Healthfood store symptoms and conditions

About three and a half years ago, I was having extremely heavy periods that were causing anemia. My truly wonderful, trustworthy, kind GYN suggested the Mirena because it would lessen/delete my periods. I had 3 days of severe cramping after insertion, but within a month - no periods! At all! For just over three years! This was fabulous, I thought.

Over time, I began to wonder if my weight gain was related, but could find nothing online and the doc said absolutely not. I weighed 156 back then, weigh 173 now no matter what I do. Hmmm.

Then, about 4 months ago, I got my first period sort of thing. Mostly, it was 16 days of sticky, gunky brown smudges on light pads. Very odd. Next period included huge "flakes" of gummy brown stuff - still no reed or pink blood. Really unsettling. It lasted 12 days. Made GYN appt. A week later, my "period" began again - erratic - had 7 days of brown gunk. Asked GYN to remove the Mirena.

That was 10 days ago. I have three children - I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I have passed dozens of blood clots, and put together they'd EASILY weigh as much as a placenta and a half!!! Some look like cow's liver and are just as big, others are like huge night crawler worms or the size of fried eggs! I can't go out in public because they are so heavy, they fall out of the pad and slide down my leg! (Although I can hold the larger ones in until I get to the toilet now - not a skill I wanted to learn!) The bleeding is intense - a 100% soaked pad every 2-3 hours except when sleeping, when it slows a bit.

Called the nurse today and she said, "It just sounds like your period." Uh, no, it doesn't. It sounds like I've lost a gallon of blood. I've been dizzy and tired - got myself started on Burdock Root from the healthfood store and I'm slowly stabilizing my iron levels - but the blood loss and the huge clots (8-10 per day!) are really freaking me out. I was a BIG fan of the Mirena IUD until I got this one taken out. Just freaky, scary, odd. What the heck was it doing in there? Holding all that old blood inside me? Blood clots take time to form. What are these clots? Self-aborting would-be babies? If the IUD works by agitating the uterine wall, how in the world did all these huge clots get stuck in me? Why weren't they reabsorbed or "agitated" right out? They are not water soluble - I can hold one under running water and it doesn't dissolve or leak red. They have significant weight and mass. It's the most unsettling thing I've ever experienced - I really suspect this is blood/tissue my body couldn't remove while I was using the Mirena, or else partially formed embryos. Really creepy whatever they are. IF they are damaged embryos, then I've technically been pregnant many times in the last 3 yrs. IUDs don't prevent pregnancy, they prevent impregnated embryos from embedding in the uterine wall. That's why I suspect that's what these all are.

I wish there was more research than the pamphlet they gave me on "Choosing the Mirena" before insertion.

I have only been on Synthroid for 2 months, but my appetite is out of control. I read that gaining weight might be a side effect of Synthroid. You would think that you would lose weight with it since it makes your thyroid run more efficiently. My TSH is 4.3, still normal, so I don't guess I really need it yet. I am going off of it and going to the health food store and take Thyroid support.

I am on Levaquin, but my side effect is from reading these posts, not taking the drug. I have no patience with people that have no common sense. Yes, doctors should tell you about the drugs they prescribe, but it is your responsibility to ask about potential side effects, interactions with other drugs you are taking, etc. It is also your responsibility to read the detailed informa tion that comes with every prescription from a pharmacy that lists possible side effects, which ones are likely to go away after a dose or two, and which ones you should contact a doctor about. If you get the drug as a sample at your doctor's office, stop in at a pharmacy and ask for the information sheet or get on the internet and find it.

All antibiotics cause dstomach upset and sometimes diarrhea because they kill all the bacteria they find, the bad ones causing your infection as well as the good ones living in your digestive system that keep you healthy. All antibiotics can cause yeast infections for the same reason. As some smart European posters to this list suggested, eating yogurt with live acidophilus cultures or taking acidophilus pills from the healthfood store may mediate this effect.

Lastly, even if your doctors don't have common sense about the symptoms of an allergic reaction, you should know the signs, because severe reactions can lead to anaphylactic shock and even death. Rashes, hives, itching, dizziness, and shortness of breath ARE NOT SIDE EFFECTS! They are warning signs of an allergic reaction. You can become allergic to any drug at any time, even if you have taken it with no problem many times before, antibiotic allergies are very common, and it is vitally important for you to know what drugs you are allergic to because not every doctor reads every word in your medical file. I am allergic to sulfa drugs (which I learned from a severe case of hives while taking Bactrim), yet a doctor prescribed Celebrex for a knee injury, and if I hadn't known that Celebrex contained sulfa I would have been in trouble instead of safely taking sulfa-free Vioxx.

Bottom line, you are responsible for your own health, no one else. Know the difference between signs of an allergic reaction, standard side effects, and rare side effects that should cause concern. If you're concerned, CALL YOUR DOCTOR, HEALTH PLAN, or PHARMACIST rather than posting on an online newsgroup. It could save your life.