Having a baby symptoms and conditions

I had my son Oct 2008 and had Mirena inserted at my 6 week postnatal checkup. At that point I had lost about 15 lbs of baby weight and was feeling pretty darn good for just having a baby.

Since then I have gained back the 15 lbs plus 15 more despite exercising and dieting and NURSING for 11 months! I have had blurry vision, no sex drive, migraines, acne on my face and arms?!?!, and just been all around grumpy. I have also been diagnosed as hypothyroid since being on this - I don't know for sure if it is related to Mirena, but I do know that I was tested for it before becoming pregnant with my miracle baby because my husband and I were declared infertile!

I have spotted almost the entire time despite not having a "real" period since before my son was born. I do not want any more children (12 year old girl and 1 year old boy keep me pretty darn busy), but decided to take out the mirena after reading this site and seeing that other women have had the same issues. Removed on Tuesday (Nov 10) and guess what - I already feel better! There was no pain getting it removed and no cramping, unlike the insertion process.

I am looking forward to seeing the other side effects disappear. I wish that my OB would have focused more on possible side effects instead of how simple it would be. The past year has been a personal hell for me when it should have been one of the happiest times of my life! I hope that the rest of you find this helpful:) Good luck!

Ohhh, I thought that I was going crazy. My 5th baby was born May 09, and I felt great for just having a baby. I have only had the Mirena since June 09, but thinking back, it has been since then that most of my issues have arisen. I have a constant pressure in my head, sometimes it is a headache, and occasionally it turns into a migraine. I have my period, and then it lags on with spotting for another week and a half, all the while having the cramps, major moodiness, depression, fatigue. I am having low back pains too. I am tired as heck all the time. I am hypothyroid as well, which can cause you to be tired, so I have went and had my thyroid checked 3 times since the baby was born as I was sooo sure it was off because of my fatigue. I have no libido either. My husband thinks all this stuff is excuses and in my head. I have been on the depo in the past for 5 years, but my blood pressure started to raise, and went back to normal after I changed to the copper IUD. I had that removed to try for another baby. But I did very well on the the copper IUD, which had no hormones and is called Para Gard, or something like that. I did still have my period, with some cramping that was slightly more than what I had without the IUD. But I had a libido, I wasn't fatigued or depressed. My doctor was pushing this Mirena, and against my better judgment I agreed. So please remember that there is another IUD, and it is good for 10 years, which maybe why they don't push that one. I am getting ready to get this hell Mirena out and switch back to the copper IUD.

Hi ladies, figured i should write something here as i thought i was going nuts or was seriously ill.... i had the Mirena fitted approx 12 months ago and at first i had some awful stomach pains on my right hand side and they hurt like hell. I went to my GP quite a few times, and i was telling him it was this Coil, but he was adamant it was not, anyway after a fair few trips back and forth, it settled down on its own. I was then plagued with prolonged periods, that would go on for about 10 days, i would then have a week of being nearly normal before turning into a psycho bunny for another week whilst awaiting the dreaded P.
Throughout all this, I often noticed a smelly discharge- sorry but true, and i piled on the pounds, (they would not budge)
The last 3-4 months have been the worst,i felt bloated all the time, and was constantly tired, so much so, that i went to my GP as i had never experienced anything like it before, I have done numerous pregnancy tests as the symptoms at times indicated i could be well on my way to having a baby or two, but they were all negative, the GP had done tests for Anemia the lot- Negative. I had this feeling it was all somehow related to the Mirena i had fitted, so one night totally fed up with feeling like crap, i took matters into my own hands literally, and pulled the god damn thing out! I have now been Mirena free for 2 weeks and i feel great.... My mood lifted almost immediately, i don't feel bloated all the time and my energy levels are on their way back up.... I still have the increased Bra size (Brill! will keep that, thanks very much) and i am optimistic that i will now return to the person i once was!(Glen Close can now go home)
The Mirena in my opinion IS the best form of contraception known to man... or perhaps it was made by one! but i would rather take my chances else where than to ever have that thing near me again!!!!! Sorry i have rattled on so long, but if i can rescue just one of my co females, it will make me very happy.... Hope all of you don't suffer for to long x

I have had the Mirena in since I was 12 weeks postpartum. My daughter is now five months old. I have had so many side effects that I also thought were due to just having a baby and the life changes that follow (plus my kids are 12 months and 1 day apart so who knows what's out of wack once you've been pregnant for two years straight!). I've had some headaches, sleeplessness, so many pregnancy symptoms I took a pregnancy test and had the doctor do one, incredible moodiness, I hate being touched (I felt this way with both pregnancies), no libido...all of these have made in incredible strain on my marriage. If things don't improve between us a few months after I get this hell-stick IUD removed we're going to couples therapy! I was diagnosed with depression at 14, but it has been under control since then. However, since Mirena I have been incredibly depressed. I have been on birth control since 14 due to terrible periods/cramping etc and never had an issue. I am going to switch to the copper/hormone free IUD and just pray my periods have changed now that I've had two children. Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!!

ok, so I am 28yrs old just had my lap for endo on October 1 and my doctor has recommended lupron, and am going to be getting the med in a week to 2weeks,but after reading this I am soooooooooo scared to even get near this med. Its like you either take this with the hope of saving fertility and no pain..or not and have endo ravage your body and you will live with unbearable pain!!! I have no idea what to do,and i am so scared after reading this. Is there anyone that did not have weight gain, headaches etc...anyone that can testify that lupron actually worked for them? did any one have a baby after doing this. my bigs thing is being able to have a baby. Cause right now its my health on the line, my ability to have children, my ability to have a normal life free of endo pain or these crazy, horrible side effects...please help me!!!

I had Mirena inserted 6 weeks after having a baby. I have been feeling bloated (my stomach seems larger now than it did when I had Mirena inserted! ) I have gained weight 8-10 lbs even though I am watching what I am eating. Today, I experienced dizziness when I woke up and all through out the morning. I had significant hair loss up until about three weeks ago. I know hair loss is common after having a child, but this is my third baby and the loss of hair was alarming! I am not sure if all of this is the Mirena but with all of the posts from everyone, I am convinced it is. Since having this foreign object in me, I have not been myself. I am going to have it removed.

I had my baby girl in March 2009. Six weeks later, after consulting with a good friend and my OBGYN, I had the Mirena put in. I have not had a period since before I was pregnant, which is nice, but I am still breastfeeding, so I am sure that plays some role. Over the last four months, several things in my life have changed, but I chalked it all up to being a new mother. I think my husband literally thought he had just lost his wife and best friend to motherhood.
- I am tired all the time, regardless of what time I go to bed, and speaking of going to bed...That never happens before 2am! And there are some nights I can toss and turn until 4 or 5! Even when I do sleep, it's never very restful. I chalked this up to being a new mother, and having a baby that didn't sleep thru the night, but she has been sleeping thru the night for almost a month now, and still, I get no sleep.
- I have been having a lot of lower back pain, which I blamed on my mattress. After some careful thought, I realized, I have had the same mattress for over 2 years now and never had any problems! In fact, it's the best mattress I have owned to date.
- Moodiness....don't even get me started on this one! I can start an argument out of thin air! And still think I have just cause! My husband and I are going to Jamaica next week for vacation, and I got mad at him because he wants to take some scuba diving classes. Now, how I managed that one, I have no idea. I will be cleaning the house in pure silence, and just have constant angry thoughts running through my head.
- As I said before, I am still breastfeeding, which is also a great way to burn calories. I have consistently lost baby weight over the last 5 months up until about a month ago. My weight just froze, and then started going back up. I put on 5 pounds in less than 2 weeks! Nothing has changed! I have started working out and keeping a closer eye on what I eat, but it hasn't had any effect. (My best friend had her Mirena put in 6 months before me, and she gained 40 pounds in 6 months. I am nipping this one in the bud!)
- Water retention! Now this one, I have never paid much attention to. I don't really keep an eye on my water intake versus out take, but I did one day last week. I had lunch with my sister, and drank literally about 5 glasses of tea. Any normal person would need too pee most likely prior to leaving the restaurant, right? Well, I left the restaurant, went to the grocery store for about 1 1/2 hours, then drove 45 minutes home, all the time never even having an urge. It wasn't until after I had gotten home, unloaded my daughter and all the groceries, when I finally made a trip to the bathroom. That same night when I was getting ready for bed, I noticed my lower abdomen was swollen up like I was about 4 months pregnant again!
- Sex drive....Let's just say I would rather lay in a bed of nails than have sex, and I used to be a very sexually active individual. And, it has definitely taken a toll on my marriage!
- Absent mindedness....One of my best qualities that I "used to" possess was organization. I prided myself in it, and over the last few months, my husband tells me I am just all over the place. I can't think straight, I jump around in conversations, my memory is shot! I will start doing a load of laundry, walk away and wash some dishes, then 10 minutes later realize, that I never finished loading the washer or put the detergent in!

Now, if all of this isn't enough, my OBGYN tells me that there is a small chance that the Mirena can get displaced, and if it gets too far gone, have to be removed surgically, but she said in all her time as a Dr., she had only seen it happen one time! So, I thought great! The chances of it getting dislodged are slim to none right? Well, I was talking to one of my girlfriends from high school the other day, and hers got misplaced! Now, she might be pregnant!

I realize that the Mirena affects everyone differently, but after finding this website and reading posts for hours about all the terrible things women are going thru with this BC, all my symptoms seem to make sense, and I don't feel like such a crazy beast any more. I wanted to share my story in hopes that it may help another woman who thinks she has just gone nuts! I had my Mirena taken out yesterday. I was in bed by 11pm last night, still didn't get the most restful sleep, but it does take a few days to get the hormones out of your system. My lower abdomen is already noticeably flatter, and I just feel an overall sense of relief. I just wish I had researched this birth control before I went out and spent the money on it. There is an old saying that really rings true for me in this case, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!"

OMG~!!! i will be 23 in nov.. and i had Mirena put in 2 1/2 weeks after i had my only child in 2007.. i really like it. no worries about having a baby for 5 years!, But,i have a super lite period no complaints about that but like 2 or 3 days i sum what start i get this pain in my lower rite side like a cramp..but its fine.. my biggest concern is that i DON'T want to have sex with my hubby~!! he don't understand i just do want to do it, or anything..its kinda blah..i thought at first that i was just not attracted to him anymore but after realizing and seeing this site i think it has EVERYTHING to do with the MIRENA~!!! it sucks so bad~!! i want to enjoy that moment but i don't want to get it removed..he beggs me to get it taking out..beggs!! so its take it out and have another baby or leave it in and have no sex..either way if you dont have sex you don't make babies! uhhh~!!

I got the Mirena inserted about 5 weeks after having my baby and have had hell ever since! Almost immediately after having it inserted I had a feeling like something was in my vagina, kind of like feeling a tampon in there so it was tough to get the thing off my mind. I also started having panic attacks about something being in my body (the Mirena) and it freaking me out. After only 2 days of this I had enough, I could tell my body was telling me this wasn't right. I had it put in on Mon the 3rd of this month and taken out on the 5th! I felt great until Thu morning (the 6th). I got flu like symptoms that hit hard. Nausea, no appetite, diarrhea, which soon led to weakness, tiredness, and off and on anxiety also bleeding like a period. I was so ill that I could not care for my kids (the new baby and a 3year old) only lie in bed miserable while others cared for my children. I made a Dr. appointment the next day and she said it was just the flu so to eat when I can and call on Mon if I still felt sick.
On Mon I still felt sick, I went back to the Dr. and this time she ordered blood tests and thought it may be from the IUD but could not confirm and had never heard of effects like this before from the IUD. She said to just keep doing what I was doing. The sickness lasted until the following Wed then let up although there was still some depression/anxiety feelings on occasion then all of the sudden on Sunday night I got nausea again and have been "sick" again ever since. This whole time (except the 3 or 4 days I felt OK in there) I have not really been able to eat much and have lost 11 pounds- not healthy! I have also had to pass off my kids to others to have them cared for while I can't which is totally depressing in its self. My husband is at his wits end with me pretty much disabled for no apparent reason so it is certainly putting a strain on our marriage too. I know my friends and family have tried to help as much as they can but I also know they are getting tired of the situation too. ANYONE ELSE HAS THIS EXPERIENCE? HOW LONG BEFORE I GO BACK TO BEING NORMAL??? I just really want my life back and of course I would never recommend the Mirena to anyone and if I could go back in time and not get it I SO would!!!

Mirena is a horrible thing to have inserted inside of your precious uterus! I just had it removed today after 6 months, and I am so much better just in the first few hours! I have to say the constant fatigue hasn't even budged, I am hoping I feel better soon. I constantly had pain in my lower abdomen ever since it was put in. I kept calling the doctor and they said that it would go away, and it did for short periods, then it would return! God forbid I have sex because I would be sitting there in pain for the whole night and next morning, more then normal. I actually got used to the constant pain I was having so to the point that I feel like I just was given a new uterus! I have been eating so healthy lately and my weight hasn't even budged, which I thought was from my body changing after having a baby! I am so happy to find out that isn't true! I am only 22 and I don't deserve to be in pain every *** day!!! I can't tell you how bad I think the Mirena was for my body and I won't be surprised if there is a class action law suit coming soon! I only hope it didn't puncture something! It sure felt like it. When I went to the doctor she tried telling me that the pain was me ovulating!!! HELLO I have a child!!! I have ovulated and it didn't hurt like this!!! Also when I first had it inserted I almost lost my milk for my 2 mo. old!!! I worked and worked to keep it---heads up! IF YOU FEEL LIKE THIS FOREIGN THING IN YOUR BODY HURTS AND IT SHOULDN'T BE THERE, REMOVE IT SOMETHING IS PROBABLY WRONG!!! DON'T LET YOUR DR TELL YOU IT'S NORMAL! 6 MOS LATER AND MY PAIN DIDN'T GO AWAY!

Like everyone else, I am SO glad I came across this web-site. I had the Mirena put in about 4 months ago, and it’s been quite a journey since then. I don’t have a horror story like some of the women have, but my experience hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park. I gained 18lbs in 2 months, I feel nausea all of the time, I look to be about 4 months pregnant, and I no longer recognize my period…it’s been different every month. The first month I think I bled 23 out of 30 days, the second month was 17 out of the 31 days, the third month I had light spotting for 6 days, then a regular period for another 7, and this month….well, we’ll just have to see what happens. Oh, and the nonexistent tolerance level, I can relate with that one, too. Of, course the doctors say “it’s normal” or “it’s not the Mirena”, but I know my body and this is definitely NOT normal!! Having a baby is not part of me and my husband’s 5 year plan, but we may just have to take our chances and go back to condoms.

I was put on Yasmin because it was the cheapest thing the health department could get. When I was on it I made my mother cry for no reason, I was NOT a nice person at all I would bite anyone’s head off for no reason. The health department wouldn’t change it, so I stopped taking it. Me and my husband was talking about having a baby anyway. That was almost 2 years ago still no baby. And I bleed for months at a time. The last period I had was from JANUARY 2nd 2009 until JULY 5th 2009.. Non stop. That was what 3 weeks ago.. And my period started back up on the 20th and I still have it. I knew Yasmin was messing with my body in the first month. No one would listen to me. So now I have to live with it because aint a thing I can do about it. For the past 3 years I’ve had headaches, dizziness, my legs and arms hurting and going numb, my heart hurting feeling like its going to blow up at any minute. Unwanted hair. All I want to do is sleep. So who ever found out it was the pill and I’m not crazy thank you..

I was kinda forced by the doctors into getting the Mirena about 2 months after my son was born. I was so overwhelmed with being a new mom that I did not research it much. Getting it put in was no picnic. I have had is since 10/08 and had it removed this past Monday. Within 1 month of having it put in, I put on 15lbs. I have been and am still breastfeeding so my doctors said it would help me lose weight but I gained instead. Nothing else in my diet or anything had changed. I know having a baby not sleep through the night will make you tired but I was an undescribable tired for the past few months. I have also been moody and negative - my mom kept saying she needed me to "smile" again as I am normally a happy person. I plan on TTC for another baby in about a year so I really want to be as healthy as I can since I will have my son to chase around. I talked to my doctor about all this and he agreed that it was probably the Mirena that caused the weight gain. I am worried about the "crash" people talk about after having it removed. I am hoping since I just switched from Prozac to Wellbutrin (for mild depression & anxiety issues) that it will help. I know Wellbutrin sometimes help with weight loss as well. The past week I have read a lot of forums online and it seems people are having similar side effects...oh did I mention the foggy thinking? I wish they would have told me all the issues prior to putting it in. I never would have had it put in or had it removed even sooner

This is a sad yet enlightening day for me. I can't believe the things Nuvaring has caused for me. I am so glad that I questioned it earlier and found this site as a result. I originally tried NR in February 06 and continued for about six months. I don't really remember side effects from that time. We had a newborn and I was finishing my last semester in college, so I wasn't exactly sleeping a lot. I will say that my libido fell off the face of the earth. It has taken a while to get it back even a little bit. Ever since then I have asked my doctor what could be done and she just would tell me it's normal to lose my sex drive after having a baby. So in May my doctor put me back on NR to help shrink an ovarian cyst that she is worried about. She had me stay on the NR for 6 weeks straight through. I just took it out last Saturday and I will be done with it forever.

Here is what I experienced during my six weeks:
- Libido- zip. zilch. non. nuf said.
- 2 migraine headaches
- Severe neck pain to where I was about a day away from calling a chiropractor
- Couldn't wear my contacts for the past month- my eyes got really dry and itchy
- EXTREME burning during and especially after sex- and if I had to pee, my husband would have to give me a wet towel to ease the burning pain.
- Lack of appetite
- Really bad mood swings/ depression- I am a really optimistic happy person and for the last month I feel so negative and down about everything. I want to cry a lot and the anger has been awful. My boss and I got into multiple arguments and I wanted to walk out of my job. My son has been on my last nerve for no reason, and don't get me started on my poor husband.
- Waking up multiple times in the night and having trouble falling back to sleep.

Once I removed the ring, I have felt lighter and happier. I even sent my husband a racy text message because I was thinking about sex! And my neck pain has disappeared. Unfortunately, for the last week I have woken every night at 3am and stayed up til around 4:30am. My cramps have been awful. Usually they were really bad the first two days of my period. This time, they have lasted for 4 days so far and don't seem to be stopping. I have gotten extremely constipated and this is something that doesn't happen- I usually go the other way. So my stomach has been a wreck of gas pains and cramping. I have been exhausted.

I just wanted to share my experiences. My husband and I were talking the other night trying to figure out what was going on with me, so I feel a bit more reassured that I am not a psycho after reading so many others' problems. I took my computer in to him and read some symptoms to him and he was as shocked as I that this may all be from the NR.

I am 42 years old and got the Mirena 3 months after my daughter was born.I have had it for 6 months now and am still waiting for my periods to stop. I had continuous spotting for the first 4 months and now I have spotting for 14 days a month. I have absolutely no sex drive, when my husband and I do have sex it hurts and I am terribly dry. I have back cramps quite a bit and my hair is falling out like crazy. I have been moody, down in the dumps and tired (which are not common for me) I thought it was post partum depression. I went on the Mirena website many times and didn't find any of these side effects posted. I thought they might be the result of having a baby in November, however, since I found this website and all these postings are similar to how I feel I believe this could be from the Mirena.

After reading these posts I am more confused than before, because my experience is so far very different. I was diagnosed with DVT about two weeks ago and now take Coumadin daily; the Lovenox injections have been discontinued. The reason I'm so confused is I now feel the best I have in 5 (five) years.

Before being placed on the anti-coagulants I had memory and concentration issues that were progressively getting worse and greatly affecting my job, and had daily headaches. I had joint pain that made it difficult to get up after sitting for awhile; they felt constantly inflamed. I felt fatigued all the time and my muscles hurt like I had really pushed them; I just didn't have any strength, and had muscle cramps. I was constantly yawning and found my jaws hurt from clinching my teeth, subconsciously trying not to yawn. I was extremely sensitive to physical touch, even hugs hurt. I also felt extremely depressed and cried almost daily. My lips and left cheek tingled, as well as other parts of my body. Plus I would get the feeling of sudden pressure in my head (different from a headache) like it was going to pop off, and I my eyes didn't seem to track what I looking at and had difficulty in remembering or comprehending what I just read.

About 6 (six) days after starting treatment it completely changed and these symptoms are essentially gone. I have talked with my doctor and pharmacist and they are baffled. I am concerned this change, while welcomed, may indicate an underlying condition that is not yet diagnosed. Has anyone ever heard of such an impact from starting Coumadin treatment?

i just got on the nuvaring about 2 1/2 weeks ago. its about time for me to take it out. for good im starting to think. the reason i got on the nuvaring is because i was on the pill then stopped it for a while and i took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. then the next day i started bleeding and cramping really bad. i went to the doctor and they just did the urine pregnancy test on me and theirs came back negative. so apparently mine was a false positive. but this whole time i have been on the nuvaring i bleed NON-STOP. my period is usually only 5-6 days. and its been 2 1/2 weeks. i have no sex drive what so ever. couldn't because im bleeding anyway. horrible mood swings that drive my fiance just absolutely CRAZY! i have a 5 1/2 month old little girl and i try soo hard to be happy around her. but im soo emotional. i cry all the time about the littlest things. my breasts are incredibly tender. i have already gained 4 pounds. and i eat maybe once a day. i get these really sharp pains in my stomach that is just unbearable. i have always had bad cramps but just on the first day of my period and i could take Midol and it would make it go away. now NOTHING helps. the cramps are the worst pain. is it the nuvaring causing all these problems for me?

I'm 15 years old and i've been taking prednisone for a few months, and from what i've read i'm on a really high dose. i was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and another autoimmune disorder concerning my muscles at the same time. my doctor told me prednisone was my only choice; it was either that or i would lose the ability to walk. he told me there'd be side effects, but i had no idea it'd turn out like this or i would have fought harder for another course of action. i started out on 30mg twice a day, and since then was weaned down to 20mg twice a day and now i'm down to 30mg once a day. i've been looking up a bunch of information trying to figure out if there's a way to lessen the side effects or any hope at all that they will get better. apparently there isn't much. after reading a bunch of these stories i gotta say i'm not feeling great about this. i totally understand everything everyone is going through. i'm sure you can imagine what it's like being smack in the middle of high school with a huge puffy face, acne so bad on my face, chest, back, neck, and shoulders that wearing a bra could put me in tears, and mood swings so bad i've lost friends over it. everyone knows how brutal high school can be, where appearance and attitude are everything. and i try to tell my doctor about it and he literally looks at me like i'm a whiny teenager and says "you're just going to have to deal with it." and people like my mom and my closest friends don't get it either. nobody understands how beyond frustrating it is. i'll get into the worst moods and not have a reason for it, but i'll stay angry for hours or burst into tears over someone looking at me the wrong way. it'll get to the point where i have to isolate myself from other people because the abrubt mood changes get so bad. as bad as i hate to admit it, the pain from the arthritis is gone now and supposedly my muscles are doing better too. developing arthritis caused me to have to quit cheerleading, something i've loved doing for 6 years, because the pain got to the point where i couldn't get my arms above my head or bend my knees. however, i'd almost rather deal with the horrible joint pain than deal with the side effects of prednisone. if your doctor gives you and alternative method, take it. i've always been confident in the way i look and really outgoing and happy and now i sometimes catch myself thinking about suicide. that's shocking to me because i've got so much going for me, but this medicine makes me miserable. and when i complain about it, anyone i'm talking to just looks at me like i'm being a cry baby. my mom does too, she'll say things like "you just have to do this. i know it's not what you want but to be honest i'm sick of hearing you bitch about it."
i feel a little better knowing other people feel the same way - like nobody gets whats going on with them. the prednisone does give me days of really great euphoria and days when i feel like i could run a marathon, but waking up in the morning to the acne and huge face puts me to tears every day. i have to pee all the time, usually getting up at 2 or 3 am. i don't sleep well anymore and i do sweat all the time. which also sucks being a teenage girl. i'm always hungry, and when i eat i never feel full so i don't know when to stop. my neck and face have put on so much weight that when people see me in the halls or out and about they ask me what happened. mind you these are people i don't talk to, just ones i know from classes or whatever. and it's pretty bad when teenage boys i've never really talked to ask what happened to your face. kind of a blow to the ego, or whatever is left of it at this point.
i'd like to know if, as my dosage gets lowered, the side effects will diminish and when i'm off the prednisone completely if they will disappear altogether. any help there?
or if there is any way to help the acne or puffy face

my doctor just put me on something called methotrexate or something like that to help wean me off the prednisone, and does anyone know what those side effects will do? or if they'll affect the prednisone side effects?
i'm constantly obsessing over gaining weight and what my skin looks like and what i eat and how heavy my face feels and the occasional pressure in my eyes to the point where i just want to be put out of my misery.
and after reading other people's stories i really don't understand why this drug is still given out as freely as it is. but maybe all doctors are like mine, they just don't get it.
best of luck to anyone who's on prednisone, my heart goes out to you; i'm right there with you
sorry this became like a book it wasn't meant to be this long

I am so glad I found this web site. I thought I was just depressed or something. I have been moody, angry, and NO SEX DRIVE. None. My boyfriend and I were just thinking it was because of having a baby ( 11 months ago!). I am weepy, anxious, and have migraines all the time, plus bad acne and weight gain, I had almost all of it off after 8 weeks, but a lot of it came right back. I've never been like this before and am a usually happy, easy going person. I have an appointment tomorrow to have this removed, and to see if this is the case.

When I called to make an appt, my nurse suggested Zoloft first! I was like no way. I am 28 and young and (was) happy! There is no way. So I am testing the waters first and taking this out!

Thanks for all the stories, at least I know I'm not alone!

Im reading these stories and crying... So many lights keep going off the more I read... Im 30 and had my first child last June. They put the "thing" in 6 weeks post-pardum and it made me dizzy and sick to my stomach instantly, hut like hell, and I spent a couple days in bed on pain pills. But I figured a week or so was worth five years of freedom... HA!!! I had barely stopped bleeding and getting energy back for a couple weeks since before from having the baby, but this started that back up with a vengeance. I have been walking around like a b*tchy zombie for almost a year now. I actually went to the doctors in November to ask them if a pain I was having in my pelvis and my grumpy, irritable mood could be from the Mirena. I was told I probably had post pardum depression and possible a cyst, instructed to wait until after 6 or 7 months post pardum to see if my mood improved and get a follow up ultrasound if the pain in my pelvis got worse. Well that particular pain did go away, so I figured they were right, I let the "thing" do it's job and tried to forget about it as I was instructed to do. But the moodiness NEVER went away! I forgot who I was altogether, could not go to work any more, and attributed it to being a new mother, things change! Another 6 weeks later I actually split up from my fiance as I had driven him crazy... I spent Dec-Feb alone with a tiny baby, depressed out of my mind, and TOTALLY out of it everyday. Zero energy, but I figured I was just depressed. My fiance and I have since gotten back together after I practically had to tear him out of the arms of another woman, and convince him I could change. Still in all that time I never thought about the IUC. I still feel sooo freaking tired all the time, which has progressively gotten worse, and would have kept on except that about two months ago my back started hurting. I thought I pulled a muscle, so I stayed layed up resting. I thought I needed a new mattress so I went out and got another one, no change... Then I started thinking I might have some sort of infection, because Ive never had any muscle pain that lasted 6 weeks for no reason. I remembered the Mirena having PID warnings about people with multiple sex partners. Even though I have only had one, he had another, so I'm thinking I must have an infection and set up an appt to see the OB and get tested... In the meantime I came to this site after my mother sent me link of side effects... I read a few more each evening and have become more and more convinced that this is the problem, not only with my debilitating back pain (which has progressed into abdominal pain shooting down my legs as well), which has now progressed from irritable to severe, and not being able to function day-to-day. But also the moodiness, angriness, depression, foggy headedness, dizziness, headaches, lack of sexual desire, bloated feeling, insomnia - big time, I can be tired all day and it takes me two hours to fall asleep at night, then I sleep 10 hours and spend the next day tired all day - its not any way to live and I'm fed UP!!! - And then the hair thing... this topped it off for me, just too weird that all these people have the same problems, convinced me that I was fixable! It would have never occurred to me before I read this, but one day about 5 months ago I woke up with a weird new layer of very short hairs at the front of my scalp, not noticing severe hair loss, but my hair is VERY thick, so I cant really tell, but I did notice the short ones popping up. I actually thought my fiance cut my hair to use for voo-doo or something, I also thought my mother in law gave me something to dry up my breast milk, because shortly after having the "thing" installed my milk inexplicably dried up while we happened to be staying a week with them, now I think it was the Mirena. I have an appointment Thursday to take the "thing" out, and I am nervous about the pain, disappointed because the "thing" was so expensive, and I'm unsure what else to do about BC. But REALLY looking forward to finding myself again, I miss me, I know my fiance does, and I think my child would like to meet me too ;)
... Even if it isn't doing all these things, the paranoia and psychological trauma Im feeling just thinking about it is enough to convince me that this IS NOT for me! Wish me luck - I will follow up in a few weeks

Well I am glad to see that I am not crazy! I put just had a baby in March and My dr. told me to use the ring. He told me to start it on the 1st of every month. Well I started my period on the 30th of April and he told me to still start it b/c he wants my period to move the the end of the month. Well today is the 11th and I still have yet to stop bleeding, I am itching like crazy, My mood swings are through the roof! I went to look up side effects on this b/c of my mood swings and sure enough almost everyone says mood swings. I am also sleepy all the time, I am not happy about a lot of people saying you gain weight b/c after having a baby i want to lose it. So I guess i am done with this, I guess it's time for the condom. We will see how it goes.

After 2 years and 7 months, I had my Mirena removed on 5/4. I had it inserted 3 months after the birth of my first child in 2006. At the time, it seemed like my best option due to problems I’d had with the Pill. I was on the Pill for 6 years, the first year or 2 weren’t too bad, but things gradually got worse. Because it was so gradual, it took me years to realize the cause of my problems. My blood pressure slowly got higher, my heart would often race, and I had anxiety and mini-panic attacks to the point where I never wanted to go anywhere. (My heart rate got up to 160 while waiting for the Dr during an appointment and my blood pressure was up to ~145/99) I also started getting migraines that got more and more frequent. I had an EKG and stress test and everything came back normal. I stopped taking the Pill and within a couple months felt a million times better and my BP went back to normal. I had no idea how much it had affected me and it still makes me sick to think of the years I lost because I felt so awful. I didn’t take anything for 6 months before we started trying to get pregnant and they were the best months in a very long time.

After I got Mirena, I thought it was great. I bled for about 2 months, then never really had periods after that (just some occasionally spotting). Three months after it was inserted, I lost the final 10 pounds of baby weight just by dieting. If I was emotional or moody during the first year, I just thought it was my hormones after having a baby. Slowly over time, I began to get more and more irritable. Everything and anything would enrage me. Rage is the best word for it. It would take a split second for me to fly off the handle. Everything irritated me, particularly anything my husband did. The more it happened, the worse it got and I began to worry if I would eventually lose control completely. Meanwhile, I slowly lost my desire to do anything. I’ve never been a big housekeeper, but our house has become a wreck and I have to force myself to get things down when people are coming over. If it weren’t for family coming to visit frequently, we’d really be living in a mess. I just never feel like doing anything and I’ve lost my passion for everything.

I’ve always had bad skin and have taken everything made for acne, including Accutane. My skin was the best it’s ever been the weeks after my son was born. Over the past 2.5 years, it gotten worse and now it’s as bad as it’s ever been. As my 30th birthday approached, I began to wonder if I’d have zits when I’m 70, then began wondering if the IUD might be causing it.

Also in the past year, I have begun to struggle with my weight. It had slowly started to creep up even though my diet hadn’t really changed. The past 6 months have been the worst. I constantly have a desire to eat and crave anything sugary which I’m sure has contributed to my weight gain. I’ve tried dieting and exercising more than ever before and couldn’t lose anything. Then I gained 10 pounds in 2 weeks. If I diet and workout, my weight stays the same – if I eat normally, I gain weight, just as many others here have mentioned. I’d say 80-90% of my excess weight is on my stomach and I’ve been asked twice in the last 6 months by strangers about being pregnant. I now weigh what I did when I was 7-8 months pregnant (25lbs over my pre-preg weight) and I look 6-7 months preg.

All of these issues have gradually gotten worse over time, but significantly so in the past 6 months. My fits of rage began to scare me and I would feel like my head and/or chest were going to explode when I would yell. I started to realize from my previous experience with the Pill that my blood pressure was going up again. I had also begun to get migraines again which I hadn’t had since the Pill. Then I began to feel like I was living in a depression medicine commercial. I’ve never dealt with depression before even when my husband was gone for months at a time in the Navy. Yet all the sudden I felt like I could check off all the symptoms for depression. I started having irrational and scary thoughts that I had no control over and they would go as quickly as they came. I began to get frightened because I felt like I had no control over myself, my thoughts, or my emotions. For whatever reason, I decided to look up Mirena and depression and couldn’t believe what I found - pages and pages of people describing exactly how I felt with all the same symptoms. I had been contemplating it anyway, but I decided then that I was going to get it removed. I went to the doctor and my blood pressure was higher than I expected. She gave me BP meds and offered me meds for everything else. I got the impression that she probably thought I was blaming too much on the Mirena. I would have agreed if not for my experiences on the Pill. She had never removed one, so she referred me to an OB/GYN. They couldn’t see me for over a month and there was no way I could wait that long because I knew it would take a while for my body to get back to normal. Amazingly, I found someone who got me in 4 days later. I was so excited! As everyone says, it’s a lot easier coming out than going in – just a pinch that lasts a second. So far, I haven’t noticed a huge difference (it’s been about 3 days). I felt less bloated the second day, but it seems to have come back a little yesterday. I have been very thirsty since the evening after I got it removed and have been peeing as much as I did when I was pregnant. I slowly feel like my desire to constantly eat is going away and I am not craving sugar as much.

I also wanted to mention, I started the blood pressure meds the day after I got them. I will say that it has helped my irritability a little and I no longer feel like I’m going to explode when I get angry. Now that the IUD is gone, I’m sure it will go back to normal on its own in month or 2. It’s frustrating because I got Mirena because of my BP problems on the pill. I was under the impression that there wouldn’t be any side effects and now I’m back to where I was when I stopped the Pill. I lost several good years with my husband because of the Pill and now I’ve lost almost 3 more and the first 3 years of my son’s life because of this stupid IUD. If it weren’t for our son, I don’t know that our marriage would have survived the last 3 years. I just pray that I will get back to being me and will be able to be the mother that my son deserves.

A few other side effects I’ve noticed after reading all these posts that may also be related are greasy hair and skin, hair loss, facial hair, memory loss/lack of concentration, and the strange odors and various infections that others have mentioned. I used to not be able to wrap my fingers around my ponytail. Now I can almost wrap them around twice. Like most of the other side effects, I blamed it on aging, stress, etc. I’m interested to see if it starts coming back now.

I know this is a really long post, but I wanted to include as much info as possible in case it might help someone else. I probably would have gotten it out sooner, but I didn’t think there were any side effects. For now, I am not going to take anything. I want to know whether the side effects go away and not have to worry if something is caused by a new birth control. I may try something else in 6 months or so, but we’ll see. My husband doesn’t want me to take anything ever again, but I really don’t want to get pregnant. I don’t think I want any more kids, but I’m only 30 and not ready to do anything permanent yet. My new OB/GYN mentioned Implantation, which uses a different hormone, but I don’t have much faith that it won’t have the same effects. I will probably just try different pills and keep an eye on my blood pressure. I plan to post updates when I can to let you know if things get better. I hope that my story helps someone else.

I got mirena implanted April 14. insertion was terrible- if having a baby hurts that much i think i will pass- and had cramping til the next day, but other than that it seems good so far. i was on depo provera for 8 years, was off birth control since my last shot in august until now, and don't feel significantly different on mirena. i am kind of tired and moody recently but am about due for my period so it could be because of that. i'm really surprised to see these kinds of terrible symptoms being described, but want to point out these symptoms can happen with most birth controls. i felt low sex drive and some depression on the shot, as well as experiencing weight gain, but i've lost about 15 lbs since stopping the shot and haven't gained any back so far.

I have been extremely happy with my Mirena actually. I had it put in after my second child in Dec. 2004 at my 6 week appointment. The cramping and bleeding didn't last that long actually but then again I was still bleeding after having the baby anyway so it was a good time to have it done. I stopped having periods after 3 months of having it in completely. That was the absolute BEST part. I haven't had to use a sanitary pad or tampon in almost 5 years!

Now for the other aspects...in hindsight I don't know if the issues I had during the first couple years with the Mirena were side effects of the device or postpartum. That's the problem with having an IUD put in right after having a baby. Side effects like baby blues, postpartum depression (in my case I was almost postpartum psychosis), hair loss, weight issues, etc. can all be related to post-pregnancy. My biggest side effect was the hair loss. I have fine, thin hair to begin with so it's VERY noticeable when I start to lose hair. However, this happens after birth. After 2 years it was such a problem I went for a physical and requested a blood work-up. Everything came back normal. I was told it could be aging (I was 31 years old then) or stress. I tried absolutely everything from changing my diet, taking tons of biotin pills, multi-vitamins, etc. Every year I kept noticing it getting worse. I went to dermatologists who said it could be age, stress, hereditary (I have NO female pattern baldness in my family) and so forth. I started taking Women's Rogaine last fall. Still no difference and I'm losing hair still. I've even lost 25 pounds and within excellent weight range, changed positions in my company to a less stressed job (since last year) and STILL have hair loss.

My husband started doing research on the Mirena since I need to make a decision on birth control in the next 6 months. We both noticed that other symptoms were "wearing" off. I have increased sex drive (a significant amount - let's face it...14 years in a monogamous relationship doesn't all of a sudden just start to increase in the sex drive area normally), started spotting a little bit when I guess would be my period (remember I haven't had a period for 4 years now since I had the Mirena put in post 3 months) and this last month I had a REAL period for a couple days. He thought the hormones were wearing off.

I made an appointment with my GYN to discuss but thought I'd share my experience.

Again I've been super happy with the no periods aspect of the Mirena. LOVE IT! But I don't know if the other symptoms I've been having over the past 5 years are related. And now I have to make a decision. My husband wants me to switch to the Paragard Copper IUD (we love the ease of the IUD so much) yet I hate the idea of heavy periods and cramping after a decade without either. Do I take the hair loss (if it's related) but have no periods? Decisions....

Oh my gosh!!! I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am that my husband found this website. I had my Mirena placed a little less than 6 months ago at my six-week follow up visit after having my 8th and last child. My husband and I (and OB/GYN) decided this was the best option because I can't tolerate birth control pills (the estrogen gives me major migraines). Anyway, I was told that I would have some spotting but it would go away and after about a year I may not have a period at all. I had just finished the bleeding that comes after having a baby and I breastfeed so I don't normally have a period anyway until a couple months after I'm done breastfeeding...well let me tell you I bled off an on for the first 3 months with cramping. More on than off and it was just downright annoying cause I didn't know when to expect it so I always had to be prepared. But I stuck it out cause I knew that was a possible side effect. What I didn't know was all the other possible side effects. I think I've experienced just about all the ones listed in all the posts I've read. I thought I was going crazy!!! I have had severe mood swings and I guess depression. I've never been a depressed person so I wasn't even sure what the symptoms were, but now I do. I don't feel like doing much of anything. I don't want to go anywhere...I just want to be a hermit at home. I love my husband and all my children, especially my little 6 month old boy and his never ending smile (which is what keeps me going) but there have been days where the littlest thing sets me off and pushes me over the edge and then I just want to rip somebody's head off! Completely irrational thoughts too. None of this is me at all!!! It wasn't until about a week ago when my husband and I were talking about it and I was crying and telling him that I didn't know what was wrong with me and that I thought I was going crazy and that I just wanted to be myself again and be happy...that he pointed out that the only other time he has seen me moody at all is when I'm pregnant (and then not even close to this degree). It was then that the light bulb went off! If Mirena makes your body think you're pregnant by releasing hormones then it only stands to reason that you may have some of the same side effects as pregnancy. I already had an appt. with my OB/GYN to get the strings cut shorter (my husband could feel them during intercourse and it was painful) so we decided that I should address my concerns at my appt. Well I did and my dr. told me that the mood swings and depression could very well be a symptom of the Mirena and it's hormones. He said that there was no way of knowing just how much hormones is too much for me and everyone is affected differently but that if it were his wife with the same complaints he would tell her to yank it. He said if I wasn't convinced about Mirena being the culprit that maybe I could seek counseling to talk about my "craziness" (my word...not his) but asked me to make a follow-up appt. with him in a week anyway and in the meantime come home and discuss it with my husband. My husband actually found this site and immediately sent me the link after reading some of the stories posted here. I'm eternally grateful to him...Now I know I'm not going crazy and I also know that I'm not alone! Needless to say...I'm keeping my appointment for this Wednesday and can't wait to have the Mirena removed and I'm not seeking counseling, lol!
Symptoms I've experienced:
Major mood swings
depression
exhaustion
back ache
weight gain
chest pain
anxiety
jitters
loss of concentration/focus
NO libido
joint pain
bloating
throat obstruction feeling

There's probably even more that I've just not connected to this stupid Mirena. Oh well...I just can't wait to be normal again! Anyone considering this type of Birth Control should really think twice and know what you might possibly be in for. Could work great for you, but then again, maybe not!!