Pmt symptoms and conditions

My wife had one put in about 3 days ago. On the second day, I slipped and made a semi-rude comment based on some mis-information I had. In a few minutes I realized I had spoken based on bad information so I apologized to her. She blew up and got twice as mad, and for the next 14 hours it was pure emotional agony. She brought up small issues that happened years ago and some of it wasn't even true. I was in trouble and getting pounded for little things she had forgiven me for long ago. I knew it was because of the hormonal changes from her Mirena. Also, we hadn't been close sexually for several days before the insertion, but now she has no interest, and just casually pushes me away. Touching her back and kissing her neck means nothing. I hope she has some of these other symptoms quick enough that she puts it together, because if I suggest anything to her at this point, I will lose my head. This is totally unlike her. The change was sudden, and it is clear it's due to the hormonal changes.

IF YOU FEEL/EXPERIENCE ANYTHING ABNORMAL FOR YOU OR DO NOT FEEL QUITE YOURSELF SEE YOUR G.P./NURSE AND SERIOUSLY CONSIDER GETTING THE MIRENA COIL REMOVED
This medication may be suitable for some people but if you experience any of the following, I urge you please, please please, 'demand' that you want the Mirena removed. My symptoms were noticeably worse around my time of ovulation. I've also found out that people previously treated for/suffering from depression should not be prescribed this medication. (I've been on Prozac in the past). I had it fitted in Aug 2007 to combat very heavy periods and severe PMT at the recommendation of my G.P.and had it removed Sept 2008. Symptoms I experienced :-

Dry/furry mouth
Headaches (over time these became migraines)
No concentration
Poor memory
Lethargy (constantly tired and drained)
Smelly discharge (still noticeable straight after washing)
Very heavy legs
Numbness in my legs
Joint pain and clicking (mainly in my shoulders and knees)
Developed facial hair (mainly under chin and jawline)
Hair loss
Weight gain around my stomach (without increasing my food intake)
Feeling constantly bloated.
Spotting randomly for duration of Mirena being fitted. (Brown spotting)

Panic Attacks ( awoken in the middle of the night with them) escalating to the following:-
Palpitations (for no apparent reason)
Clammy/sweating palms and feet
Aggitation ( during an episode if someone was talking to me I wanted to really yell at them 'Just shut the **** up! You're doing my head in!)
Feelings of madness (actually wanted to run away from my own mind)
Pins and needles/Tingling in my hands and feet
Electric shock like surges going through my body (my nerve endings were obviously suffering)
Muscle tremours/shaking (mainly arms and legs)
Eyes became extremely light sensitive
Heightened awareness of sound

Insomnia
Terrible nightmares
Depression
Feelings of detachment from the real world.
Visual disturbances
Episodes of blurred vision

These symptoms did not appear straight away but appeared gradually and with more veangance the longer I had the coil. The more concerning episodes I experienced happened after about 3 months and very erratically. I could not predict when or what time of day I was going to have an episode or pinpoint any reason for bringing on an attack. I had no control over the effects, was absolutely petrified when I experienced a panic attack and just had to ride it out.
All my G.P. did was prescribe me anti-depressants to which I reacted badly. Blood tests also failed to show anything abnormal.
I even tried herbal medicines as an alternative and experienced similar reactions to the prescription drugs. I've now become very pill-phobic and would rather ride out and get over symptoms myself. Paracetamol & Ibuprofen being the only medicine I trust to take now. I had a horrendous year and everyone suffered. Not only my family, but I was signed off of work for 3 months. It was a very worrying time for my husband and my children, who all had to keep an eye on me and witness the effects of my symptoms. On looking back now, I don't know how I managed to function at all and even do my job. Most of the time my energies were spent concentrating on trying to appear normal and held-together to the outside world.
Although I feel 100% better in myself, I noticeably experience more migraines and headaches than I ever did in the past, along with palpitations, usually during my week before. Two days before it I often really feeI like I'm losing the plot! I also really bloat up now a week before my period, feel sick and have a feeling of being ' very full', so am hungry but don't really want to eat. One of my big toe-nails has gone black over the past few months and not through injury. This has just been sent away for analysis. The one on the other foot is raised/ridged/thick/yellow, but normal growth has resumed half-way up now, which I feel co-incides with the state of my health on having Mirena removed. The nurse I saw recently explained that it is true that nails and hair show the history of our health so, for me, this would seem true.
I wish I'd been made fully aware of all possible side-effects of this medication and am now actually concerned that the effects I've suffered may have left some permanent damage.
In spite of all this, it's so good to be me.

Oh my god..... Thanks you all because until i read this blog I seriously thought I should go check myself in at the nearest asylum.....

I had a mirena fitted in Sept 08 and although I did already suffer with PMT in the form of a low mood and feeling a little insecure it was NOTHING compared to how i am feeling now... I cry for no reason, have mild anxiety, terrible Insomnia, and mild depression and need so much re-assurance and basically just feel like everything is a bit too much to handle and my period may be lighter but lasts much longer... I've been so worried about driving my poor boyfriend away who doesn't really know how to deal with it

I'm going to call my doctor now to get it removed ASAP!!

Thank goodness for this website - I thought I was going crazy!!! I had the mirena coil fitted at the beginning of 2008 and have experienced most of the symptons you have all listed above. I NEVER got spots whilst a teenager and now they have gone crazy on my forehead (which is very greasy!!!). I also have three months of very light bleeding and then all of a sudden it goes crazy with bad cramps, sore boobs and a whole month of bleeding on and off. I have also been feeling VERY tired and am very grumpy with my husband - worry and pick holes in the smallest things (which is very unlike me!!)

I went to my GP who said it would "settle down" but it hasn't so I have decided, upon reading this website, to make an appointment to go back and have it removed. I was on the pill for 10 years before this and never had any of these symptoms (apart from a bit of PMT before I came on).

Thanks very much everyone for sharing your problems - its been great xx

Hi all, I have used the Mirena now for 6 years! I have never had any problems with the insertion or taking it out as I've just had it changed after my first five years. It was recommended to me by my doctor as a form of birth control and because I used to get bad PMT, for this it has worked a treat. My periods have stopped completely and I haven't bled for the at least the last 3 years, but it's not something that happens over night. However like everything it has it's down sides and now at 31 years old I am suffering with really bad acne and have done for at least the last 2 years, it is really i tchy and painful and really gets me down, I have been prescribed two different courses of antibiotics which haven't worked. I have over this time also gained weight. So after this length of time I am toying with the idea of having it removed, but for me i need to make the decision whether I want my periods back again and no acne or no periods and terrible skin, it's a difficult one, oh to be a woman!!

I am so sorry to read about the bad experiences with Mirena. For myself I was put on it to keep hyperplasia and the beginnings of an oestrogen dependent cancer at bay. I was very hesitant at the thought of having something in me but oral progesterone had left me bloated, with awful migraines and terrible mood swings.

Once the Mirena had been inserted, It took a few months for all the bleeding I had been having to calm down and eventually stop altogether, but the most wonderful thing to me about Mirena were the side effects it had on me. My monthly migraines completely disappeared, so did my terrible depressive PMT, and best of all, the severe almost disabling pain from endometriosis was completely gone! I began to be one of those blessed women who hardly know they are having a period.

Five years later and a repeat one was put in last week. I have an extremely gentle and skilled gynae and a lot of the problems I am reading about seem to be related to incorrect insertion that is leading to terrible pain afterwards, because the darn thing is to low in the uterus and is sticking into the poor woman.

I quite understand those for whom is just seems not to be suitable, but for me I wish I had known about it's wonderful effect on endometriosis, migraines and PMT years ago. I would have taken it for that alone 20 years ago. And it is keeping me cancer free. My sex drive has also not diminished on it at all.

So I post this just to balance the negative experiences. Above all get a skilled and gentle Gynae.......that is the secret of skilled, speedy, and gentle insertion of an IUD.

I had the mirena fitted to cure my PMT's, I have had the mirena fitted 2 years now only side effect was a little weight gain until this last month i have had constant breast pain, I haven't seen this listed much as a side effect i am very worried has anyone else suffered with this side effect

heather

Wow, I'm so glad I found this site and now realize it's not "just me" as one doctor put it. I have had my Mirena in for 18 months. The first year was great, no side affects at all. 6 months ago I started getting bad allergies, the worst PMT symptoms ever starting three weeks before my cycle which I barley get anyhow. I continue to struggle for breath on a daily basis and I have never been this tired in my entire life. I have been in and out of doctors surgeries wondering what's wrong with me, even seeing a naturopathic. Nothing helped until I found this site, I have never had children and I don't plan to have any. I thought this would be a great 5 year at a time solution for contraception as doctors claim I am too young to be "fixed".
Now I truly believe I need to have this removed for my own health. When I do I will repost the outcome.

Indeed, some people do have a good experience with Mirena. In fact, I did at the beginning. I began to notice the side effects more and more after about a year, I got v.bad mood swings, acne, joint pains, etc. They have mostly gone-apart from the acne, which as the other lady said, has gotten worse! I hope to god this improvesl. I never had a spot in my life before this damn coil. I got my first 'real' period. It was weird, but ace! It felt proper and as if the build up had left my system. it was really heavy, but only lasted 5days and was right on time. I didn't have any PMT. In fact that was the first weekend that I have gone out dancing when my period was due and not felt depressed and like everything was shit! Wooo. Happy days. I am taking Angelica sinesis or 'dong quai' herb to help balance my hormones. I am using condoms and so far I feel soooo much better for not puting extra hormones in my body, that it doesn't need.

I have had the mirena out now since the 17th October, I had had it for about 2years.it was causing me mood swings, very bad acne, chest pains, insomnia, a weird feeling-sometimes painful-during sex, lowered sex drive, itchy skin, a weird tingling in my facial skin and very bad pre-menstral depression. Am now using condoms as my sole contraceptive(bit scary, but doing fine so far!).
So far my skin has improved alot-I thought it would take a lot longer, the spots haven't completely gone, but no new ones and it looks alot brighter. Also, mood swings are alot better, no pmt and no depression. The chest pains have gone and the tingling, havent had such horrible sleeps and sex drive is definately back!
If this thing is affecting you, then get it taken out! I feel like a new woman! I have not had another period yet, due in the next week. mmmm...I wonder what that will be like! Weird. Anyway, Im just pissed off I never had it taken out earlier an that I thought I had no other choice. It definately didn't agree with me. Do not listen to any docs/nurses who tell you it is 'only local hormones and will therefore not cause side-effects'! LIES!!! It tells you on the leaflet that it may cause these side effects. I dont know why they give you this contradictory info.
Cheers X

Had mirena inserted Jan '05. Spotting and such for months afterwards but overall have been pretty happy. Love having such light periods, but I said to hubby this morning that I feel like my pmt is getting longer and longer. At the start I had breast tenderness, bloating, and feeling down for a few days. This month breast tenderness, bloating, and mood changes seem to have started 10 days before expected period. In addition I have been seeing a skin specialist for acne for over a year and still can't seem to get on top of it. Most important for me though is that for the past 18 months I have had trouble with my voice (my voice feels deep and thick and talking is often uncomfortable and I can't possibly sing). Have seen heaps of different specialists and had stacks of tests but there doesn't seem to be any physical reason for the problems. Has any one else had voice problems?

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....?

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.

UPDATE

Hi ladies just thought I would give you an update. I have just received my ct scan results and they are fine.
I have been of Yasmin for 5 months and I have to say I am getting better yipeee, I never thought the day would come.
I had dizzeyness, heart palps, BAD anxiety (thought I had a brain tumour), numbness in left hand and arm, persistant headaches, shakes,
I know yasmin is coming out of my system because my PMT has returned, my boobs have shrunk and my spots have returned, but who cares I can handle all those over the HORRIBLE yasmin side effects.
I do get a LITTLE headache, and anxiety around ovulation and when I am having a period but it is NOTHING like what it was.

This HORRIBLE thing does work its way out of our bodies, hang in there.
Joanne.

Hi Girls,
I've been on Yasmin for 2 weeks and have been experiencing some new changes since taking this pill that have caused me to look online for some advice on side effects. Basically I have been reading through some of the horror stories here and just want to know if I should stop taking this stuff now before its too late! I have had a coil (hormone free) for 2 1/2 years which has been fine , just a couple of painful heavy days during the cycle but otherwise love it. The reason I decided to go on Yasmin was to hopefully help me with PMS symptoms of mild depression, low sex drive, and bloatedness for the 10 days before my period starts. So far it is hard to see whether these symptoms will improve as it is early days. So far I have been bleeding , painfully but not too heavy since I started this pill, I have lost about 10 pounds in weight which is probably the only positive thing and also a very tempting reason for me to stay on it, but the last few days I have felt a bit depressed again and low sex drive and super sensitive about everything, v needy and insecure , plus weak and tired ,not good!
Do you think I should stop now or give it till the end of month?
I did try prozac fo PMT for 6 months last year which really helped but don't want to be hooked on anti depressants for life, even though they kept my weight down too I gained 15 pounds when I came off them.
I have just bought agnus cactus, but is it enough?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated!!!
P.S. Anyone thinking of trying the coil to stop babies, I highly recommend it!!

Post your symptoms since stopping Yasmin!!!

Hey everyone it's Kay21 here and I just wanted to post my 3 month off Yasmin update. Because stopping the pill is a hard decision, I figured we should all post are updates here to help/support those who are planning to stop or who have recently stopped Yasmin.

I have been off of Yasmin since April 17. As some of you already know, I was experiencing horrible side effects while on Yasmin for 3 years (particularly stomach problems, vaginal dryness, muscle cramps, increased blood pressure and heart rate and anxiety).

The first 1 month off of Yasmin was okay. In fact, I felt the best I had ever felt in a while. My blood pressure and heart rate decreased and the migraines and muscle cramps went away. But when I hit the 2 month (8 week) mark, I felt HORRIBLE. I was severely depressed and anxious. I was crying all the time and felt a severe sense of DOOM! The physical symptoms also started to become problematic. The acne increased and I started growing more facial hair. The worse symptom, however, was that I started losing a ton of hair. I would lose stray hairs all day (probably about 200 a day). Since I have hit the three month mark, the hair loss has gotten MUCH WORSE! Now I am losing CLUMPS of hair all day. I have seen several doctors about this. Some say it's because of stress and a few (a derm, GYN and endo) say that hiar loss is common after stopping bcp. I have already loss about 1/3 of my hair.

I am also really concerned, because I have not had a period since April 22. So my doctor has put me on provera for 10 days to induce a period.

For those who have stopped Yasmin, what have your symptoms been (i.e. increased acne, weight gain, anxiety, etc.). Has anyone experienced hair loss? How long did it take to get a period???

Thanks...

im on my 3rd month taking yasmin - so far ive had none of the bad side effects a lot of other people have reported.
I have only had a very light period lasting 1 day, no pmt,back pain or cramps.
Compared to other pills ive taken and had bad reactions too (including most symptons mentioned on here) Yasmin ismuch much better