Libido symptoms and conditions

Gabapentin caused me to feel wonderful at first! Then my libido hit the roof and beyond. I would get bloated in the belly and urinate more frequent. I never slept. My hair thinned.I developed a bladder infection and hyponatremia and went off of the drug. At first it helped my pain, my social phobia, anxiety, better memory, i was no longer depressed and saw life through rose colored glasses. I was loosing weight on it. How I miss it.

I'm experiencing the same side effects. Within 10 days, my libido dropped and my weight increased practically by itself. It's a good thing I'm scheduled for a tubal ligation so I don't have to deal with hormone issues ever again. No wonder it's called birth control - if you gain weight, have mood swings, a lowered libido and other issues you don't exactly feel like having a lot of sex!

I had mine removed this week - thank the lord above!!! However, it has been rough and be forewarned that I experienced horrific cramping and HEAVY bleeding for nearly five days. I also had terrible back pains and some pain down my legs as well as some mental fogginess. I only had it in about one month and had gained 3 pounds and outgrown my bras! So now, two boxes of tampons later, I finally stopped bleeding altogether about 24 hours ago and the cramping has subsided. I feel mentally clearer and, believe it or not, have some semblance of libido - my husband is thrilled!

I am exploring other options for managing hormonal changes in perimenopause - including evening primrose oil and am still doing lots of yoga (even during the pain periods I did lots of yoga to help me manage)...Mainly, I feel so betrayed by the doctors (two women half my age) who insisted my symptoms were "all in my head" - to those of you planning for removal I encourage you to tell the medical professionals you work with that you are NOT crazy and NOT the only one experiencing these side effects. I personally believe that many women get too much progestin in the Mirena (which is not Progesterone, either) and this, in addition to overloading our estrogen, is enough to make us completely insane and miserable. I say let nature work its course as regards my own perimenopause and to those out there using Mirena for birth control I managed to avoid pregnancy with little concern using natural/rhythm methods and condoms as well as a diaphragm, conceiving my two beautiful (now teenage) sons without any intervention from hormones except my own. I am going to do peri and menopause the same way here on out. !!!!

Would love to hear how long it took for weight and stomach fat to go away after the removal from anyone who has been there - I eat very healthfully and exercise daily so I knew the pregnant look I got after that month with the Mirena was not due to one too many cookies )as my doctor seemed to infer !

I'm 43 years old and had a baby 5 months ago. I decided to go back on the pill and have been doing a lot of research about the "right" pill. My gyno recommended Loestrin 24 FE because of the low hormones/less effects. I was scared to death to start this pill based on all of the horrible reviews I've been reading. So, I thought I'd report on my experience so far... It's been two weeks and so far so good. I haven't noticed anything dramatic so far. I will give it more time and see how it goes. Hopefully it continues working well. I have a feeling this pill is better for women in their 40's who are peri-menopausal. Maybe the estrogen is too low for the younger women, I don't know. I'll continue to post comments as I stay on the pill. I value these reviews, but remember, everyone's body is different. So far this is working for me but again, it's only 2 weeks. Hope you find thi helpful.

I am so glad I am not crazy and all alone. I've had my Mirena since January for perimenopause and was still getting my period every month until this month. No I have such cramping, joint pain I can barely walk and my lower back is killing me. I am scheduled for a hysterectomy this Wednesday, I CAN'T WAIT, I'll be done forever.

I'm 54, started taking lisinopril in jan 09. I took for about 3 months and noticed a decrease in libido. My pressure was pretty much in control, so I stopped taking it. I started again around 1st of Aug 09. Approx 3-4 weeks later, I began to experience severe pain in my left shoulder and arm. It began to move into my neck and back. I went in for an EKG to ensure I wasn't having a stroke. It was normal. I experience dizziness and headaches. I wake in the night and my 2 left fingers on the left hand are completely numb. The pain in my neck is now moving to the right side and some shoulder pain seems to be apparent. I noticed pain in other joints as well. I'm unable to work out at the gym as I usually do due to the pain my my left arm. I highly suspect these symptoms to be caused by lisinopril. I've been taking 20mg and was just switched to 20 mgm Hct. a week ago. X-Rays were taken of my neck and shoulder last week. Haven't' heard from the doctor as of yet. I was on Diovan before I lost my job and health benefits. As a vet, the VA put me on the Lisinopril. The Diovan worked fine for me, too expensive for us vets I guess. I am discontinuing the Lisinopril as of today 10/24/09. I feel like I imagine a ninety year old would feel with these aches and all. I havent' admitted it, but I believe I'm feeling mildly depressed as well. Let's see what a week of purging this from my system does. f. D.

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!!!!!!!!!!!

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 had my mirena removed about one week ago after a year and a half of having it in. my doctor had told me that I would have no side effects as it only dispersed hormones locally. My experience was very different! The most noticeable were: immediate weight gain (10pounds in 6 weeks from inserting it), inability to lose weight with diet and exercise, terrible mood swings and depression for no reason at all, extreme fatigue and lack of energy (I couldn't stay up past 9pm), bad acne, hair loss on my head and increase of facial hair (go figure!), constant bloating (I looked pregnant all the time), definite decrease of libido, nausea (which led me to see many gastro dr's as I was convinced I had a stomach bug), vertigo, terrible discharge...you name it, I've had it. The thing about Mirena is that the side effects are accumulative and subtle to begin with, so it takes a while before you make the association. Since removing it a week ago, I have noticed a major increase in my energy level (I love it! i feel alive again...), increase in libido, sudden disappearance of depression and mood swings, and bloating is gone. I'm happy to have my body back and feel liberated! I replaced mirena with a regular Copper IUD. In the past I've had increased bleeding during periods with the copper IUD but I'll have that any day compared with my experience with Mirena. The doctor that removed it for me told me that she never advises woman to use mirena unless they have a medical problem such as fybroids, very heavy periods etc...Mirena is used as a cure for these conditions. Her reasoning is that if you are a healthy woman with no hormonal problems, why would you ingest hormones into your body in this manner and mess with your system? The fact that periods stop with mirena means that hormones are all over your system... I advise all women to listen to their bodies...you know better then any doctor if a contraceptive is right for you. There are always other options for you if you are not happy.

I got Mirena after my second baby and thought it was FANTASTIC! I never even started my period back and there seemed to be no side effects and no weight gain. I was worried about side effects because my libido plummeted with BC pills but the Dr. told me that it is such a tiny amount of hormones and it is delivered so locally that I shouldn't have any problems.
I've always had about two to three Migraines with aura a year tops. But about three months with Mirena I started having one, two, or three a month with no meds helping. I tried everything and finally I got my Mirena out. The following month I had three migraines and thought I was back to square one. But then they went away. I haven't had one in four months! I think that the hormones took a while to get into my system and then took a while to get out. I'm now using Paraguard and although I have heavy painful periods at least I can take meds for it and there are no hormones!

Ok, I have PCOS and had the Mirena put in 3 months after the birth of my last child in 2004 and thought it was great. No more fluctuations never knowing when or if I was getting a period...I just never had one, have not had one in 5 years years. The strings disappeared several years ago, had an U/S and they said it was still in place. I have had zero libido in that time, terrible mood swings, fluctuating weight and depression, thyroid problems, etc etc, all put down to depression. Well 6 months ago the headaches started, the vertigo... the ensuing DR trips have turned up an abnormal brain MRI and not much else no one has thought to think of the IUD. The MRI shows possible demyelination, vasculitis or sequelae to migraines...these are little white spots in my brain. If I find out these things are caused by this IUD there will be hell to pay. I am due to have it removed at the 5 yr mark in November..... I guess dig it out if they can find the strings. Will be interested to hear comments on this.

I am 45 years old. I have had Mirena out for 3 weeks now (had it in for 9 months). At removal I went right back on the BC pill so there was no break in hormone levels. I have never had problems with the pill. I know some of you cannot use them. But for those who say "I just can't remember to take it every day..." consider the alternative of getting this IUD or keeping it inside you. The side effects alone are not worth it. In 3 weeks time that horrible facial/body acne has cleared up, the bloating is gone and my jeans fit much better although I'm not sure I've actually lost weight. A lot of it was just inflammation. The emotional issues just seem to have "vanished". I feel happy again. Imagine that (sarcasm intended). Libido much much better, with no pain or cramping. I started my period for the first time just this week. I thought it would be the period from "hell", getting revenge on my body for not having one for so long. But so far it is fine, and I'm glad it's back to tell the truth! Instead of spotting all the time or who knows when, I'll go back to light periods 3 days a month. Again, it beats the alternative. And a trick to try for taking the pill: put the pack somewhere around your bathroom sink area (away from kids of course) and just take it every morning after you brush your teeth. I mean you never "forget" to brush your teeth in the morning, so take the pill right after you rinse! It never fails. Also, you can tell yourself that if you did have a serious medical condition that required daily medication, insulin, for example, you would be good to your body and make it a priority. As long as the pill doesn't give you any problems, it's 99.9% effective and makes your periods very short and light, but predictable and right on time. No awful surprise breakthrough bleeding. The reliability of it is great. You just have to TAKE it. I'm only writing about the pill because it is the only other option I've tried and it worked well for me. If it's only a matter of inconvenience, try the toothbrush trick. It really works! Hope this helps some of you who are looking for other alternatives. Good luck!!

Girls! I am so glad I am not the only one!!!!
I had Mirena right after I had my second baby (around March 2007) and I had it for 2 1/2 years. I think I was alright for the first few month (but it is hard to tell as I was quite overwhelmed with baby and toddler care). But the past year 1/2 or so It was clear to me that something was not right. I was feeling really intense mood swings, had no patience, felt angry at times, loosing interest in my job and feeling at lost with my life at times and... NO libido whatsoever!
My OB told me over and over that Mirena was not the problem! But it seemed to me that this had to be the answer. My husband did not encourage me to take any other drug to fight my mood swings and he suggested I just take this off. So, I did it... exactly 5 weeks ago! And I am so much better. My libido is back. I have not felt down. I am enjoying my work. I am loving my children and my husband!!! I am so sorry I did not take it out sooner!
Alright now... the hormones are not crossing to the blood stream... But I had NO periods and of course No ovulation! So why is this so surprising to all of those guys that there may indeed be such side effects!!!
So girls! You are not crazy! Give yourself a chance and take this IUD out!
Good luck.

I am a healthy 38 year old woman. I started using the Nuvaring about 2 years ago. Ever since I have had a drastic decrease in my libido...and by drastic I mean virtually no desire to have sex at all. I've also had frequent headaches that last for days at times, leg cramps, depression, and I've gained almost 15 lbs that will not budge no matter what I do. I work out five or six days a week with absolutely no decrease in weight or increase in muscle tone. I am so glad I found this site!! I've been thinking that something is wrong with me and I've been really down on myself. The lack of sex drive has been very difficult for my fiance'. He can't help but take it personally that I NEVER want to have sex. This has been a tremendous eye opener for me. I'm going home tonight to take this thing out and I'm never going back on hormonal birth control again! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share their experiences!

I've had Mirena for 1 year and 4 months now. I started loosing my hair 6 months later. The texture of my hair changed drastically as well. Even though I have been able to control my weight, I have certainly noticed that it is much more difficult for me to do that now. Looking back, I have grown more anxious and tired. A decreased (or non existent) libido is also something to be aware of... I've attributed it to stress and tiredness, but after taking a closer look I understand that it just cannot be the case. I am having it removed next week!!!! Cannot wait!

I had Mirena inserted 6 weeks ago and just had it removed. My medical history includes TIAs (mini-strokes) and migraines. I had a migraine EVERY DAY while I had Mirena. I also experienced ZERO LIBIDO (so what was the point of birth control!?), weight gain and mood swings. I had Paragard inserted a few days ago and I am already slowly returning to normal. My point - if you have had problems with hormones in the past, not only estrogen, but also progesterone, you may want to stay away from Mirena. My OB/GYN argued with me the entire time that there is no way Mirena could cause these symptoms since progesterone is not released in the bloodstream - BULL!!! Women, listen to your body and trust your gut.

Thankyou for posting all these indepth reviews. I spent more than an hour going through each one of them, they gave me a much better insight into the drug that I am taking - Loestrin 24 Fe.
I have been put on these to correct my heavy periods, I have been taking these since about a month and a half. I have never been on a birth control pill before. I noticed that I had difficulty in wearing my contacts the first month and attributed this to the pills since its a major side effect listed with using the pill. I spoke to my Ob/Gyn about this but she asked me check with my eye doctor first. But it just so happened that I never got a chance to visit an eye doctor.The problem ceased to exist when I changed my contacts, so I am assuming that it had nothing to do with the BC pills. Other than that during the first month I had headaches, which went away on their own, guess my body got used to the pills. The third side effect that I noticed in the second month (now) is the spotting (never saw that the first time around). Its not that bad but its definitely annoying. Other than that I haven't really experienced any other side effects. I have never been sexually active so cannot really comment on the libido part. My bleeding has decreased to almost one-half of what it used to be and I don't get the bad cramps that I used to get before, so this pill definitely seems to be doing what my doctor said it would do. Other than the spotting, I don't have any complaints with the pill. I haven't monitored my weight so thats one thing I will have to take a look at. Hopefully I wont have any other side effects, if I do I will make sure that I post them.

Good luck to all the ladies in finding the right pill............

My name is Stephanie and I had the Mirena IUD inserted in 12/2004, about a year after I had my daughter. I had some cramping in the first few months following it's insertion. My periods slowly lightened over my first year and now I haven't had a period since. I will spot every once in a long while for about a day. I have lite acne problems but nothing that can't be handled with washing my face before I go to bed at night. I didn't not experience any weight gain while using the IUD. I think women forget to change their eating habits after the baby is born. YOUR NOT PREGNANT ANYMORE! I love this contraceptive and plan on using it again. Mood swings maybe but I'm a woman that comes with the territory. Anyway, if you are thinking about using this IUD don't listen to only the complaints, this is a good contraceptive it's just not for everyone but that's with any contraceptive on the market. Be smart research all contraceptives, find what your body can handle.

HI, i have had my coil for almost four years. I had it inserted in October 2005, 4 months after my first son was born. it wasn't really painful but felt a bit weird like someone was opening an umbrella inside my uterus. Anyway since then (the past 2 years in particular) i have had crazy moon swings, my breasts are almost always tender, i have a really offensive discharge(which is awful) no libido! my poor husband. i never really had this problem before having the coil. i am quite depressed, cry spontaneously, am irritable and have little patience. when im due on i have really bad lower back pain, stabbing pains in my sides, nausea, bloating, and constipation. but the most recent one is acne! i don't get spots( maybe one when im on but not one every day!) they are mostly on and around my jaw and chin. i feel like a kid again, im 28! my confidence has suffered and i have put on about a stone in the last 6 months. i also get almost constant stomach pains, mostly just under my diaphragm and get heartburn with most foods i eat. i have very light and irregular periods but always get all the pre-period symptoms. the most awful ones are the acne and bad odor. has anyone else experienced bed odor? i also feel tired all the time and just want to sit and do nothing. i don't feel productive at all and have lost my desire to be productive. I am going to see my doctor this week so hopefully she will be able to shed some light on everything. i really want to get it taken out but am scared that i might fall pregnant again. i have one beautiful son but don't really want anymore children. should i put up with all these symptoms? anyway, will let you know how my appointment goes. take care and thanks for making me feel better and not so alone!

Hello,
I just had my Mirena taken out two days ago after a week or so of pain that got so bad I went to the ER. The doctor in the ER checked for infection, did not find any but advised the removal. I had the device for nearly two years.
Funny that apparently the device was slowly descending after I had made up my mind to get rid of it. Why? I was slowly but surely loosing my sense of self: bad mood most of the time, libido almost extinct after nearly 2 years, gain weight in the mid-section, something that had never happened to me before. For sure you don't risk having any more babies since you don't have sex any more: no kidding, sex was becoming like my marital duty so that my husband would not feel too frustrated: but for me, no feelings whatsoever, hardly any sensation.
After removal, the awful pain disappeared almost instantly. I'm bleeding today, not sure it is my periods starting again (seems a bit fast) but it sure does feel good. My mood is dramatically improving, yesterday I was dancing and laughing so hard with my daughter, my husband is saying he's starting to see my old self again. No more Mirena for me, I'm not even sure I want to be on the pill again. I'm taking a few weeks without contraception, just to find myself again and to leave my body find its natural cycles again.

the same as some I've read on here,but not as severe. I have the red neck literally, a few sores in my scalp and more hair loss. as far as libido, I do have less desire, but some still there. I don't go out in the sun much because I just don't feel good if I stay out too long. some sharp pains behind eyes and occasionally up the back of left side of my head.

I had just recently started Loestrin 24, and my doctor told me not to start it until my period started. I normally have 5 day periods, and they're very heavy with severe cramping (which is why i started BC to begin with). Since I've been on the pill.. it's like light bleeding, or spotting. I don't know how long this is going to last.. I hope not long. Before I started this pill I was on Nuvaring for two years, and it blowed. I was on no BC for a month and I lost weight, got my libido back and wasn't so emotional. I hope this low dose of BC helps it stay that way

I have been on the Ring for 4 years. I have had minimal side effects compared to other birth control (BC). IT IS A HORMONE. The nausea, tiredness, weight gain, moodiness is because we are elevating the hormones in our bodies to make our bodies THINK its pregnant. All BC have these effects to some degree. If the Ring doesn't work, try a different kind of BC and then different levels of hormones, or types of hormones. You have to "shop around" to find the BC that gives you the least side effects for your body.

I have had weight gain and a reduced libido but that is nothing compared to the side effects I had with pills (crazy nuts, sore breasts, pain with sex, constant periods). And I am getting older (now 33) so I expect some of the changes are likely part of me aging and if not they do not out way how easy the Ring is to use and my assurance I am protected ea. month. I have been very happy with the Ring.

Now to my problem. My husband and I decided the possibility of blood clots (I am a smoker over 30) is not worth the risk to be on BC at all. So, after my last cycle I stopped the Ring after 4 good years.
I am soooo sore now. I feel like someone punched me in my ovaries and uterus. I hurt so much I can't hold in my stomach. Is this common when you stop BC or just the Ring?

I am deeply saddened to read all of these posts! I have a dear relative of mine who is suffering due to Lupron shots as you all are! Same symptoms same everything!

I did not know much of Lupron until she contacted me. My family knows that all my life I have struggled with health issues so they call on me for advice. It caused me to research Lupron for months. I am so glad it did, bc I was not aware that Lupron was so MUCH like Synarel was for me in my youth (I am 44 now).

I was prescribed this new unheard of Synarel for endo. It medical induced menopause-shrinking my uterus to the size of a walnut. I didn't care much about all that bc I was in pain w endo & cysts and was having way too many laps done. So I took this Synarel! You sniff 1 shot in 1 nostril am, and 1 shot in other nostril in pm. Suffice it to say that day built up and led me to 2002 where I had my oophorectomy-salpingo total hysterectomy.

I am in surgical menopause - and ladies so are you!! That is why all the terrible, terrible side effects! Losing hair, arthritis, hip fracture, hot flashes, insomnia, no libido, prolapse, etc. Just look at your mom, grandma, great grandma - you are experiencing their (age) symptoms. And doctor are saying that's a "normal" side effect of Lupron. Well of course it is your in Menopause!

THE GREAT NEWS is that there is help, answers, and health you just have to find it. I have been "finding" it since 2002 from all the resources I blog about and list on my blog (books, authors, doctors, pharmacies, websites, etc.). I am NOT a doctor just a woman who has been seeking answers to a life-long battle and who is FINALLY finding answers from those who have paved the way for me!

I would be honored if you would visit my blog and perhaps empower and arm yourself with the same information I have spent years researching!

I wish you all health, happiness and peace in these terribly difficult times you are going thru - there is light at the end of this tunnel - DON"T GIVE UP!

K.
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