Literature symptoms and conditions

Thank God for the posts here. I thought I was either going crazy or had been poisoned, or both, after my first dose of Avelox. Through the 6 days I took this drug before throwing it away I kept thinking the side effects, to numerous to list, would go away - they only got worse. I know all the usual disclaimers are listed on the prescription literature, including possible liver damage, but if the manufacturer is wise they will broadcast the possible side effects more emphatically to physicians and their distribution chain (pharmacies).

I have had Mirena for 18 months now. I love it. I have had no side effects that you all are describing. I have 4 friends that switched and all love it and only one had to have a follow up to have the strings shortened.

As far as the weight gain, ladies, let’s be honest. We are not 18 anymore and as we get older it is only going to become more difficult to keep weight off. Blaming it on a B/C....lets think about that last chocolate bar we ate because we were busy carting the kids off to a sports practice HMMM....
With any drug comes side effects, headaches, nausea, and some other terribly worse, but lets again be honest, all of these were pointed out in the literature available.

I just thought I would take the time to write my support as this does work and work well for some women, just not all, same as any other form of B/C.

You really need to be extra-aware of the possibility of tendon damage. There have been a lot of reports on these side Levaquin. A lot of people have developed serious tendon injuries including tendon ruptures and severe tendinitis. Take a look at ****** -- there's lots of literature and studies showing that many takers of fluoroquinolones have suffered terrible side effects after just single uses. You need to be aware of this so you can take action (like getting to a doctor) before major damage sets in. Hope this helps.

You really need to be able to recognize the onset of tendon injuries. As you can see on the board here, thousands have developed serious tendon injuries including tendon ruptures and severe tendinitis. Take a look at ****** -- there's lots of literature and studies showing that many takers of fluoroquinolones have suffered terrible side effects after just single uses. Let's get out the word so doctors and patients are fully aware before undertaking the risk fluoroquinolines pose. People need to be aware of this so they are able to take action (like getting to a doctor) before major damage sets in. Hope this helps.

I just want to reply to you and everyone else who is having difficulty with doctors acknowledging mirena side effects. I work in pharmaceutical research and what people need to understand is that clinical trials only test on samples of about 5,000 patients and the side effects observed in those people are the ones acknowledged in the literature your doctors are referring to. The problem with that is for a drug sample population to statistically represent the actual US population it would have to be at least 30,000 people. This is not feasible even for the most profitable big pharma companies. So once these drugs get to market, there are inevitably going to be people experiencing side effects not reflected in clinical trials.

That said, I had Mirena put in 6 weeks after giving birth to my son in August 2008. Pre-preg I weighed 132, at 9 months I was 173. I left the hospital weighing 152. When i got mirena inserted i had been loosing slowly due to breastfeeding, but I was loosing and weighed 145. By Christmas 2008 I weighed 155. So I started working out, circuit training 45 minutes, 5 days a week, and eating much healthier for 6 weeks. Like others assuming it was a change in lifestyle, stress whatever. I didn't loose a pound. After no success I cut down to less intense workouts but kept eating well. By June 2009 I was 163. At 132 lbs pre-preg at 5'4" I never worked out, I'm not kidding, ever and I was not a healthy eater, I just wasn't a big eater.

So August 10th 2009 at 168 lbs and fed up, I went to the doctor to have it removed. They insisted it was not the mirena, but if for no other reason I had to find out for myself why I could not loose weight, if i was still overweight afterwards then so be it, but I had to know.

I'm glad to announce that today September 21st, I have "inexplicably" lost 21 pounds in counting. I have not worked out like I did in those six weeks, brisk walks at the most,and I have continued eating healthy. I'm not advising anyone on what to do, I just know when I was contemplating getting this thing removed, I wanted to hear from someone who had actually gotten it removed. Also, I did not the emotional or dermatological side effects others described.

I have posted a couple of times previously about negative side effects, i.e. migraines, weight gain, acne, chin hair, eczema, lower back pain, no sex drive...and the list could go on. As a mature 36 year old woman I have educated myself over the past couple of years and can really only attribute all these issues to having the Mirena inserted 4 months after the birth of my daughter 3 years ago. Although at this time my doctors will not openly acknowledge these side effects, I am confident that one day they will. I encourage women to report adverse side effects to the FDA. It onlt takes a minute or two. Who knows, it may be the hormones or it may be the silicone plastic? It has to be something. It should also be acknowledged that some women, my very best friend for one, have had wonderful experiences with the Mirena. I really think it may just depend on the woman and her own body. I am having mine removed tomorrow after researching all of this for about 8 months. All I can say is, thank goodness. I am also scheduled for the Essure(permanent birth control). Food for thought for the older women in the group. Whatever each of you decide, realize you are not alone and you do not have to continue to feel the way you do if you believe that the Mirena could be making you feel so bad. Take care.

Right after starting on Januvia, I began experiencing pain in my wrist at the location of a previous fracture. A few weeks later, I began experiencing pain in my elbow similar to 'tennis elbow'.

Today, I reread the literature accompanying my container of Januvia and noticed a reference to joint pain as a side effect.

I have been a Type 2 diabetic for 5+ years and Januvia has been the best drug yet for lowering blood sugar readings. One must be consistent with dosage and exercise is necessary--in my opinion--to get its maximum effect. Under those conditions, I have been able to reduce my daily Lantus dosage by half, results that allow me to overlook the side effect.

I had twins 17 months ago and at my six week check up...EVERYBODY highly encouraged me to get the Mirena inserted.
I did, after having read the literature in the Doctor's office. What the Lit doesn't tell you is how MESSED up Mirena makes you feel.
My blood pressure stayed elevated, I did not have spotting or bleeding...oh no...I had no sign ever of a period...but the PMS symptoms were severe enough that I honestly thought I was suicidal. I was depressed, severely, my hair came out, my legs cramped and had numbness, hair grew on my face (I am only 30), I had terrible headaches, brittle nails...
Finally, I told my doctor I thought it was the Mirena, they laughed it off and said it was just in my mind, that no one has ever complained about these things before...That perhaps I was just naturally depressed...
Well, It has been a month since I forced them to remove it...Guess what?
I can tell that I don't have that chemical effecting me like it was when it was in me...Face, clear...Hair, not coming out...mood, elevated...I actually feel NORMAL now. I would have never gotten this if I had known these side effects were possible.

I had Mirena inserted about 3 months ago and have been consistently gaining weight since then. I initially wrote it off as anything else besides this drug because the pamphlet is very clear that weight gain is not a side effect and I talked to 2 gyns and they insisted the same thing. So I had my thyroid checked and started eating better and increased my exercising, I am a personal trainer so I already do these things pretty intensely, but I have stepped it up to slow the weight gain. I am up 8 pounds in three months which makes me crazy. Yet I am hesitant to get it out since it was so insanely expensive and not knowing for sure that it is the mirena. So any of you who have had it removed could you comment on if your excess weight that you did put on has come off or not. Besides this frustration, I have loved it, but it makes it difficult to build my business as a personal trainer if I am gaining weight.

Update. I received a response from my Gynecologist regarding my email listing the symptoms I have been experiencing since having the Mirena placed. She said some people are sensitive to the hormone that is in the Mirena even though it is a low level. She acknowledged the headaches could be related, but didn't think the weight gain was (I was told the same thing about the pill, yet the weight literally FELL OFF once I stopped taking it). She said she doesn't know about the joint pain - that it's not usually a side effect, and that there shouldn't be an odor to the discharge. She wants to evaluate the discharge & said I can have the Mirena removed at that time if I am more comfortable with that. I just don't understand how there can be SO MANY WOMEN who have these symptoms yet the doctors aren't aware of them being side effects! I truly believe the only research they do is read the literature the manufacturers supply them with and that's that. I am going to print out as much info as I can to present to her and tell her she needs to look into it further. And yes, I am having it removed on that visit because I CAN'T STAND the hip pain any longer.

I just recently posted about my experience with mirena and had then read some more posts, and I had a thought. With SO MANY of us experiencing these symptoms-can't we do something about it?? Couldn't we send copies of these thousands of posts to Bayer or whomever is the top of mirena, I think it's Bayer. Or someone who can help us! Obviously we're are not all crazy! There is obviously something going on here. I mean I want to make sure other women are aware that this product may not be the greatest thing in the world. Anyone else who has a thought on this msg or reply please.
Thanks for listening!
And blessing to all.

I have been on loestrin 24 for over 3 years now and haven’t had a period since I started taking it. No period at all, my doctor said this is normal. About a month ago my husband and I decided we should have kids soon since we are close to 30, so I stopped my BC. However, I still haven’t had a period I thought for sure I would see something in a month. I’m not pregnant; if I were, I wouldn’t be posting this message. Does anyone know how long it takes to get this out of my system. I read though all the post and I see a lot of women have the same issues as I do after being on this pill for so long, migraines, slow hair growth or hair loss, gum issues. All these side effects just started about a year ago and I didn’t relate it to the pill until I read the postings because they didn’t start right away. Any how if you experienced the same problem, not having a period and know when I could expect to see one it would be nice to know a month to me seems like an eternity.

Responding to a couple of posts: Low energy and leg cramps are signs of low iron, you might be anemic, ask your doctor to have your iron checked at your next blood test. Also, ask about taking a multi-vitamin, all of the literature about Warfarin mentions not taking vitamins but it’s more about consistency. I’ve been taking a multi-vitamin daily - with my doctor’s permission - and I’ve had very consistent PT’s and INR’s. I’ve been on 7.5 mgs of Warfarin daily for six months and am holding steady. It is very important to take it every day if you do take a vitamin, it’s important to be consistent.

And about the socks, they are called compression stockings and can be prescribed by your doctor, or some are also available at drug stores, ask a pharmacist at the store.

And also about headaches, it helps me if I stay hydrated. When I don’t drink enough water I tend to get headaches.

I’m back to exercising at my pre-pulmonary embolism rate, it took me six months to get there, and I started slow, but my body has gradually responded. I’m 52 and was pretty healthy before I got sick. Just keep at it, you’ll see results (and feel better too!).

I can relate to many of these experiences. Started out in my 20's with very irregular cycles, went to my first gyn after a miscarriage - the emergency room dr referred me to a dr that was at a fertility clinic. I had no idea why until I was actual a little more "awake" I was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries. I went through at least 6 or 7 different birth control pills, depo provera shot, nuvaring, then back on another birth control pill. finally we started doing the continuous suppression as I was bleeding at least a little bit every single day... for 2 years. I would still have my full blown period every 4 weeks or so, which also included a monster migraine on day one of the menstruation. Not only was my life being altered but I was starting to get anemic. Finally after a month of the continuous suppression my bleeding stopped. As did the menstrual migraines. I continued this way for 4 years. Didn't have a single period or migraine, life was wonderful.. or so it seemed. I have been over weight for most of my adult life. Finally decided to do something about it. I joined the gym with a friend and started losing weight. I dropped 55 pounds until... the dreaded bleeding, pain and hormones got out of control. I started bleeding every single day again. Finally made an appointment with my dr. She stated that when you lose weight it releases estrogen out of your fat cells. Gee, I thought losing weight was supposed to make you feel better!! I went on with it for a while thinking it would stop eventually and it just HAD to get better. In fact, things got worse. I started having horrible abdominal pain, eventually it got to be daily. To the point where I could not stretch or even hyper extend my right leg backwards. My abdomen felt like something had a rubber band tied to it from the inside. My dr said that she suspected endometriosis. However, due to my anemia... we had to wait. So back on the iron pills and wait wait wait. Finally, October 15th I went in for my lap. Sure enough, stage 4 endo, huge cysts on both ovaries. My endo had gone all over the place and attached itself to anything it could. Including folding my bladder in half! Good grief. I thought that I was just getting the weak bladder from getting older (I am 35 by the way). For the next couple of weeks after my surgery I felt pretty good. Finally pain free (still a little bleeding but not much). But, the end of December rolls around and here it is, back with all its fury. The pain is again horrible, my migraines are back, my energy is dwindling. The good life was short lived. My doctor suggested a series of Lupron shots. One shot a month for 6 months. My first shot in January (took me a little bit of time to decide if I wanted to do it) finally bit the bullet and got the shot. First few days, fine, no problem, no relief either but no life altering experience. Then one morning I woke up and realized I was not in pain. It was a strange feeling actually. But the time I got the second shot, no more bleeding, no more pain... However, the hot flashes, night sweats and the emotions came on. Holy cow. Drama drama drama. I could find any reason on the planet to argue, with anyone. Thank god I have a very understanding family and an even more wonderful partner. I think he has the patience of a saint. I still don't know how he puts up with me. If I am not trying to find some reason to pick a fight then I am crying like a baby... for hours and hours. These hormones are so out of control. I honestly don't know what is worse, the pain or feeling like the world is going to end in the next 2 minutes if I don't get this spill picked up.. I literally cried for 2 hours Saturday because my cat knocked a stupid bottle of car wax off a shelf in the back room. Good lord, I had the most horrible feelings coming over me and just could not stop crying. I bought a new bed 2 weeks ago and let me tell you. If I am not on one of my 13 hour sleep fests then I am laying in it crying and feeling sorry for myself. Or the even better part of indegestion or my favorite part.. gas. I honestly don't know if I can go on like this. I made an appointment to see my doctorr this Friday to determine what she thinks will happen if I don't complete the other 3 shots. just give me back the pain if you have to!

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.

Has anyone experienced multiple pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs)?

I had tingling and numbing in my hands and feet. After few weeks without Lipitor all that tingling stopped. My doctor said that it could not be Lipitor's side effect but after doing research online I really wished they listed tingling and numbing as side effect of that drug. It would have saved me a lot of money I spent on all kinds of tests my neurologist did.

I'm a 53-year old male. My BP was 150/100 before starting the medicine. A few days after starting lisinopril, I developed severe low back pain. I thought that I had aggravated an injury that occurred 25 years earlier. It did not abate for about 10 days. I read on literature that came with the medicine that "muscle cramping" was an infrequent side effect. I decided to stop the drug on my own, and the low back pain subsided in 2 days. My doctor put me on HCTZ only and I have not had a recurrence of the back condition.
dt326

I actually posted my side effects (profuse, foul smelling discharge) before reading many of the posts here. I found my side effects to be common on other sites. I did want to mention that I thought the IUS (Mirena) was not to be used on women who ha not had a baby yet and I read here several women who have had it inserted before ever having a pregnancy! I'd check that out because Mirena literature itself would rule out a condidae based on that. Otherwise gals, my Mirena worked wonderfully--to virtually no pain or bleeding at insertion, to all but eliminating my period. However, I can't and won't live with the excessive foul discharge...CAN"T WAIT TIL 12/29 FOR REMOVAL!!!!!!

I took Levaquin 750 for 10 days for a sinus infection. I took first 5 doses, went to see my doctor again 6 days later because I was still sick. She prescribed again 5 does of Levanquin 750. I am still coughing and I feel very tired. It did not help at all. I am still sick and I have muscle pains in my two calves and stress Achille tendon. I am a runner and I have sometimes problems with my calf: I have been not running too much recently and I was wondering how come suddenly I had those muscle pains in both my calves. I am not sure if it is related to Levaquin, but when I read all those comments, I am worried. Why I have been prescribed this antibiotics if it is obviously dangerous?

Hi, All

I normally do not post on websites, however, the issues that I read about in other toddler has me concerned for my grandson as well..

He started to live with us in Georgia three months ago. He was 20 months old. Over Labor Day weekend he developed a severe sinus infection and virus with a fever. Against our better judgment then, we allowed his doctor to prescribe an antibiotic which seem to help him for about two weeks, but her began having excessive mucus and coughing constantly. He had no fever. When we returned to the doctor, they suggested that he use Claritin because he had no infections, but a lot of mucus and drainage. Claritin worked, however, the side effects were he was a little sluggish. The doctor recommended trying Singular. We tried it for three weeks. Over that three weeks, we noticed that his appetite decreased and his aggression level increased where he started a fight with another toddler. He is normally an easy going little boy. He has been very aggressive lately, plus he has had dry coughing and gagging worse than when he was on Claritin. When I read the literature that says this medication causes sinusitis, I immediately decided to discontinue it. He will not be using this medicine again. It may be great for some children, but they really ought to make parents aware of the side effects. They are awful.

After 2 years on Avodart: no ejaculate, almost total impotence and the worst is a major reduction in penis size ( 2 inches lost in erect penis). This is a major side effect that had never been mentioned either by my physician or in any literature. There is no mention that 5-alpha reductase inhibitors can be a trigger for the production of estrogen in men - causing male breasts to increase in size.

I was given Levaquin for a UTI about 2 years ago and ended up in the ER, the side effects were so bad. Thought I was having a allergic reaction,
heart poundings, felt like a just drank 3 cups of coffee, also muscles reacting slowly, like I couldn't move my arms and legs how I wanted to.
Unfortunately I have take Cipro a couple times in the last year, and the last dosage of that did it for me. On the 5th day I all of a sudden had extreme pain in my left knee, could hardly walk. I took a couple Advil and rubbed some icee stuff on it and it went away but that night my lower back and hips became also extremely painful. Severe pain. That was the last dose for me. (The pain was much less the next day and almost completely gone after about 4 days.) I called the Dr. and they told me to stop taking Cipro- which I had already done. What really bothers me though is I mentioned this to my orthopedic Dr. and he said he never heard of Cipro causing joint pain!
I am going to send him some literature, but wow!! couldn't believe that.

I had written before about moodiness and severe stomach bloat from Mirena, I have had it for three months now and the bloat has gotten better, but the moodiness has not and now I have severe joint pain - I have been using OTC pain meds every day for a week now just to make it through the day. It is not just one joint - but every joint - it hurts to sit, to stand, to type, to sleep - UGH!! I am so fed up. I am not a sick person, I have had three kids in the last 5 years and this is the worst! I do not want to give up on Mirena - but too much is too much. I am requesting blood work at my annual checkup next week and if nothing is irregular - I am going to have this thing out. I just have not felt like myself since I got it. I know it is not supposed to cause the joint pain - but at some point don't we have to listen to our gut feeling despite what the literature says?

Hi, I had the Murena inserted 2-7-08 at 2 PM. I am 43 years old.I nearly passed out at the doctor's office due to the pain. I felt like like my body was trying to expel the dog-gone thing. The literature said I would experience some discomfort during the insertion. That was an understatement!! I went home and by 4:30 I was cramping very bad. I called the doctor and he said to take some more Ibuprofin and to go to bed.Said to keep an eye on it I was bleeding very badly. I had to change tampons every 2 hours and wear a pad. It was gross with large clots. I took some strong I buprofin the rest of the weekend and called the doctor again. I know he had to think I was whining. I ran a fever and felt like crap. I went in to see him and he checked to see if I was expelling it. He said no. I continued to have a period-heavy- until my 6 week follow-up visit. He said "Let your body adjust, and if you continue to have problems, we can discuss taking it out." I had a period for 3 months.With wearing tampons for so long, I was concerned about Toxic Shock Syndrome. I still have brown slimy stuff every 2 weeks ago. I just never know when it will be, no set day. I used start my period every 4th Tuesday on the dot that lasted for about 2 1/2 days. since then i have gained 18 pounds. I can't check to see if the thing is there because I have a very long vagina and can't reach it with my fingers..and it's gross. I don't really have an appetite. I have been depressed. I don't have a lot of energy. I don't want to go anywhere. I don't desire sex (no wonder you don't get pregnant!) I have started to get acne. (I haven't had acne since high school). I am thinking about getting it taken out but don't want to risk pregnancy. I was on the pill for 15 yrs off and on and have some concerns about it at my age. I thought this would last me until I hit menopause and then wouldn't need birth control. Anyway, at least I am not crazy..there are others with these issues.