Horomones symptoms and conditions

Okay...this is amazing, cause I thought I was crazy but now I know all of us are!!!hahah...I had the Mirena put in in early October. I am perimenopausal and my hubby has a vasectomy. The docs encouraged it to help with my menopausal symptoms, primarily irregular cycles and cramping due to not bleeding - they said that was due to low progesterone and the Mirena would work wonders. I had it put in (very very painful - and this from a woman who gave birth, at home, two separate times with nothing but a midwife and some gentle massaging during the birthings!) and never stopped bleeding. Not once! I have gone through two boxes of tampons and three of pads. I have cramping all the time, and low back ache. I noticed that my bras felt really sore and enlarged (so did hubby) and they grew overnight. I gained three pounds and started crying at the time. The final insult: no sex drive. zippo. none at all. I also have terrible vagina odor which is, I know gross to admit, but a very new thing. I think that there are many women who simply cannot tolerate these hormones. Our bodies know what to do and I am going to brave the change without intervention. I went to see doctor today and, of course, she tried to talk me out of removal. She even had the nerve to say that it was good to have in, to protect my uterus, for eventual Hormone replacement therapy -as if I had ever mentioned that as an option? I looked at her and said, "take it out". Now I don' t know if this is imagination, but I swear the cramps have abated in the past several hours. I am still bleeding but feel hope for its ending. I would not recommend this to anyone and to those out there being told its value in managing menopausal symptoms, move on. It is not worth it - the change is change enough!

I was on ortho tri-cyclen lo from the time i was 16 til i turned 21... i liked it.. my sex drive was awesome, but it did make me horrifically moody during my period. I have currently been on the nuvaring for 2 months, which has it's perks (you don't have to remember to take it, i have no cramps or moodiness) but my breasts throb 24/7, im hungry ALL the time (like starving), i'm bloated, get gas about every day after i eat dinner, i've gained a few pounds, i wake up 3 times in the middle of the night, and i have next to no sex drive.. and when i do, sex is dry and it burns! So i'm going back to ortho... i will for sure trade weight gain and dry painful sex for moodiness on my period! I really don't think there is a bc without side effects, you just have to try a few and see which one you hate and which one you can live with. All in all... ortho tri-cyclen lol has been the best one!

I think most of this is all in your heads. It does state clearly in the booklet though that you will have less of a sex drive. But being depressed and all is all own thing. Maybe if you start thinking that its making you happy you will feel happy....

I started using loestrin 24 fe last week for the first time (first bcp ever). Its was the day after my period finished, everything started off fine. Now I'm into the 2nd week of the first trial pack. At first on Monday I started spotting now its Thursday and I am wearing a tampon. I called the doctor, they said its normal to spot. But is this normal?? Somebody please help me

I have had the mirena almost two years. Wow now I know im not going insane. My energy has been sucked right out of me, ive been forgetting things left and right and got my first muffin top. I am interested in having mine replaced with the copper t. Does anyone have any experience with this? I like the sound of it because it contains no hormones.
What to do?

Lower back pain,depression, anxiety, mood swings, mind fog, out of sorts,
lack of energy, junk food cravings, terrible acne on neck chin and back

2/21/09

I have had my Mirena in for two weeks now. I have been having abdominal pain, I thought perhaps the Mirena had bruised my ovaries. The insertion was extremely painful. I had a two week check up and now I have multiple cysts on my ovaries.
I have a 6 year old and 22 month old twins. I have always had heavy, long periods. After having the twins I began experience extreme cramping 2 weeks prior to even having my period, lower back pain, and mood swings. I have never been a fan of contraceptives but felt if the Mirena could stop me from feeling crampy all month long it could finally be the relief I have been looking for.
Now I am in more constant pain because of the cysts and after reading this site wonderf if I should have my thyroid checked again. Before the Mirena I was positive for Hashimoto's disease and have had a nodule removed (non-cancerous). I wonder if the Mirena is going to push my horomones so that I will have to begin taking medicine for my Hashimoto's.
I wonder what releif is out there since the pill is still a hormone.
When I spoke to my OBGYN she said the Mirena had nothing to do with the cysts. I don't know if it is because there are a couple on each ovary?
So far my side effects include ovarian cysts, facial hair, acne, swelling in ankles.
Thanks for having this page and I hope we can all find some relief.

I haven't used mirena but i went to the gyno today to get my birth control prescribed again and i was asking him about mirena.. i really wanted it until i read all these side effects... while i was talking to him about it he told me to go home and research all the side effects and everything about it b4 i made my decision.. im glad i found this b4 i made an appointment! i really wanted it though because im so sick of taking the pill everyday and ive been doing so for 3 years.. i have gained weight on it and im always moody as well.. i scare myself i get so angry sometimes and it makes me wonder when im in that state of mind what i would be capable of lol i jus get soooo angry for no reason and sooooo impatient.. what i really wanna do is quit using any method of birth control.. i don't think its a good thing women were made to have babies and have periods and when u mess with it you trigger your hormones and it makes u crazy.. i just don't know what to do.. i thought mirena was hormone free?? my gyno said today some has hormones and some didn't .. anyways i just really don't know what to do.. im so sick of been bloated and irritable all the time.. but i don't want children ever.. and im afraid condoms wont be enough.. ;(

Ive been taking yaz for almost a year. I stopped taking the pill two days ago. I am currently on a heart monitor due to anxiety/panic attacks. I felt anxiety feelings soon after taking Yaz but it was not bad enough to stop. Now it is BAD! I am (was) very healthy (mentally and physically) and happy, and have never experienced anxiety until yaz. I also have a painful lump in my lower back. I have had a MRI which showed mild disc bulge. I felt the lump in April 2008, it is now 11/2008 and it is still there. I wake up stiff and in pain. Doc thinks its a muscle issue. I"m starting to think it is the Yaz. I also have had no sex drive, very dry and painful sex. Yeast infections and bacteria infection which I have never had. I cannot sleep. I am struggeling every day to be normal. I feel totaly out of control. I do not recommend Yaz. I cannot wait to be me again!

Hello,
Just thought I would add some pro nuvaring commentary to the chorus of horror stories here. I've been on the nuvaring for about two years now and so far I have no babies (yay!) and no side effects I could confidently link to the ring. Like most women I get headaches (about once a week or so), experience pms, and my sex drive is not what it was in the first few weeks of my relationship but I'm unwilling to ascribe any of these 'side effects' soley to the ring. In particular I find it difficult to believe as some of your postings indicate that the side effects of the ring seem to be worse than the pill- depression, weight gain (in one post 40-50 lbs!), headaches, etc. when the dosage or hormones is lower. So I guess simply put, I am satisfied with the ring and although it's not my place to criticize another woman's choice of birth control, I wouldn't let these posts scare you away from what is, in my experience, the best form of hormonal birth control based on its user-friendliness and lower dosage of hormones.

I was on Orthocept pills for 10 years with no problems. Short, light periods, no PMS. I can have a temper, but it was when I was younger and in the middle of a fight. That being said...I gave birth to twin daughters in November 2005. 9 months later, I stopped breastfeeding and had to go back on birth control. My old pill didn't work and neither did 3 others (included Yaz). I bled almost the entire month. I was crabby and irritable, but mostly frustrated. It was a horrible 1 1/2 years. 6 months ago I was put on Nuvaring because it should produce no side effects for the most part. Besides heavy discharge (which I could live with if I wasn't bleeding all month), I had heavier periods. I also noticed I was starting to get some nasty PMS, which I've NEVER had in my entire life. I was moody and irritable and cried even more easily than normal. Lately, I've been lashing out at my sweet girls and yelling at them. At first I thought it was because they are going through the difficult "2's" and mealtime is a struggle. I thought, they are more challenging so my patience is worn a little thinner. My husband has a different story. We've both noticed nasty mood swings and it's gotten to the point in the past month that I feel bi-polar. I really feel out of control. My doc said to go off it for a few months to see how I am. This is my "period" week and all of a sudden I've had a little period. I haven't been able to get my hormones under control since giving birth and it's frustrating. My husband wants his wife back and I don't want my girls to remember me yelling and crying for no reason. THAT'S enough to make anyone depressed on their own. I'm not sure what we are going to do for birth control at this point (condoms I guess...which is no fun when you are used to not using them). I will see what happens. I hope it's not the Nuvaring, but after seeing these posts, I feel a little better knowing I may be able to get rid of some of my craziness over the next few months as my body goes back to "normal". Good luck to the rest of you as well. I love being a woman, but boy, we get the short end of the stick sometimes!

I have had Mirena since July. I went through a lot of life stress this past fall (moving to a new city after 10 years, being separated from my bf during this time for two months, etc) but I really think Mirena is not right for me.

I am bloated all the time, my periods are erratic, I am more moody than usual and I have NO sex drive. Worst of all, I think I'm pregnant ALL THE TIME. I just don't trust this thing and I literally drive my man nuts worrying about being pregnant. I also have developed some pimples (like on my back, upper arms, etc) that I never had a problem with before! I have gained a few pounds as well.

I feel like a putz spending all this money but I really want it out. I feel like I should "give it more time" but really, what is the point?