Post partum depression symptoms and conditions

I had Mirena put in about 3 months ago and I have been living in Hell without knowing why until I found this page. I had had moderate post partum depression before getting it inserted, but since having it put in I have felt like I have been losing my mind. It has put my marriage in jeoporday and my job.

I have had the Mirena for 11 months. I am 47 years old. I had it inserted after the birth of my daughter (at my six week checkup), who is now one year old. I thought that the depression and debilitating tiredness were part of post-partum depression, but it just keeps getting worse. I feel like I have lost the last year of my life, and today I feel like I don't even have the will to live anymore. I almost can't get out of bed in the morning unless I absolutely have to, I have depression all of the time, but it gets worse during PMS, I have chronic back pain anyway, but at PMS time it is excruciating, I have NO sex drive, I cry at the drop of a hat, I feel worthless and unhappy. I have not gained weight, rather I have lost it and have virtually no appetite. The only good thing I have noticed (and it was immediately) is that my skin tone changed for the better. I have been debating about having it removed, but I don't think I can go on like this. It is not fair to my husband or my baby, not to mention myself. I am glad I saw this website today. I agree that my doctor refuses to admit that any of these side effects have anything to do with the Mirena. I also bleed (lightly) at least 10 days per month. I don't have insurance, but Planned Parenthood said they would remove it for $80. I am definitely making an appointment in the morning. I just hope the "crash" I have been reading about isn't too bad on me. I don't know how much more of feeling this depressed I can take.

Having read a lot of the posts on here I have just made an appointment to have my coil removed. I only had it inserted 2 months ago but have had severe fatigue and been unable to work as well as quite bad depression, very tearful, and loss of libido. Luckily I have not put on weight - lost it in fact - but I just don't feel right at all. My homeopath warned me that the doctors would deny that the coil was causing any of these symptoms but isn't it better to remove it and see?

I got the Mirena inserted about 5 weeks after having my baby and have had hell ever since! Almost immediately after having it inserted I had a feeling like something was in my vagina, kind of like feeling a tampon in there so it was tough to get the thing off my mind. I also started having panic attacks about something being in my body (the Mirena) and it freaking me out. After only 2 days of this I had enough, I could tell my body was telling me this wasn't right. I had it put in on Mon the 3rd of this month and taken out on the 5th! I felt great until Thu morning (the 6th). I got flu like symptoms that hit hard. Nausea, no appetite, diarrhea, which soon led to weakness, tiredness, and off and on anxiety also bleeding like a period. I was so ill that I could not care for my kids (the new baby and a 3year old) only lie in bed miserable while others cared for my children. I made a Dr. appointment the next day and she said it was just the flu so to eat when I can and call on Mon if I still felt sick.
On Mon I still felt sick, I went back to the Dr. and this time she ordered blood tests and thought it may be from the IUD but could not confirm and had never heard of effects like this before from the IUD. She said to just keep doing what I was doing. The sickness lasted until the following Wed then let up although there was still some depression/anxiety feelings on occasion then all of the sudden on Sunday night I got nausea again and have been "sick" again ever since. This whole time (except the 3 or 4 days I felt OK in there) I have not really been able to eat much and have lost 11 pounds- not healthy! I have also had to pass off my kids to others to have them cared for while I can't which is totally depressing in its self. My husband is at his wits end with me pretty much disabled for no apparent reason so it is certainly putting a strain on our marriage too. I know my friends and family have tried to help as much as they can but I also know they are getting tired of the situation too. ANYONE ELSE HAS THIS EXPERIENCE? HOW LONG BEFORE I GO BACK TO BEING NORMAL??? I just really want my life back and of course I would never recommend the Mirena to anyone and if I could go back in time and not get it I SO would!!!

Well I had my Mirena inserted in July 2008. A month and a half after my little guy was born. A week later I started to experience sever irritability. I mean to the point where i would just yell at my 2 month old son to shut up(I know pathetic). About three weeks later I woke up to feed my son at 2am and I felt short of breath and my heart was racing, my hands and chest were cold and tingling. I thought i was dying. After extensive work up for a pulmonary embolism which was all negative they said that I had probably had a panic/anxiety attack. I was then put on anti depressants for post partum depression. Weird I have no family history of postpartum depression and have never had depression issues in the past. I can't say whether it is from the mirena or if it is truly PPD but it really makes me wonder after reading all of these posts. I have had irritability, hot flashes, chronic yeast infections, ovarian cysts and so on. I had my Mirena removed a week ago after yet another yeast infection and ovarian cyst and after reading all of these posts. My OB cultured the Mirena and it grew out E-Coli!!!! and Enteroccous bacteria. After I found this out i read a few studies that showed that over 50% of Mirena IUD cultures grew out E-Coli, staph, and enteroccous bacteria. Which now explains the DISCHARGE!!! I have had since this thing was put in. Ladies if you are having chroinc discharge and yeast infections you need to really consider having this taken out. How scary. I have noticed my patience coming back and I feel relief almost I still feel tired and have hot flashes but my OB said that after they treat me with a course of two different antibiotics that should go away. Good luck ladies!! The only bad thing is I have my period again :(

OMG! Just reading these posts are giving me chills. I have had mine in since end of April 08. I had my son in March 08. I was prescribed Zoloft soon after having my son for post partum depression. It didn't help much and the doctor said it should go away by 6 months. It didn't. The symptoms have gotten worse and include thoughts of suicide often. I am EXTREMELY moody. I feel like I am psycho! I yell at my kids and hubby. I cut myself off from friends and family. For a while I was cautious everyday but not so much anymore. I have severe cramping, irregular periods, migraines, and I get that funny feeling like its something in my belly too. Worst of all is the weight gain. I have 3 children and I am naturally thin. After my 1st two I went back down in around 6 months. My son is almost 16 months and I am the same since after his birth! I am 5'7'' 160 lbs...normally 131. I look 4 months pregnant. I workout 5xs a week and have a strict diet..nothings working. Not to mention the dramatic loss of interest in sex. Me and my hubby were very frisky and now I just don't want to be bothered. When we do have sex there is pain and sometimes bleeding. After reading this post I have now realized these things have to be because of the Mirena, too many people have the same symptoms. I am suffering from low self esteem because of the weight gain and other issues and have become very paranoid. It may sound dramatic but I am suffering, my husband and children are suffering and I am making an appointment tomorrow to get it removed....

I had my Mirena put in back in June of 2008 right after I got married. I, too, was lead to believe that the effects of the progesterone were purely "localized" to the uterus and would not cause any symptoms at all.

Since then I've experienced SEVERE migraines and dizziness, loss of libido, greasy skin and hair, weight gain (size 6 to size 10/12), numbness/tingling in my feet, crying, irritability, and SEVERE brain fog. For the migraines, I went to a neurologist who wanted to prescribe me topamax and said the only major side effect is cognitive difficulties! HA!!! I already have the worst brain fog, can't remember anything, am tired.... rather..... exhausted all the time, and can't function.

This Mirena surely works well as birth control, seeing as I have NO SEX DRIVE at all! LOL. But seriously, it's great not to have a period, but I knew something was wrong when I was needing medication (antidepressants for the mood swings, provigil for the fatigue, botox nerve injections for the menstrual migraines) for this medication IUD!

Since no OBGYN believes me when I say I think it's the Mirena, I've began to think I was crazy and this was all in my head. So I started on the internet and all my symptoms sounded like MS. So I had thousands of dollars in testing including a full body MRI/MRA. Negative. Had ENT see me for the vertigo. Lots of tests. Negative. Anemic? No. Thyroid? Normal.

HOW MUCH MORE DO WE HAVE TO SPEND ON HEALTH CARE TO FIND OUT WE ARE "FINE" WHEN WE FEEL THE WORST WE'VE EVER FELT???

Then I found this site!!! I think it's the Mirena now! So I want to get it out. But then on the other hand, I feel SO GUILTY that my husband paid $900 for it and I only kept it 1 year. That's expensive birth control! But then again, all the tests, doctor's bills, and feeling lousy cost more! (Not to mention that my doctor cut my strings too short so we can't "check" them each month so to be certain that my IUD is in place he makes me get an ultrasound every 6 months for $250!!!)

My ONLY FEAR is that I will have this out and the symptoms WON'T go away and it was NOT the Mirena after all. Then I will have gone through the pain of putting it in, taking it out, and the cost of "throwing one away" and then what am I supposed to do? I'm 29 but in school and can't get pregnant for a few more years. I don't want to go back on the pill because the mood swings were terrible. But I never had migraines or anything on those, so why is the Mirena causing problems?

Any feedback or encouragement would be helpful right now. I need advise!

I had mine taken out today for all of the same reasons. I've also had horrible headaches daily for at least two months. My headaches, nausea and depression have started getting worse every week. Fortunately, I only had Mirena three months before now when I started putting things together. I've never had a problem with birth control pills and I've taken all of them. I used to get heavy and long periods- it took a while to find one to regulate my period. I love, love, love my OB. He told me the same thing today he told me when I got Mirena- that it has less side effects than any birth control pills because the amount of hormones released is lower. Nonetheless, he did agree that it should come out to see if it has been the cause of all of my misery.

I hate to think about the women out there with Mirena who are feeling tired, sick, and depressed and don't know why. Honestly, I don't know how I put it together for myself because I thought, IUD- NO SIDE-EFFECTS, it's just a device right, thrown in with a tiny bit of hormones, but at first I thought maybe I wasn't taking good enough care of myself and that was why I felt so bad all the time. Then the headaches . . . I thought that was sinuses . . . had a CT scan, came back okay . . . thought it was migraines . . . went to the neurologist, had an eeg, treated for migraines . . . still having headaches with nausea.

I almost didn't realize how depressed I was until my husband said something to me. He told me, "you've been depressed for three months now". Eureka!! I got Mirena three months ago. Plus, I am always under the treatment of a psychiatrist who monitors my medicine and am currently taking high dosages of prozac and wellbutrin. I've always had depression/anxiety problems and actually had to continue taking my meds while pregnant, just at half dosage. I had NO problems with post-partum depression (which was very much planned between my psychiatrist and medications). If I were to have problems arise with depression I certainly think it would have been closer to post-partum. I really don't think that my meds just quit working either. I realized that nothing gets me excited. I exert all of my energy into being a decent human being by going to work, taking care of my child, and trying to keep a somewhat-neat house. There is never time, energy, or desire for anything else.

I'm anxious to see how the next couple of weeks go . . . keep posting your progress and I will do the same. I certainly hope my symptoms start to subside . . . if not, I'm in trouble because I know that something is wrong with my body!!

Also, a Naturopathic Doctor told me to take Evening Primrose and it should aid in getting my hormones back to a natural level more quickly.

After 2 years and 7 months, I had my Mirena removed on 5/4. I had it inserted 3 months after the birth of my first child in 2006. At the time, it seemed like my best option due to problems I’d had with the Pill. I was on the Pill for 6 years, the first year or 2 weren’t too bad, but things gradually got worse. Because it was so gradual, it took me years to realize the cause of my problems. My blood pressure slowly got higher, my heart would often race, and I had anxiety and mini-panic attacks to the point where I never wanted to go anywhere. (My heart rate got up to 160 while waiting for the Dr during an appointment and my blood pressure was up to ~145/99) I also started getting migraines that got more and more frequent. I had an EKG and stress test and everything came back normal. I stopped taking the Pill and within a couple months felt a million times better and my BP went back to normal. I had no idea how much it had affected me and it still makes me sick to think of the years I lost because I felt so awful. I didn’t take anything for 6 months before we started trying to get pregnant and they were the best months in a very long time.

After I got Mirena, I thought it was great. I bled for about 2 months, then never really had periods after that (just some occasionally spotting). Three months after it was inserted, I lost the final 10 pounds of baby weight just by dieting. If I was emotional or moody during the first year, I just thought it was my hormones after having a baby. Slowly over time, I began to get more and more irritable. Everything and anything would enrage me. Rage is the best word for it. It would take a split second for me to fly off the handle. Everything irritated me, particularly anything my husband did. The more it happened, the worse it got and I began to worry if I would eventually lose control completely. Meanwhile, I slowly lost my desire to do anything. I’ve never been a big housekeeper, but our house has become a wreck and I have to force myself to get things down when people are coming over. If it weren’t for family coming to visit frequently, we’d really be living in a mess. I just never feel like doing anything and I’ve lost my passion for everything.

I’ve always had bad skin and have taken everything made for acne, including Accutane. My skin was the best it’s ever been the weeks after my son was born. Over the past 2.5 years, it gotten worse and now it’s as bad as it’s ever been. As my 30th birthday approached, I began to wonder if I’d have zits when I’m 70, then began wondering if the IUD might be causing it.

Also in the past year, I have begun to struggle with my weight. It had slowly started to creep up even though my diet hadn’t really changed. The past 6 months have been the worst. I constantly have a desire to eat and crave anything sugary which I’m sure has contributed to my weight gain. I’ve tried dieting and exercising more than ever before and couldn’t lose anything. Then I gained 10 pounds in 2 weeks. If I diet and workout, my weight stays the same – if I eat normally, I gain weight, just as many others here have mentioned. I’d say 80-90% of my excess weight is on my stomach and I’ve been asked twice in the last 6 months by strangers about being pregnant. I now weigh what I did when I was 7-8 months pregnant (25lbs over my pre-preg weight) and I look 6-7 months preg.

All of these issues have gradually gotten worse over time, but significantly so in the past 6 months. My fits of rage began to scare me and I would feel like my head and/or chest were going to explode when I would yell. I started to realize from my previous experience with the Pill that my blood pressure was going up again. I had also begun to get migraines again which I hadn’t had since the Pill. Then I began to feel like I was living in a depression medicine commercial. I’ve never dealt with depression before even when my husband was gone for months at a time in the Navy. Yet all the sudden I felt like I could check off all the symptoms for depression. I started having irrational and scary thoughts that I had no control over and they would go as quickly as they came. I began to get frightened because I felt like I had no control over myself, my thoughts, or my emotions. For whatever reason, I decided to look up Mirena and depression and couldn’t believe what I found - pages and pages of people describing exactly how I felt with all the same symptoms. I had been contemplating it anyway, but I decided then that I was going to get it removed. I went to the doctor and my blood pressure was higher than I expected. She gave me BP meds and offered me meds for everything else. I got the impression that she probably thought I was blaming too much on the Mirena. I would have agreed if not for my experiences on the Pill. She had never removed one, so she referred me to an OB/GYN. They couldn’t see me for over a month and there was no way I could wait that long because I knew it would take a while for my body to get back to normal. Amazingly, I found someone who got me in 4 days later. I was so excited! As everyone says, it’s a lot easier coming out than going in – just a pinch that lasts a second. So far, I haven’t noticed a huge difference (it’s been about 3 days). I felt less bloated the second day, but it seems to have come back a little yesterday. I have been very thirsty since the evening after I got it removed and have been peeing as much as I did when I was pregnant. I slowly feel like my desire to constantly eat is going away and I am not craving sugar as much.

I also wanted to mention, I started the blood pressure meds the day after I got them. I will say that it has helped my irritability a little and I no longer feel like I’m going to explode when I get angry. Now that the IUD is gone, I’m sure it will go back to normal on its own in month or 2. It’s frustrating because I got Mirena because of my BP problems on the pill. I was under the impression that there wouldn’t be any side effects and now I’m back to where I was when I stopped the Pill. I lost several good years with my husband because of the Pill and now I’ve lost almost 3 more and the first 3 years of my son’s life because of this stupid IUD. If it weren’t for our son, I don’t know that our marriage would have survived the last 3 years. I just pray that I will get back to being me and will be able to be the mother that my son deserves.

A few other side effects I’ve noticed after reading all these posts that may also be related are greasy hair and skin, hair loss, facial hair, memory loss/lack of concentration, and the strange odors and various infections that others have mentioned. I used to not be able to wrap my fingers around my ponytail. Now I can almost wrap them around twice. Like most of the other side effects, I blamed it on aging, stress, etc. I’m interested to see if it starts coming back now.

I know this is a really long post, but I wanted to include as much info as possible in case it might help someone else. I probably would have gotten it out sooner, but I didn’t think there were any side effects. For now, I am not going to take anything. I want to know whether the side effects go away and not have to worry if something is caused by a new birth control. I may try something else in 6 months or so, but we’ll see. My husband doesn’t want me to take anything ever again, but I really don’t want to get pregnant. I don’t think I want any more kids, but I’m only 30 and not ready to do anything permanent yet. My new OB/GYN mentioned Implantation, which uses a different hormone, but I don’t have much faith that it won’t have the same effects. I will probably just try different pills and keep an eye on my blood pressure. I plan to post updates when I can to let you know if things get better. I hope that my story helps someone else.

Hello Ladies!

I had my Mirena put in on 6/2008 after giving birth to my second kid on March 2008. Since then I was diagnosed with post-partum depression. Which came as a surprise to me since I didn't get this with my first baby. Doctors do say all pregnancies are different, therefor I figured my doctor was right. FOR A REASON HE'S A DOCTOR! But then I started getting severe head-aches, I have lost most of my hair, mood swings (which are the worst) and this stiffness on my upper back that won't go away even with 10 Excedrins. I have tried everything to get ride of this pain but everything is just temporary. I have had a dozen anxiety attacks. Like many of you ladies out there I blamed my job for stress, my husband for mood swings, and my kids for headaches. I had suicidal thoughts for no apparent reason. My life is great. No money problems, my husband and I have been together for 5 years and I have a great paying job but I am still not happy and I am on depression pills. I also had memory lost and I am only 26 years old. I was uninterested in hanging out with friends, having drinks, talking to anyone or going out at all. last but not least I have been wearing prescription glasses for a whole year straight because my sight is foggy. THAT' IS NOT A COINCIDENCE! After reading your comments, I have decided to have this monster taken out. I had to beg my doctor to do it since he insisted I was wrong about the mirena and that I am only depressed. Well, I know my body better then anyone else and I know for a fact it was THE MONSTER making me feel like this. I finally had it removed today and I already feel a little better. I am getting cramps but nothing major. I forgot to tell you I also gained 15 pounds out of nowhere because I eat like I did before my pregnancy and after dieting and exercising I couldn't loose the weight. I am hoping this will help you all and I will post my post-mirena symptoms in 2 weeks.

I was prescribed reglan to increase my breastmilk supply. A few days after I began taking it I became very depressed, I felt like I wanted to die. I believed that I was suffering from post-partum depression, but a friend told me that she new someone who had experienced the same thing with this drug. I stopped taking it immediately and the very next day I was back to normal. I was so happy and relieved to have the nightmare end. Reglan is a horrible drug and it should be taken off of the market. Reglan is evil.

i had a baby on December 4th. i got mirena inserted on Jan 20th. since then i have had bleeding but nothing to complain about just recently i started having pain in my stomach right about were i would get cramps. its like some one punched me. kinda like a soreness. im kinda worried i don't know if im pregnant again or what but after reading the side effects some of u guys have im kinda rethinking this thing.

I THINK WE WERE DUPED!

Is anyone thinking that the drug company knew all of this, and therefore has been marketing specifically to women who have just given birth... this way, the postpartum symptoms are the scapegoat:

bleeding
cramping
hair loss (very common 3 months after.. I believe I lost more than most)
insomnia (very common after delivery due to motherly hormones have
you on high-alert))
No sex drive (because we're either breastfeeding, hormonal, or just feel
fat)
Mood swings (because of our ever-changing post-partum hormones)
depression, crying (must be Post-Partum Depression!)
Joint pain, back pain (we're carrying our new baby around too much)
Bingeing and Food cravings (we're home alone and bored or
breastfeeding)
No sex drive (we are bitchy, unsociable, depressed, feel overweight and have no energy.. I'm surprised they still want to have sex with us?!!)

Dear Ladies,

I think i'm in trouble. I had Mirena inserted appx 4 weeks ago. I had the typical side effects listed: headaches, body aches and bleeding. As of one week ago my complexion looks likes I'm 13 y.o. Starting on Saturday I've had thoughts of killing myself. I'm scared and I feel all alone. Could this really be from the Mirena or am I still feeling the effects of post partum? I had my son 13 weeks ago? What's wrong with me? What do i do?

This drug works great for like one year. Then, it wears off and you feel on auto-pilot. I was on this for 3 years and at the end it does not work, you just function with no passion at all, always tired no matter how much sleep. With a physician's help, you can taper it down safely and get off of it. I felt so alive and awake once I got off. bottom line, if you need it short term for something like post partum depression, it is good to fight off anxiety, but long term, you are not enjoying life to its fullest....it is a drugged life experience.

I have my mirena for almost 2 years know. I stopped getting my period a month after it was placed & I took a pregnancy test & it was normal. I was happy with not having a period but then I realized I was feeling the consequences. First I noticed nausea, then I started having vision trouble especially when I was driving, then anxiety/nervousness started, then a feeling of post-partum depression which just didn't go away & now I have insomnia constantly waking up in the middle of the night. I recently started getting headaches & fatigue. I am making an appointment to have it removed & to have a physical. I think the side effects start off slowly & gradually get worst. Anything that changes or alters your hormone balance will wreek havoc on your body & mind.

Wow, I just have to say thank you to all the women who have posted. I finally feel like I'm not crazy!! I had Mirena inserted April of 08, when my son was 13 weeks old. Afterwards I started to gain weight and have severe depression, which was diagnosed as Post Partum Depression. I have been on meds after meds and nothing is working. I have ovarian cysts - and apparent common side effect of the darn thing. When my precious baby boy starts crying, I can't even hold him because my body goes into some sort of depression overdrive. It's awful. I have been struggling with whether or not I should have the mirena removed. After reading this site, I will definitely be calling my doctor tomorrow. This is ridiculous. I have never felt worse in my life. I weigh MORE now than I did when I was pregnant - and I eat well and exercise regularly. Wow. I really hope taking it out helps...because that's my only hope left.

I had the Mirena inserted about two months after my second baby. I was not feeling any post-partum depression at that time, but my life was VERY hectic. I had never had a depressive episode before. After about four months of having the Mirena, I basically had a "nervous breakdown": deep depression and an inability to function in my regular life activities. Like I said, my life was very hectic at this point, but I want to point out that I had been heavily stressed out before in my life, with no depression. Anyway, my GP insisted on taking it out ASAP; she had heard that some women get depressed on Mirena (when they never had that type of problem before...). I went on Wellbutrin (still on it!), and am doing a lot better 12 months later. However, I'm still fighting the depression, and I have some anxiety, too. I'd say that if a woman has an experience like mine, the smart thing to do is have the Mirena taken out. You can always have it put back in later, if you want.

I am 29 and mother of a 5yr old Angel and 5 mth old Ayden. I started the NuvaRing after I had my son. I liked it for the first month, but the second month was not good at all! See, I was hoping to skip periods to avoid the pain that comes from my endometriosis, and PMS which seems I have had all my life! And of course, it came highly recommended from my doctor's office as well. I started to loose weight pretty steadily in the 6 weeks that followed the birth of my son, but all of a sudden the seventh or eighth week my weight remind stagnant and I actually gained 10 pounds since having it out for only 4 weeks! I have been putting on weight in my mid section and tummy area. It has become difficult to loose any weight even with working out, but the worse part has been the drastic mood changes, irritability, problems concentrating, migraines I don't wish upon anybody, acne, leg cramps, bloating, and horrible post partum depression that I think-now that I have read all your side effects that it wasn't the overwhelming feeling of having the now 2 children and having to return to work even after having 12 weeks of maternity leave after my son was born. I am relieved, and happy that I never put in the 3rd months ring. I think the NuvaRing has a lot to do with it all. I have been off the NuvaRing now for about three and a half-going on four weeks and the side effects have only seemed to become worse. It has put a strain on my marriage because my husband doesn't understand whats going on with me and I have refused to take my Lexapro because I am scared of what it may do to me with my hormones and mind all out of wack...I am desperate to find something that will make this STOP. I am not sure what my doctor may recommend, or if I would even take anymore recommendations from them. They must know that this is happening, right? I guess thats a question we should ask our doctors.

I began taking Lupron after I was diagnosed with endometriosis last November. For the first six months, the side effects were minimal. I never had hot flashes and didn't really notice a change in my body. The last six months on the drug I noticed significant differences. My hair started to fall out in clumps and I had trouble concentrating. This past October I had a total hysterectomy because the Lupron was not working. Today I feel like an 80 year old woman. I can't concentrate, my brain is in a constant fog, and I feel like I have Altzheimers. I can't remember anything and it is a major inconvenience. I have suffered from depression for most of my life. However, I believe this drug has worsened it to some extent. All day long, constantly I am battling negative thoughts. I have constant reminders of every little thing I've ever done wrong in my entire life. Recently I've started hearing whispers like I did when I suffered from post-partum depression. I've also been getting headaches every day but I don't know if these are related or not.
It would appear that I'm going to have to seek out a professional to deal with the voices. This is a side effect that I was not expecting, especially not after several months of not being on the shot anymore. The thing that bothers me is that I took the shot every three months for a year. It did nothing for me and I had a hysterectomy anyway. This is something to consider if you are debating whether or not to have the injection.

I've been taking Lithium (800 mg) for about 15 yrs.after experiencing severe post partum depression. I've experienced the common side effects like headaches, nausea, muscular weakness, however I've been lucky not to have hand tremors.
My issue is with my memory and with recalling words. Lately I've been having a hard time expressing myself and it's really frustrating and embarrassing! I feel stupid. I'm also bi-lingual so it's worse.
I've also been taking Xanax (.05 mg/day) for the past 5 yrs, for panic attacks that started after I started taking Lithium. I only get these panic attacks in my sleep. So I'm wondering if panic attacks are a side effects of Lithium?

My experience in taking Zoloft for the last month and a half has been largely side-effect free. However, I feel like I am constantly in a fog. It takes me until about 3:00 in the afternoon before I have any motivation to do anything. I have been taking 100mg because of post-partum depression. My anger and violent thoughts have mostly gone away, but I just feel so tired and listless all the time. I was first prescribed Neevo, a prenatal vitamin that seems to have some anti-depressant effects. It didn't help, but I read that it can help process normal anti-depressant medication, so I started taking it with the Sertraline (Zoloft generic). Since then, I have felt a little better, but I still lay around all day trying to motivate myself to play with my baby or clean the house.

I feel compelled to post to this site because it's a big part of why I chose to have my Mirena removed. I had it in for two weeks before having it removed because of ever-increasing depression that started after one week. I also was passing large clots and I think my hair was starting to fall out in greater amounts. After two weeks I found myself standing at the kitchen counter making breakfast and balling my eyes out for "no reason." I had had a pretty bad bout of post-partum depression two years ago, and this felt like being right back there. But why? Then it hit me, I wonder if it could be Mirena. Long story short, I found this site and many others like it (do read the article for doctors that reports 5% or more women experience depression), called and got it removed that afternoon, and the clouds parted that night and the sun came out the next day. It was a 180 degree turn around for me within 48 hours. I feel completely back to normal, thank goodness! There is no doubt it was the Mirena. Also, it had come out of place and was sitting in my cervix, which my doctor said probably caused the clotting. I'm so glad it's out. No more artificial hormones for me. I think I'm one of those women who just can't handle them. I hope this helps someone else, as this site helped me so much. Good luck everyone!

Jill in Little Rock, Ark.

I've never responded to a site like this, but now feel compelled to. I had my Mirena fitted 13months ago, after a friend recommended it on the strength of her excellent experience with it. I was on anti-depressants already, so haven't felt an overwhelming sense of depression, but have been thinking for the past 10 months or so, that I get way more tired, have an overall achy body often, painful joints and swollen ankles. All stuff I never experienced before. But the thing that really did it for me was the weight gain. I was only slightly over normal weight at the time of insertion but have been gaining weight steadily. Initially I thought it was just a bit over over-indulgence, but after weighing myself last week, I've made the horrifying discovery that I've gained 13kg in 13 months!!!!!!!! I've never fluctuated more than about 4 kg in my whole life, eat healthily and am normally active. Nothing has changed to what I was eating/doing before. I specifically searched the internet today to see if weight-gain is a problem. It's not listed as a major side-effect on the 'official' sites, yet I see it on many of the postings on this one.
And for those of you who are into alternative therapies, I had myself checked with a kinesiologist for dietary intolerances/allergies that could have caused this weight issue, and what came up is that the problem is progesterone. When she checked if my Mirena was a problem for me, it came up VERY positive. When checked if I should have it removed, the response was equally positive.
It's a pity, as I had none of the other problems mentioned and it's such a convenient method of bc. But in my case it's coming out, before I have to come out as a seriously obese 41 yr old!!!!!

I too have experience a late period, 11 days late so far. In addition, I am having extreme nausea. I thought maybe I was pregnant, I took 3 tests and all are negative. I have been on the Wellbutrin for 1 month now and am not really thrilled with the results. Actually, I find it's not helping at all.

I was on Celexa for about 6 months and loved it with 2 exceptions. Hair loss and a huge loss of my sex drive.

My thought is that none of these drugs are without side effects...there is no free ride.

Anyone else have similar experiences with Wellbutrin?