Low progesterone 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 had Mirena inserted in August 2007. I was diagnosed with High Blood Pressure, and the doctor had to take me off of NuvaRing because of the connection of the hormones in birth control and HBP. My Gyno said that Mirena was very low hormone and would not affect my BP. Since I have been on Mirena, my BP has stabilized, but now I get dizzy spells, often, and I constantly have a headache. I also have cramping, sometimes very severe. I have gained ten pounds, and I have bad acne. I work out religiously and eat very healthy. I kept wondering how I gained this weight, and couldn't get it off, until I found this website. Also, I have never had an acne problem, and at 31 years old, I don't think I should have the skin of a sixteen year old, especially because I had perfect skin at 16. I found this website because I was having spotting, again, tonight, so I decided to GOOGLE the phrase "Mirena Side Effects." The spotting is not unusual since I have had the Mirena. It is one of the side effects that I experience regularly, especially after intercourse. Intercourse has been a problem, too. I have been married, happily, for ten years, and our sex life was great until I had the Mirena put in. Now, I don't want my husband to touch me, and I have even told him several times, since having the Mirena implanted, that I want a divorce. I think this has to do with the physical and emotional changes that I have had since getting Mirena. I have thought about having it removed, but I am finally starting my career after staying home with my three children. So I am torn because I don't want to get pregnant. My husband has said several times that he thinks that the Mirena has caused the problems in our marriage, and after seeing what others have to say, I am sure he is right. Although I have been thinking the same thing for months. Just a couple more points to make: Like some of the other woman, I have insomnia. When I had the Mirena inserted, I think I experienced TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome) because I had an extreme pain where it was place, followed by immense dizziness, nausea, blurred vision and a rushing sensation in my face and head. When I went to get a checkup, I was told that the Mirena was "lost," and the doctor had to do an ultrasound to locate it. I have lower back pain and strong, period-like cramps. And I have an irregular period with spotting throughout the month. (It is getting expensive having to buy new panties all the time.) I think that I have made my decision to have the Mirena removed.

I am a 33 yr old mother of a 5 yr old. I have not been on birth control for about 7 yrs now. After meeting someone after my divorce, I decided I needed b-control. I liked the idea of the Mirena so thought I'd give it a try. My Dr. left the strings long so they could loop back up around the cervix and not bother my partner. YEAH RIGHT -- They've now come down from that position and even though I've put them back up there, my partner feels them every time now. It has literally scratched him (and he's scared of it now). After about two weeks I immediately noticed a decrease in the intensity & frequency of my orgasms and a decrease in my sex drive. Which blew my mind! It's basically killing my sex life. My breasts are also extremely swollen and tender for a 2 week period prior to my period. It's lightened my periods, but the amount of blood has increased and they last for 5+ days now (instead of tapering off around 3-4 days without b-control). I am also extremely bloated (looks like I'm 4-6 mo pregnant) for about 2 weeks prior to my period. I have noticed 4 more lbs on the scale since having this inserted 2 months ago (that I can't seem to get off with dieting & exercise). It's coming out in less than a week and I can't wait. Bad idea. I'm switching back to the NuvaRing I tried for 3 months before the Mirena. It made my tummy upset around month two but then everything seemed to balance out. I didn't have any problems with it other than that for 3 months (except with insurance it's still $50 a month).

Thank God for the internet or I would have thought I was as crazy everyone else. I too have experienced the horrid hair loss and no one can tell me it is due to pregnancies as I have had thick hair following both my children's births and now 4 years after my last child was born I have had major hair loss (have had iud for 2 years), and all this time I have been having nightmares of waking up completely bald, and it's the Mirena. Have had terrible headaches and depression, mood swings too. I would rather be pregnant til I croak than keep this thing in one more day.

36426-

When you advise that low magnesium levels where what caused your irregular heart beats how did you confirm that? with test and then a supplement?

I am curious because I have this too as well as pain and read in more recent posts that Yasmin can flush out/create low levels on Magnesium-and that low levels of magnesium can cause the irregular heartbeat. a long time ago as well a doc told me that low progesterone which I had could also cause it?

If you did take take a supplement how much did you take and did it go away? Have you had the chest pains too?

Silke and RN

My hormones in the 4th day of my cycle were estradiol a 10
Progesterone a 2.0

My doctor said these are low...but she said they are the same they were one year ago this time so she said I may run low

I have all the symptoms of low estrogen and low progesterone but why a year ago I didnt have these symptoms?? Do you guys have any ideas??

Iam trying to piece the puzzle.
All I can think is that my levels were low going into Yaz than Yaz forced the levels way up in the short time than when I stopped the pill they plumeted back down towhere I was orginally thus leading to all this horrible anxiety and Yaz symptoms.

Does that make sense??

My clothes dont fit anymore sad face

Hi all,
just reading the posts about acne. I suffered from this too after stopping the yasmin. I got spots around the side of my face and when my period was due they appeared around my jaw line.

I went to a dermatologist who prescribed me an antibiotic called tetralysal 300 and a gel called isotrexin. The gel is a milder form of Retin A. I cannot use retin A at all because it is a cream and it clogs my pores.I also have been using the skincare system called proactive. The best system i have ever used. You can order it online at proactive.com. My acne completely cleared up in about 8 weeks.

It is a very good combination. I had tried every other cream and lotion but they did not work. Or if they did not for long. My dermatologist told me that hormonal acne is one of the hardest to clear up but was confident that the treatment would work.

Flowerbabies about spironolactone.
It is recommended as a treatment for acne because it is an anti-androgen. I took it for about 6 weeks. I had to have blood tests regularly because it sometimes affects the liver. I started to feel very dizzy and tired. My doctor phoned me one day and told me to stop taking it immediately because of the blood test results. It had raised a level of something or other in my blood that was very dangerous. It probably doesnt affect everybody that way but be careful if you do start on it.

Because of all the problems yasmin caused me in the past few years i have done a lot of googling and asked a lot of questions. One thing i found out from my dermatologist was that hormonal acne is usually the result of low progesterone. That was the reason i was referred to a fertility specialist. After months of tracking my cycle to find out when i was definitely ovulating i then had my hormone levels measured at the correct times.
And as i wrote about last week i do have low levels of progesterone and estradiol which will be treated by hcg injections.

So maybe for any body here who is suffering from hormonal acne that is the way to go.

A gp will read results differently. To a gp and a fertility expert blood results have different meanings. My gp told me my results were normal but when i spoke to my fertility doctor he told me thay were very low.
So maybe it is best to go with the decision of the person who knows best.

I hope this is some help to those of you who are suffering from hormonal acne. It is very distressing and can make pms worse because of the anxiety it causes all by itself.
I think this post is very long and will take up almost an entire screen. Just thought i would share what i have learned over the last few months.
Good luck to all of you

Murph70

hi guest 31105.
sorry to hear that your daughter is really struggling with the post yasmin effects. i have been off yasmin for nearly 6 months now. i still have a flare up of anxiety around my ovulation/period. i do sometimes have anxiety while on my period. i think what is happening to your daughter is more than likely a hormonal imbalance.the hormones in bcp's are much stronger than our natural hormones so the effects of imbalance are much more drastic then they would be in normal pms or even premenapause. high levels of anxiety are caused by either high levels of estrogen and low progesterone or it could be that both estrogen and progesterone are both low but the estrogen is not being opposed. depression has been linked to higher levels of progesterone so my theory is that some of the stronger synthetic hormones are still stored inside the cells that would be filled with our own natural weaker hormones so each month when our bodies go through their natural cycle the cells are releasing the stored synthetic hormones causing a surge and overwhelming our bodies and causing a chemical form of pmdd.it is all very complicated,i have read and read anything i could get my hands on that might be able to help control my symptoms but i have decided that for me the best route is to eat healthy organic foods,take vitamin supplements,drink plenty of water,think positively and excercise.i also have to keep reminding myself that my body will heal itself given time. ther are little things you can do along the way that may help lessen the symptoms but i have not found anything that has cured them completely. cut out tea and coffee and drink herbal teas geared at cleansing the liver etc (milk thistle) avoid alchohol and high sugar foods.keep blood sugar levels steady by eating little and often. i am really sorry that your daughter has had to suffer this way,it really does have a huge impact on the whole family. i am a mother with 2 girls.my eldest is just 7 and she witnessed me go from being a happy loving mother to someone who could not leave the house and was always scared and angry,i knew i had to get better before i destroyed us all,my 1st step was stopping taking yasmin. i never tried the anti depressant route as i was afraid i would not be able to function properly and also i was done putting chemical into my body. i also considered that maybe i was bipolar but having read up on it none of it sounded like me before yasmin, i do not have manic phases,i am "normal" like the old me for a few weeks then the anxiety creeps in and knocks me back (although not as badly as on the yasmin and i now know it will pass) i think that's why we consider the bipolar as a posibility because we go from happy to sad in the space of a few days. i am sure that given a bit more time your daughter will start to improve,good luck with the antidepressants,i hear they can be useful and maybe with their support and yours your daughter will be able to recover fully and put this nightmare behind her.

To guest 13780:
Yes, I did have my hormones checked. I got them checked about 3 months being off of the pill. I did the saliva test. My results were that I have very very low progesterone and a high dhea level. You got your results back the same day? It took about 2 weeks before I got my results. I have been off of yasmin for about 5 months and have only had 3 periods. Hope this helps you some....I am still having anxiety and irrational thoughts but I am hoping this will go away very soon. If you have anymore questions please feel free to ask...Hugs to everyone still recovering from this horrible pill =)

Hello There,

As someone who has now been off Yasmin for 7 months and suffered from acute anxiety from week 4 after getting off it, I can honestly say it has takent his entire time to feel like the 'old me'.

Another piece of advice for the lady worrying herself about a tumour, all of us who have suffered from anxiety and panic know that rationality does not always over power the irrationality of our thoughts, fears and 'what if's'. I would recommend you actively seek out medical advice to assure yourself that you do not have a tumour. I don't believe you do, but know how strongly your fears take over your life. It is better to take action and work through these fears then try and ignore them. The worst thing you can do with anxiety is let it rule your life and stop you from living it. You need to actively participate in everyday life to 'sensitise' yourself to it.

Believe me I know how hard life is when you are suffering from this. I also know how easy it was to shut down, not leave the house and just 'exist'. I now know that I always felt better when I pushed myself to experience things that I was fearful of (things mind you that I'd previously never feared...until Yasmin of course!).

Again I'd recommend anyone suffering from anxiety have their hormone levels checked, as low progesterone plays a major role in this. Our progesterone levels are so high when we are taking Yasmin that when we stop taking it they dive down. Herbal remedies such as Agnus Castus can be of assistance.

Warning about magnesium supplements. I started taking them about 3 months after I'd finished Yasmin as I was desperate for the anxiety to go and had heard they could help....unfortunately after a week on them I suffered 3 full days of complete panic and as a result had to stop. Be careful.

Another tip...STOP ALL CAFFIENE. This helped me a huge deal.

Goodluck all and god bless :)

Hello,

From my research, Vitex Agnus Castus is a herbal extract that contains a number of constituents (flavonoids, iridoid glycosides and terpenoids), but does NOT contain hormones. The benefits of Agnus Castus is that it acts upon the pituitary gland affecting the luteinizing hormone (LH) which indirectly increases progesterone production (its the low progesterone that appears to be the major cause of the anxiety).

It comes in tablet or liquid form and is made by a number of manufacturers. I was prescribed it by a GP who has given it to me in tablet form from a swiss company who has done alot of research into it's production, use and side effects.

It takes a number of months to take effect, and can be monitored with regular blood tests to look at your hormone levels.

It seems to be well researched and trialled. I was wanting to take something that didnt have hormones in it after the hell of Yasmin, so found this a comfortable and safe alternative.

Basically I'd see a doctor with an interest or specialty in womens health and holistic medicine.

Good luck! Great to hear you have a very supportive family. Trust that you will get better :)