Mind and body symptoms and conditions

I've had Mirena since Jan. 2006. This is what's going on with me.

EXTREMELY bloated all the time, diagnosed as IBS. I’ve tried everything: herbs, teas, diet changes, prescription meds (currently on anti-depressant (for the IBS, not depression) and an anti-spasmatic pill), and non-prescription meds (currently taking beano before every meal and gas-x after the beano has not worked!)

Irritability

Tired all the time

Not motivated to do anything

Forgetful

Loss of concentration, I have the attention span of a 3 year old it seems!

Heart fluttering and dizziness like a panic attack. The doctor actually said it was panic attacks but I honestly don’t feel “panicked” when they happen.

Fluttering in abdomen as if there were a baby in there

Sometimes feel a pulling or stinging sensation in my uterus

Hubby can feel the strings and we think they are irritating his manhood

A lot of these symptoms seem like depression but all praise be to God, I have a wonderful life. I have the greatest husband and kids I could ever ask for. I love our life. I’m not unhappy at all. I didn’t consider that it may be the Mirena until my husband mentioned that he thought the strings were causing the irritation on his penis. I started googling Mirena to see if anyone else had this problem and came up with so many “other” symptoms of Mirena. I thought “WOW!! Maybe THAT’S my problem!” Maybe it’s time to make that appointment to get it out.

I have been on Lamictal 200mg per day for about 3 years along with Wellbutrin and Lexapro. Over the past few months, I have noticed numerous things happening to my mind and body and finally put the pieces of the puzzle together...side effects of Lamictal. Short term memory is gone which is the scariest. Difficulty putting coherent sentences together. Fumbling for words. Spelling is awful. Heaviness in legs. Trouble writing. Inability to communicate well with the spoken word. Slow thought process. Shakiness - Hands shaking - Tremor. Speech disturbance. Weight gain. Coordination problems. Dry mouth is worse. Back pain. Increase in sweating including night sweats. Irritability. Impaired concentration. Forgetfulness.

This is so embarrassing when I'm in meetings. I start to sweat and can't seem to get my words out. I am also in a master's program and it is getting really hard to concentrate enough to write the papers. I am starting a doctorate program in Aug. which will not happen if these side effects don't go away. I called my doctor on Friday and we cut the dose in half and evaluate in 2 weeks. I want off of this drug! I need all of the symptoms described above to go away, especially my short term memory loss. I am very scared at this point.

I have been on Topamax for 2 1/2 months. My dosages have been varied due to side effects that scared the daylights out of me. Never more than 100 mg a day, at which point I was a vegetable. After such terrible side effects - pressure in the eye, blurriness, loss of speech, coordination, complete exhaustion, inability to work, stopping mid sentence with inability to complete sentence - I finally had it. I talked to the doctors all along that I was terrified what was happening to my mind and body but they just said it was too soon to tell if the meds were working or not.
Out of pure frustration and concern for my own well being, I decided to try to taper off Topamax and then stop completely. I lost feeling in feet and hands, pins and needles, weakness in feet and hands as well as spasms- lovely. Frightened me so much I wound up in emergency thinking something else must really be wrong with me. MRI said all was fine as regards to MS or stroke, etc. Whew!
Continuing to withdrawal and mad as @#*! that the Dr.s don't know what they are prescribing to poor patients, Topamax is a dangerous crap shoot. Funny to me how something as horrible as this drug can be prescribed in our government, yet medical cannabis prescribed properly with little to no side effects is a crime in most states.
What have I learned from this experience?...be your own advocate. Don't let anyone ever push you into saying something is black when you clearly see it is white. Get angry, state your feelings if you feel you are being harmed and brushed off and not helped. You still have the brain cells in you to make good decisions though Topamax and pressure from others about "not taking your meds" may knock you confidence for a loop.
I'm thankful I live in CA where I can make legal choices that are not available to others in the USA. Shame on the drug companies, shame on the Dr.s that need to do their homework, shame on our FDA for letting this horrible drug on the market whilst holding back natural herbal relief that grows right out of the ground for all to use legally. Shame on me for not doing my homework earlier and doubting myself and letting other decide for me for so long now.
Good luck, hope you all find some comfort and fire in this message. We are our own best advocates. No one knows us better than ourselves. Freedom of choice is a wonderful thing - so thank you makers of Topamax, for helping me to find the strength inside to tell you....JUST SAY NO! to drugs - your drug in particular. May you be recalled and not harm any others, and may your profits plummet as you have make you $ on the suffering of so many others.

I was prescribed singular on Friday for my asthma and allergies - I took the first dose on Saturday night - slept like a baby and felt really great Sunday (the best I'd felt for a long time!) but that changed Sunday night - after taking my tablet I went to bed - it took me until 4 am to finally fall asleep because of the noise in my ears and this overwhelming feeling of unrest in my mind and body. Around 4.30 am I apparently woke my daughter by leaving my bedroom sleepwalking - I even managed to change the top I was wearing before loudly opening and shutting my bedroom door then walked half-way down stairs turned then went back to bed - I'm 44 and never, in the whole of my life, walked in my sleep! All day Monday I just didn't feel myself like the world was an overwhelming place to be! I didn't take the next dose but feel absolutely drained and on edge - I'm told it'll take a few days to completely leave my system - wish I'd never even tried it!!!!!

I posted last week about my side effects of Mirena. I had it removed Tuesday and it is now Saturday. I don't care what anyone says, it is so much better since having it removed. My doctor said some of the symptoms I was having might be due to something else. She said if I gained weight on this then going back to the NuvaRing would do the same thing. It did actually occur to me that when I was off birth control entirely I did lose weight more easily and felt better, but even with NuvaRing I didn't feel like I did with Mirena. My weight hasn't always been stable but my stomach felt so much more bloated with the Mirena. With how awful I felt I had almost wondered if I could have been pregnant, as I read someone else thought as well. I spoke to the doctor first not completely set on removing it, but that it was very likely. She tried telling me the headaches might be from something else and the only thing that she could really attribute directly to Mirena was the cramping. She said she couldn't guarantee the cramping or bleeding would ever go away if I was still having it. So less than a week having it removed and I feel wonderful. WONDERFUL! So even if the hormones weren't a direct reason for the weight gain the pain - everyday - the feeling like you were PMSing the worst you've ever PMSed, every single day and everyday thinking it might get better and it doesn't and not wanting to move is enough to make you gain weight...the fact that in five minutes that was all relieved, that very day feeling so much better, is enough reason to get it out. ONE day of no tampons, no pads, no cramps, no headaches. I started getting a cold before getting it out and someone said, "Oh yeah and that awful headache..." No, no headaches. I don't get headaches unless it's for a damn good reason (as I mentioned before, wisdom teeth removal), but almost every day I was getting them. I ride quads and after riding and sometimes during I was getting cramps, after being on a trampoline I would cramp and be bleeding. I would have irritation, discharge. That alone is enough to make someone feel awful. Every day feeling gross and in pain, even if the hormones didn't give someone mood swings the feeling awful would make one moody. However, I fully believe that the hormones effect mood. When I decide to go back on birth control I'm going back to NuvaRing. I always liked it, I just though Mirena was a better option. I have the prescription but I've decided to take a natural approach for right now and am abstaining from intercourse right now. If I choose to have sex I will use condoms. I don't know if it's the hormones or just not feeling gross but I've already had a greater desire for sexual activities. The day I had it removed I spotted right afterwards and the rest of the day was fine. The next day nothing, I mean nothing. The day after it seemed like I got my period heavily but it was the closest thing to a period I've had since getting Mirena, not discharge, spotting, and huge clumps. Since then, nothing. You don't even realize all the little things that add up until afterwards. I drink a lot of water and thus have to urinate a little more often than some. I can't stand pads and would use the very light tampons. Well, I'd either have to end up ripping out a dry tampon if I wasn't spotting much and had to pee, trying to hold it longer, or using liners that bothered me. It's one thing to have to wear them sometimes but every single day. You never want to have sex if it's always, "Wait, I have to go take out this tampon or remove this pad." I'm eating less and less tired. I want to actually do things again that involve something other than sitting. I've found it helpful that I've got a cold right now and can barely breathe out my nost, thus making getting intimate difficult and less appealing because it's probably helping me abstain at the moment. If anyone is considering getting it out, if someone tells you it's in your head, trust your gut. Nobody knows your body, or your mental state, better than you. I am not kidding, less than a week and I feel 500% better even in spite of my Rudolph nose and tissue trail. Once I'm rid of this cold I can't even wait to get out and start enjoying activities like I used to. I had a bunch of things going on while on it that I'm starting to wonder if it had anything to do with it. I couldn't wear contacts because my eyes were irritated and got even worse headaches than I already had and I've already worn them this week no problems. That may be something else entirely, but whatever it was seems to be fine now; hair growing faster (noticed facial hair that was pointed out to me by more than one person as well as body hair growing rapidly; breaking out; mood swings - more like swings that went from bad attitude to worse attitude to just plain angry at the world. I could keep going but I'd rather go enjoy this nice weather and get out now. Please, trust your self and your body. As much as I liked the concept of Mirena, I couldn't stand the effect on my body. Get it removed and if you're considering getting it - don't.

After being on YAZ for about 7 months and realizing how it was harmin my mind and body, my doctor told me to stop taking it immediately, even though it was mid-cycle. he put me on Loestrin24fe because "there has been a much higher success rate with a lower dose of estrogen" NOT IN MY CASE!

i started taking it on a Tuesday, it is now the following Monday and i have already experienced:
harsh aches and pains throughout my body, unbelievable mood swings from cryin until my eyes hurt for NO reason to sitting and talking calmly within 5 minutes of each other, once again a complete lack of sex drive which i *just* recovered from with YAZ, not being able to eat yet having extreme weight gain??? my stomach is completely round when i have had a 6pack for my entire adult life and my jeans will not get past my thighs anymore, my skin and hair are oily and i have broken out worse than i did when i was a teenager ...

and the BEST one yet! Severe Panic Attacks during the night to the point where i am terrified to sleep because of waking up hysterical and actually "feeling" my dreams. i woke up from a nap yesterday crying uncontrollably because i was convinced i snapped my spine/neck because i dream it, felt it snap and HEARD it snap in my dream. it is all too real and i am on lack of sleep AND not eating for a few days.

Needless to say, i have stopped taking the pill as of last night. i am hoping to get back to normal in about a week because i clearly cannot function like this. I missed a gorgeous Easter day yesterday because i was having a low grade panic attack ALL day and couldn't eat or even talk to anyone.

i am not going to let another bc pill ruin my life this year. its not worth it but i must ask, where do i go from here? i am concerned about getting an IUD because my body seems to have every side effect possible with any type of birth control but i think the IUD is my only option besides complete abstinence.

I just found this website tonight and I cannot even tell you how much relief I am feeling right now. I was on Alesse for over 2 years with zero side effects. A few months ago my pharmacist told me it switched to Aviane but that it was basically the same thing. Here is what I have been experiencing since I started taking Aviane: weight gain, COMPLETE loss of sex drive, headaches, brown blotches on my face, mood changes, changes in my sleep patterns and hair loss. I was seriously concerned something major was wrong with me, especially because I was on Alesse (the "same drug") for years with no problems.

Thank you to all the women who posted on here. You are definitely helping out so many women who aren't sure what's wrong with them.

My pills are now in the garbage and I am phoning every girl I know who was on Alesse to warn them about Aviane. I'm so angry that I was misinformed, and I honestly thought I was losing my mind, or severely ill.

Now that I've read all these postings, I feel like a million pound weight lifted off my chest. I am so excited about my mind and body returning to normal!

My son has been taking singulair on and off since he was 11 years old, he just had his 15th birthday. The past 2 years of his life have been filled with depression and anxiety issues. We have been to countless doctors, hospitals, therapists and now a psychologist. When he is on singulair for long periods of time he would have mood swings, depression, stomach and headache issues. I have asked the questions to all involved with him are you sure that singulair is ok to take with the depression meds? They told me yes. They recently up his dose to 10 mgs and his depression got worse! He has trouble concentrating, sleeping, and feels the world is a bad place. He is a good student, he is in sports and was popular, now he is tormented by these feelings of depression and anxiety. He has been on and off homebound instruction for the past 2 year and I have had to use family leave time from work to help him through this. My husband and I have spent a lot of hours trying to understand what has happened to our son. I have stopped giving him singulair and I hope that in the near future we can take him off his depression meds that he has been on for 1 year. How long will it take till his mind and body are rid of this drug? Why did no one tell me that this drug needs to be examined to why my son has had these very serious problem. Teenage years are hard enough with out the added conditions that my son has had to experience. I want some answers and I will give everything that I have to assure that my son will get better. Please help those who have experience what we have with the answers we are all asking.