Oily hair symptoms and conditions

I have had my Mirena for 3 yrs. (Oct 2006) For a long time my doctor, nurse and I joked about how I was the poster girl for this product. I didn't have much cramping with insertion, had one slight period a month later, and have been period free since December '06.

A few months later I broke out with the cystic acne and they put me on Yaz. It seemed to help for about 6mths. I then went off the Yaz and was fine for a few months, until I broke out again. This time Yaz didn't work. I've delt with them ever since. In the mean time I started having troubles falling to sleep. It was very sporadic at first until this past Jan. (09) My doctor put me on 10mg of generic Ambien. In July she cut me off. I had a full blown panic attack! The next day I contacted another dr who doesn't have a problem with me being on them. She put me on several anti-depressants until we found one that seems to be helping.

I have always been a people person, full of life and love for everyone! Now, I dread going to the store, or taking my boys (11,9 & 4) to soccer practice/games!

My husband has mentioned from time to time that I complain of a lot of headaches. Come to think of it now, they happen nearly every day to one extent or another!

I've been researching the Mirena the last couple of days because of the acne and sleeplessness. MOST posts talk about the symptoms beginning right away, making me think I was crazy and just looking for a reason to feel this way!

My husband has been my rock and is very supportive of me. He has no problems with me taking it out, but will NOT get the sweet lil V done! ugh If I can get this out and have the acne clear up. I'd be HAPPY!

First symptoms: Acne
Then: Sleeplessness, Headaches, back pain especially lower, mood swings, anxiety/depression, oily hair, uncontrollable crying... I'm sure I could go on. The symptoms don't have to be instant. In my case they came slowly...

GOD BLESS!

I've had my mirena for almost 3 years. I decided to get one when my last child was 6 months old, in Oct. of 2006. My CNM assured me that it was a good choice for me, even though I was breastfeeding. For the past year, I have not been able to find the strings. I read that sometimes they can soften up and curl around the cervix, but they are NOT there. I imagine they must have moved up into my cervix or uterus. This scares me a lot. Along with that, I have had many side effects, and I've noticed they have gotten worse as of late....

-Hair loss, oily hair, dandruff, weight gain, oily skin/break outs (I stopped having breakouts once I hit my early 20's and I am 29 years old with pimples again). Terrible mood swings, nausea (as of late), fluttering/spasms in my uterus (as of late), heavy breasts (as of late). I'm actually thinking about taking a preg. test tomorrow to make sure I'm not preggo, that is how bad my symptoms are right now. I have not had a period in so long, I'm not even sure when the last time was.

I'm going in a few days to see about having the mirena removed. I'm very nervous because I don't even know if it's still where it should be. As far as BC is concerned, it's great, because I can't remember to take a pill, but it isn't worth all the other things that come with this IUD. It's mindless BC but it's also worrisome for my own health BC! At this point, I'm thinking about getting rid of hormonal BC all together and using a diaphragm and practicing Fertility Awareness. I'd rather take my chances with something that is not going to make me crazy, sick, or put me at the possibility of major surgery/loss of my womanly parts.

I had my Mirena put in 10/08 at the end of my period, after having my youngest in September 2008. I had bleeding for about 6 months daily, heavy at first and then just enough to be annoying. I had some random nausea during the bleeding period. Since the bleeding stopped in May 2009 all the wonderful symptoms started. I suffered from nausea and bloating every day, all day until just last week. Then last week the nausea went away (mostly) and the constipation started. What a nice trade off. We were in Wisconsin Dells the past few days and I started experiencing pain/numbness in my hands that went to my elbows and at times to my shoulders. I don't know if this is related to the Mirena or pushing a heavy double stroller all over and up big hills. I have had pain/aches under my armpits right next to my breasts for a month now too, along with shoulder and collar bone pain. There is occasionally pain in my breasts similar to the letdown pain I experienced while nursing ( stopped month ago.) I had an ultrasound last Tuesday and the Mirena in in the right place and I am definitely not pregnant. My ob/gyn told me to follow up with my PCP as none of these were Mirena symptoms including the nausea. My PCP gave me a stool softener and did a chest xray which was normal. I was beginning to think I was dying or had some deadly disease until I found this website. Oh yeah I forgot to mention the awful headaches I've been getting on and off, I think looking back mostly at the beginning/ middle of my cycle. I still have spotting on and off and get a really light period every 21- 26 days. The minor things I have noticed are oily hair, light acne and irritability. I have an appointment to have the Mirena taken out next Monday. Has anyone else experienced these symptoms together? Also could somebody please tell me more about the Mirena Crash? My ob/gyn just said to expect a long heavy period. I want to know how long it will take to feel normal if these issues are Mirena related. I would love to get some opinions from other Mirena users. My email address is ****** Thanks!

I've never done this so hopefully it goes where it is supposed to.... I am a 24 year old mommy of 2. I have been on wellbutrin (generic) since late march. So about 3 months. My problem wasn't really depression, but anger. I have always had a short fuse, but I was getting ridiculous with my 4 year old daughter and even I knew it. Well, I was on the 150 xl for a month and a half, then asked the dr. to switch me to something that I could take 2 times a day because the xl wore off right around 5pm and gave me headaches.... So now I am on 150 sr 2 times a day. I have to say that it really is helping me. I kinda feel emotionless sometimes, but I'll take that over feeling like I might rip someones head off. On top of working on the anger, so far I have lost about 25 lbs! I got on the mirena (huge, horrible, god awful mistake) after having my 2nd child and gained about 20 lbs in 1 year. (it also made me the reincarnation of satan)
So, good side effects: No longer angry all the time, no longer fat
And, bad side effects: No sex drive (may be due to 2 kids, not the pills), blurry vision, oily hair, dry mouth (which causes really bad breath in the morning) and I swear, I had Restless Leg syndrome when I was preggers the first time and it was HORRIBLE! It seems that now I have Restless feet syndrome :D My feet always feel like I'm spreading my toes apart (even though I'm not) Don't know what the heck that's all about, but figured I'd throw it in :D I'm also on YAZ which from what I read isn't the best BCP, so maybe I should get off of it.

I have always been thin -- not waif-like, but proportional and around a size 8. I never had a six-pack, but did have a flat stomach and good core muscles. The other consistency about my health was that a little extra exercise usually produced quick gains in strength and stamina. Not so much now. Keep in mind that I'm a runner and eat fairly well...

I had my Mirena placed on the day that I finished a 6K -- in May 08. (Literally went home to shower, took a PB&J sandwich to snack on during the procedure lol, and went to the clinic.) It's June 09 and I'm having it removed tomorrow. I've had the weight gain, very oily hair, and I don't care what the doctors say: I can feel that little sucker! My stomach has been bloated-looking for a year. Yet, ANY time I do any sort of ab workout (i.e. a few crunches) I have cramping for the rest of the day. I've gone up a size or two and none of the pants I wore last year fit me. I've had my thyroid checked to make sure it's not burning out... I've second-guessed everything except the Mirena.

I've had back pain, but it's upper not lower... so that's probably unrelated. I was being treated successfully for depression prior to my Mirena being placed... although I have had to up my dosage within the last 6 months. My periods did go away about 6 months in, but if I do strenuous ab activity (like I did on Friday) within a few days I will have bleeding. Like today ;) So, the advantage of fewer periods... not an advantage if you can't even predict the week you will be bleeding!

I recently started taking topamax for migraines. After increasing my dose to 75 mg twice a day, I am almost migraine free. However, my hair is extremely oily and having to wash it with a clarifying shampoo twice a day. Nothing else has changed other than my this medication so I am assuming it is a side effect of the Topamax. Has anybody else experienced this?

Thank God for this Site!!!

Just wanted to add a recent post. I have all the same symptoms... fatigue, emotional roller coaster, dizziness, headaches, as well as feeling incredibly insecure. I want NOTHING to do with sex. TMI warning... My boyfriend and I used to have sex AT LEAST on a daily basis, now I cant stand to think about it. I am 25 and have played sports all my life. I even coach for a high school team. This BC is aweful. On top of not having enough energy to do ANYTHING, when I pushed myself to workout, there were absolutely NO results. This is a debilitating drug that has been branded with an incredible amount of false advertising. It seems the pro's that the company braggs about the most, couldn't be further from the truth.
So once again, if you don not want:
Dizziness
Eye sensitivity and pain
Extreme mood swings ( from throwing things to crying over commercials)
Severe cramping (even when not on your period)
Insecurity
Weight gain and inability to loose weight
Food craving
Migraines
Oily hair
acne
Fatigue
DO NOT TAKE YAZ!!!!!

I have just gone back onto Yasmin after an absolutely horrifying experience trying to come off it.

I have taken Yasmin for 3 years with minimal problems. My skin was fantastic - never a blemish. I actually LOST weight while on it and went up a up a breast cup size. I got lighter periods which was a godsend. I did get a few problems though - gas and stomach bloating as well as headaches sometimes shortly after taking it and occasionally break-through bleeding. But for me the pros outweighed the cons.

I came off it recently as I'm no longer in a long term relatonship and it was just awfull. My skin broke out, I got very oily hair and skin and felt like I was going through puberty again. The worst problem was that in just 3 weeks I blew up like a baloon. I literally stacked on weight every day and my family all made suggestive comments like "been enjoying the cake lately?" I was so angry since I'm such a healthy eater and excersize every single day!!!!! I have never had a problem wth my weight before and the only change I made in my lifestyle was coming of Yasmin. I was so upset with my appearance I have actually gone back on the Yasmin. However its ridiculus to stay on it for beauty's sake.

Has anyone ever experiecend this before??? If so what did you do????

Oh, and has anyone else experienced excessive sweating and oily hair? This is gross and I've never been like this.

I started having oily hair which is unusual for me, then I started crying everyday and became very lethargic. Then my scalp felt like it was on fire, and I noticed my hair falling out. I was also becoming really angry. I got so depressed that I felt I just couldn't live anymore. I was actually looking for a connection between scalp problems and the Nuvaring on the internet when I found out that many women experienced depression with the Nuva ring. I have had it in 5 months, and was going to leave it in until my period until I realized the increased risk for blood clots as well. So I took it out last night. I like the concept of it, but the hormones suck.

Kim
Hi BitterRN here.
All I can tell you about your hormone levels is what I too have experienced myself.
I had my hormones tested by blood and saliva 3 months after I quit bcp.
Both tests showed estrogen and progesterone levels as normal.........HOWEVER
On my saliva test My level was 11... Normal is 20-50 (I am sure I run on the higher end of that scale as I have or should say HAD the oily skin, oily hair, smalller breasts before yasmin..) This level is extremely low, and the test level stated LOW.
My blood tests drawn at exactly the same time on the SAME EXACT DAY, read normal (at the very lowest end of the scale) so my gyn said, all levels are normal.
NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When I had the results evaluated by a bioidentical Dr. later she said no, the blood levels were not "normal" and her words were "for an 80yr old maybe, but not for you"

So long story short, I kept testing, with saliva tests month after month (they have to be done at a specific time every month) and here is what happened.....

Month 4 after stopping,
My estradiol went to 0.8 now in the low range
Progesterone dropped to 72 now in the low range
Testosterone went UP to 15 still low range but higher.
Cortisol went up to 9.3 High ranges are 3-8. So just a little high probably from stress.
Symptoms, still feeling up and down with ? improvement.

Month 6 after stopping, (I skipped a month due to expense, I pay out of pocket for all these tests)
MY estradiol is range but still all of my symptoms are not gone
Cortisol still a little high at 8.9.
I am feeling better than before and symptoms are resolving, but I am not feeling getting better as quickly as I would like, so I do something REALLY REALLY stupid...

I try to start my old bcp ortho novum, thinking I did well on it all those years (12 yrs) and my hormones are pretty well getting to be more normal...or so I thought, now looking back not really, still had a ways to go, but I was not thinking clearly, and started them, at first I felt like things were getting back to normal, but about 12-15 after being on it, I felt the anxiety coming back. I stopped them on day 15, and it was like all the symptoms started over again (really wanted to die, How could I have been so stupid?) I believe I would have really felt better by now if I had not tried to do this.

Anyway, I saliva tested 1 month after and I already knew before the tests came back that my testosterone had fallen again to 17
My estrogen was normal at 1.3
Progesterone was really low at 16!!!!!! normal is 100-600
cortisol high at 11.

Next month after stopping
estrogen low again at 0.9,
Progesterone coming up at 52
testosterone 15 whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! somebody shoot me!
still feeling like sh*!
I really tried supplementing with bioidentical hormones at my doctors suggestion at this point, but It is really hard to find a dose because they are used to caring for much older women so it was a guessing game, consequently, I think i used a little too much testosterone,

Next month testing
progesterone dropped and testosterone shot up to 80!!
I called the lab and they said this indicated the dose I was using was too high, that since I tested while using this high dose, the test was registering high (in other words this was not my true level and it would come back down as soon as I stopped using it.) I asked why my progesterone went down as I was supplementing with progesterone creme as well, she said when one hormone is too high the other hormones become suppressed. Ahh.
So I quit supplementing altogether.
And now I am waiting for the next results, I should have them by monday or tuesday.
Just a side note, I am feeling better just as I was before I tried to take the bcp the 2nd time. It seems like this time I may be getting better faster? I dont know, depends on the day you ask me.
This is why i have been asking silke about her hormone levels and why I think that it may be her testosterone that is the problem, as some women have trouble getting their testosterone up after being on bcp or after pregnancy. I really feel this may be the problem as I did not feel better until this particular hormone started going up, as i felt crappy again as it dropped (especially with the anxiety) However, a doctor not familiar with hormones will say a Low normal level is normal. Its NOT.
This is just my experience. I cannot write it in stone. Hope it helps.
BitterRN

Silke
Hi, did you get copies of your labs?
Anxious to hear from you.
BitterRN

Hi Bitter RN and everyone,
Bitter RN, I would love to talk. Maybe we can meet for lunch or something. It would be nice to meet someone that is going through the same thing. My email is******. Email me and I will send you my number.
Reading all these post make me mad, sad, and alittle better that I am not going crazy. We are all suffering. I had the shakiness alot in my arms in the begining. That has gotten better for me. I still have the shortness of breath sometimes. I also have headaches in the back of my head and dizziness. I am ovulating now, so I really feel yucky. I just sit and wonder if I will ever be me again. Now I am on Lexapro and I worry that I will never be me again. I guess as long as I am happy, anything is better than the way I have been feeling. I just wanted to add that I too, had problems with the vitamins. They were making me more jittery and nervous. Which is weird because I never had that happen before the yaz. Does anyone else have the oily hair and painful cystic like pimples in scalp? Just curious. This is annoying me too. I have been having more good days than bad days this week. Yeah i guess! I still get the anxiety alot at night. It just hits me out of no where. If there is anyone that has the oily scalp. Do you have any suggestions on a product that helps. I had never had oily hair.

Hi,
I always had terrible hormonal problems, but even doctor don't believe me. I used Yasmin for about three months because of my irregular periods, it was OK for that time or at least not worse than usually and my periods had been regular. I decided to quit just because I am always scared of hormonal medizines and pills. I have been the last weeks on the internet searching for all my actual physical problems and I found out that Yasmin has been even worse to my hormonal system. Since I quited Yasmin, three months ago I don't get my period, my hairs is falling like I were poisoned, the heart goes faster, I am anxious, depressed all time, and off course, there is no need to talk about the 3 or 5 kg I gained. And, what is very strange, is the problem with the "dying extremeties", specially legs. I thought my lately lack of interest on sex was just because I have been feeling so bad lately, specially with the acne, which seemed to be better for a while with the pills, but now it is even worse.

I wouldn't say that Yasmin is completely guilty about the situation, but maybe some women have a very sensible hormonal system, always ready to collapse. Perhaps Yasmin, as usually hormonal treatments are, finally destroyed my already week hormonal system. I love this page, because usually hormonal problems make women feel so strange, that other people, and off course doctors, prefer to diagnostic psicologic problems than real physical hormonal problems.

I wonder if somebody is going through my same problem, slow metabolism, hair loss, heart palpitations, lack of period, over weight, anxiety, sadness, "dying legs", extremely oily hair, and acne. By the way, while I was taking the pill I didn't realized that the hair of the legs had been really growing much faster than it is now.

If somebody went through the same problems, and could tell me how long it took until feeling better, or some recomendations, I would be glad of hearing that.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences.