22 months on Mirena. DAILY. I haven’t had a clear-face day since the acne began. I didn’t make the Mirena connection to my cystic acne until recently. I didn’t know it was a side effect.

Fatigue, lethargy & insomnia. These have been with me for about the last year. Totally Mirena’s fault. I’m a slug. I used to workout before Mirena & now have no energy to do so. And here’s the worst side effect of all and I’m a complete idiot for not making the connection to Mirena before 2 days ago: Emotional imbalance and depression. I’ve spent the last 15 months an emotional basket case. Extreme highs & lows. COUNTLESS days of crying for no reason. COUNTLESS days of being a tyrant to my husband & kids. Moody. Mean. Short-tempered. The tiniest thing sets me off. I can’t handle the most basic of life duties without freaking out on my family or falling apart in front of them. Everyhting bothers or irritates me. The sound of my family’s voices – that’s awful! I constantly lock myself in my office away from them all. I can’t handle the slightest noise sometimes. THIS HAS BEEN EVERY DAY for the last 15 months! Like someone else posted, I wish I could wear a sign that says, “I’m so sorry for the person I’ve been these past several months”. I’ve told my husband a hundred times since I’ve had Mirena, “I don’t know who I am anymore. I think I’m going crazy. Something is wrong with me”. MY GOD!!!! I didn’t realize until a couple of days ago, when I started to cruise the Internet about more info on Mirena, that Mirena was to blame for what’s happened to me!!! I’m so angry. I’m so sad. I feel like I’ve lost nearly 2 years of my life. It sounds dramatic but it’s so very true – I’ve been that bad….my emotional well-being. I’m calling my doctor first thing Monday morning to make an appointment to have this godforsaken thing removed from me. I can’t wait to be “me” again. I’m so very sorry for all of you going thru what you’ve gone thru, as well. I know how you feel. It’s awful and I’m sorry.

I was prescribed the 5-day Z-pack for bronchitis and after two days I quit taking it. I am not psychologically and emotionally perfect (who is) but this drug is causing extreme agitation, nervousness, hard intense dreams that leave me fatigued even after a full night's sleep, and depression with crying spells. I am aware that this drug stays in your bloodstream for a long time. It's half-life is 68 hours and after taking 500 mg. on Feb. 6 and then 250 mg. on Feb 7, I still have somewhat less than 200 mg. in my blood today, Feb. 13. Even at today's level I still have no relief from my symptoms and I am praying that this will all go away when the level of the drug gets to a certain point.
My bronchitis is gone and I am trying to live my life as if I have no symptoms (I teach 7th grade U.S. History) but I cannot ignore the fact that I feel like I am cracking up.
I am not trying to bash this drug. Most people are fine with it. Good for them. But some people have these types of problems because I have seen stories like mine on many internet places.
Hang in there anyone who is suffering like me. I hope it goes away and I can return to my life where I get nervous now and again and maybe once in a while I do not sleep well.
This is horrible.
Anyone who has gone through this and returned to normal please respond. I need to hear some good news.

I was born without a thyroid gland so I can't compare the way I feel now to the way I would've felt with a thyroid. I've been on Synthroid my entire life (22 years), and I'm up to 112 mcg now. I am very skinny (5'5", 104 lbs) and feel constantly fatigued no matter how many hours I sleep, what I eat, and how much exercise I get. I periodically get pain in my hip joints, heart palpitations, and intense mood swings. My thoughts race but I have very little physical energy. I feel restless and gloomy almost all the time for absolutely no good reason. My doctor tells me I'm depressed but I honestly have no reason to be depressed and I wish she would see it as a symptom instead of a diagnosis. I graduated from a good college, I've got a job I like, I have friends, I enjoy life and my hobbies, yet I feel overwhelmingly sad. This does not seem like depression to me.

I find that after I do aerobics I get a tightness in my chest, which makes me worry about my heart, but again my doctor doesn't seem to think this is cause for concern. I have been irritable/fatigued for YEARS and I suspect I'll feel this way for the rest of my life. The worst of it started when I hit 16 years old and started the 112 mcg. My tests are always normal and it frustrates me that my doctor disregards my symptoms. I've tried other doctors, but they always send me away with my 'normal' test results. Can anybody help?

I've been on Topamax (for seizures) for almost 2 years now, gradually increasing my dosage from 150 mg/day to 400 mg/day when I learned that 150mg is a migraine sufferer's dosage and not a Epilepsy dosage. I mention that because at 150mg, the side effects were present, but tolerable. I had the tingling fingers, eye twitching that was only behind my right eye (seems everyone only has it behind their right eye...why is that?), I can't find the right words in conversation, memory loss , constant sleepiness, backaches, depression, etc. At 400mg, I was an emotional wreck...I could not handle my emotions anymore. I would cry hysterically when talking for no reason, I couldn't concentrate on my work as an analyst, I had to read and re-read instructions in order to understand them, and sometimes read them out loud....and this is the kicker...sometimes when I'm buying something and at the check-out, it'll take forever to do something as simple to count out change. I have given the wrong change to cashiers a few times and then told them something to cover up my embarrassment like "Oh, I thought I gave you a quarter!", when in all actuality, I thought I gave them the correct change.
I feel like a moron pretty much all of the time. I used to pride myself on my intelligence and speaking ability but on Topamax, that is seriously diminished.
I don't know if this is related, but because of my inability to concentrate, I lost my job in Nov. '06. I thought I lost my insurance too, so I made the decision to stop my seizure meds, thinking that I was "cured". Well, I had another seizure in Jan '07 and am back on Topamax...depressed, twitching eye, the whole gamut. But you know what? The entire month of January, before my seizure...before Topamax...was the happiest I've been in sooo long. It's not worth losing a few pounds for.

This webpage is a Godsend! I thought I had diabetes, chronic daily headache, stomach ulcers or was just a crazy hypochondriac. I thought the symptoms would cease after 3 months but it's 9 months now and the "dry heaving" is still horrible, not to mention the upset stomach all day. I thought I was losing it. I've had:
1. 0 sex drive
2. Vaginal dryness
3. MOnthly yeast infections (prior to this I only have had 4 in my life.
4. Migraine - the 1st one in 18 years + near daily headaches
5. Painful boobs
6. Hyperpigmentation spots on my face
7. Dry heaving and nausea
8. Sugar cravings & increased appetite AFTER my period
9. The 1st few months I bled like I had been shot!
10.Dizziness
11.COnstipation
It's been awful. Anyone else going through this, I empathize with you completely b/c I thought I was a big complainer with all of this in my head. The 2 good things have been that I haven't gained weight and don't get water retention anymore, but it's not enough to stay on it. I've run the gamut with OC's and don't know what else to take other than risk pregnancy by taking nothing. Good luck to all of you.

I took Levaquin for five days in early April as a preventative after minor surgery. I had been prescribed a 7 day course, but stopped after I suspected the side effects were from the Levaquin. It all began with a low grade fever, then extreme anxiety, mental confusion, depression, intestinal gas, loss of appetite, weakness, sweating, heart palpitations, and scariest of all, central nervous system disturbances, strange currents in my left arm and leg, twitches, shaking, jitters and vision problems. I was the most scared I have ever been in my life. I went to my GP and he told me it was "self-perpetuated" because the half life of the drug had passed and the effects should have subsided quickly. (But he was surprised to see my liver enzymes were elevated even after the drug was supposed to have left my body...hmmm.) Well, I was in pure hell for almost three weeks after stopping the drug, desperately wanting to get better, but it had a grip on me that only someone who has experienced it can understand.
I went to a psychiatrist and a neurologist. Both told me it could have something to do with the GABA receptors in the brain. My biggest fear was that it had caused permanent harm. Well, I'm happy to report that now a month and a half later, I feel like myself again. It was a gradual improvement, but it finally subsided at the end of the third week.
I just wanted to share my story in case there is someone who is as worried as I was a month ago, seeking comfort in this forum. (There is not much comfort, I know.) But although everyone is different and the side-effects run the gamut, at least it seems to go away in time for most people. Of course I'm not completely sure that there was no permanent damage...but I feel pretty confident that my body got rid of this poison. My liver enzymes went back to normal as well.
I feel each of us must report everything Levaquin has done to us to Medwatch (the FDA), to our doctors (although they will probably doubt you), and to anyone you care about in case they are ever given this over-prescribed time-bomb. Levaquin is a life saving drug, but it should only be prescribed for people in dire need. It is being marketed to doctors as a preventative and for minor infections, and that is where the real problem is. Ortho-McNeil knows more than they tell the doctors, I'm convinced. There are just too many of us. Imagine all the people who never figure out that the Levaquin caused thier ailments! Or they believe thier doctors who say "It's all in your head."
I hope my story has been of help...and to all who suffer...hang in there. It takes time, but chances are it WILL go away.