Methods of birth control symptoms and conditions

I have had the mirena for 2yrs. 1yr from the day my Mirena was inserted I was diagnosed with a UTI. Now 2yrs to date I have the same symptoms. I have had kids and did not have UTIs. My docs has taken cultures and they have come back negative. However, I know what I feel. I am really glad I found this site also. I'm really mad bc I have tired a few methods of birth control and they work well-the side effects always get the best of me after a year or two. Well thanks for the input and I am really thinking about taking this thing out.

No anniversary sex because of Mirena... this is super fun!! I got the thing inserted on 5/8/09 and today is 5/21/09. It was painful for a few days and friends and doctor said it was normal, but I felt really bad. I couldn't sit sometimes. I feel this thing inside me even now. I started getting headaches the last two weeks and I never have headaches. I haven't been working out because I'm tired. I have cramps, irritation, and constant bleeding since I got this. I also felt a lump inside my vagina that was not there before-- it was not my cervix I know where that is. I am disappointed because I have had problems with other methods of birth control and really hoped this would work. I am going back to Natural Family Planning/Fertility Awareness in which I chart my temperature (oral), cervical fluid, and other stuff. Read Taking Charge of Your Fertility if you want to try it.

I had a Mirena put in a month ago and it was AWFUL.. I think it was misplaced, because within 15 minutes I could not walk, was sweating, dizzy, and shaking, and had the sharpest pain you can imagine.. it was expelling itself. So I went back (almost called an ambulance, went with a cab cause I hadn't gotten far down the street anyway) and got it removed immediately. Yesterday I had another one put in, by a different (more trustworthy) Doctor. Extremely painful process, ended up laying in bed all day downing ibuprofen. But today I am fine, just some mild cramping.

What I really wonder is who out there has compared Mirena with other birth control methods.. I had to get one because I had awful experiences with migraines and other side effects from pills. I have spent months researching different methods of birth control and reading reviews on all of them.. honestly, every method has hundreds of postings describing the exact same side effects. The best birth control methods are, by nature, hormonal, so it isn't surprising that people have similar reactions to them. Mirena is supposed to be better in that it acts more locally and does not have estrogens. Can anyone tell me how this worked out compared to other methods, or if they had migraines? I just get so scared reading all of these horror stories, and I cant tell if they are general reactions to hormones or specifically from Mirena. Thanks for your help...

In desperate need for help! I started taking Loestrin24Fe 1mg/20mg and I didn't start taking it on the first day of my period,I took it before I got my period.My doctor recommended that I do that. I took one whole 24 pack and noticed I had server migraines,back pain and server nausea. I missed my period and haven't had it since Oct 27th,Today is Dec 16th.I started taking the birth control in November. I'm worried I may be pregnant but have no idea,I'm terribly worried and need advice. After the 24 pack,I stopped taking it. I've continued to have server migraines and now even painful chest pain. I feel like I'm always hungry and I'm always tired and moody. No breast tenderness but I do have really bad pain in my right breast area. If any one has advice on what I should do please contact me via email ******

I have no insurance and am scared!
Thanks a bunch,A.

I have had my Mirena since 2004 and haven't had any major issues... the usual spotting when I first got it, and some spotting and mood changes when I am due for a period (which is typical of PMS). I also do not really get cycles anymore, which I consider an added bonus (my doctor said this might happen because before the IUS my cycles only lasted for two days and were really light). Sometimes I do feel abdominal pain or have a little spotting after intercourse and my honey also complains about feeling the IUS and being poked by it but I dismiss his complaints because he would really complain if he had kid number 5 was on the way. My concerns at this point are will the IUS stop working early it will be 5 years in Feb. but it wasn't like the device was manufactured the day I got it. And, should I get another IUS once I remove this one or is there another birth control that will be better for me.... the Mirena is still somewhat new when compared to other methods of birth control and I don't what to have two over a period of 10 years and then find out in 15 years it was a bad decision.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences- I should have done a search on Nuvaring long ago. I have been using it for almost a year. At first I loved it but now the bouts of itching have become unbearable and embarrassing. No one wants to be caught scratching herself! I have also had lots of watery discharge- my underwear always feels damp. Not comfortable and certainly not helping the itch. I also often have thick white discharge (but smooth and without odor and so not exactly like I understand a yeast infection to be). I say "understand" because I have never had anything remotely like a yeast infection up til now (34), which is another reason that I suspect the ring. My sex drive is also nonexistent, a problem I have had with oral contraceptives too- I feel bad for my husband. I didn't connect it all at first because the itching is external, but then I noticed that I felt better when I took it out for my period and even better still when I stopped using it for three months due to other health issues. I hate to admit it because I loved the convenience of the ring but I took it out an hour ago and think I already feel better. Now I'm wondering if it was the cause of any of my other health issues but will have to wait and see. Can anyone recommend any non hormonal methods of birth control (other than condoms) or at least any oral contraceptives with less sexual side effects?

I just wanna cry.I had mine put in on April 9th 2008. I thought for sure I was crazy and I was making a big deal out of nothing. I have it all the depression, lethargy, extreme irritability, mood swings, cramping, back pain, stabbing pain in my abdomen, bloating, abnormal and irregular bleeding, headaches, nausea, dizziness, lack of motivation, reduced interest in sex, continuous yeast infections, sore breasts, weight gain, itchy flaky oily scalp, joint pain, continuous gotta go feeling, and I so could go on.......... I just wanna give up. I have 4 children and can't afford anymore. I can't deal with the way I feel all the time. I want to get it removed but I don't want to end up pregnant and I'm just at a loss I don't know what to do.

I read your post about Nuvaring. I am only on my first ring. So far it seems okay and don't know if it is to blame for my hair that has been coming out non stop also. the hair loss started when I had the paraguard inserted into my cervix. I did some google research and a lot of women were complaining of the same thing. I immediately had it removed but the doc said it was non hormonal. I thought that perhaps my body just didn't agree with the copper that it is made from. she told me about the NuvaRing, so here I am trying it. the hair loss is still there and it has been going on for about 1 month now and I have lost a lot of it. I just gave birth to my second daughter 4 months ago, and don't know if my hair loss is postpardom or related to all these wacky methods of birth control. Has anyone else suffered hair loss from the NuvaRing or paraguard. Does anyone have recommendations on how I could improve my hair and stop it from falling out. when it is coming out the root tip is with every strand. I'm so scared over this...

Hello ladies. I have had the Mirena removed now for about 2 months and i feel a lot better. I am not sure if i posted here or another forum but i have experienced terrible side effects from this thing being in my body. my side effects included

painful joints( i felt like a 80 something year old)
lower back pain
Chest pain ( which i still experience on and off now)
numbness on my fingers and toes ( which i still have to some degree)
sharp abdominal pains
extreme anxiety
tired all the time
spasms in my hands and legs especially my left side
headaches and the list can go on and on.

My doctor did not believe the mirena was causing all of this even though i had been a very healthy person with no medical complaints at all before the mirena was inserted.

Did i read somewhere about a class action lawsuit? Because i will definitely look into it for all the suffering this thing has put me through.
Thanks everyone for posting. Information is power!

My Mirena Removal....
So i posted here a few weeks ago after I found this site. I had EVERY side effect listed and was so freaked out that i immediately made an appointment for removal.
For those of you reading and wondering what the removal is like..
Well, NOTHING like the insertion. I was so so nervous and it was over before we actually started. The DR was surprised that i was back in his office to have this removed. He then proceeded to do an ultrasound to be sure it was placed properly before removal. And yes, all was OK on the position of it. I explained to him my reasons and he looked at me like he had never heard this before. I honestly can not imagine with all the women he sees that NONE of them have complained. But...as I was getting dressed afterwards, I took a good look in his office. There was Mirena literature ALL over the place. In fact, that was the ONLY thing he was advertising. Not to mention...they made me pay up front with the insertion back in Nivember...billed my insurance and I still have yet to receive my reimbursement. Oh yeah, and that...they charge more than the actual Mirena costs, then they bill your insurance for the price they know they will pay and the DR then makes about $150 profit. Nice.
Ok, back to my side effects post Mirena. The removal was not painful at all. I did spot for about a week- nothing too heavy but it was clotty and def there.
A couple of days after the removal it felt like I was coming out of my skin something terrible. I figured this was my body adjusting to the lack of hormones. I also had some headaches.
It has now been 2 weeks and the spotting has disappeared. I also can see the bloating of my stomach is starting to go away. It looked like I was about 4 mos preggo while I was on it. I also have an increased sex drive. And sleep-- well let me tell you, I have not slept this good in a very long time. I am actually sleeping more than 6 hours now and the night sweats have also discontinued.
I can't believe EVERY time I come to this site and look up Mirena ALL the people that have posted their experience as being negative. Yet, the DR looks at me like I am crazy! I have been seeing him for years and I have never complained about something like this. I really am so happy that I have it out and wish I would have done my research on this prior to insertion (which was one of the most painful things ever!)
So..for those of you out there that are either contemplating having it inserted...I say NO WAY. And for those of you out there that are nervous about the removal or not sure..I SAY YES, DO IT! For our bodies to be reacting this way, it is clear to me that it should not be inside of us. Listen to your bodies...they really do speak to you and let you know when something is not right. Forget about the DR saying it is safe or he has not heard of any of these side effects...YOU be the judge.
Good luck! And I promise it gets better once you get that lil' demon out!
Mona

Wow. I am so relieved to find people like me ! I got the IUD when my son was 6 weeks old and It has been over a year and a half. ( I cannot take regular birth control because it affects my blood pressure)I thought everything was great with it at first- no period- no fuss. but when you have a new baby you are just exhausted and your body does weird stuff anyway. Most of the symptoms I noticed started in the last 2 months. I did not contribute them to the IUD because I have hypothyroidism and I thought my meds needed adjusted. I have not been able to lose weight despite trying- VERY FRUSTRATING! I was exhausted a lot of the time- sleeping 9 or 10 hours a night and still tired. My hair was falling out but not an extreme amount- I started having dizzy spells- No Sex drive- yuck! and I had spotting for over 2 weeks. So I had my thyroid checked and all was well and all I could think was " what the heck is wrong with me?!?!?!" and I found this site. Luckily I had the IUD removed 2 days ago because we are going to try again for a baby- I have felt ok- the first day I was still tired and I had an extreme nosebleed which I have never had before?!?!?! You know I think it is just safest to use natural methods of birth control cause all this medication can really mess you up!

Oh my goodness, you'd think this stuff was evil in a pill. ALL birth control pills, and hormonal methods of birth control (and medication for that matter) has side effects. Everyone's body is different. I have severe migraines, but taking a pill with a higher estrogen level makes it much worse. Not to mention Yasmin was my fourth try before I was comfortable on the pill again after a long time BCP free. I suffered through break-through bleeding, constant bleeding, turning into satan, constant PMS symptoms, infections, migraines, you name it. Finally, I found Yasmin and I lost a little weight and my periods remained the same (sometimes too long, sometimes too painful, but that never changed with any of them -- and I hear the same thing with the new "miracle" pill Yaz), and I was fine. I have spent time off of Yasmin, simply because I was ill and on antibiotics so I didn't fill a couple of months worth, and I noticed no difference in the before and after (other than having to use condoms in the meantime).

I've been on Yasmin for three years, absent two months. Everyone's body is different, everyone reacts differently, and this site is NOT this place to get the information you need to make a decision about medication. A starting point maybe, then go off the pill, see how you fill (talk to your doctor first). What's not being taken into consideration is other medications these users are on, ages, individual physical illnesses or situations, or other things that could be reasons or interferences with the pill. Good luck ladies. :)

Oh, and an acne tip... rather than putting more chemicals into your bodies, try Proactive. I had AWFUL skin in areas that nothing worked for, from cheapest to most expensive to prescribed. I started using it in 1996 or so and my skin is perfect. I use it now because it keeps my face clear and makes it radiant, and I don't even have to use it every day. I don't have to wear ANY make up on my skin at all. Something to think about instead of putting worrying about trying to find a BCP that works for you and for your skin. :]

hi ambernesspor.
do keep us posted on your progress, i hope you start to feel like your old self again soon. I wonder why gyn's and doctors feel the nedd to keep switching our methods of birth control?? as you said in your post you were perfectly happy on your previous method and it obviously suited you, so many women on here were perfectly fine on their previous pill as i was,i had taken dianette in the past and had no problems with it. i wonder if there is some kind of financial reward for the medical proffessional if they prescribe a certain amount of this pill!!!!! i personally did not find yasmin more tolerable or to have less side effects then my older brand pill and from what i can gather yasmin still poses the same risk of strokes,dvt's etc that the older generation pills did so as far as i can see there really is no major benefit it yasmin over any other brand......to any ladies who are thinking about switching to yasmin DON'T it is not worth the risk!!!! boycot this pill,it is pure evil in tablet form! Even the FDA made the makers stop advertising that it was better than other brands because of it's "unique" ingredient,it has been tested and has been found to be NO BETTER than any other pill. i personally think the "unique" ingredient is the one that causes the most harm.

sarah

hi charity,
murph70 is quite right when she says that out bodies change after we have children. i was on dianette on and off for about 10 years and never had a problem with it, then i had my daughter (my youngest...now 3 ) i breast fead her for a year exclusively so did not have a period for the whole year,when my periods came back they were quite heavy and i also had outbreaks of acne when my period was due. my doctor put me on the new wonder pill yasmin! well he was right about it being a wonder pill,i started taking it and "wondered" what the hell had happened to me,within 6 months i was an agoraphobic nervous suicidal wreck,i had no sex drive at all and actually thought about telling my husband to go out and find another woman because i never wanted to have sex again! i felt constantly tired,i had tingles,aches,pains,blurred vision,constant thirst,raging headaches...the list goes on. my doctor diagnosed me with an anxiety disorder and gave me diazepam (which made me worse) when i asked if it could be my bcp he said no he didn't think so...but i know so because i found this site,found hundreds of wonderful women all with the same problems all taking this same pill, i stopped taking it 7 months ago now and while i am not back to my old self quite yet i am well on the way. Most of my symptoms have gone now so i think that is proof in itself. As murph70 says only you know how you feel,maybe you could try alternative methods of birth control for a while and see if you feel better? whatever you decide to do i wish you all the best.

sarah

Thank you to everyone who has been so sincere and honest in sharing their experiences while using Yasmin. I am the proud mama of three beautiful children and I began using Yasmin on the advice of our obstetrician last month. We had been relying on a diaphragm, but recently I was more nervous about the timing of an additional pregnancy. I told our doctor that I felt the birth control pill had been negative for me in the past and suspected it was linked to a depressive episode nine years ago. He was very dismissive of this and told me that "the pill" has changed considerably. I was shocked at how quickly I felt side effects. I have been exhausted and have started experiencing severe heart burn (I even thought I was having a heart attack) almost everytime I eat. I was also still nursing my 17 month old son and my milk supply has completely gone away. For nursing moms...please be aware of this potential problem. My doctor did not inform me of this before I started Yasmin and I feel a bit regretful that my nursing relationship with my son ended on those terms. QUESTION...for those who have stopped taking Yasmin...what alternative methods of birth control are you exploring? My husband and I are not 100% that we are finished having children, but definitely want some control over that decision! My doctor is also advocating the Mirena IUD, but I am fearful that it will have the same effect.