Ob gyn symptoms and conditions

I know that for every woman, the side effects or various medications and hormones are different. I personally had the Mirena IUD inserted a little over 3 years ago on the recommendation of a friend who, at the time, had nothing but positive things to say about it. I went on that recommendation alone, and now wish that I had done more research into the side effects before having one inserted.

The initial insertion was not horrible, but not great either- a pinch at insertion, severe cramping and pain within a few hours, and a dull aching feeling in my abdomen for about a week. After that, though, I couldn't feel the IUD at all.

It was not long after that when I began to experience side effects. Like many of you, I attributed my symptoms to stress and life changes. I figured that my migraines, back pain, fatigue, dizziness, increasing urinary tract infections, and weight gain were a result of a changing metabolism and high-stress job.

When I went to my family physician to have blood work done (because I was declared anemic when trying to give blood), I was told that I wasn't getting enough iron and I went on iron supplements. (The supplements then made me constipated- sorry if that is TMI, but that was a very unwelcome result!) When I took trip after trip to my ob/gyn for antibiotics to treat UTIs, I was told that the UTIs were unrelated to the IUD. When I saw a urologist to have three separate tests done (one for hormone levels, another for uterine function, and yet another to test kidney function), all tests came back within normal range. Even when I went to the ER one Saturday morning, when my back was spasming so badly that I could barely walk or stand, I was told that my back pain was stress-related.

All the while, my friend (the one who recommended the IUD in the first place) was dealing with similar problems- weekly severe migraines, back pain, etc. She was being told the same things by her ob/gyn- none of her symptoms were related to the IUD. Since she and I trusted our doctors completely, we went on about our lives, upped our workout regimens, tried to de-stress as much as possible, took OTC pain meds when it was all too much to bear- and yet for both of us, our symptoms continued.

Then, in July, my husband and I decided to begin trying for a baby. I made my appointment to have the IUD removed (which was a painless process), and it was only then that I began to research the Mirena IUD online. My former ob/gyn had moved, and my new one seemed ill-informed about what to expect once the IUD was removed. I wanted to know how soon I could conceive, and she knew very little about the process- heck, she didn't even know what the hormone was called that she had given me to jump-start my period (it was progestin, by the way- a very common prescription that my paramedic husband knew quite a bit about, but the ob/gyn didn't even know the name of!).

Once I got online and found this site (among many others), I finally began to put two and two together. I am now firmly convinced that my symptoms were directly related to the Mirena IUD. Again, different women are affected in different ways, but I know that for me- nothing good came of messing with Mother Nature like that.

Now that I've had the IUD out for about four months, I feel like a different human being. I did experience the "Mirena Crash," but once that passed, I almost immediately began losing weight, my abdomen was no longer blown up like a balloon, my energy level and sex drive increased, my back pain is now gone, and I haven't had a migraine or UTI since.

I've since switched ob/gyns, but I now have a healthy distrust of anything medically new and experimental. I will never have the Mirena inserted again, and I will definitely research anything and everything regarding my body. Ladies, listen to your bodies- mine was screaming at me loud and clear for over three years, and even though I knew that something was very wrong, I didn't listen. I'm just happy that I "accidentally" figured it out. (Oh, and my friend will be having her IUD removed later this week. She and I now call ourselves the "sister skeptics!")

Hello, Everyone!
I have read a few of the posts and have finally realized that the Mirena that I have has caused some issues for me. I have had the Mirena for about 3 1/2 years now. I just thought it was me, but I have been experiencing painful intercourse with abdomen pain, no sex drive, mood swings and depression. I have an appointment with the OB/GYN in a couple weeks to get the Mirena removed. I pray that I will be back to my old self again. Take care!

I hate this Nuvaring!! I am so depressed all the time, always tired, angry, and I NEVER want to have SEX!! OMG!! I never could've imagined that this ring was doing so much harm then good. Looks like I'm making a trip to my OB/GYN.

I had Mirena inserted 6 weeks ago and just had it removed. My medical history includes TIAs (mini-strokes) and migraines. I had a migraine EVERY DAY while I had Mirena. I also experienced ZERO LIBIDO (so what was the point of birth control!?), weight gain and mood swings. I had Paragard inserted a few days ago and I am already slowly returning to normal. My point - if you have had problems with hormones in the past, not only estrogen, but also progesterone, you may want to stay away from Mirena. My OB/GYN argued with me the entire time that there is no way Mirena could cause these symptoms since progesterone is not released in the bloodstream - BULL!!! Women, listen to your body and trust your gut.

Thankyou for posting all these indepth reviews. I spent more than an hour going through each one of them, they gave me a much better insight into the drug that I am taking - Loestrin 24 Fe.
I have been put on these to correct my heavy periods, I have been taking these since about a month and a half. I have never been on a birth control pill before. I noticed that I had difficulty in wearing my contacts the first month and attributed this to the pills since its a major side effect listed with using the pill. I spoke to my Ob/Gyn about this but she asked me check with my eye doctor first. But it just so happened that I never got a chance to visit an eye doctor.The problem ceased to exist when I changed my contacts, so I am assuming that it had nothing to do with the BC pills. Other than that during the first month I had headaches, which went away on their own, guess my body got used to the pills. The third side effect that I noticed in the second month (now) is the spotting (never saw that the first time around). Its not that bad but its definitely annoying. Other than that I haven't really experienced any other side effects. I have never been sexually active so cannot really comment on the libido part. My bleeding has decreased to almost one-half of what it used to be and I don't get the bad cramps that I used to get before, so this pill definitely seems to be doing what my doctor said it would do. Other than the spotting, I don't have any complaints with the pill. I haven't monitored my weight so thats one thing I will have to take a look at. Hopefully I wont have any other side effects, if I do I will make sure that I post them.

Good luck to all the ladies in finding the right pill............

I had my Mirena inserted on Aug 12, 2009. The insertion was very painful. I had taken 800 mg of ibuprofen before the procedure but it didn't touch the pain. I am 40 years old and have had two children naturally with no medication, I feel like I have a high pain tolerance. I had severe cramping and bleeding for about 24 hours. Luckily my husband came with me, I would not have been able to drive home. I have spotted or bleed ever since. I don't know when I'm having a period or just spotting. I have been passing chunks of what appears to be tissue????? I have an offensive odor. I have not noticed weight gain but I am bloated and my clothes are tighter. I am am very moody and get frustrated easily, no patience. I have a lack of energy and don't have much of a desire to do any of the things I love. I have frequent headaches......Now for my major complaints.....I have tingling leg sensation down my legs with a warming sensation, I get extremely nausea. I have had extreme crapping in my abdomen which goes around to my lower back. They tend to be more on my right side. Very comparable to labor pains but with no peaking just stays intense. My breast feel like I'm breast feeding again and hurt all the time. We no longer have sex because it hurts to bad, besides I bleed all the time and stink! Wow if that dosent take the desire away! At times I feel as if I have a UTI, I believe this all contributed to the Mirena. I too called my OB/GYN and he said theses are not side effects of the Mirena.whatever! It is coming out Oct 9, 2009 at 2:30 p.m. I wish I would have researched it more. Thanks for sharing your experiencing because I felt like I was just falling apart.

I had to re-add my original post as it was deleted.. did not realize that personal information (e-mail) should be put in the post. It has now been 3 days since I have had the Mirena taken out. I feel about a 20% increase in my energy.. My hair is no longer falling out in the areas that I would normally be able to gently touch and pull out about 30-40 hairs..and my skin already is starting to calm down even though that was not really that bothersome to me. I must say that my OB is wrong. It was the Mirena. I did not expect my hair to stop falling out so soon, but I am certainly not complaining. I will continue to monitor and advise through posting so hopefully that will give some High expectations to others who were having the same problem.

I have to say to the ones who are noting that they have not had any problems with Mirena that I too did not have any real issues for over a year. I got it in 4/30/08. Maybe 2 months later I noticed the hair and skin being oily.. was no big deal to me.. felt I could deal with that. Then I noticed fatigue and heart palpitations that I forgot to mention as a side effect (every now and then maybe 5 months later). And then around the same time I noticed my feet tingling and my hands on one occasion turning bright red with my veins bulging.. at that point I started to research Mirena.. read some posts.. but didn't think that was my problem. June of this year is when I noticed and nickel sized bald spot on the right side of my head. Because my hair is long and pretty thick I could Hide it and thought I had better get this out of me. I couldn't right away because I have a high deductible on my insurance. Well I just got it out this past Thursday because I found 2 more spots that could be considered 4 because of the pattern of balding.. so Please pay attention to your body. I do agree with my OB that it is probably not the medication.. I think my body was reacting to having the actual device in it and was recognizing it as a foreign object and was trying to fight it off..causing an autoimmune response. As I mentioned.. my hair is no longer falling out.. the only thing that changed was me taking the Mirena out. Please pay attention to your bodies because I don't think the side effects happen all at once. I am just happy that it seems that it has compromised my hormonal balance and hasn't caused any thyroid issue.. but I have a doctors appointment with my PC to get further testing done just to be sure. If any of my symptoms reappear or my hair begins to fall out again.. I will update. !!

I had a baby in May.I had the mirena inserted in the beginning of August. I began having night sweats and noticing a lot of hair loss at the beginning of Sept. I went to my Ob/gyn who said it couldn't be the mirena causing the symptoms. So I thought that maybe I had a thyroid issue.(After my last pregnancy I had post-partum thyroiditis, which caused my hair to fall out and night sweats). I had my levels checked, and sure enough my t4 levels were high. So, now I am waiting for my t4 levels to go back to normal and hope that's what was causing my symptoms, not the mirena. I have also read that the mirena can cause thyroid problems, so who knows what is REALLY causing my symptoms. My most recent symptom is numbness and pain in my wrist/hand. I'm thinking it is possibly carpal tunnel syndrome which can be caused by hypothyroidism. If you just had a baby and are having the night sweats, hair loss, heart palpitations, weight gain etc.... I would recommend getting your thyroid checked.

I felt I should share my story, even though it is quite lengthy, since it is similar, and every story helps those who are still unsure.

I went on birth control at the age of 15. I tried several kinds, but all of them made me nauseous. I was on Mircette the longest, and seemed to be doing fine. Then around '03/'04 I started seeing a new ob-gyn, who told me that my problem was that I had a low tolerance for estrogen, and that was what was making me feel so nauseous. She said there was a new type of pill specifically for women like me called Yasmin that had very low doses of hormones. I was excited about starting the new pill, and did right away.

I continued taking Yasmin until about a year ago, when I switched to the generic of Yasmin, Ocella, due to the fact that my insurance didn't cover Yasmin and it was becoming expensive. On the Ocella, which I took for two months, I felt bloated like I had a basketball in my stomach, constipation, and other issues. I was told by the pharmacist that I was probably allergic to the additives that are sometimes in generic pills. So I decided to find out which birth control was covered under my prescription plan, call my gyno, and switch.

My gyno called in Loestrin Fe, but they filled it with the generic, Microgestin. I took this for approximately 3-4 months, and felt absolutely terrible, with panic attacks, crying, sleeping problems- the whole bit. So I thought that I should go back on Yasmin, no matter what the cost, and attempt to regulate again.

I went back on Yasmin six months ago, and though some of my symptoms have improved over how I felt on Microgestin, I am still a mess at times. I have moments when I am anxious and moments when I am absolutely joyful. I get really angry over little stuff, irritable and snappy. Then I get weepy and feel terrible about being snappy. Then I'm happy again. It's an emotional rollercoaster. I was never like this before- my moods were even, and I handled stress well. And I was always pretty happy-go-lucky.

Physically, I have ear fluttering/clogging/pressure/popping/pain. I'm getting fairly frequent migraines, which I never had before more than once a year. I, too, have numbness on the right side of my face in which it feels like my eyelid is swelling, neck stiffness and pain, and numbness of fingers and arm. I went to the ER a while back because I thought something was severely wrong due to symptoms of dizziness (vertigo) and right-sided numbness. I have severe TMJ and jaw pain, which I didn't have before, and allergies, which I also never had before. I have heart palipitations and sometimes random chest pain under or to the side of my breast. All of these symptoms have started to occur in the last six months after going back on Yasmin.

I went to an internist, who did blood tests, checking for thyroid issues and checking hormone levels. My thyroid was temporarily hyper, but my hormones were, according to the test, normal. But when the blood test was done, I wasn't experiencing any symptoms, so I'm not sure if it's accurate.

My yearly exam with my gyno is coming up in November, and I'm going to discuss these things with her, but I'm afraid she'll look at me strange for thinking that these symptoms are related to Yasmin...

Ironically, the only time it seems that I'm feeling pretty good is when I have my period! Which I guess would be when I have no hormones in me whatsoever! I feel happier and my sex drive goes back up, and my moods even out.

I am now considering, after reading these posts with all of you that were kind enough to share your stories, going off of Yasmin for good. I'm not sure what, if anything, my gyno is going to recommend, but I was considering trying an IUD instead...

Wow you ladies are so right! I have had all the symptoms you all listed but my OB/GYN says it not the Mirena. What frustrates me the most is the random spotting and the cramps. I got my Mirena inserted 7/10/09 and it hurt like hell. I would not do it again. Immediately after insertion, I cramped and had severe lower back pain. I was almost in a car accident on my way back to work due to a sudden blurry vision episode. Afterwards that day I felt fatigued and cramped all afternoon. These cramps were short, sharp and uncomfortable, nothing like menstrual cramps. BTW, Im 29 and never had a baby so I don’t know what labor pains feel like. I recommend that if you do decide to get a Mirena (don't do it) take the rest of the day off after insertion and have someone drive you home to avoid any unknown side effects you might get (like the blurred vision I got). The rest of the month I spotted, had uncomfortable cramps and the lower back pain. 2nd month the back pain, cramping and spotting went away. I had a period as usual, but lighter. My 2nd checkup was after my 1st period not three mo, that’s what my doctor said and since the side effects had ceased, that is what I told my dr. All she said was that my strings had shortened and she yanked on them to make sure they weren’t too short and said everything looked ok. She asked me a question that caught me off guard that you should ask before you get your Mirena. She asked me if my bf had complained about getting poked! Because I had bee spotting all month I hadn't had any relations and said no but I should have asked her if the strings would be sharp enough to poke thru a condom or hurt the penis. NOW the OB/GYN might laugh at u but ASK! What I've learned thru this experience is that I need to do more research on things that will go into my body ad ask ask ask questions no matter how silly they might sound. Now going on to the side effects again. I’m going into my 3rd mo and I'm considering removal. My period was12 days late and I only spotted lightly that week. THEN I began to spot heavier 2 days ago. I have cramps today and am very fatigued. I'm also emotional (crying as I'm typing) almost like I'm having my period now. I'm very frustrated, my sex drive has not dropped at all but now I cant have sex because I'm spotting again. AND I fear my bf is gonna get poked! I am losing hair, but my hair has always fallen out easily so I'm not sure if that's due to Mirena. I do have some light acne on my back and face but it can be controlled by medicated creams obtained from a dermatologist (I use Tazorac and Duac for the face and Clindamycin phosphate topical lotion for the body) I get nauseous, dizzy and irritable randomly, and I even thought I was pregnant. Another thing I didn’t like my doctor telling me was that you cant be sure if its effective as a contraceptive, just have sex and if you don’t get preg then it works. What? Also I asked about how one can determine about it being embedded and she said that you couldn’t know until you have it removed. If it doesn’t come out easily then it might be embedded. What? I'm imagining a painful bloody extraction, which is the only reason I haven’t taken it out. But thanx to this website and you ladies, I'm feeling better about getting it taken out. I think that as long as its not embedded, there shouldn’t be any complications. Finally the last side effect that frustrates me is the weight gain. I have gained probably 10lbs and lots on the midsection. I'm not joking when I say I LOOK preg. AH! Yes I agree with one blogger below when she says that we should get together and formally sue. Good luck to you women who decide this is what you want and congrats to the women who actually like it. But I pray for all of us who are not taking well to it even if our doctors don’t believe its Mirena causing us all this grief. Now I have to consider my birth control options again, not happy about that. If you can tell me about BC that isn’t the pill or a tubal ligation or Essure, please let me know. Also feel free to ask me question about any of my comments. I will try to help as much as I can.

I have/had severe endometriosis and began using BCPs therapeutically after having my left ovary and fallopian tube removed due to a large endometrioma. I used Yasmin for over two years and loved it: It calmed my PMS mood swings, did not produce acne, no weight gain, and no between-period spotting. I switched to Yaz for three months, but my periods became irregular and I had spotting issues, so I went back on Yasmin. I never stuck with a BCP before because all others produced the aforementioned side effects.

Unfortunately, with Yasmin, my blood pressure went from the 120/70 range to the 180/90 range in two years. My OB GYN was so alarmed by the increase that she actually made me lay down for half an hour so she could retest me. The second reading (after resting) was even worse than the first.

The doctor took me off Yasmin immediately and now I'm on the blood pressure medication "Prinzide" which is causing horrible side effects.

I wish I'd never taken Yasmin.

I have been given three procedures with kenalog injections. First was in May when I has an epidural for my work related back injury. Though I received little pain relief from the epidural, I began to have menstrual spotting only a week after my regular period ended. This spotting continued every day for about three weeks. I had a normal end of June, beginning of July period. I started my next period the Friday before my first SI joint injection with Kenalog which was Wed. Aug 5th. Well from there my period never ended. Since then I've spotted everyday and all day long. I am sore from having to wear pads all the time. I went next to my f/u appt where they gave me another SI joint injection. I did tell them about this bleeding, but they weren't concerned. So here I am still spotting until today. This morning I woke up feeling fine besides my usual spotting I've had. Got to work, was working for about an hour to so and began to cramp. Went to bathroom and passed a clot about the size of the palm of my hand. And then consisted to have heavy bleeding soaking a pad in about 1.5-2.0 hour time. During the whole spotting I've had, I took preg. tests, with most recent one a week ago and was neg. My other concern is I have an IUD-the copper Paragard. Called my OB-GYN and she wanted to see me right away. Left work and on my way there (45 min. drive) I began feeling lightheaded and weak. My mom ended up driving me the rest of the way. Anyway, everything checked out fine-IUD ok, neg preg test, no chance for tubal preg. Was told must be side effect of the Kenalog. I've been bleeding for like 6 weeks and am soooo sore from pads all the time. I am on light duty due to my work injury and I feel I should be covered for today and tomorrow because OB-GYN wants me on bed rest to stop this heavy bleeding. I feel I should be paid under Workers' Comp since these missed days are related to a complication from the treatment of my work related injury. Any suggestions or comments from anyone?

I have been on Loestrin for a few years. Recently, I have noticed that my hair has got SUPER thin and is falling out from the roots. I am going to have my thyroid checked next week, but has anyone else experienced this??

Omg.... I've had the mirena for a few months now and have a lot of the same side effects as a lot of the other women that have posted. I had a bad rash on my face and I thought it was acne at first and I had no clue it was caused by the mirena at first until it got so bad I went to the dermatologist and he told me that is what is causing it and he said they have at least 1-3 girls coming into their office weekly with the same problem. Since then I have made my appointment with my OB/GYN to get it removed. It is just not worth it.

My 3rd child was born in November of 2008, because I'm very fertile (having 3 children in less than 3 years) and not sure if I'm completely done, but not wanting any more any time soon, I opted for Mirena. I didn't want to deal with Depo because of the constant stories of weight gain, so Mirena sounded great. I hate taking pills because I'm forgetful. Anyway January of 2009 at my 9 week check up I had the Mirena put in...within a month my periods were virtually non existent, some of it could be due to breast feeding, but I still pretty much have no periods. Last month however I went in to the ob/gyn to have him check some pains I'm having in my lower abdomen, an ultrasound confirmed cysts (i read the tech type this out) and then the doc lied and told me there weren't any. Before Mirena, I had gone down to 175 lbs within a month of having my son thanks to weight watchers, after Mirena weight watchers wasnt working. So I quit paying for it so I of course gained back 10 lbs. I'm still eating less than 1500 calories a day, I chase 3 kids around all day, eat decently, don't exercise a whole lot but still don't sit on my butt all day and weigh about 190 lbs. If I even consider eating a piece of pizza I gain weight. This is ridiculous. My doc said he'd remove it if I continue to have pains because that usually helps, well that just one of many reasons I'm calling as soon as Im done typing here. I'm tired, my face is worse than it was in high school, I wear my husbands clothes all day, my wedding ring won't come off, I snap at everyone for everything, I'm sad, and I'm fat too boot. I would love to get back down to pre-pregnancy before the third baby 172lbs, but no matter what I do it doesn't work. Hopefully after removing this thing I can lose that and then some. I'll actually want to work out and have sex again! Not to mention have the desire to play with my kids rather than chase after them and fuss at them for everything they do.

Hi, I am 28yrs old. I tried the nuvaring for the first time 1 month ago. After 2.5weeks I noticed I had shortness of breath (before i would normally bike about 30 mins three times a week), my heart was racing, chest pains, leg pain mainly in my left calve, depression, a rash on my arm, yeast infection, body aches and flu like symptoms (I went to the emergency room this weekend and they told me I had sinucitis) , when I breathe in my chest hurts. Also this past weekend my period started and I am bleeding so so heavy and the pain is unbelievable ( I am thinking about going back to the emergency room as I type this). Basically I have almost every side effect that could lead possible stroke, blood clots or death. I need help. I am so scared right now, but i am not going to use it anymore. When I asked my ob/gyn about my symptoms she said "the nuvaring does not have side effects.

Well, I am so glad I found this website. I am 39 yrs old and my husband is fixed....so I have no reason or desire to take any form of hormonal birth control. I never liked the idea of inserting a ring or taking hormones after the many female issues I have endure. I only agreed to this because I have painful ovarian cysts chronically, at least 6/year and 3 or 4/year that take me into my OB/GYN for a scan. I have previously had a tubal pregnancy (tube was saved because my OB/GYNs also specialize in fertility) and have had endometriosis. I have had 3 laperoscopic surgeries and 3 miscarriages. First for the tubal, second for follow-up endometriosis and third to remove a GOLF ball sized ovarian cyst to prevent ovarian torsion. Finally, I agreed for the 4th time to take birth control (previous attempts were thwarted by side affect from oral products. I used the nuvaring for 3 weeks and removed it today. Five days into the use I started cramping and bleeding AGAIN (10th day of my cycle). I have been bleeding, heavily for 11 days now, suffered dizziness intermittantly, have had a headache for the last 6 days and been more anxious, moody and tearful. I removed the ring today! I see my gyno on Tuesday. My cycle was predictable before, albeit painful and with ovarian cyst. Just want to say to all who took the time to share. Now I know it isn't in my head.

Thanks ya'll,
~ Texas Pharmacist

i also have been having pains in my back, i just cant wait for the day to end, some days i feel like i worked out all day. The things that i used to i don't do anymore like dancing,exercising and being more energetic. I haven't had trouble with the sex drive actually i want sex more and i don't have drywall either. I really have a sexual drive the week i take out the ring. this past two months have been the worst the for me, i taking to my doctor soon but every time i tell my doctor and i get checked for the problem the results are always the same that nothing is wrong. so what can i do

I never thought I would ever be posting my experience with BC but I think this could be useful to other women worldwide. I have been using Yasmin now for a year and a half and I agree with everyone here at the beginning I felt great, beautiful skin, controlled short term periods, stable weight. My body changed in all the right places. My breast turned a cup larger (I was a 34B) my buttocks got larger and rounder. My boyfriend was enjoying the changes as much as I was!! I thought this was the perfect pill for me and I actually recommend it to all my friends. Things started changing for me about three months ago. I started to feel tired, I use to work out 5 times a week now I can't even work out one. My eyesight started to change, I started getting cramps in my legs at night, my legs started feeling heavy as if I was losing circulation, fast heartbeat, and the occasional migraine to top it all of. Then I found the commercial about the lawsuit on TV and I panicked!! I googled the lawsuit and I found this websi

te and after reading everything here I went straight to my Dr. this afternoon with all my side effects. I am 39 now 18 on diferent types of BC and up until now I have been a very healthy and active person. When I read everything here I was decided to get off thie pill inmediately. But here goes what my Dr. said: (I trust his opinons because he is a friend and has been my obgyn for the last 15 years) " first Yasmin is the best hormone BC on the market, very women has different side effects and giving me another pill wouldn't solve my problem. I could actually get worse. He gave my the option of going of the pills but asked me if I was ready for all the changes that would bring. Weight gain, acne, anxiety, depression etc. Another option he suggested I try was taking an antioxidant complex, omega 3, and lecithin. All natural supplements which he firmly believes will make me feel much better, help my circulation, and minimize the side effects. I will start this treatment tomorrow and stay on the Yazmin for at least another month. PS. My health is in perfect conditions after blood tests and sonograms. thank God!! I will keep everyone posted on my progress. And I hope this is useful to all you ladies. God bless!

I am 22 years old and I have never had any children. I do not understand what made the doctor think that this horrible device would fit in my uterus. When I had the Simply Mirena inserted in March 2008, I almost passed out, (since he inserted it wrong once, he had to pull it out right after and do it again). I think of myself as a pretty strong person, but I literally cried out, and I almost fainted while paying my co-pay at the receptionist's desk. My husband had to come pick me up from the doctor's office because I couldn't even walk to my car, but I wish that was the worst of it.

Within one month, I started feeling VERY depressed so my doctor put me on Effexor XR (which started a whole bunch of other problems), but now that I have been off of the Efffexor for a while and I am noticing problems that I had been blaming on the Effexor.

Here are some of my symptoms...

- Weight Gain
- Feeling tired, weak, and depressed.
(To the point that I will sleep for 18 hours if givin the opportunity.)
- Chronicly Dry skin
- Constipation and Diarrhea
(I haven't had a normal BM since I had it inserted.)
- Memory problems
- Cannot concentrate
- ABSOLUTELY NO SEX DRIVE!
(And when I do have it, It hurts for days afterwards.)
- Lower back pain
- Stabbing pains in the uterus
- No menstrual cycle
(I would spot for the first few months, but now it is completely gone.)
- Massive mood swings
- Nausea

Well of course my doctor thought for sure that this was my thyroid, so (without medical insurance), I went and got all my blood work done thinking that I would finally have an answer to my health issues... NOPE!
I received the results today and found out that my thyroid was perfectly fine, no anemia, good blood counts... Nothing.
Now not to say that I am not happy that my thyroid is okay, but I just wanted an explanation for all of this. SO my doctor sends me to see my NEW Ob-Gyn, to have this "Thing" aka Simply Mirena, taken out of my body. After reading all of the problems that the other women have been having, I am CERTAIN that this is the cause of all of these problems.

I would like to thank all of you for opening my eyes to something that was so obvious. I have an appointment to have mine removed next Friday (I'm not as brave as some of you ladies to take it out myself). I will keep you all posted on my progress.

Thank god I found this site! My body has been going crazy ever since I started taking Yasmin two years ago and I didn't put two and two together until reading all of these postings and realizing the Yasmin might be the culprit.

I'm a healthy 31 y.o. who exercises regularly, doesn't smoke and has been on various oral contraceptives for the last decade without too many side effects beyond slight moodiness and minor weight gain. About two years ago I switched over to Yasmin. About two months ago I came across this site as I was researching hypertension which I had developed. I was confused and didn’t know what was causing it as I am healthy, unstressed and have a history of low blood pressure. But as soon as I found this site it all started coming together and I realized Yasmin had done much more than raise my blood pressure. I immediately went off the pill and almost right away many of my side effects went away. Here's what I've experienced since being on the pill:

-Weight Gain: Almost right away I gained ten pounds. I’ve effortlessly lost five of those pounds since going off the pill.
-Seborrheic Dermatitis: After a few months of being on Yasmin I developed a painful scalp condition called Seborrheic Dermatitis. Side effects of this are inflamed scalp, redness and most importantly, hair loss. The doctor said it is generally brought on by stress but on further research I saw that it is also caused by hormones, so it wasn’t a stretch for me to realize Yasmin might be the culprit once I saw this site. Over the last couple years I’ve been using all sorts of prescription shampoos to make the problem go away and nothing helped. But as soon as I went off the pill my scalp condition cleared in only a month without the use of shampoos.
-High Blood Pressure: Before I went on the pill my BP was about 100/70. During the time I took Yasmin my BP slowly climbed to above 140/90. Within two weeks of going off the pill my BP was back down to pre-Yasmin levels.
-Irregular Heart Beat: After about a year and a half of being on the pill I started to suffer from seriously irregular heart beat which went away immediately after I got off Yasmin.
-Hyperpigmentation: I know any birth control can cause this but none of them ever have until I went on Yasmin at which point it sprung up all over my face. I’m hoping the dermatologist can clear it up now that I’m off the pill.
-Tightness in Chest: Happened around same time as irregular heartbeat and is now gone.
-Anxiety: I’m not sure I can blame Yasmin for this one since going off Yasmin has not caused it to go away. But enough posters on this site mentioned it as a side effect and it wasn’t a problem for me pre-Yasmin, so I wanted to mention it.
-Irritability: I’m generally easy going and don’t let the little things bother me, but as soon as I went on Yasmin everything started to bug me. Now that I’m off Yasmin I’ve been in a much better mood.

If anyone is on this pill or thinking about going on it, I implore you not to. Too many risks especially since there are so many other pills out there that don’t have many side effects. I mean, there are close to 5,000 postings on this site, mostly against this pill while if you search the web there are almost no other pills that generate this kind of attention. That alone tells me something. I hope the makers of the pill pull it from the market immediately or doctors stop recommending it.

Hello,
I am eighteen years old and have a two year old, and a five month old. I have had the Mirena in since 4/09... I bled for the first two weeks, then stopped bleeding until I went to my OB/GYN to get my three month check on it. They did two sonograms to make sure that it was inserted properly, and my doc said that it was the best one she every put in. I started bleeding heavy again after the exam and am extremely bloated. I feel like I am pregnant, but most defiantly am not(blood test). I play softball weekly and I get severe cramping and cannot hardly move afterwards. I have gained fifteen lbs. My boyfriend says I have always been naggy, but have gotten worse, and it is hurting our relationship. I cry over the silliest things, headaches have increased and are worse than normal, my fingers are swollen, and my boobs are killing me. The discharge is horrible(kind of reminds me of being pregnant). I want to get it removed, but am scared that I will get pregnant again, and I never could remember to take the pill, and NuvaRing(do not get) messed me up bad. The depo shot made me gain ungodly amounts of weight. I have tried it all... I think i may stick it out and see what happens, but if it gets to worse I will definitely have it removed. This sight has been really helpful on finding out the true side effects and not just the ones from the Mirena website, which are mostly lies or sugar coaters, NEWAYZ THANX LOTZ OF LOVE!

I have been on NuvaRing for a little over a month now and I'm going to take it out probably today. I have been extremely nausea. I feel like I did when I was pregnant with my daughter. It's horrible. I kept taking pregnancy test because I really thought I was pregnant. Thankfully I'm not but this is a horrible side effect from the NuvaRing. I'm also experiencing daily headaches and occasional migraines. I have been very tired and have no energy or sex drive. I would never recommend this to anyone

I had a Mirena inserted in December 2008. The pain of having it inserted was almost unbearable. Three weeks after I got it, I started having severe pain in my right side. I really liked not having periods, so I was in denial that the Mirena could be causing the pain. I had a CAT Scan done and an IVP done, and both came back fine. I had prescription pain killers, but nothing would help this pain in my side. I even went to my OB/GYN, but he said the Mirena couldn't be causing that kind of pain. Finally, in May 2009, I had the Mirena removed. As soon as the doctor took it out, he said that it had been in the wrong spot. Instead of being up in the wider part of my uterus, it was just above my cervix. He said that was definitely what had been causing the pain. As soon as he took it out, I started feeling better, and I haven't had any pain like that since. The pain had been the worst part, but I also gained about 10 pounds and lost quite a bit of hair while I had the Mirena.

Hi all, I just turned 20 in April and I had the Mirena inserted at the beginning of May 2009. At first I didn't stop bleeding for about 3 or 4 months. My OB/GYN told me that this was normal. So I went on with it and since then I have been feeling hungry all the time, I am constipated and when I do go to the bathroom it feels like I am pooping out razor blades, my shoulder just recently started hurting so bad that I can barely move it. I feel very irritable all the time, I have no sex drive, I am depressed, I am getting to be so moody that my fiance feels like I am mentally abusing him. Not to mention I just had my precious little girl and I get so frustrated with her when I know it's not her fault. I have NEVER been this way with babies. I couldn't imagine hurting her physically, and after reading everyone else's side effects I am seriously concerned about my Mirena...Should I get it removed or am I just stressed out because of other things in my life??? Please write back and tell me your opinion.

P.S... My main concern is my baby...She doesn't deserve this...