Hormone therapy symptoms and conditions

Have had the Mirena for a year due to needing some hormone therapy during menopause.I am 54yrs old and had my last period over 2 yrs ago-look physically like I am in my 30's. Had a breast reduction and weight reduction surgery over 10yrs ago VERY successfully lost 10# off my chest and 168# off of my body. SINCE having the Mirena I have gained over 30# and gained 2 cup sizes in my breasts! HELP!!! I have been treated by my regular doctor for mood swings with WellbutrinSR, Lexapro, Lamictal, Topamax and others-nothing has worked more than to ease some of the edge. I have gone from a size 2 to a size 10-12 in 9 months and am desperate for an answer! I feel as if all of the previous progress I had made with the weight reduction and breast reduction is all being undermined! I had a tummy tuck last September 08 and I swear my stomach was flatter before I had the surgery! I look pregnant! The surgeons have done a CT scan and can find nothing to indicate the surgery went bad. I don't know what to do as my OB-GYN tells me that "this IUD" is my best bet for hormone therapy and that it is ABSOLUTELY NOT the cause for the weight gain or breasts. Has anyone else "my age/menopausal" experienced this? Most of what I have read has been very helpful BUT all but a few are pre-menopausal and way younger. PLEASE let me know your thoughts!!

I'm loving it.

After trying every HRT and pill under the sun for surgical menopause, and I'm in my 30's, I'm glad I've finally found something that makes me feel better.

Trust me here. Everyone is different and it may take you a thousand different medications until you find the right one, especially with hormones, but when you find the one that works for you life as you know it changes for the better.

Don't listen to that bollocks about HRT or the Pill causing you breast cancer and death... not having HRT or the pill etc can cause you just as many difficulties. Some of you may get osteopenia, vaginal atrophy, and other things that are very private. Let's face it, death can come after you even if you're not on hormones, just look at a children's hospital if you want proof.

I wish all of you suffering from hormonal conditions a healthy long happy life. I know the journey there is hard, but never give up. Just try something else. Even giving hormone therapy a break for a few months and then trying a different drug or approach such as a smaller dose.

Perhaps it's not even your hormones causing the problem, perhaps you should seek a specialist physician, immunologist, endocrinologist or just find another doctor that understands what they are doing and actually helps you.

All of the above saved my life. All of it. Together. It is a long hard road ladies but it's your life.

Blessings to you all.

I had a hysterectomy done two weeks ago they put me on Loestrin 24 fe for hormone therapy the only side affect I have been having is that I am having a hard time falling a sleep at night. But during the day though I don't feel tired at all I feel full of energy so the sleeping at night isn't that bad.

My doctor warned me that the pain from endometriosis would get worse before it gets better... it definitely got worse, but I'm not seeing the "better". My pain is less frequent, yes, but it's still there, and sometimes worse than it used to be. I did 2 injections, and since I'm not satisfied with the results, I won't be continuing this therapy. The mood swings that I went through almost cost me my marriage - there's only so many times crazy behavior can be blamed on this medication before people begin to blame you and not the shot... I gained maybe 3-5 pounds, my feet swell and sometimes my hands... the worst thing has to be the hot flashes and night sweats. At 27 years old, and as someone who used to be cold all the time, I can't take the constant sweating and feeling like my hands are on fire. I've only gotten my period twice this year (due to another hormone therapy before this shot), and when I had it once on Lupron, I bled for a week and spotted for an additional 2 weeks. It caused an infection, and the odor was so offensive that I couldn't stand to be near myself. That one cleared up, but then I got another infection less than 2 weeks later.

For me, this shot was not worth my time or effort. I'm going off all hormone therapies and I'm just going to deal with the symptoms I have and get on with my life.

Toes, foot and leg cramps here too !

I had my Mirena inserted in July 2005 and removed 2 yrs afterward. Till this day the effects are still showing. I have facial hair that I never had before. And the hair loss is still onset. I have developed fibroid cystic breasts. I have also gained a significant amount of weight that I'm still battling. At first I thought I was leading an unhealthy life so I changed my eating habits, stopped smoking, stopped drinking (which both were extremely RARE!), and cut out the fast food and replace with a healthy lifestyle. My hormones are still so out of whack that I think hormone therapy will be the only thing that will control my mood swings and help with the breast tenderness. BTW!!! If you do experience this symptom limit your caffeine intake!!! It could cost you your breasts. Right now I'm trying to make the best of my life and spending lots of money in electrolysis. Do not think for a minute that this thing is safe because it is far from it. REMOVE IT OR OPT TO ANOTHER FORM OF BIRTH CONTROL!!!

hi all. I have never taken these kinds of boards to heart before, but this time I am convinced. I had my mirena inserted 11 days ago and I am all ready to have it removed. It hurt when it was inserted, but I've had 4 natural deliveries, so I can tolerate a lot of pain. I was fine right after as far as cramping goes, but since having it inserted, I've constantly felt pregnant. Lower back aches, heavy bloated feeling, and the constant feeling of having a uti. That is the worst. I constantly feel like I have to pee and nothing comes out. But I go to the doctor and there is no bacteria in my urine. And now my hair is falling out. My gyn really pushed me towards this instead of having my tubes tied, that this worked better, but if I wanted to feel pregnant, I would just have another baby. I have an appt on Monday for him to check it. I may just have it removed and find another dr who will tie my tubes.

For me having the Mirena removed just last Thursday was the right decision. I was not using it for birth control but as hormone therapy for heavy, crampy periods. I had it inserted in July 2008 and bled every single day for the entire time, I had it removed last week and now I am bleeding very heavily but hopefully that will stop once all those hormones are out of my body.
While on Mirena I lost all sex drive, I became severely anemic and with that fatigued terribly, and moody, crying at nothing and screaming at my kids or husband for stupid reasons, I felt bloated and gassy and didn't have those problems before.
I am 42 years old and I hate my heavy bleeding in fact I want a hysterectomy, but not sure now what I will do.

For those of you who had the Mirena removed, how long did it take to stop bleeding afterwards? This is draining every last ounce of energy for me and I am taking iron supplements.

What sucks is the cost of this, Even with insurance I ended up paying a lot out of pocket to get this thing and then all the Dr. visits due to bleeding and side affects in the 4 months it was in and now the removal of it. I am wondering if there is any way that we can get a Class action lawsuit against Bayer for this horrible thing they are trying to sell to women.
I know there are some out there who have not suffered all these horrible side effects at least not yet or that they are aware of, but I truly believe that there is nothing good about this IUD and those of us and there are a lot of us who have suffered with this should be reimbursed or compensated for the pain and loss of parts of our lives and expenses with this. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Hi Ladies- I promised I would post to let you know how I am doing WITHOUT Aviene. I posted the Sept. 10 comment entitled Thanks ladies because I felt your posts have helped me.

I stopped taking the Aviene on a Thursday and all side effects stopped and no new ones occurred. All is well, I enjoy life without being a freak show.

In a DAY AND A HALF WITHOUT AVIANE MY HEALTH RESTORED.

I mentioned the 20 pound weight gain within a few weeks, by the following Tuesday I lost 9 pounds and today is the 26th and I lost 15 pounds. No anxiety, no irritation, no face issues (in a week it cleared up), no mood or energy issues, no excessive thirst, burning of eyes, chills, fever, rashes, itchy -nothing. I was allergic to it and my body wasn't breaking down the coloring agents etc whatever the hell is in there b/c it's not like you get a box or product descriptions. This isn't personal comments, I spoke with pharmacists, doctors, doctor friends, nurses etc. I work at a hospital I have great resources to share with you.

Whatever your side effects are, let's do this. Let's listen to our bodies, listen to experiences and draw your own conclusions.

I know my body, I know myself, and I know my life changes, mood changes, physical changes were due to this pill.

Please consider when being worried about what will happen if you quickly go off it that the consequences of staying on it are more severe. For me, and for many of us, the side effects didn't stop but kept adding and if you are reading this and are just curious or feel something is off with you do not take it any further. I am sharing that I am not a sensitive person and do not experience side effects... and I completely broke down physically and mentally from the amount of side effects and had to self defend.

Many of your comments helped and let's face it if you read that some ladies lost their hair... come on... obviously something is wrong with this pill.

Take care ladies, my sincere hope is that my post will help you, as you have helped me.

So you know, I went back on Alesse and all is well. My drug company didn't cover Alesse but ALESSE HAS A PATIENT CARD FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE INSURANCE AND FOR THOSE WHO DO BUT THE COMPANY DOESN'T COVER ALESSE RATHER THE GENERIC AVIANE. Your patient Alesse card you get will cover the difference that your insurance company may not. I paid $ 2.89 for my monthly prescription which is less than if the insurance company covered it. Check with your pharmacy location site if they participate in the program and it is not hard to find one that does.

You may not like Alesse, I can only share my experience with Aviane that did make my life a living hell. Happy to be OFF it!

Please take care and self defend your situation and reach out to those around you.

my 11 y/o daughter has a chronic headache condition (NDPH), a non-stop headache since Oct.29,07. She had a supraorbital nerve block, occipital nerve block using Kenalog. Her first injection was only the occipital nerve block, then 2 weeks later, repeated the occipital nerve block and added the supraorbital (above eyebrow) nerve block. This was July 2nd. On July 10th, she started her first period...it lasted 19 days! Then, she had a week off, a week on, a week off, a week on, a week off........now, it's been 2 weeks since her last one. NOW.....I am seeing that the period was probably brought on by Kenalog and that the irregularity was too!
The other thing: She developed INDENTIONS across her forehead, they showed up on Aug.6th. One if very significant, the other 3 are smaller. There is some discoloration (greyish) and there is scarring at the injection site. We took her to the pain mgmt. doctor who did the procedure and she had researched it, after our call, and told us SALINE INJECTIONS would help to plump the indentions back up. She sent us to a Cosmetic Dermatologist b/c she'd not seen this or treated this before and he had. We saw him and he is waiting to talk to our pedi-neurologist to find out if she is a candidate for Saline Injections without effecting the nerves that are already messed up from the NDPH.
I am very upset about the side effects....we were NOT informed this could happen!!!!! The indentions are VERY TENDER! They are already at the site where her headache/nerve pain was severe..now you can't even touch across it! Hopefully her periods will regulate and stabilize! What a way to start your first one!!! UGGGHHH!!!! No one told us that could happen either! We had a doc fixing to put her on hormone therapy (BCP's) to regulate her! We are now waiting to see if it stabilizes.
My daughter has a great attitude about it, she has bangs and just said, "I'll just keep my bangs long enough to cover it up!!!"

I would NOT have taken the chance on this and do NOT recommend anyone with a child to take the chance with it! It wasn't worth what we ended up with!!!!

My daughter has Aloepecia Areata. Has anyone taken Kenalog to grow hair back. My doctors saying this may work and did mention about the dimpling effect. Not in the detail I read here, though. He made it sound like it would just be a dimple. I did not get the shot in his office, wanted to research some more. By the way, she is only a 11 yrs old. Not sure whether to try this stuff after reading all this.

Wow you are all a bunch of complainers who try and blame XYZ on Yasmin which probably have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the pills. I have bee diagnosed with PCOS and have been on hormone therapy since age 15, first zovia, which worked well enough but did not get rid of a lot of my symptoms, only lessened them somewhat, so now I am on yaz. My depression has completely subsided, I feel GREAT and only had some nausea which almost EVERYONE gets when taking a hormone therapy birth control pill. Trust me, if you are going to have SIDE EFFECTS it is not going to happen 4 YEARS LATER, please.... grow up and take responsibility for yourselves, rather than trying to blame a pill

Please let me know if a class-action lawsuit is ever filed against this Pharm Co because I will file a suit to get this dangerous drug off the market. Yasmin/Yaz almost took my life in January 08. My OB/GYN put me on Yaz in Oct 07 for bad periods and cysts on my overies. Within a month my entire personality changed and I started losing my hair. I experienced a complete loss of sex drive, became depressed and was either constanting crying or raging at someone. However, my adult acne did clear up. On 1/27/08 I experienced extreme pain in my calf that moved up to my thigh within 48 hrs. I went to the ER and was told that no only did I a condition called DVT (Deep Vein Thrombisis-blood clot) in my leg but that the clot had broken off and moved into both of my lungs and I had bi-lateral pulmonary embolism. I can't even describe how incredibly painful this was. I was admitted into the hospital for 1 week and was put on powerful blood thinners, which I will be on for about a year. It's now been nearly 6 months since I was diagnosed and the DVT and it is still in my uppper thigh. But am grateful to be alive. If you would like to contact me I would be glad to answer any questions regarding this situation and my email addy is ****** PLEASE DO NOT TAKE YAZ OR YASMIN OR LET ANYONE IN YOUR FAMILY TAKE THIS MED, IT COULD KILL YOU.

I've been on Lo24 for a few weeks now and don't like it at all. This is my first experience with bc and was put on it as a hormone therapy. I had a tubal ligation 11yrs ago and am a cancer survivor most likely starting perimenopause. Since my tubal my periods have only lasted 3 days, well let me tell you, with this pill it seems like i've had my period everyday since starting it. I have the tender breasts, bloating, weight gain, painful intercourse,and stomach hurts to the touch like so many others have described. I have stopped taking the pill a few days ago and I'm still bleeding. How long will it take for all these side effects to go away? I'm especially looking forward to the bleeding and weight gain to go away. I worked hard in the last year to lose 50 pounds and am very upset now that my pants are snug because of this damn pill. My gyno said there would be no weight gain, minimal spotting for a few days...nice to know they like to bullshit us. I wish I never started on this, lesson learned.

I have been experiencing problems with the NuvaRing as well. After having my first ring in for just shy of two weeks, my hands and feet started itching a LOT. I just thought it was the change in weather and started lathering them with lotion thinking it would help. It didn't, and in fact, my symptoms worsened to hives on my butt, knees, and hands. My fingers swelled, along with my toes, making it painful to walk. I started researching side effects of NR and found several people having similar symptoms as me. At first I was worried that I was having an allergic reaction to the Gardasil (HPV) shot, which I got on Monday (the 15th), but my skin was starting to itch prior to my shot. After reading up on the NR, I'm starting to think that is what's causing my hives/welts and swelling! I already called my doctor about the swelling, because I thought it was from the Gardasil, but now that I'm almost certain that it's from the NR, I'm going to call them on Monday and tell them I need to stop using it. This is the 5th birth control I've been on in two years...it's getting ridiculous! They can't find one that works for me...the oral pills work for a month or two, and then I start breakthrough bleeding because the hormone levels are too low! I'm starting to think that my body rejects birth control, and that it's not for me! Is this possible?!

In 10/2001 I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and my MD prescribed a Lupron 3 month Injection to reduce the size of my prostate prior to radiation seed therapy. l started having the following symptons immediatetly frequent hot flashes which disrupted my sleeping at night from 4 to 6 times per night and which lasted for 9 months, I was no longer able to achieve an erection, although immediately prior I was able to have sex with an orgasm. I loss muscle and gained weight. Seven years have past and during that time I developed a heart arthymia which I was hospitalised for all this despite forcing myself to stay physically active, by walking, lifting weights and doing manual labor. I have never been able to regain my strength despite my exercising. I am now suffering from an undiagnosed skin disease and low blood platelets which my doctor thinks is an auto immune problem. This drug has had a severe impact on my well being and I tell all my male friends that if they ever have prostate issues to avoid hormone therapy at all cost.

Been on Methadone tabs for 9 yrs. I gained 130 lbs, have edema in my ankles and feet for the past 8 yrs, I have an endocrine problem (pituitary gland doesn't produce testosterone anymore), I'm itchy all over, I get drowsy, and I have hot flashes. I think I should get off this drug and deal with my chronic pain. At least I'll lose wieght, stop itching, lose the edema and aching feet, maybe restore my endocrine system balance, etc....
Whata ya think?

i also have problems with my ears. mine started in august last year and i have been off yasmin for 7 months now. my ears feel blocked up on and off throughout the day,it goes away when i lie down or put my head between my knees but it always comes back! my gp gave me all sorts of things to clear it but nothing has worked so far. i read somewhere that the eustacious tube in the ear can become blocked,it blocks for all sorts of reasons but some mentioned are pregnancy,hormone therapy and also contraceptive pill use. as far as i know there is no pill to cure it although in some cases i think an operation can be done but not sure. i will just hope that it like all the other weird and not so wonderful side effects will vanish once my body is clear of this poison.

sarah

My asthma started with my first pregnancy, 9 years ago. I've tried every drug on the market with no results. I can easily exhaust a 200 inhalation rescue inhaler in 2 to 3 days. I've been on Advair for almost 2 years. It was like a miracle at first! I thought my troubles were over! Lately, the Advair is not helping. I sleep with an inhaler under my pillow at night because I wake up 8 to 10 times a night gasping for breath. It takes 10 to 12 puffs to recover. Anyway, I was hospitalized recently for extreme stomach discomfort. The doctors thought it was my gall bladder, intestinal blockage, blah blah blah...they couldn't diagnose my severe bloating, burning and discomfort. THANKS to all of you who took the time to post symptoms. I thought I had stomach cancer or something. Now I'm sure its the Advair. Also, I have terrible short term memory problems, mood swings, weight gain, and no sense of smell. I'm 33 and my OB/GYN put me on hormone therapy for menapause. After what I've read tonight...I'm convinced the Advair is the culprit. I'm terrified that if I stop taking it, I will die from the Asthma. Any suggesstions?

I've been on Singulair for about 20 days. It was my idea to try the drug, as Advair alone wasn't doing much for my asthma. However, I'm getting bad pains & cramps in my feet, calves, and the small of my back. I also get numbness in my feet & calves. From what I'm reading here, sounds like classic side-effects of this drug. I'm calling my doctor today about it, because another doctor prescribed hormone therapy yesterday. I don't want possible side-effects from both drugs at once!

I was given a ten day precription of Levaquin 500mg. for a sinus infection and infected tooth by my medical doctor. Four weeks earlier I had stopped taking my hormone therapy. I woke up with very bad hot sweats and at the same time panic and anxiety attacks. My mind would focus on something upsetting and I couldn't stop it. I would wake up retching and had a sore shoulder and knee. After about a week of taking this drug I started with just crying for no reason. My husband thought I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.I went to my medical doctor and was told that I had three choices. To go back on HRT, Take a drug like paxil, or see a counceler. He never mentioned that this could be from Levaquin. I then went to my Gyn, and he put me back on the hormone therapy that I had been getting off. After eight days on Levaquin I decided to stop it. That first night I slept just fine. I am so angry that neither doctor mentioned that this drug had such bad side effects. I told my medical doctor that I have a hard time taking medicines as I always get reactions.At times I still feel a little shaky.I sure am going to let my doctors know about this. Thank goodness I found this site on the computer. I thought I was going crazy.

I have decided that never, ever again will I be on any 'hormone therapy' again, including birth control pills. I am now 32, and was having shortened periods that stopped after 1 day for the last 4 months (no wonder I felt nuts!) and had many symptoms of pregnancy but was not pregnant. I went to three different doctors, and the second one wanted me to get a D&C, saying it was 'standard' in my situation - however, I had a bad feeling about someone taking a scalpel to my reproductive organ walls (one of them), so I cancelled the surgery. Thankfully, the third doctor told me it would have been unnecessary, but after many ultrasounds (that revealed a thickened endometrial lining, which is normal before you start your period) I was put on Yasmin. I HATE these and all birth control pills (incl. shots, patch, whatever). First of all, they basically abort any egg that may have mated with sperm, which I have a bad feeling about. Second, they make me feel absolutely psychotic. I have had blurred vision (I kept ignoring it until I read the other posts here that validated that I was not imagining this!). I was walking up the steps to the house and had what felt like a heart attack or stroke - thank God it stopped but scared me so much. I have been much more depressed, with psychotic thoughts rampant, since taking this drug (tonight was only my fifth pill!). I have determined that it was completely normal for my hormones to be 'out of whack' due to stress - In the last 2 years I have been through a marriage, a divorce (I was abandoned in a new city by him), moved 8 times, had to give up almost everything I owned (including my pets), had a couple of bad 'rebound' relationships, financial problems, etc. Is it REALLY any wonder I felt unlike myself???? I have decided that I do not care what guys in the future say about them wanting me to get on these awful birth control pills - they can take them and see how THEY feel! It simply is not worth the risk of heart attacks, blood clots, stroke, etc., not to mention the other side effects like vomiting, nausea, dehydradation, etc. When I was married we used contraceptive gel, but in the future I will stick with natural methods or gels. It is just not worth it to take these - tonight will be my last night of these horrible pills.