Intimacy symptoms and conditions

I'm 39 years old with two teenagers. I don't want any more kids and did not want the stress or worry to become pregnant again. Decided to try the Nuvaring. Been taking it for 6 months now hoping that each month would get better. What a crazy ride. I've been feeling extremely on edge with my family, disliked anyone looking at me, especially my husband. I cried, felt tender in the body and numb in the heart and mind. I've also felt tingling in my toes and my eyes have been sensitive to contacts and my ear has been stuffed up. Headaches? Never do I get headaches and had some severe ones. Last night was the final night of Nuvaring. I snapped at my husband and kids, went to bed, felt weepy, but didn't cry. I also couldn't get enough air in my lungs and my side ached. All in all the Nuvaring had me feeling Numb and crazy. I was looking into therapy. I was having fantasies of running away and living on my own for a while. As for Intimacy, Forget it! Didn't have any desire what so every. What's the point, right? I also did not feel very attractive and the discharge from my body was so gross. My periods would start early and I bled half the month. My periods started off with a brownish/grainy discharge and then went into a red. The most disturbing part, I was craving alcohol to take the edge off. I'm Done! I'm looking forward to getting back to my natural nutty self. At least this person I'm more familiar with and I know the ups and downs of my natural Hormones. The only good thing I can say about the nuvaring is that my skin looks fantastic! I'm so happy I found this site and thought I should share my experiences as well. Good luck to all of you and those who have found your way here. I'm off to the herb store for some good vitamins and some natural healing. I will never do this to my body again.

After almost a year to date....I am experiencing a lot of the side effects lately that almost everyone has posted. I have two beautiful daughters and a loving husband. Here is my story. I had it put in Oct of 2008. I had not been on BC before b/c we were purposely starting a family. Well, I had it put in because I ended up getting pregnant for the 3rd time after having my 3month old (second child). Being pregnant so soon after giving birth was such an emotional roller coaster and caused a lot of stress for us both. Unfortunately I ended up having a miscarriage after 3months. When that happened, we decided that I needed an effective BC that I didn't have to think about everyday because I already had a 3month old and a 20 mo running around. This is what led us to getting the Mirena. So NOW that I stumbled upon this forum, I realized that I had been through a lot of the side effects that others have. I thought it was "normal" to go through what I did. At times, I thought it was my imagination. And now, I wish I would have spoken up about it sooner. I bled for 6 months straight thinking that this is what I had to go through to have years of light or no periods at all. It def put a wedge in my sex life with the hubby and not to mention my libido has been next to nothing. After the first 8 weeks of insertion, my hair fell out, but I blew it off because I thought it was due to the stress of the kids and the miscarriage. It fell out so terribly that I had to get a new hair cut to even it out. Fast forward to May of 2009, finally, my period is starting to last only 7 days and not like 3 weeks. Next thing you know, we are smooth sailing. Libido hasn't moved up a notch, but at least I knew when my period would come and how long it would last so that my hubby and I could have intimacy for once. Everything was fine all summer all the way up to last month (Sept 2009). Present day, now all of a sudden, my period has not shown up. Last time it came was 6weeks ago in Sept.. Kid you not, I'm having all the same symptoms of all my pregnancies. All last week including today I have had the following symptoms:
-Extreme dizziness with nausea
-Severe abdominal pain-like a sharp piercing pain on the left side
-lower back pain every single morning
-nose bleeds everyday, sometimes twice in a day
-increased appetite
-Extreme fatigue like I need to take a 2 hour nap
-adrenaline flashes
....So, after 7 days of this I called my OB today since she was on call and asked if I should go to the emergency. She decided that she wants to see me at her practice first thing tomorrow morning. In the meantime, she asked me to take a hpt. It was negative. But guess what, I'm not convinced. The 3rd pregnancy where I had the miscarriage...you remember right? Well, I took a pregnancy test the week before I was supposed to get the Mirena in b/c it had to be put in before my next period, well, that's when I found out I was pregnant...at the doctor's office! My hpt test said negative. So anyways, I am nervous and anxious to get to the bottom of this. If I am not pregnant, I will probably have it removed. It has caused so much unwanted change in my life-loss of sex drive, irregular bleeding, moodiness to the point where my husband thinks I'm psycho at times....you name it. If I am pregnant, then I will certainly have more worries than I ever have had before.

I just began doing research on Yaz because I just got married and my sex drive is completely, totally, unequivocally GONE. I'm 25, and I've been on it for about six months. How depressing! My body will not lubricate at ALL or respond to ANY kind of touch. My husband has developed a complex, thinking it's him. :(
After a while I began to think it was the Yaz. I've developed urinary tract infections out of nowhere; I never used to get them.
I'm getting off this pill ASAP because what's the point of birth control if you don't have sex anyway??
I feel really terrible for all of you women with mental side effects, because I know exactly how you feel. However, I've had an opposite experience. Positively, it increased my breast size and cleared up my skin. However, I was already suffering from mental illness previous to starting Yaz. I have Bipolar disorder with added anxiety issues. I was on a regimen of daily Lamictal with occasional use of Xanax for anxiety. My attacks had gotten so bad that I had to go to the emergency room. After a time, I leveled out and decided to stop taking medication because it made me feel flat. I began feeling anxious again, and it was around that time that I started taking Yaz. For me, someone who was ALREADY suffering, Yaz completely turned me around. I have never felt happier, more secure, and more normal mentally in my entire life. My moods are fantastic, I have a huge amount of energy, and I feel like nothing can stop me. It's not mania, though, as I have none of the pathological side effects. I'm just really really happy. I will miss the mental benefits of not taking Yaz, but to me, losing the intimacy with my new husband has just not been worth it.

This can be a great benefit to someone who is perhaps bipolar, but I think if you're healthy mentally to begin with, it can have the opposite effect.

It's been almost a month since I've had the Mirena removed. Today I got my first period. I was a little surprised. I thought it took several months for the drug to be out of your system and for the lining of your uterus to thicken up. Anyways, after not having a period for almost 2 years I was a little taken aback. So far everything seems normal. I am so glad that I had the Mirena removed. I'm no longer bitchy, angry and withdrawn. The sex hasn't returned completely (only because I don't want to get pregnant and we haven't decided on what type of birth control we want to use) but I'm definitely more affectionate and don't shun any intimacy. I don't regret my decision to have the mirena removed.

I Have just spent $90 AU Dollars = $120US and after using the ring before, thought i would give it another go...its the 15th April 2009...and after two weeks of being on it i have experienced "The dreaded weight Gain" it feels more like water retention and tightness, not necessarily fat, as i am an active person, weigh 52KG , my height is 156.6 CM witch is considered normal for my age, I am 23yrs old.
BUT......now i remember what my side effects where, i stopped a year ago as i finished with my boyfriend there was no need to use it, as i have a new boyfriend now i have started it again...and my side effects are the same but now i can add two more effects its had on me:

Last year- dryness, loss of sex drive as when your body isn't naturally lubricating during the sexual experience this intern stops or disrupts the sexual process...ie foreplay and flow of intimacy.

This year- Only two and a half weeks with the ring in and i weigh
54-55 KG'S, that is 3 kilo grams (think of 3 bags of sugar) in two weeks tight upper thighs...and bloated abdominal. Pulse dryness and i guess the loss of sex drive will kick in again....so as of today i have taken it out ...and i haven't even finished the first ring....

I am not one to air these things but the weight gain was sooo sudden, i'm not allergic to anything i'm a very happy person, laid back,never broken a bone in my body...thats not important but you see my opinion is that i think the makers prayed on the fact that most of us skipped a pill or two....

( witch I was prone to do that's the
biggest reason i went on the ring)

and thought well so many women want connivance no fuss contraception and rushed an appealing concept to us lady's and the forgetfulness in most of us took it hook line and sinker....I'm a graphic designer so i can see how they may have marketed this....look it worked on me and i study marketing....soo good luck i hope this was helpful.....

Regards,
Cc

An 22 years old and i have a 3 year old son.... i got mirena when my son was about 6 to 8 weeks old ever since then i haven't had a period not even spotting i get a lot of pain in my left ovary, (my girl) is really dry which makes having sex very painful during and after the fact and i also lost my sex drive as well... i want to take this off but i am having a hard time convincing my husband i have no idea what to do anymore and every time i go to my obgyn she says everything is all right can u guys give me some suggestions please :)

I had Mirena placed in July '08 after the birth of my 3rd child. My husband and I thought it was a good idea since I was returning to school to get my Masters. The experience having it put in was one of the most horrible yet funny ones in my 32 years for a number of reasons, but that is another whole story! I haven't had my period even once since having the IUD inserted. Yay for me--or so I thought. I have been attributing a lot of the side effects I have to the stress of being a full-time mom of 3, a wife, and a student who lives away from her family during the week and traveling home on the weekends. I'm sure the fatigue I feel has a little bit to do with all of that, however, I have been able to handle less sleep than most for my whole life! This extreme fatigue I feel every day is worse than the fatigue I had when I was pregnant and a full-time nurse in a very busy ICU and traveling nearly 150 miles to and from work daily! I constantly feel as if I have menstrual cramps, but never get a period, I have extremely tender breasts day after day, headaches, and frequent diarrhea that I never experienced prior to having Mirena placed. I've been a little nervous about the fact that I have absolutely NO sex drive either--this is not usually the case--I love the intimacy that my husband and I used to share. How frustrating for him, and me, as well! I didn't realize that there are so many issues with Mirena until recently! My sister also has one and has some extremely strange things going on ever since placement of it. My husband and I recently decided that we would like to try to add one more child to our family, and I plan to make an appointment to have Mirena removed as soon as my schedule allows. Even without having made this decision, knowing what I know now, I would do the same thing. I am also going to encourage my sister to have hers removed as well. When she started having the symptoms she is having, we suspected Mirena, but her doctor basically told her she was nuts! Bye bye Mirena for this chicky! I have too much of my life to live to have this little nuisance hanging around!

The first two months I was on NuvaRing, I thought it was the best thing on earth. Unlike previous attempts with various HBC, my breasts didn't hurt and I didn't seem to gain weight. It also steadied my out-of-control PMS symptoms and made my period lighter and my cramps disappear. Those are definitely on the PRO side of things. Shortly after starting NR, I met a new boyfriend and after both being tested for STDs, we decided to ditch condoms. Woo-hoo! At first, we had great sex and I had no problem having orgasms. But as time progressed, I became extremely dry down there and developed constant yeast infections. Plus frequent low-grade headaches (sometimes escalating to migraine-like headaches), night sweats, itchiness, insomnia, and exhaustion. Now I find it extremely difficult to get physically aroused (before, a 30-second sex scene in a movie could get me off) and nearly impossible to orgasm. I have very little interest in sex, either, which sucks because I am finally in love with the most amazing man. I have told him time and again that its the NuvaRing, and he says he believe me, but I can tell he thinks it's him. So, we've decided to give condoms another try. I took out the NuvaRing. I guess I'd rather have nasty PMS and a painful period than lose intimacy and sexual pleasure. Just curious: Has anyone used the copper IUD (non-hormonal) or a diaphragm with any success? Thanks and good luck.

Wow- until I found this website I thought I was losing my mind. I started using Nuvaring about three years ago. I was initially happy because it was the first time in my life that my periods were regular. Over the past two and a half years, I have had the worst acne I could imagine. I've been to dermatologists, discussed it with my gyno and my a estetician. I've been on tetracycline and minocycline(alternating) for three years-neither has really helped! My relationship with my husband is suffering because we have always had an amazing intimacy between us. I can't tolerate the slightest touch to my breasts, I've lost the amazing lust that I had for him. I am always extremely tired and irritated. This is not me! I started believing that I was an unstable person and possible experiencing mental issues. I am nauseated often....
Oh...the weight gain....I don't eat terribly and am an active person. I constantly yet gradually gain weight with out any changes to my diet/activity levels. I have put on 30 lbs over the past 3 years. I am 33 years old.....
my legs cramp at night, my hair is drab and hasn't grown an inch in 6 months. I have a constant yet dull headache, I've even consulted with my doctor about anti-depression meds. I've NEVER had any of these symptoms before. I truly believe that nuvaring is the culprit. I can't believe that I didn't figure this out sooner. Further, I can't believe that my gyno didn't suggest Nuvaring as a potential cause.

Anyone coming off of Celexa feel free to email me. I have been off for 4 or 5 days now and I don't have enough time to write down what I am going thru.
Bad dizziness/wavy when I turn my head.. clenching teeth..my right arm is aching.. no idea why or if it has anything to do with this...
moody...feeling I can cry and have.. at almost anytime.. headaches behinf the eyes..
This is hard..not to mention no libido whatsoever...
help?

Hello all. I too am a new recipient of this "miracle" called Mirena! I just had my third son in late July, and I had weighed my options, and with some STRONG convincing from my OB/GYN, I had decided on the Mirena. I had it placed on September 20, 2008, and no more than two weeks later my hair began falling out! Now when I say "hair falling out", I mean every time I would brush off my shoulders, brush, comb or wash my hair I would get hand fulls! The hair loss got sooooo bad, that I couldn't sit down to a descent meal without finding MY hair in my food or strolled across the table. I'm always bloated. I bleed for weeks on end. My neck, arms, and arm pits, legs, and breasts are soo itchy it's ridiculous. I have had to treat a new yeast infection every five days since placement, and this, from a person who has only had a yeast infection maybe TWO times in my life. I am an emotional wreck. I mean, right now as i'm typing, I'm tearing up because I thought that I was going crazy. My marriage is on the rocks because I'm so temperamental, and heck, my husband and I have been waiting for love making for LONG ENOUGH! My newborn is only 3 1/2 months, and I can honestly say that I've had only about TWO weeks total to delicate to the intimacy of my marriage (now keep in mind ladies, that the last two to three months of pregnancy are not ideal for an emotional "stress ball" to be having sex either, so you do the math). But I am PROUD to say that I WILL BE CALLING MY DOCTOR 9 a.m. MONDAY MORNING TO SCHEDULE MY REMOVAL.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! The day before yesterday, a friend of a friend reported that she had her IUD taken out. It was Mirena. I have had mine in since last December and it never occurred to me that this could be the problem. In June, I started having symptoms that were like UTIs but I've never had one. I had to pee all the time and when I did, it burned. I felt nauseous but then, before going to the dr. the symptoms would pass. Finally, after a month, I decided to stop ignoring it. In the meantime, I started having all these lower gut/uterine achy feelings that moved toward my groin and pelvic bone/thigh area. I've never had anything like it. Sometimes, it was hard to walk. I went to my gyn. and she said she saw nothing and I had a sonogram and they saw nothing and said my Mirena looked great. In the meantime, I have been more and more tired, drinking three or more cups of coffee a day to stay awake. I have a 1 year old and I feel so tired I sometimes feel frustrated with her. I also have had rage during my PMS which I've never had before in my life. I used to get a little weepy-sometimes. Now, I find that I'm so irritable about the slightest thing. Until this friend of a friend mentioned her trouble (which was similar to mine) I never even thought of the Mirena. My GP told me that it was a pulled muscle (even though I had no recollection of pulling anything). I can't wait to get this thing out! Oh, also, someone mentioned vaginal dryness--YES! I've never had a problem with this before but it has been getting harder and harder to ignore during intimacy. I was never, ever told about any such side effects! I am having the Mirena taken out on Thursday--I can't wait.

I got my Mirena put in November of 2005. Didn't really have any problems at first. I will say my periods were heavier than ever before, and my doctor said they would eventually stop, but they never did. In February, I started feeling extra tired and having some anxiety attacks, but figured I had experienced anxiety before and maybe it was just coming back. Then I started getting dizzy spells, headaches and just an overall bad feeling. Couldn't explain it, just didn't feel well. I decided to quit smoking. Figured maybe that had something to do with it. But instead of feeling better after quitting, I was feeling even worse. I was losing hair in clumps, bleeding gums, sweating much worse then ever in my life!!!! I had pains and numbness in my left leg. I even had chest pains, but it was all over my chest, not just near my heart!! I was also getting very depressed. I could cry because my husband looked at me the wrong way. And talk about not wanting any kind of intimacy!!!!! I wanted nothing to do with it!!! I feel so bad for my husband that he had to go through all of this with me. Thank goodness he's a wonderful, and patient man!!!! I went through many doctors, primary doc, hematologist, back to my primary. Had several blood tests, ultrasounds, MRI and an MRA, but all the tests said everything was fine. Finally, I happened to search Mirena on the internet. And I found all of these stories with women who were having the same problems as me. Thank God I may have found my answer to all my problems. I'm calling the doctor on Monday and scheduling an appointment to have this "thing" removed. I could care less about the side effects from having it removed. I just know that if in a month or two I feel better, than it is worth it!!!!

I'm not one to contribute to open forums, but in this case I feel there is a need. I have been on the NuvaRing for roughly one year. I decided to start the ring due to my inability to correctly take the pill (my schedule was too hectic). I encountered a few issues in the beginning to include nausea and headache, but I had anticipated that. These symptoms gradually subsided within a month or two. (Speaking in hindsight) Very gradually I began to develop more of a need to be independent....I had started a new relationship and really cared for him, but found myself progressively wanting to spend time away from him. I also became far more irritable and to combat that, I would spend more time alone. During the past year I have had some significant transitions in my life and I always would attribute these emotions to stress, but the transitions were all positive. Recently, within the previous two months my irritability and need for isolation have truly spun out of control. Furthermore, I developed a yeast infection for the first time in my life (28 years old). I have never considered consulting a mental health specialist in the past, but I have contemplated it recently. Fortunately, I consider myself a logical person and would try to pick apart why I felt the way that I did and finally I couldn't attribute lashing out on everyone close to me to 'temporary depression' or transition and I couldn't justify giving up activities that once were of great interest to me or deciding that it would be 'easier' to break it off with anyone close to me in order to save myself from feeling remorse for treating them badly.
One aspect that contributed to my realization of what was causing this was that I knew that I was far more interested in intimacy when I was on my period, which led me to that it was possible that my symptoms were related to the NuvaRing.
I removed the NuvaRing 6 days ago and with each day I feel exponentially better. I've even had comments from those that are close to me. I have been far more motivated and in touch with my feelings in the very short period of time that I have been without the ring.
I am very happy that I was able to piece this together before my destructive behavior did more permanent damage, but I am also upset, because there was a short period of time where I thought the ring was the answer. Although I am thrilled that I feel like myself again I am concerned about being able to find a contraceptive method that is effective and does not provide such side-effects.
The worst part about this experience was that these side-effects really do creep up on you. It is not obvious at all.

I have been on mirena now for 10 months. I was on the depo for 10 years prior. I loved my depo adn only went off of it after Kaiser said I could not do it any longer. I was told that mirena was a god send and a lot like my depo. I can say that the combination of depo and mirena I have not had any period at all. but that is where the happiness ends. I have experienced moths of breast pain. it hurt to touch them let alone put anything on them. after about 6 months and numerous trips to the vet it disappeared. then I got a small rash on my neck and by my arms. went to dermatology and since then I have been there, or to my primary or an allergist every week since then. the rough severley itchy skin is constant. remarkably every 29 - 32 days it fades for 2 days or so and just when I am sure it is going away wham back it comes and each time it is getting worse and worse. having never had any skin problems before I believed the doctors tha tit was folliculitus, then they said dermatitus, then they said uticaria and then hives or the last straw i was causing it that it was in my head. i just got a new allergist and while she doesn't knwo if it is my mirena she can tell me I have histamine levels that are off the chart. my husband is allergic to a lot so we already use free & clear everything and my housse is spotless but I am still being told it is soemthing I am doing to myself. I have also been reevaluating my things and I relaize I have been experiencing a lot of numbness and joint pain. so much so that my primary sent me to a rhuematlogist and he ran every test for lupus, and many other diseaeses adn even cancer. I was going crazy. Iwas beginning to think maybe I was mental. I have since been researching mirena and I am finding it so much more than what the pamphlet says. I finally got the nerve to call my ob, adn she ahs since been researching things with me and we know for sure that no matter what next week I get my mirena removed. I am just feeling so alone and depressed. I am 33 years old and instead of enjoying my new marriage I am contemplating a divorce becasue I do not want him to be stuck with soemone who might be crazy. seeking support and anyone else who feels this way.

OK.. here we go.. 42yrs Male.. used to be Very Active. sports, work , INTIMACY etc... since my surgery everything changed... i feel tired most of the time.. i don't think my memory has suffered.. (i think).. I have gain lot of weight (maybe because i quit smoking?) anyway.. MY Main Concerns are.... why i am tired all the time?.. why i gained so much weight. and Why i went from having sex almost every day to maybe once a month? does anybody experienced the same side effects...??? I asked my doctor and he told me that it could be stress related.

When i first went on yasmin i had my period for a month!!!!!! I'm not talking a little bit of spotting i'm talking constant heavy flow for a month....It was not fun......I didn't realise it was the pill at the time, but i spoke to my cousin and she said she had the same thing.....It's made me feel tired and depressed, and i have absolutely no sex drive.....My poor boyfriend....he's so supportive....but every relationship needs intimacy........

I have gained over 5kilos since takig this which has made me quite miserable......I was already on the side of chubby now i am just plain overweight......i'm sick of these pharmaceutical companies with these new drugs promising this and that.........

the problem is without the pill i have heavy periods to the point of severe blood loss anaemia, so i guess ill have to weigh up the pros and cons.....hope everyone else out there is managing ok

Since going on Effexor 3 years ago, I have had similar side effects, as well as withdrawal symptoms when trying to go off the drug. My symptoms while on it are: night sweats, being hot all the time (sweaty hands and feet), rashes all over, excema on my scalp and neck, "lightning flash" type feelings in my brain/head, extreme depression, an inability to feel intimacy (although no sex drive problems), extreme weight gain (despite frequent exercise and good diet). During my pre-menstrual period, I am pretty much psychotic, to the point of wanting to hurt myself and others. With the weight gain and depression, I really AM better off not taking the drug. But I find it impossible to take two weeks off work to simply stop taking a drug. It is not possible to stop taking effexor and work or function in ANY CAPACITY. I really feel for the moms out there who have had to do it. One other thing I have been experiencing is severe joint pain. I would like to know if others have experienced this.

I have been using Nuvaring for about 4 months and am experiencing dizziness at times, accompanied by mood swings, breast tenderness, and headaches (starting low in my neck and seemingly progressing into migraines). I have also experienced a decrease in my desire for intimacy. I am 25 years old and have tried many types of b.c. pills already. I'm very frustrated at how my body reacts to each type of contraceptive I try.