Period pains symptoms and conditions

I've had my Mirena out for nearly 2 weeks now, after 15 months of living with the side effects. I've posted before about fatigue, crankiness & irritability, low-grade depression, weight gain, poor sleep, headaches, etc -- same old story as everyone else -- that came on gradually over the months. I'm still SO grateful to this website for making it clear to me that this wasn't just typical exhaustion due to having 2 little kids (now 3yrs & 16mos) or post-natal depression. Anyway, getting the Mirena removed turned out to be an ordeal in itself -- the strings disappeared and the doctor couldn't see anything with a speculum, so I had to wait 3 weeks to get an ultrasound and it turned out to be in the right place (phew!). Then I had to wait nearly 2 months to have a hysteroscopy -- they dilate your cervix and poke a camera up inside your uterus so they can see where the coil is, then they can pull it out. The poking and prodding was a huge drag, uncomfortable but not excruciating. When they actually pulled it out it barely hurt at all. I was a bit sore for a day or two, like mild period pains but nothing serious.

So, here's the update so far: My sex drive came back the very next day after being completely gone for ages! That was such a nice feeling again, to actually want to be with my husband instead of just going along for the sake of the marriage! I haven't felt sick or achey in my joints since it came out either, and the headaches are pretty much gone after being a constant in my life. I'm sleeping easier, and generally feel healthy again -- such a relief! My energy levels are still really really low though; I sure hope they start to come back soon. I think it's going to take awhile since I'd pretty much stopped exercising due to feeling so ill and tired all the time. I'll have to build myself back up through eating better and getting back to the gym, so unfortunately I think the weight-gain and fatigue are going to take longer to 'cure'. But still, I'm so glad to have it out and know that whatever happens to my health now, at least it's not being caused by hormones that just don't belong there.

Hang in there everyone; and don't be afraid of the pain in having it removed.

Well I have been on Aviane-28 for hormonal and period uses. Note that I'm 14 years old and I'm not sexuality active. I have been on Aviane for exactly 1 month 1 week and 4 days, and I HATE IT. I got this med to even me out my period pains and lately I have been feeling like crap, seriously. For the first month, my period lasted for that WHOLE MONTH. All I was interested in, I now hated, for no exact reason. In the same month, I was crying all the time and it made me so depressed. I told my mom about it and she said I should stay on it, but I really don't know what I should do. I have been eating like CRAZY and become so nauseated afterword. And for those of you who are just like me and have a panic disorder, it makes it that much WORSE with the episodes. I have noticed that my hair was been falling out a bit, and didn't realize it was the med itself from the comments has said above and below my comment. Honestly I thought it was from my hair dye that I did 2 months, but that doesn't seem right to judge that. Another thing was, I woke up at least 4 times last night and I really don't know why. Oh and a question for those of you who have tried out this birth control, had you ever had a weird dream of being pregnant? Just asking.

I have been on Yasmin now for around 7-8 months and am shocked at the responses that I have heard. Now that I have read into this I have had similar experiences with this pill - I have been on countless contraceptive pills since 15years and am now 25yrs and heard this was one of the best pills advised by my GP but one of the more expensive ones so were reluctant to put me on it!- previous problems, migraines, high blood pressure, weight gain and extreme IBS and spots but this pill apparently would cure this!

I have always had problems with being on the pill as they make my period pains worsen, cramps, extreme IBS however when I am off the pill I don't experience these symptoms - Does anyone experience the same?????

Have been to doctors several times with pains in my abdomen,chest and had to go to hospital to get this checked several times and got scans all normal no problems - i wonder if this pill has anything to do with this?????

Since being on Yasmin have noticed changes such as depression and feelings of extreme loneliness, feeling not so great in myself even thou my fiance tells me every day am gorjus, mood swings, wanting to burst out crying, headaches, extreme tiredness all day every day, and most recently extreme weight gain to my stomach is this normal am healthy eating and started exercising more to help but seems to be getting worse?????

It's really getting me down and am in the middle of planning my wedding and find myself not being excited or getting annoyed but it should be the happiest times planning my wedding. Advice..........????

Hi, i'm 24 and i've had my mirena coil fitted now for over a year. I have been experiencing cramps, bleeding, headaches, tiredness, dizziness and aches in my legs but never thought anything of it. Until now when my cramps are severe in my tummy and lower back. I can describe them as a few things, labor pains, severe period pains and also appendicitis pain. its not my appendix, as I had it taken out years ago. I recently went to my GP who advised that I have a pregnancy test just to rule out an ectopic pregnancy, which came back negative. She advised that I should take regular paracetamol for the pain and see how I go. But they don't seem to disappear. I now have the same cramps but now also my bum area as well as my tummy area and lower back when I go to toilet whether for a number 1 or number 2, and it is excruciating which makes me cry. I also recently had intercourse with my partner, and the cramps came back with a vengeance, and i was in so much pain, i almost called an ambulance. I have no idea as to what I think it is until I started writing my symptoms into the internet and came back that it may be my mirena coil. I never thought anything of it at first, but after reading other peoples side effects of the coil i'm beginning to wonder. Some people are saying that the coil had pierced there uterus and infected their ovaries, and they suffered with the same side effects that I am experiencing. I am scared as to what I think it may be, in case my coil has done the same. I have also noticed that i cannot feel my coil strings but at the same time I have not experienced any bleeding. Could anyone give me advice. Thank you N.

I have been on Yasmin 4-5years but recently i have been experiencing the following problems:
- severe period pains/pms
- palpitations
- chest pain
- migraine
- dizzy spells
- anxiety
- fatigue
- low sex drive

Thought it was mainly due to work related stress but now that ive read these comments im confident i need to come off this pill. Thanks : )

Opted for the coil after being on Depo for 2 years and putting over 12 lbs on, especially around my middle. Doctor said Mirena would be better for me.

31 July - Mirena inserted had intense pain afterwards and 'contractions'. Doubled up in agonising pain for almost 5-6 hours. Rang doctor and he told me to take strong painkillers. For around 2 weeks afterwards had like bad period pains every now and again.

28 Aug - Four week check and nurse couldn't find the strings so sent me for a scan.

10 Sep - Had the scan and was informed coil in place but a sitting a little high up in the uterus.

I had a holiday booked so decided to leave it for the time being. When I returned all the symptoms were still there.....acne, weight gain, bloating (feel and look 6 months pregnant after only eating snacks or light meals) had thrush for the 4th time since I had coil fit.

16 October - Went to my doctor for removal and he couldn't find the strings so now awaiting an appointment to have it removed in hospital.

Can't wait to get this thing removed. I only had it put in as with Depo I was piling on weight and Mirena is even worse!!!

Anyone able to shed any light on how they will remove it?

I need help can someone please help me... i have been taking eltroxin and my period is 5 days late. does this have anything to do with taking eltroxin? i feel all the period pains but im not bleeding or anything. Can someone answer this for me please? i really am scared about all this. :(

Aged 40 and with an 8 year old son, I had Mirena coil fit on 1st August after having the depo injection for almost 2 years and being fed up about my weight gain. I was advised by doc that there was no weight gain with Mirena as the hormone was local rather than in your blood system. I was in absolute agony around half an hour afterwards. It felt like I was having contractions every 3 minutes. Rang doctor and was told to take Ibuprofen along with Paracetamol, which I did. The cramps didn't subside until around 5 hours later. I was in tears with the pain. I suffered for around a week after with period pains. All seemed ok after, other than I checked and couldn't feel the strings. I also asked my partner to check and he couldn't feel them......I went last week for my four week check and neither could the nurse! I am now going to have a scan on Wed 10th Sept to see where it is! Can anyone tell me what happens after this....if they find it what will they do?

My God, This is so confusing!! I 'm 23 yrs old and I've been taking YASMIN for about 2 yrs. It really helped with my period pains, my periods were lighter and everyday in every month was totally normal for me. Everyone else in the world had the pains pains except me!!
A couple months ago, I decided to stop taking the YASMIN, because I thought that maybe I would be ok without it and save myself some bucks everymonth. But Oh My GOD!!
I never believed in the existence of PMS until last week:
I was on a diet and last week I just ate junk food none stop, my mouth was like a conveyor belt for ice cream, cake, chocolate, meat, pizza. And I knew I should stop cuz I was ruining all the progress I made with my diet... But I couldn't stop eating!!
My libido sky rocketed... Which was difficult because I was trying so hard not to be sexually active with my horrible ex-boyfriend... I tried to concentrate on other things, but having sex was literally taking up everything!!! I felt like a real whore....
My ability to suppress negative emotions was also difficult. I usually deal with a lot of upset persons on the phone and I usually am the one to re-assure them and give them all the information they need. One of my superiors enjoys picking on me and I ALWAYS let it slide. But last week... My God, I knew I was getting angry, I told myself "don't allow yourself to look ignorant and blow up" but it was as if I didn't have control!!!
I got bad cramps days before my period. Usually I get them the day before or on the day of my period. But I couldn't function!!!
My period came really really really late, by about a week and a half. I was so worried that I was pregnant especially because of my week of weakness with my ex... I took four EPT's.
When my period finally came... It came really heavy. This is embarrassing. But I'm wearing adult diapers at night. Tampons would be a waste. When I use the bathroom, blood just drips out in large gross clots.
And so I'm starting back on YASMIN.
Friends who took YASMIN experienced negative side effects: breast tenderness, leg cramps, increased PMS. But what I listed here was what happened when I came off it for two months. I'm not recommending it. But after reading this I realize that we are all different, different how?? I guess we'll need a Gyno or MD to give reliable answers.
Good Luck, and my condolences to you all!

thank you soo much for posting this!!!!
I had my first Kenalog shot on June 4th 2008. My periods were scheduled for June 13th and it came on the day. It ended on june 18th. On june 24th a week later, I started having pain in my uterus, i thought it was strange tht i was having period pains after i had finished my period. I am very regular..every 28 days..so im on day 3 of my second period for the month and I am doing my research...and i came across this website. I am stopping the injections right awayyy never again. I was never told of the side effects...I am soo angry!!

Hi ive been on yasmin since i was 13 now 18. Was orginally put on in beacuse i have v.bad period pains. Snyway about 7 months ago i started getting really heavy discharge, i was giving meds for thrush etc tested for stds all normal. the gp then told me it must be hormonal or in my mind! I was not statisfied and asked to be refered to a gyneo. She told me it was more than likely an ulcer in my cervix cuased by the hormones in yasmin, I was horrified. I have since been in hospital for an operation to get the ulcer burned off which was quite a painful experience. That was 3 weeks ago and since then i bleed everyday i am sore, and have the worst period I have had in years. To make it worse I have to stay on yasmin and could stay or end up in this situation again. Just think carfully before you go on the pill. Its not as simple and straight forward as you may think.

I've been experiencing severe stomach pains (not period pains) for the last six months. Symptoms are very similar to that of an ulcer (pain after eating, severe heartburn) except the doctors can't find anything wrong with me. Every day I'm in agony. I started taking Yasmin 2.5 years ago and it's been good for me (other pills have made me depressed and gain weight, daily period pains). I was advised to take 3 packs back-to-back then a 7 day break.

Could all this be caused by Yasmin? If so can anyone suggest a suitable alternative contraception?

Thank you for posting, everyone. This is the 1st place where I found information on side effects and it has been really helpful, up to a point.
I have been experiencing what I think are side effects from the coil...I just don't know what to do- sometimes Im absolutely fine, but I have been getting PMT, and not just PRE-menstrally... Because of this and because I can't figure out what other contraceptives I can use, I am a bit in denial of my problems!Also, because when I went to the family planning, the nurse tried to talk me out of removing my coil, saying my problems were not caused by it :(

The side-effects that I think I have:

*Mood swings. Sometimes REALLY depressed, feelig worthless and fed up with life, other times very angry and aggressive. Sometimes absoultely fine. But very up and down and out of sorts.

*Acne. Very bad acne on my face and my back, besides this my skin just looks different-used to look really healthy but looks red and without its usual glow. I feel like I look really ill. Really gets me down.

*Insomnia. Ive not been that bad for getting to sleep, mostly. But at certain times of the month very restless. Mostly my dreams are just really vivid and imaginative, which is cool in a way, but not right-I used to feel like this when I was going through puberty-is that a time of heightened progesterone??

*Itchy skin. But I don't know if this is my imagination.

*Pains. I have weird pains in my legs, period pains that kind of wave down my legs and odd stabbing pains in my uterus and tubes.

I just don't know what my alternatives are. As a sexually active woman who does'nt want to have children at the moment, as I am at uni, I feel like a second class citezen. I can't use condoms. Lets face it, they are'nt so good in the longterm. I have had the copper coil and the period pains used to make me faint and atually throw up with pain, so I got this. Hormones just don't agree with me...I think its too dodgy to use the withdrawl method or work out least fertile times on the calendar.

Does anyone know when the male injection is coming out???!! Or have another solution....?

Has anyone had any sleep disturbances with Mirena? I have had horrible nightmares and wake up feeling really shaky and horrible, and still really tired. Maybe this isn't caused by the mrens, but I can remember when I was younger i used to get pre-menstrual insomnia, the night before I got my period...just wondered if there was a link with all the progesterone/progesterin. Also, people who have had mood swings, have you noticed if they are particularly bad at one part of your cycle? Mine I would have to say, are really bad a few days before bleed and 3 or 4 days into the bleed, when I feel suicidal.

I've still not taken it out yet. Maybe 'm being a bit stupid, but I'm so scared of getting pregnant-I'm still at uni-and I can't think of any non-hormonal contraceptives....cept maybe something I've heard of called the 'sponge'. Has anyone heard of this or used it/know where I could buy it in the UK?I'd appreciate any replies! Thank you

I can't believe I have found this site!!! I have been having horrendous but very petty arguments with my boyfriend just lately, to the point I do not know if we are over as he is only speaking to me in a temper voice. Obviously I believe eveything is his fault(!) and now after reading the site I am wondering if it is all actually me and down to my pill, yasmin, as everything I have read about everyones mood swings rings true! I am almost 3 months in and have been experiencing headaches for the first time in my life and I thought it was just one of those things. My breasts are nearly up a whole size and I have become really really self conscious which I have also never been like before and few of my clothes appear to fit. I have also recently visited the Dr's with dizziness which I actually put down to Jasmin although she said it couldn't possibly be the pill and put it down to a dodgy eardrum which she thinks I have - also I believe I have become increasingly deaf... could that be the pill too or am I now blaming everything that is going wrong in my life on that one tiny little tablet????
I am going to book an appointment with my Dr for tonight but am really conscious that I am going to burst into tears the moment I walk into the surgery - is this the table or because of the rows with my boyfriend? (Like the chicken and egg!)
I have been on Dianette for years and have never experienced any problems - surely it can't be that bad, can it?????

Hi, I have been on Yasmin for 2 years now. I have ALWAYS been a very confident and outgoing person. For the past year i have had panic attacks regularly. I am very hot at night, I have trouble sleeping, yet my period pains are at a minimun and I have few symptons of PMT. (Mind you it is still bad enough to take codeine and paracetamol on the first day of bleeding).

Other side effects that I thought would clear up but which haven't are:- dark patches on my forehead and above my lip (doc said they would go, but seem to 'come' and go) and a very sore throat accompanied by swollen glands, sometimes on the right, sometimes on the left side of my neck. My fingers are tingly and my joints are swollen. The Chest pains could be related to anxiety. I get a migraine 24-72 hours before I bleed, regular as clockwork now.

The worst is the mood swings and the depression, I just really don't recognise myself, tired and teezy all the time.

I was very happy for the first 3-6 months that I took Yasmin, but after that I have known I haven't been 'right', but my anxiety and depression have made me unable to make a decision or be focused why.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed on the site, it's great to know I'm not the only one.

I'm soooo confused! I have just recently started feeling VERY depressed- when I fisrt got it put in, I was fine, no pms or anything. But I've now had it in for about a year and am thinking about having it taken out. My moods and my self confidence are very up and down. One moment I feel great and the next I want to scream and break things and cry. And I often do. I thought I was going mad, but having read these it all makes sense. I had been taking the pill and it made me depressed, so I got the copper coil put in. That caused me to have terrible periods, that were very painful and when I went to the family planning, the doc said that a mirena coil would be better for me and the hormones would not affect me, since the hormone is localised. But I have had bad acne on my face, chest and back and I had never had acne before. If the hormone is that localised, why is it causing the acne?! I keep thinking, maybe its just me being mental and its not the coil making me depressed. But I think thats just cos I feel a bit desperate- what the hell contraceptive can I use that wont make me depressed(no hormones)?? condoms are just rubbish. O and my sex-drive is currently non-existant and my relationship with my boyfriend is going down the drain due to that and the moods. My sex drive used to be healthy. My breasts have also shrunk but are painful. I luckily havent put on weight. I have really bad period pains, that feel like a 'snapping' feeling. If I ever had period pains before, they never felt that way. Its weird!
I don't know what to do. I will get it taken out-its not a financial concern for me since I live in Scotland. But it is stress to find something to stop getting pregnant!