Mood swings depression symptoms and conditions

I have a little sister taking FEMCON FE shes only 15 yrs old out of no where she started acting strange.She started taking the pill for stomach cramps since in our family of girls we have chronic cramps. She got angry for no apparent reason, she got depressed,headaches,nausea, and she got cold shakes, she was ticked off at any little thing. We thought that she was just rebelling because of her age, but then I heard my mom talking about my sister taking birth control pills. I thought "oh thats it" thats the reason she's acting strange. I explained to my mom that the pill can give you a hormonal imbalance witch leads to mood swings, depression, and fatigue. Just to check out if I was right I looked up this prescription and came across this website. I read the stories and was amazed how most of the women/ girls had the same symptoms of my sister. Now I know I definitely should prevent my sister from taking this medication. I also think that if the pill is having a negative affect on you or anyone else you should stop taking it!!!!!

I have been on Methotrexate for about 1 year to treat RA. It has worked great for pain BUT I have noticed a lot of things going on that I've simply contributed to life. I have severe headaches, dizziness, extreme fatigue and major mood swings (depression and anxiety). I've seen some things posted on the internet about these being side effects. I am going to talk to my RA doctor and see if there is something we can do. I have been so bothered by these symptoms that I would just about prefer the pain to the constant feelings of irritability and depression. What are some other medications people are finding useful of RA with out the side effects????

I am not sure if anyone has experienced severe pains specifically after exercising. I seem to have many of the symptoms expressed on this site from mood swings, depression, extremely tired, headaches (which I never had a problem in the past) and cramps that come sporadically. I have been lucky to not get my period but I do get periodic discharges that are not consistent in the least. However, my biggest concern are the pains I get when I exercise. They have gotten bad enough that I feel that I may pass out and/or throw up. They don't occur when I am actually exercising, just immediately following and it lasts to various degrees for many hours.

This drug ruined a whole year of my life. Violent mood swings, depression, total personality change. For whatever reason it just did NOT agree with my body and I destroyed a lot of relationships because of how batshit insane this pill made me. I have been off of it for a year and my periods are painful and irregular but anything is better than the hell I went through on this pill.

I had my Mirena removed 3 weeks ago and I feel SO much better. No more mood swings,depression or anxiety or cramping. The doctor said that my mood swings had nothing to do with the Mirena, that I must be starting early menopause. I don't think so. I bled heavily for 2 weeks after it was removed. Which I'm not sure if that was a period or not? Now I just need to work on loosing the 15 pounds I gained!

I am 24yrs old i've had my mirena for 3 1/2 years and for the past year i have had severe acne,weight gain, mood swings, depression and fluttering feeling. recently ive been nauseated and really tired. When the acne started i went to my obgyn and she put me on tetracycline, when i reported the weight gain she sent me for blood work and a thyroid scan. when i said i think its the birth control she said noooooooooooooooooo there is no weight gain with the mirena and said i should try a diet. Mood swings she suggested i was under stress and may be i should make an appointment to talk to someone. After reading all the blogs and post this thing has to come out NOW !!!

I'm sorry so many have had such negative experiences with YAZ/Yasmin. Mine has been nothing but good. No other pill has worked for me with regard to my PCOS, painful cramping, bloating, etc. and I've been on it over 4 years. When my insurance wouldn't cover the cost I tried others as a substitute, and none worked half as well. On any other pill my periods were so painful, that cramps woke me up in the middle of the night. I pay out of pocket for it because it's the only pill that has really helped me...and I tried 4 or 5 others, all with no benefit/relief for my painful periods and PCOS.

As for mood swings/depression, I was/am already on a daily low dose of paxil, so perhaps that preempted any mood effects like those described by some. All I know is, this pill works for me when nothing else has and the only real negative side effect I have from it (if you can call it that) is increased urination from the diuretic to counteract bloat. Can't say I mind so much.

I'm sorry it's not been the same for others. :(

been on symbicort since around April ,im 14 normal teenage girl with severe asthma. we've been noticing since ive been taking symbicort im having mood swings, depression, anxiety and a lot of weight gain. im now been taken off this and feel great never taking it again.

I am so glad I found this website!
I had the Mirena placed on August 14th and haven't stopped bleeding since. I started having horrible mood swings/depression and have gained about 10lbs. I just emailed my Doctor again....he talked me into not making a decision about taking it out last week. He said he wasn't aware of any side effects that I mentioned above. I am going to be adamant about it's removal after reading everyone's side effects. I know now that it's not all in my head.
Lesson learned: listen to our bodies!

Well I have been taking this pill for about a year and for the last months the side effects have gotten worse. At first I ignored them because I didn't realize they were indeed side effects. I am experiencing shortness of breath, numbness in my arms, mood swings, depression, hair loss, and this awful dark brown "stuff" instead of blood when my period is supposed to be on. I also now suffer from cramps and severe back pain that I never had before. I started taking the pills to prevent pregnancy and for lighter periods. But I would now have to agree it is hardly worth it!

I'm 44 with 2 kids & started Loestrin 24 about 3 weeks ago. I just wanted to say that if you are experiencing any side effects, please keep in mind to give the pill AT LEAST 3 MONTHS for your body to get used to it. Your body has to adjust to the hormone level. I am already being treated for PMDD (extreme PMS resulting in major mood swings & depression) so I really don't want to mess with that situation since I have finally gotten that under control with a low dosage of Prozac. I feel fine now but started having long, heavy periods so I decided with my doctors guidance to try the Loestrin. If it doesn't work, I will consider ablation surgery since I don't want anymore kids. I have had some spotting & feelings of slightly more depression on the Loestrin but I will definitely give it 2 more months. Good luck to all and HANG IN THERE!! It sure sux being a woman sometimes!!!

i cannot believe i've found this site...

i started taking femcon earlier this month in hopes of delaying my period (the things we do as women...) & it definitely delayed it but, i've been throwing up, my face has been breaking out (chin area mostly & hard puss filled acne), constant headaches, mood swings, depression... not worth it.

throwing this pack out right now.

I'm at the end of a 10-day cycle of doxycycline (100mg 2xday). Worst side effects: insomnia and restless leg syndrome. I think I'm averaging about 3 hours of sleep a night. Stomach pain, occasional cramps, severe loss of appetite. I've also experienced some of the stranger side effects others have mentioned: mood swings, depression, suicidal thoughts, feeling like I'm in a dream, mental problems (after I write something I realize I've spelled half the words wrong).
Next time my doctor mentions this drug, I'm going to say no way and see if I can get a sulfate based antibiotic or maybe good old amoxicillin.

I have had the Mirena in me since August of 08 and the day they put it in I never received even a pamphlet. It took the doctor over 30 minutes to get it in me and he asked me if I still wanted it while he was having trouble putting it in. He was the doctor and he should have known.
I was never told to come back for checkups or anything just that it had to come out in 5 years. He told me of no side effects or anything. So thinking it was the best I had it put in. I cramped for 4 days after. I bled really bad and finally it went away. Well then just the past couple of months since my periods started getting lighter all my symptoms are getting worse.
My symptoms include : fatigue, stomach cramping so severe I can hardly walk, mood swings, depression, weight gain and constipation ,my feet go numb all the time and if I stand for a long time to, also have like a stabbing pain in my chest (rare) and Im beginning to not have any sex drive.

Calling the doctor tom to have it removed because I thought all this was in my head until I have researched it past the website.

I had Mirena inserted in Nov '08. I bled constantly for 6 weeks after and then nothing. I only have occasional spotting. At first I thought this was great - no period! (woohoo!!) but now I actually miss my period. It's not natural not to have a period! I've been experiencing a lot of side affects that I was attributing to turning 40 but after reading the symptoms others have been experiencing, maybe it's not due to my age. I've had problems with large ovarian cysts. I constantly have pain in my ovaries which I'm thinking it must be more cysts. I've gained weight and can't loose it no matter how hard I try. I have no energy and no interest in a lot of things I used to love to do. I have pain in my knees, pain in the joints of my fingers as well as mood swings, depression, anxiety, memory loss. I recently went to the doctors because I felt I had a constant lump in my throat - I went for an ultrasound and found I have multiple cysts on my thyroid. I'm not sure if this is all related to the Mirena, but I don't remember feeling this crappy before I had it. I'd like to have it removed immediately but I can't get an appt' with the GYN until September!

This is a sad yet enlightening day for me. I can't believe the things Nuvaring has caused for me. I am so glad that I questioned it earlier and found this site as a result. I originally tried NR in February 06 and continued for about six months. I don't really remember side effects from that time. We had a newborn and I was finishing my last semester in college, so I wasn't exactly sleeping a lot. I will say that my libido fell off the face of the earth. It has taken a while to get it back even a little bit. Ever since then I have asked my doctor what could be done and she just would tell me it's normal to lose my sex drive after having a baby. So in May my doctor put me back on NR to help shrink an ovarian cyst that she is worried about. She had me stay on the NR for 6 weeks straight through. I just took it out last Saturday and I will be done with it forever.

Here is what I experienced during my six weeks:
- Libido- zip. zilch. non. nuf said.
- 2 migraine headaches
- Severe neck pain to where I was about a day away from calling a chiropractor
- Couldn't wear my contacts for the past month- my eyes got really dry and itchy
- EXTREME burning during and especially after sex- and if I had to pee, my husband would have to give me a wet towel to ease the burning pain.
- Lack of appetite
- Really bad mood swings/ depression- I am a really optimistic happy person and for the last month I feel so negative and down about everything. I want to cry a lot and the anger has been awful. My boss and I got into multiple arguments and I wanted to walk out of my job. My son has been on my last nerve for no reason, and don't get me started on my poor husband.
- Waking up multiple times in the night and having trouble falling back to sleep.

Once I removed the ring, I have felt lighter and happier. I even sent my husband a racy text message because I was thinking about sex! And my neck pain has disappeared. Unfortunately, for the last week I have woken every night at 3am and stayed up til around 4:30am. My cramps have been awful. Usually they were really bad the first two days of my period. This time, they have lasted for 4 days so far and don't seem to be stopping. I have gotten extremely constipated and this is something that doesn't happen- I usually go the other way. So my stomach has been a wreck of gas pains and cramping. I have been exhausted.

I just wanted to share my experiences. My husband and I were talking the other night trying to figure out what was going on with me, so I feel a bit more reassured that I am not a psycho after reading so many others' problems. I took my computer in to him and read some symptoms to him and he was as shocked as I that this may all be from the NR.

Our 11 yr. old daughter was prescribed with Singulair. She started taking it today with much hesitation from her parents. She was on this medication years ago for her mild asthma, but her mood swings/depression were terrible. We have a new ENT now and he promises that the mood swings/depressions are NONSENSE and that these rumors were put to rest years ago. We will be watching her side effects closely, but my question is if Singulair helps so much, what other medication can someone take that does not have these side effects? What is the alternative? She is also going to see a pediatric pulmonologist in August.

I find it extremely annoying and offensive that people have the nerve to comment things like: You are all complaining or whining, read the side affects before you use it. why do any of you think that you are more educated or better than any of us? of course we all knew the side affects but people react to medicines (etc) differently. i find it very hard to believe that all of these symptoms are coincidence. 99% of us have given birth and raised children which is the hardest, most challenging, emotional roller coaster and im sure we are all able to deal with a headache now and then and mild cramps but that is not the case with us. its a problem when you wake up every morning with migraines and back pains. it is also a problem when women are so depressed and tired that they aren't able to take care of their children and husband. we all have one thing in common. We are suffering from these side affects. I appreciate everyone who has opened up and told their experience and i will not let someone comment about any of us and tell us we are making this up in our heads or that we are whining. if you feel any of those no one is making you read these stories.. so GET LOST!!!
for those of you that have had a great experience with Mirena why are you even on this site?? you are no help to those who actually need help and those that are suffering.
bottom line is no one is right or wrong but this forum is made for those who want help not someone adding their input to make us feel even worse.

Thank God for all of you.... I thought I was just crazy. I have been on NR for a little less than 2 months. I started using it because I am dating an awsome man but he is not ready for a child ( of his own I have one that he loves dearly).
I have had the chest pain, headache, nausea, lower back pain, mood swings, depression. I put it all together at work today( has to be the NR) and come home and found this site. The crying is driving me crazy I cry easily anyway but the last month has been so bad. I find myself saying I'm sorry to the ones I love for stuff I did in a mood swing. Like not understanding that boyfriend was stressed I usefully pick up on and understand, but I ended up having "a little fit" as he called. Not good since we only get to see each other about every other weekend if we are lucky.
With all that being said I want to take it out right now but I'm scared too. Why?? If I take it out will my period start.... I just put this one in on the 4of July? Really don't want that to happen boyfriend will be home this coming weekend and have not been able to have sex with him in about 6 or 7 weeks. Last weekend he was home I was on my period so we couldn't have sex, I would hate to tell him no again just 2 weeks later.(He is a Marine so I value every minute he is home)
I know this thing is coming out of me very soon and I hope and pray I can save my relationship and at least one friendship that is one the rocks because of the mood swings. The mood swings/ depression has affected every part of my life.
Thank you all for listening and I will be checking back in. Maybe let my boyfriend read some so he knows I'm not crazy.

My nightmare began Feb 24, 2009 when I had the Mirena IUD inserted. Amazing how crazy we all are! I have an almost 3 year old daughter and my husband and I are pretty certain that we are just having one child, but just in case we changed our minds, we wanted a form of birth control that was not permanent. Before I had this IUD placed in I talked to my ob/gyn about the Mirena vs the Paragard, I decided to go with the Mirena because my ob/gyn explained to me that because of the low level of hormone that would be absorbed into my bloodstream, that I should be okay and not have any side effects and I would have a very light period. I have tried other birth control pills and the nuvaring and all of them have affected me from anxiety to headaches to cold sores.

I have experienced the same symptoms as all of you. dizziness, foggy brain, numbness on right side of body, anxiety, acne, irritable, moody, bloated, headaches, weight gain (although I do exercise 3-4x/wk I gained 5 pounds in 2 mos.), hives( I have a history of allergies which I have been able to control with antihistamines 2x/wk and then all of a sudden I could not control it--saw my allergist who switched my meds), GERD which I was diagnosed with 10 years ago and had successfully arrested the symptoms after treatment), spotting, period every 3 weeks, etc.

I called my ob/gyn a couple of months later to tell her about my symptoms especially the anxiety and was told that it was probably related to my cycle and for me to chart my symptoms and to let her know how I was feeling a month later if things did not improve. Well after putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together, I figured it out that it was the Mirena that has been causing me this hellish nightmare.

On June 15, 2009 I went to go see my pcp to address my GERD issue and to start meds again. I told her that I was considering having my IUD removed because of all of the side effects that I was having. I told her that I was going to go home later and call my ob/gyn to make an appt. She told me that she would be able to remove it for me and so she did.

I instantly felt better--it seems like all of my symptoms have lessend or disappeared, and I had a bit of spotting which my pcp I was a happy person again--I was nice to my husband and was actually laughing when my 2 year old was having a tantrum in the bathtub! About 2 days later I began to bleed heavily and began to feel lightheaded, heart palpitations, cold sweat, and I felt like my legs were going to give from under me. I was thinking that I needed to go to the er. This occurred at 11:00 pm. I called my pcp and spoke to the on-call doc and he told me that if the symptoms continued that I should go to the er; I also called my ob/gyn on call doc (answering service) that I needed to have the symptoms addressed by the doctor who removed it and not my ob/gyn ( I was livid because I have been her patient for 10 years). Anyhow today I called my ob/gyn and spoke to the np who I am not very fond of and she told me that only the bleeding is expected and that all of the other symptoms are related to something else and that I should see my pcp for those. I disagree with her and believe in my heart that all of the symptoms are related to the removal of the IUD. Unfortunately I was not able to talk to my ob/gyn because she is off today. Anyhow I feel like I am feeling better although I feel like it will be a slow recovery and hope that there are no long term side effects.

What makes me the most upset is that the drug manufacture does not disclose all of the side effects, which I am sure that they are all very aware of. There are thousands of women with the same complaints and yet this birth control is still allowed to be distributed to women. Shame on them.

To all of you considering the Mirena: DO NOT HAVE IT INSERTED

Just want to survey everyone and ask for responses for the following 3 questions:

1. how long did you keep your Mirena and if you no longer have it, why did you have it removed?

2. how many of you had your thyroid checked? who's came back abnormal? what were the levels?

(I'm a medical student doing research on this one since I believe the levonorgestrel affects our thyroid hormone. My TSH was elevated to 5.2 which is considered "subclinical HYPOthyroidism". This was mid cycle when my natural progesterone AND synthetic progestin were cumulatively high. When I had it rechecked 6 weeks later (around my period when any natural progesterone level is gone) it was normalized at 1.5. So I think that the P+P screws up our thyroid and can throw us into a high TSH and "hypothyroid state". The opposite effect may be true during menstruation and we can become HYPERthyroid for a few days... hence the really bad anxiety?!)

3. where is everyone from? perhaps we can have support group meetings?

I was on Yasmin and then YAZ for about 5 years and started when I was 19, and am now 24.

ON YAZ: I got a lot of urinary tract infections, had mood swings, depression, snappiness, and anxiety. I also felt swelling and occasional bruising in my legs ( started when I was 23). I stayed really thin and never felt bloated (5''7 120). I also never got pimples.

OFF YAZ: I have actually gained a few pounds and I KNOW its from going off the YAZ because it happened almost instantly. (5"7 126) YAZ does have a diuretic in it, so it really does help with the water retention. I feel bloated for the first time in my life. I broke out a little bit on my face and back. However, my mood swings have gone away, and my depression and anxiety have been almost non-existent. I am so much happier! I no longer feel swelling and bruising in my legs. My Urinary tract infections are gone as well.

Overall, I am a little bit chubbier, and have a few more pimples. But- I am happier, less irritable, anxiety free, and generally have a better, healthier outlook on life. The swelling in my legs and UTIs have also disappeared.

Any suggestions on a new BC?

I had a lot of trouble from it anyway, the mood swings depression, cramping and discomfort during sex. i had mine for 2 years and 3 days ago i was at work and and i started getting extremely bad cramping. I went to the ER and they did an X-ray..then they TRIED to do a pelvic exam and couldn't because i was screaming in pain. Come to find out the mirena was hard to find cause it went sideways and was poking all sides if my uterus wall! The nurse had to give me narcotics through an IV just so they could remove it. Now i feel normal again in only days time, i don't know what i was thinking getting that man-made device inside something so fragile. I DO NOT recommend the Mirena to ANY woman out there........

I had the Mirena IUD inserted on April 1st 2009 for treament of endometriosis, nearly a month and a half ago, and I am absolutely miserable. I thought I was completely losing my mind, only to find out from finding this site and others that I am not alone. The worst of my side effects are the EXTREME anxiety and now depression. I have had a history of both from time to time in my life but nothing like what I have experienced since the Mirena. Also, my hair is falling out like crazy, my face is breaking out everywhere (never before), and worst of all I've gained 7 lbs since I got this thing put in. I felt ravenously hungry almost immediately, I never craved sugar and food like this in my entire life, not even when I was pregnant. I too was fooled by my OB in that I would experience little to no side effects as I cannot take BC due to the effect of hormones. She said that the Mirena is a localized synthetic hormone within the Uterus and would not at all enter my blood stream. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I'm a basket case, my 3 yr old told me that she misses her mommy, that I sleep too much. That is what finally brought me to researching my symptoms and the Mirena it was the only thing new that could be related and so it was. To summarize my side effects in order from worse to much worse: weight gain, hair loss, cramping, bleeding constantly, libido decrease, extreme tiredness, severe mood swings, depression, blurred vision, sever migraines (no previous history) and the very worst of all the ANXIETY. I'm generally a very happy positive person and lately I can't even stand myself. I often times ask myself when will I ever feel normal again. My OB refused to take this thing out after I went in for an office visit a week and a half after insertion. She said let's not "throw the baby out with the bath water" and give it till 3 months before we can say for sure that I'm experiencing this from the Mirena. Whatever, it's been 6 weeks and getting worse. Finally today I took some blood tests to prove that I'm not diabetic, that I don't have a thyroid problem and that my CBC is fine. Then finally she will consider removing it, well newsflash lady, I'm going to demand it be removed immediately. If not, I'll take it out myself.

I had the Mirena inserted in May of 2007 after the birth of my 3rd son I'm 26 years old and thought I was done with children for now I am very fertile and been with my (ex) fiance for 9 1/2 years so I thought this was the perfect B/C for me but I have went months without having a period and then bled like I cut a limb off I was told by my doctor that I was experiencing a miscarriage I thought HOW with me having the Mirena like I said I'm very fertile so since that one I have experienced 2 more miscarriages and I'm calling my doctor tomorrow to schedule to have it taken out because I'm currently having my 4th since having the Mirena I wanted this to prevent getting pregnant not to use like some type of abortion method I'm very upset about this had I known this would happen like this I would never got it. Now my only problem is what to use now Ive tried the ring,patch,the pill and condoms which don't work well for me I wish there was something similar but without so many side effects now that Ive looked on here Ive noticed I have a lot of the same side effects that other had but I did not know that this IUD could be the cause Ive had the headaches, mood swings, depression,hair loss and sometimes the tingling. Thanks to all that have posted it has helped a lot. My only other question is would my fiance be my ex had I not gotten the Mirena