Hair loss symptoms and conditions

I had my Mirena IUD inserted Dec 31, 2009. It has been 40 days now. 40 days of hell & bleeding or spotting every day. I have endometriosis, infertility, PMDD & extremely painful periods so I was hoping that this IUD would help with all of that (except the fertility, of course). I've been trying to figure out why I was so tired all the time & just didn't "feel right". Everyone keeps asking me what's wrong & all I can say is that I just don't feel right. The day after I had it inserted, I had the worst pain I've ever had in my life but I didn't want to go to the doctor. So at my follow up appointment, my doctor did an ultrasound to make sure it was not embedded in my uterus. It looked fine. I've gained weight so I went to a diet doctor & got phentermine. Even with the phentermine, my appetite is CRAZY & I seem to always be hungry. I've been on phentermine before & it worked. I lost 20 lbs. Last night, I started having a pain in the back of my right leg, right behind my knee. I knew I couldn't have injured it because I was sitting ALL day working on my tax returns. I got worried about a possible blood clot. I've also had a hard time sleeping. I'm exhausted, but can't sleep. So, after 40 days of bleeding or spotting & depression & weight gain & pain and more migraines than usual, I finally decided to google Mirena side effects & I came upon this page. All of these posts on this site have just validated my concerns that it has to be because of the Mirena. So....I just went to the bathroom and pulled it out myself. It was completely painless. I knew it would take a while to get an appointment with my gynocologist & he may try to talk me into keeping it and I definitely don't want that. I have fine hair & it's not exactly thick, so when I saw the part about hair loss, that was enough to convince me. The thing is, I researched it before I agreed to it & never found all of this terrible stuff. I don't think the literature they gave me had any of this in it! I'll check that again tomorrow. I suppose we'll see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully within a few days I will be back to normal. I don't even care about the heavy bleeding and PMDD anymore.....I just want to be back to my old self.

Well it's official, you can't get a diaphragm in Australia! So the only non-hormonal form of birth control is the old fashioned condom.

Post-removal update: My period lasted about 36 hours and was just light ... brown stuff, nothing red or clotty or scary. I had sex (with a condom) - no pain, no bleeding afterwards. In fact I had slight small period pain beforehand but it went away afterwards (first time the old "sex cures period pain" wives tale has worked for me). Libido isn't all back but seems to be improving. I still feel a little dull/heaviness in my lower belly.

The girls at work reckon I've lost weight just over the weekend but I'll wait for my personal trainer to weigh me tonight and measure my waist. No Mirena "crash" so far.

My friend who got hers out the day after me (and got it in the week before and had way more side effects) has been "bleeding like a stuck pig" since getting it out.

No new acne on my chin or chest - can't see my "back-ne" but it feels better. My hair - I was convinced I was starting on the hair loss slide - my already fine hair feels less and I'd noticed more shedding in the 1-2 weeks prior to removal. Nothing has really changed there yet either.

I had mirena put in on Jan 11 09 just had it removed last monday. I had alot of side effects to it...very mean spoke my mind to everything, cramping, ghost kicks, irregular bleeding from 3 weeks at a time, bloating, discharge everyday, bad bad odor, had a ok sex drive but it was painful, hair loss and it was massive hair loss, and plenty more. Overall it was a ok expereince. It did its job as far as a contraception but i went in for my yearly monday and they wanted to check it and she could see the strings but wanted to do a sono and when she did she noticed the mirena imbedded in my lining and i had a cyst the size of a chicken patty haha...but not so funny killer pain..i figured something was up and they said it happens only to 1% of women lucky me right? well they removed it immediately no questions asked and i was nervous about getting pregnant but they switched me to a pill witch wasnt excited about and its loestrin and it works great so far and im back to normal..just my review on mirena.

Looks like allot of people don't use this pill anymore. I use to take Yaz but stopped because I wanted my sex life back !!
Now my doc. gave me sronyx and I m a little worried about it since I don't know much about it . I use to have major hair loss before Yaz and when I started taking it helped my hair stop falling . Which is one of my major concerns , HAs anyone experienced major hair loss on this pill ?? I'm only 25 I would like to have hair until I'm 50 .

i am a 37 year old women. my doctor prescribed loestrin 24 3 months ago because of 2 small cysts on my ovaries. for 2 months the pill was for the most part great. the 3rd month i noticed that my HAIR IS FALLING OUT. extreme hair loss. i cannot even put my hair in a ponytail and i can see my scalp. i had long beautiful hair and now i am considering shaving it off. i am so devastated. i stopped the pill immediately and afraid i am going to go bald. this is awful.

My daughter is "one less" because of the gardasil vaccine as well. A year ago she was a freshmen at college on a cross country scholarship and a top student. Now 16 mos. after her first gardasil vaccine, she would be hard pressed to walk 20 minutes on a treadmill let alone run 10 miles. Since Gardasil she has chronic mono, an autoimmune disease, hair loss, no period, severe face and body swelling, severe allergies, reduced cognitive skills, and has not been able to return to college. This vaccine has triggered autoimmune and neurological problems in thousands of innocent young girls...if I knew then what I know now, I would never have agreed to give my daughter this vaccine.

Wow I had no idea. I hate this thing. I have to wonder if the Dr's get a kick-back or something. Mine virtually forced it on me. My husband has a vasectomy so we did not need it for birth control. I bleed for over 6 months straight (before Marina) so he said we will insert Marina. In the meantime I actually had a growth on my uterus that was causing the bleeding. I know this is going to sound pathetic but do these Dr's hate woman? How can they do a procedure like this and not advise us to have a companion with and take pain meds 1st? I suffer depreciation and have been on anti-depressants for years. I read that progestrone can cause depression! plus I am so sleepy all the time. Excess progestrone can almost sedate a person. Come on - doesnt this sound like people are trying to control woman??? I bleed for 6 months after the insertion and now spot every day. I get cramps (especially after sex) like I am having childbirth again. My sex drive has dropped (disappeared) and it is SO sore. I had to wait 3 months to see my gynae but I am taking my husband with this time and it is coming out. I will let you know if it feels better after. There have been lots of other side effects such as massive hair loss but I dont want to sound like 1 big moaner. Girls surely we need to start looking out for each other and standing up to this nonsense? As I said my Dr made it sound like a miracle treatment and didnt really give me a choice. He has been very heavy handed in many ways but we live in the most isolated city in the world and there are not many Drs and it takes months to see a gynae if you lucky. I am seriously thinking of reporting this (and many other things) to the medical board. I am going to spend time on this site and read all the comments. I know I sound like a crazed lunatic but I am very frustrated with the way I (we) have been treated. I have been to my gynae about 30 times with symptons etc and it has costs thousands. I do not think that the world takes woman seriously and I honestly feel that this is a form of control - the way it is been so heavily prescribed. Hopefully others will read this 1st. It is all good and well fighting this thing and I am in but we also need to be aware of other and future things that might take advantage of us!

hi i had the mirena inserted on december 8th of 2009. today is january 28. and wow all i can say is that i wish i found this wesite before my insertion. i decided to get he mirena bc my husband and i, who already have one 18 month old son wanted to wait on having more childern. My husband had been deployed to afghanistan for a year therefore i had been out of the routine of taking birthcontrol and just decided this was a wonderful alternative. i also havehad a lond history of endometriosis and my dr suggested this as an alternative to an early hystorectomy - as i am only 24 years old. so i thought great!

at my insertion apointment-- i passed out for the pain. when i woke up i didnt know who i was or my son who had accompanied me to the apointment. after many smelling salts/ juce/ ice etc. later i finally came to and woblly drove myself home. i stayed in bed with excrusating cramps for 2 days after this. i blew it off. it will be worth it thought. long story short----- my symptoms list include---- severe depression- mood swings- anxiety- rage - lack of intrest- extreme fatiggue- blurred vision, dizziness , and having to shave up to 3 TIMES A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! i know many women on this blogg have experienced hair loss but im having to shave excessively- and not just bc of a little stubble- it is equivelant to my normal 5 day growth. i am scheduled to have this thing removed on wednesday. my husband is home from deployment and therefore can accompany me to the removal apointment- thank goodness because and am honeslty scarred of the pain that i might experience. my symptoms are so noticable and life altering and i have only had mirena in a little over a month- my suggestoin to anyone who is wanting to get this form of birth control is to - try all other options 1st!!!!!

I have had my Mirena since July. Since then, it feels like my entire world is falling apart. I have become increasingly depressed. I've experienced a loss of interest in just about everything. I no longer have any desire to do anything but sleep. I cry frequently, often for no reason at all. I have gained a minimum of 30lbs in the past six months (likely more, but I refuse to get back on a scale). I have hot flashes, acne, significant hair loss, back pain, dry skin, headaches, constant stuffy nose, and my stomach is constantly bloated. I have excrutiating pain throughout my pelvic area and horrible stabbing pains in my ovaries. Though I no longer have a real period, I have these cramps and stabbing pains nearly every day. I have an appointment to have the IUD removed in about an hour or so. I hope these negative side effects will subside quickly. Can others please share your experiences post removal? Will I ever feel sane again?

I have had The mirena since about may I think. I had my son in April. I have a two year old daughter also. I figured getting the Mirena would help me not have another baby because I forgot to take the pill that is how I got pregnant with my daughter. The patch made me extremely sick and put me in the hospital. I have thought here lately that Ive had depression but after reading all your post I think I am having extreme side effects from the mirena also. Here in the past few months I have had complete body weakness. The other day I was puking for no reason. I thought maybe I had the 24 hour fru but I didn't have a fever. My body was just so weak I could barely pick p my kids. My body aches all the time, I have no modivation to do anything. I have gained about 20 pounds, I have pain when I have sex and I really don't have the modivation to have sex and it makes my boyfriend madd. My arms always feel really weak. Sometimes I have problems breathing like my chest hurts. I don't know if this is from the Mirena but If it is I want the dang thing out. I shouldn't be feeling this way!!!

i had my mirena inserted in August 2009, next to giving birth it was the worst pain i have felt in 13 years. i chose the mirena b/c i was having problems with pills and my health insurance was running out. so logically a bc for 5 years was smart. the insertion was extremely painful, the next week and a half were difficult. i had horrible cramping, couldn't sleep at nite and bled heavily. after about a month it seemed to o away and my period became lighter, but lasts for 10 days..it is though so light that it's annoyinly light, to heavy for nothing and to lite for something. i spend probably $20 in tampon s every month in addition to the cost of pantiliners. i would say about Nov is when the side effects really became noticable. since then i have had the following:

about 2 weeks before my period i have excessive pain & enlargement in my breasts- i have had to buy bigger bras twice now- this is by far the worst side effect, it hurts to walk stairs, brush teeth and sometimes sleep

cramping that shoots to my foot

loss of sex drive, but when i do have sex, it's painful

weight gain

excessively emotional

depressed

minor hair loss

lack of interest in most things, and people

tired all the time

joint pain

bloated all the time

vaginal discharge

i have not had this taken out b/c i don't have insurance, however with tax money coming in soon it looks like a possibility. i also have not had it taken out b/c of the insertion i am terrified of the pain to take it out

i am taking eltroxin 50 mcg since 18 months and i m having lots and lots of hair loss since 1 year plz suggest me what to do

I have been waiting for this day to post!!! Well it is exactly 1 week post mirenal removal for myself. As in my previous posts I had to have it surgically removed because it was stuck so had to be put under and had to pay $1,750 to have it removed. Coming up with this kind of money being a single mom who lost her job was next to impossible but i sacraficed everything because i felt that strongly that this Mirena was the cause of my problems. This journey has been a complete nightmare for me. I have gone through thousands of medical bills, lost my job of almost 4 years in which i had been given 3 promotions because the fatigue the last few months of 2009 just got uncontrollable. I had also gained about 35 pounds even after having the lapband surgery. Well for the first time in 2 years I cannot believe how much better i feel, i almost forgot who i was.

1) I HAVE A SEX DRIVE!!!!! OMFG it just appeared out of no where 3 days ago, I even had 2 orgasms in my sleep and had the first orgasm with my fiance in 2 years with intercourse after about 1 minute, HELLO!!!!!

2) I HAVE ENERGY!!!!! I have not even started my workout routine yet because it's only been a few days POST but i've already lost 3 pounds and have more energy than i've ever had before, i literally went from sleeping 12 - 15 hours a day to maybe 4 or 5 in less than a week. My doctors had all said OH it seems you're suffering from DEPRESSION when i seen them in fall of 2009 - well my so called "symptoms from depression" just suddenly and completely disappeared post removal.

I am hoping my hair will start growing back soon, that will take some time, i lost about 25% in the back of my head.

I'm sure it will take some time for the other problems such as the hair loss to change but so far so good. I also only had minimal bleeding after removal and STILL have not bleed since removal, I am really scared that this thing really messed up my menstrual cycle and who knows, maybe my chances of ever conceiving a child again........that is just something in the long run i'm going to have to find out.

If anyone needs any additional info you can email me at ladyz28@sbcglobal.net

WOW! I had Mirena installed in June of 2005. I thought it would be the best way to prevent an unplanned pregnancy. The insertion was no problem, I drove myself back to work - then I couldn't walk for approx 8hrs after that. I got shivers and aches - and I thought - suck it up. I bled lightly for 88 days. Again I thought just suck it up. Then I noticed I was overreacting to everything, and my mood swings were almost uncontrollable, like I was fine until I had an emotion and when I did it was an extreme version of it. I'd say for the first year I was absolutely miserab. I gained weight, I was moody, my breasts were swollen and I went from a large C to a cup runnith over DDD. Year two I had a period maybe every 4 months for 2 days - still had irritability, and aches. Year three - was fine. Year four - okay. This fifth year, definitely increases in mood swings uncontrollable crying, was having hair loss for awhile but i wrote that off as stress. definitely back pain and every once and awhile through the whole 5 years I'll get a sharp pain that will shoot through my right leg or down my back. However, I haven't had any more children. While I haven't really had any desire to have sex , the times i did have sex i didnt have any babies. I've had a whole lot of symptoms that have made me FEEL like I was pregnant. So - I guess it really just depends why you're getting MIRENA, if you are happily married like the dr. recommends - well this could put you in a situation where you may get divorced cuz you just feel like all the symptoms of having a period without having one. some months are worse than others. some months are perfectly fine. Now if you are single parent, (highly not recommended by dr.s to use this method because if you were to pick up an STD it would give you more severe side effects) than this is a great method because it will help you wait to have sex, and prevent preganancy - which at the end of the day is its purpose. If you want to get married, dont get this cuz then you will be the stereotypical psycho bitch ALL the time with little control and your body will be in pain and feel like you are pregnant. I'd like to think there was an as effective birth control that also kept your period away without all the side effects - but i guess that's the trade off. Get a less reliable method where you get a period every month or every three months with perks like no acne OR get this very reliable and reversable method that just makes you automatically physically miserable every day to where its a mind over matter thing everyday. You have to CHOOSE to live with the ickyness and MAKE your days be good.

I've been on Buproprion for about 8 months: 150mg 1x per day - in the morning. I've always had pretty thin & fine hair, but in the last two months I've noticed an increase in shedding and marked thinning on at the front and on the sides. Very fine now as well. No bald patches that I'm aware of yet, but it seems like any day now. It was recommended to me mainly for weightloss , but I've only seemed to gain weight (which may not the medications fault). I too notice the disorganized thought to speech. I do feel it stablizes my mood, however, and I don't notice the mid day fatigue anymore.

Don't know what made me think of checking for this side effect. The thought of being fat AND bald is pretty depressing - especially since it could be caused by anti-depressant medication! As others have posted, I too plan to wean off this medication. Hopefully it won't be too difficult, as I don't take very much, but certainly notice if I don't take it. I hope this isn't a permanent hair loss. I really hope someone will post back here having had their hair grow back, and I REALLY hope it's me :-D I've been taking Vit B complex every day for two weeks & going to try the biotin & GNC nourish supplement, per this list.

Good luck everyone.

I am new to this. I have posted a message but here are my symptoms: CHRONIC EXCRUCIATING RIGHT HIP PAIN, 5.5 CM CYST AND SEVERAL SMALLER ONES, JOINT PAIN, TINGLING AND 'BUZZING' IN FOOT, BLURRED VISION, LOW SEX DRIVE, SHARP PAIN IN VAGINA, FACIAL PAIN MOVES ALL AROUND FACE, TOOTH PAIN ( I AM A PRACTITIONER SO I SHUDNT GET ANY!), WEIGHT GAIN AND HAIRLOSS. But its the crippling hip pain that I cannot cope with. MRI negative, no arthritis marker in bloods so now being treated for neuropathic pain... not working. ESR raised and low Vit D???? Feel as though I am dying but try to be rational. I think its Mirena...

My daughter turned 12 on November 9, 2009. On November 11, 2009 she had her first Gardasil shot. I just made an appointment for her second shot on January 27, 2010 and decided to do some research and found this site. After reading all of this, I will NOT be taking her back for any more of these Gardasil shots. She did not have any immediate reactions besides soreness at the site. After reading other symptoms here I can now think back on the following...Shortly after getting dose 1 she came down with flu like symptoms that we were told was a virus, for about a month she had cold like symptoms, she has since been depressed. I thought this was a hormonal thing since she has not gotten her period yet but now think it had to do with the shot. Her school grades have also slipped, going from a honor student to almost failing her classes if it wasn't for the teachers involvment. She has become easily distracted and has said she feels she can't concetrate very well. Just about 2 days ago, I ran a brush through the back of her hair and was surprised to see a fairly large about come off on the brush. I thought it was odd because she has very thick hair and hardly ever loses any. I thought nothing of it until I read this page!! I am positive this hair loss has to do with the shot. I don't brush her hair regularly so I can't say how long this has been going on. I am no way putting her through this again and my younger 2 daughters will NEVER get this shot. I was also told how wonderful it is and can prevent certain types of cancers etc. Now I read through all these posts with my eyes blurred with tears and can't believe that this shot is still being given. I am now going to research how to detox her from this shot as some have mentioned they are doing. Good luck to all, I really hope you can recover from this.

Answer to ameigh...26 years old
1) i had my mirena placed on May/2009 and am having it taken out next Tuesday January/25/10.
2) i have NEVER had a thyroid problem until now. My thyroid came back abnormal this Christmas and am taking syntroid daily ... i have to find the papers from my doctor and will give you more feedback later.
Mirena and thyroid problems are definitely related. I was a healthy young woman until now with extreme hair loss, weight gain, rage, depression, no libido, bloating, acne, numbness in hands and feet, list goes on and on...
It maddens me to know that so many doctors have and still are dismissing all of the complaints due to Mirena. How can can us women subjected to this evil device fight back??? We just have to think of something.

I had the Mirena placed in March of 2006. Did not have a bad experience with the placement. I'll be brief but straight to the point. Tired, about 1 yeast infection a month then a combo of yeast and bacterial infection, horrible acne big painful bumps, horrible back pains, depressed because of the disgusting odor that was coming from my vagina. My MD says he don't know why this keeps happening. After eliminating everything that i thought it could be the only thing left is MIRENA. Since i did my research and read just about every post I have an appt to remove it on Jan 29th. Can't wait!

I have had good luck with abilify helping my bipolar II and it helped me lose all the weight I gained from being on zyprexa, but within days of taking it I started to lose lots of hair. I was on it for a year then went off of it because the hair loss started to become noticeable. Fortunately I had a lot of hair to start with but when my scalp started to show I went off of it. After going off of abilify it took months for my hair to stop falling out so I thought my hair loss was nutrition related since I lost all that weight at the same time. I increased my protein and calories and my hair stopped falling out. But then a couple weeks ago I went back on abilify and my hair started falling out again. I stopped taking it within five days of starting it because the hair loss came on that quickly, but it's almost a week later and my hair is still falling out. I guess hair loss is a rare side effect, it happens to between 1 in 100 and 1 in 1000 patients. Guess I'm one of those "lucky" ones.

Hi,

I have had mirena for 3 months now. I have three kids and now I was destined not to have kids, because my third kid was conceived despite the condom use. I have side effects of weight gain but no complaints about it. My daughter is now 4 months old and I can get started with exercises. The discharge, it is not a new problem for me. I have been having it since puberty and used to changing clothes and underwear. My hair loss started when my baby turned 3 months and will go away, as I hope. I have been dealing with acne since puberty so no prbs here as well. I have to keep my skin and diet according to it. As for the sex drive, It always takes me time to get it back after every baby delivery. I am not that wild at sex :)

The only thing that sometimes annoys me is the irregular bleeding. After insertion, I bled for 3 weeks and then after one week I was again bleeding for one month. I had infection due to this bleeding but got medicine for 2 weeks and now ok. Now it has been 2 weeks I only experience a brown discharge in urine, and that is once in a while not everyday. I hope to have it settled down, because I am so scared of pregnancy. Bleeding is okay to me but I cannot go for a fourth pregnancy - not so soon. I am not removing it, I am willing to fight to avoid pregnancy.

I agree that women who have one baby or have adjusted bodies to pills or do not have a baby might feel difficult to cope with all of this. But as I have mentioned in my case many things I have been dealing for years and some with my three pregnancies. I know many women who are happy with mirena, so I need to keep my thinking on the positive side.

BEST OF LUCK!

Hello I posted a few weeks ago about severe side effects from the Mirena just wanted to say I had it removed today.I am hopeing things will get better now I will let you know.My doctor said I was making a big mistake by removing it anyone else get this from thier doctor.I guess I just need some reassurance at this point.Thanx

Seroquel: I'm 48 and in reasonably good health. I have good days mixed with terrible days. The family thinks the drug is working mood-wise (at least most of the time) but I'm losing my hair, losing weight and still have anxiety. I continue to have REALLY bad days when the old suicide thoughts come around. Note: I attempted suicide via overdose of multiple drugs in Nov. '09. I'm Bi-Polar Type II (more depression than mania). I've been on ALL the drugs for depression and bi-polar mood instability. Been on Seroquel (in addition to Lamictal) since the suicide attempt, initially with fast ramping up of the dosage to get me to 400 mg p/day. Bad side effects: racing heart, worse anxiety, continued depression, hand trembling, acne, and hair loss - the list goes on. My doctor advised staying w/Seroquel and lowering my dosage gradually back to 150 mg for several weeks, then back to 200 mg. So far, no racing heart and the feeling that I was coming out of my skin, shakiness, and just overall discomfort (w/slight paranoia). These were just the scariest of the side effects. But the weight loss and hair loss, along with raging acne on my forehead are concerns as well - none of these are doing anything for my self-esteem and that fuels the depression and anxiety. I have an appt. w/my doc in a few days. I'll be advising him that I'm backing down the Seroquel dosage to the point where I can stop taking it completely. I'll be asking for yet another alternative drug. I'm also considering ECT (eletro shock therapy) to maybe hit the RESET button in the brain. I've read very positive things about the results (except for short-term memory loss whcih usually goes away) and I figure I have nothing to lose at this point. We shall see... Until then, life is very hard and getting things done is a ridiculous attempt. Couldn't hold a job right now if my life depended on it.

Be very careful if you are going to start taking Seroquel and discuss the side effects w/your doc BEFORE taking it (they often don't even mention them when discussing the drug and it's possible benefits). No one told me and I had to find the info myself on the internet, including the manufacturer's web site, where, by the way, they indicate that a baseline blood panel be run BEFORE taking the drug and then every two months or so to monitor cholesterol, tryglycerides, etc. since Seroquel can cause increases. Be VERY aware of tachycardia (racing heart) - this is the worst effect and can be quite dangerous.

I'm done w/Seroquel and will move on, hopefully to something better...

Aren't there anybody who knows how long it can take for the hair loss to stop?

I stopped Wellbutrin 12th of September, and by now the shedding is just a little tiny bit less.

I stopped lisiniprol due to EXTREME hair loss in just 2 months of use... I will start COZAAR tomorrow...hoping for less side affects and NO hair loss....fingers crossed!!!