Severe lower back pain symptoms and conditions

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

I got my Mirena in October of 2005 when I was 37. Prior to that I'd had two surgeries to remove fibriods and had severe heavy bleeding (life threatening, actually). My new husband was scared to death that he'd married a truly defective woman! ;-) So when my doc suggested the Mirena, I was thrilled with the idea. Insertion was painful, but bearable even though I'd never had children. I had a rough couple of months with cramping and such after insertion, but I attributed it to going off a high-dose BCP after 17 years. My body had an adjustment period to get through. After insertion and a little spotting, I never had another period. To this day, 4 years later, I haven't had a period. After all the bleeding issues, I think I was willing to accept a few other side-effects to be flow free.

Fast forward 4 years - my symptoms? SEVERE lower back pain (I had no idea that Mirena could cause this until about a month ago), weight gain despite picking up a new sport and being much more active than previously (I've put on 40 lbs in 4 years despite trying to lose), and vanishing sex drive. I've not been abnormally moody, but I have seriously lost my ability to multi-task. I would never have connected that to the Mirena until reading this site. I've got an appointment with a new doc tomorrow (we recently moved) and my hope is that I'll be able to get the Mirena out at the same appointment. The back pain has gotten so bad that I'm actually occasionally missing work. If I bend over, I cannot stand up again without using my arms to push off something because my back is so weak. For the past 4 years, I've basically changed the way I function in the world in order to deal with it without even thinking about what I was doing. At this point, it's bordering on being debilitating and it has definitely gotten worse over time.

The weight gain has really been difficult. I've always had to fight my weight but in the past, I was able to maintain at the high end of 'normal'. Now, not so much despite eating a much better diet and getting significantly more (and more consistent) exercise than I ever have in my life.

Looking back, I'm trying to come to terms with why I've ignored these symptoms for so long. It's hard for me to truly remember, but I was so distraught with the blood loss and problems I had back then that I know I was willing to remain blind to other factors to be 'cured' of that. Honestly, as much as I can't wait to get this out now, I don't think I made the wrong choice at the time.

Let's see how I feel in a couple of months post Mirena.

I got mine August 2008. I have periods that last for 10 days straight. Spotting in between. No sex drive and very painful intercourse if I do have sex. Severe lower back pain and weakness. I don't think the Mirena is contributing to my short temper..but I think the bleeding, lack of sleep, and constant pain from mirena is causing me emotional problems. Plus my husband is very insensitive and clueless and thats makes it worse. He is only concerned about not getting enough Sex and apparently cares nothing for my physical aliments. I want this out!

Seriously this is ridiculous. I have been dealing with all of these same issues and have been debating on whether to see a counselor because I feel like I am losing my mind! My boyfriend tells me I have mood swings and my mom says she cant even talk to me anymore. I had an acquaintance at work tell me that she hopes that I am okay because I look so down. I am anxious and depressed - have to self talk just to get out of bed. During the month if I am not cramping - my breast are almost to sore to move. I read someone on hear define a side effect of vibrating sensations throughout their body I get that for at least a week and a half every month. I would describe it as how you feel when you first are coming down with the flu....kinda achey. I was actually off for a week a few months ago due to extreme vertigo. I wondered if there was a correlation...from what I read I guess so. I have severe lower back pain -sometimes to much to stand straight and walk. I am so frustrated because I was told no side effects. I had Norplant back in 1991 and gained 70 pounds in 5 months. Well I am up to 19 pounds with Mirena - it hasn't been quite a year. I told the doctors that I had significant weight gain with Norplant and developed a blood clot while using the pill. I was assured no such side effects with Mirena. Mirena was a great choice for women who cant take anything else! I feel so misled!

I gained 50 pounds, had terrible acne, lost half my hair, severe lower back pain, developed hypothyroidism, depressed, suicide attempts.

I was a happy, thin, beautiful 27 year old when Mirena was inserted.

Don't let Mirena destroy your life like it did mine.

Wow, I thought I was going crazy. I've been so sick the last week but didn't think it would be this new medication. I'm taking 150 mg once a day for 15 days. I have three left of which are going in the garbage. I missed a family reunion today because I'm so tired I can't function. It's like someone gave me a sleeping pill. I've taken three pregnancy tests of which they were all negative thinking I was pregnant. The nausea is horrible. Just talking about food makes me vomit. I have stomach cramps, severe lower back pain, my heart feels like it's doing flip flops at night. My face feels very hot at times. My hands feel like raw nerve endings when put in cold water or wind blows over them. My arms tingle and hurt when exposed to the sun. I just want to lay in bed and not face the world. I've been dieting and lost 15 pounds prior to starting the medication. Boom, all that stopped. Still doing all the workouts and carefully eating but have gained 4 pounds back. Very disappointing. I am so glad I found this site. You won't find this information on the manufactures website.

I just learned that you can develop Cushing's Syndrome from taking prednisone, and that the doctor that has you on this should warn you that you could develop this. 10 mg a day usually worked for my pain, but I eventually got up to 20 mg a day, and that's when my problems really started. Of course I had already gained enough weight, which caused severe depression, but then I started gaining like crazy, and this is really weird, I was eating less, and had no appetite, but still gaining weight. I started feeling too tired to do anything, I have severe lower back pain, and get short of breath from any little bit of activity I do. I can't even take a shower without sitting on the side of the tub to rest. I also started having restless leg syndrome at night and would wake up several times. I sweat profusely without doing anything. I can just be sitting on the couch watching tv and sweat will start pouring down my face. I keep a towel with me at all times to wipe the sweat off. I definitely have moon face, and I also have sores all over my legs and face. I wish I would wake up and it was all a bad dream, but not so. I feel for everyone that has had these experiences. I am seeing an endocrinologist next week to see if I have Cushing's Syndrome. I don't even know if there is anything to do for it? Has anyone else who has used prednisone been diagnosed with Cushing's Sydrome?

I had my mirena place in October 2008. I had no symptoms at first, but about 3 months ago that all changed. I'm losing my hair, severe abdominal cramping, fluttering (like being pregnant), severe lower back pain, dizziness, headache constantly at least once a day. I also had regular periods up until last month, when it simply never came. I freaked thinking I was pregnant I had all symptoms (tender breast, missed period, frequent urination, and nausea). So I called my doctor and demanded he order a blood test because with my son the home pregnancy test did not show positive until I was 3 months pregnant. Of course the test came back negative, but I swear I am pregnant, all the symptoms I had with my son I am having now. I know that I'm not but these are crazy side effects from the mirena..Also I didn't know until I read on here that the cyst are a side effect I have one on my right hand that just appeared out of no where about 3 months ago as well..It hurts just to type :)....In the end I will not have the mirena removed, the benefits surely out weigh the risks. Good luck to everyone with the mirena!

have been taking 20mg for about two weeks. a couple days after i started taking the stuff i started experiencing chest pains at night that would wake me up, coupled with leg pain. it's getting worse; now, after two weeks i am having severe lower back pain that radiates down both legs, similar to sciatica, happens at night but continues throughout the day. also leg spasms at night. i am stopping zocor today. can't face this pain anymore. i have bad knees, and recently had to have a cortisone injection, but this new pain is worse than the knees. owing to the chest pains, i had a stress test today at the heart group, and had such difficulty walking that i could barely make it down the hall with my cane. three of the nurses there said they hear this all the time about the statins, and that the doctors don't want to listen to the complaints but the nurses all agreed that the statins are the culprits. results on stress test were fine.

I got the Mirena in August 2008 after having our second child. We thought it was a great idea b/c I wasn't ready for my husband to have a vasectomy in case we ever did change our mind about having more children. Although, we definitely have decided that we won't have anymore. Anyways, I have had spotting ever since and the three months of spotting is a joke because it has been way longer than that! The last two days I have had SEVERE lower back pain through the tops of my legs aching. Reminded me of having back labor it was so terrible. I couldn't sleep at night good because it was awful. I called my doc today and I am having it removed tomorrow. Can't wait!!!! I just wished I had read this website before I had decided on Mirena. And the comment I read about the hurt you experience having it inserted is the darn truth! If I had knew that I wouldn't have gotten it either. Besides that, my doc had to clamp my cervix while trying to insert it...so needless to say it was horrible!!!!!!!

I've been on NR for almost 2 years. I was fine, I thought, at first. But for the last 3 months I have such severe lower back pain, I can hardly move (and it worsens after sitting for long periods of time)...and it magically lessens after I take out the NR.

Also, I have gained weight that I can't manage to shed, no matter how much I starve myself or workout. I'm heavier than I've ever been at 188 lbs, and my OBGYN when I told her how upset I was about the weight gain told me it was as easy as cutting 100 calories per day - you know one spoon of mayo or piece of cheese...like I'm sitting around spooning mayo out of a jar!

My mood swings are scary - and getting worse every month. I get mad over absolutely nothing and cry and shake with rage...to the point where I've felt like I was going insane, right now I have one "major explosion" per week. I don't want to know what my blood pressure it, I'm sure it's higher than normal, if from nothing else my mood swings. In fact reading your posts out loud to my boyfriend, I've managed to bit his head off and start crying.

I have read & re-read the side effects of NR, with no explanations of this...until I read everyone's posts here.

Hi, had my mirena coil fitted in Nov '08 and have just had it removed Feb '09. Mine had dislodged apparently and was caused me severe abdominal cramps but three days after removal, still getting bad cramps, taking time off work, when will it end?? Not recommended ! I have to say my side effects were spotty face, bloated tummy and stabbing pains in my bottom area and upper back, tearful, bloated tummy, severe lower back pain for about 2 months which stopped me going to the gym, can't comment about the weight really as I gave up smoking at the same time, so it could be a combination of both. Rest assured the removal of the coil didn't hurt, but just wish this pain would end!

I'm 24 yrs old and have 2 children. I had the Mirena placed in June of 2008. At first I really didn't have any symptoms just spotting everyday that lasted for 4 months. The first few times my husband and I had sex afterwards, it was a little uncomfortable but that went away. I even went through a phase about 3 months after it was placed - I had severe migraines, which I had never had before. I got these headaches everyday for nearly 2 months and them they just quit. It seemed like as soon as the headaches went away my lower back started to ache constantly. The pain seems to have gotten worse with each passing day. I was so relieved to find this site and know that all this wasn't just my imagination. Now, I deal with the chronic, severe lower back pain in the hopes that it will soon go away like all of my other symptoms. It hurts so much I don't feel like even moving. This is effecting my husband, my children, my house(it's a mess all the time now because cleaning is so hard for me now), and even my career. I had this thing placed because I wanted all of those things to benefit, not suffer. Can anyone tell me if the back pain has gone away for them? I just want to find out if it will eventually go away like everything else or if the only cure is to get this thing taken out.

Ive just come across this site after searching for lower back pain site, ive been on statin drugs for about 5 years, at moment im off work with severe lower back pain, recently i had time off for right shoulder and neck pain, i notice most ppl are affected on the right side, as from today im not taking the meds to see if my pain reduces, i lift heavy packages at work so u can imagine the probs i have, also, my boss doesn't pay sickness benefits, good luck to us all.

I have experienced severe lower back pain after taking FloMax for 2 weeks. Since I have stopped taking FloMax, The lower back pain has gone away.

I have been on Yaz for three months, first two were okay, not I totally feel prego, morning sickness, sore breasts, moodiness, weight gain, odd bowels. I tried to talk to my OB Tuesday and she got a page in the middle of my appt. Babies don't wait. She said to keep taking it she'd see me in month. AHHHH I can't do this, I totally broke down to my hubby last night and he said to stop it now. I have two beautiful girls, am 26, and am crazy!
Yaz has made me feel like my gestational diabetes is back, my head hurts often, I am cramping, lower back pain, irritably, want to sleep all the time, am short tempered with my kids....this is nuts!!!! Trying to get ahold of my doctor again, might just go back to my childhood family doctor. Good luck, I was on depo before my second child and had a horrible reaction to it too, even miscarried after I had been off of it for a year and still hadn't had a period. Birthcontrol stinks, I feel like I am poisoning my body, and why, so I don't have another baby. So I am experiancing, nausea, headache, stomach cramps, depression, crazy feelings, irritability, fatigue, sore breasts, decreased sex drive, morning sickness.
Good luck with your decisions.

After reading all of these posts, I realize I'm not alone. Mirena was the perfect option for me because I'm very forgetful when it comes to medications. What sold me was when I was told it has a 99.9% effectiveness against getting pregnant. I was only told of the good things. After it was inserted i was in SEVERE pain from the cramping, it reminded me of labor contractions. I took 600mg of ibuprofen then layed down and cried myself to sleep. I got it July 28th, 2008. Since then I've been bleeding on and off but more bleeding than not. I get sharp, cramp-like pains in my lower stomach and sometimes vaginal area. I also suffer severe lower back pain. I was bleeding so bad at one point and it was very different from any period I'd ever had so I thought maybe I was miscarrying. I called the doctor and it was rather blown off and I actually got kind of laughed at, saying it's just your body adjusting. I have restless nights and wake up exhausted. I have those far out dreams like you do when you're pregnant, except I'm not. I also get bloated and uncomfortable at times. I've been bleeding now for almost a month straight. It comes and goes, which is very aggravating. I'd almost just thought about getting it taken out and just going with oral birth control that way I'd have a normal period but I love not having the boundaries in the bedroom. I'm giving it the 6months, like they told me it'd take and if all my symptoms are still present I'm considering removal.

I have been on this medication for 3 months now. I am a 28 year old male, 6'2", weigh 211lbs, and in overall good health. My blood pressure average is 144/72 without the medication, but on the medication it seems to stay around 136/66. It took about one week for the blood pressure medicine to start working and when it did I felt very tired (which is normal). Now, in my third month I have started to notice new symptoms like severe headache in the right front lobe, severe tiredness, cold fingers and toes (in warm conditions), severe lower back pain, mood swings, blurred vision in the right eye (same location as headache), and a occasional twitch in my right thumb (probably not related to the medicine). When I first started this medication I did read all of these post and figured that everyone was crazy and/or nuts, but know I am thinking that I would rather stop the medication
and start seeking out for a better medication.. I know medicine has side effects but damn!!! Anyone else have cold fingers and toes while they have been on the medication..thanks

I had mine removed last month and still enjoying the NEW ME! I am so happy and cheerful now without the back pain and achy joints and anxiety attacks. Still getting rid of acne, chin hair and 40 lbs but WOW I am so grateful I found this site to validate that I wasn't losing my mind. There seems to be 1% of the population who have no problems at all with this IUD but for the other 99% of us ... BE CAREFUL and REMOVE IT ASAP! By the way, I still have not had a cycle since the 2 days of spotting after it was removed ... and the removal pain is ZERO compared to the insertion. I am also changing to a female holistic obgyn since my male doc refused to acknowledge my valid side effects - ARGH!!!

I'm 55 year old female and was put on Simvastatin 3 months ago with a cholesterol reading of 6.8. I've been experiencing severe lower back pain, a burning pain in the right side of the groin and severe pain in my right hip and leg. It has become so bad that I'm finding walking difficult. I also have severe itching all over, especially on one part of my arm. I can't take anti-histimes because I am alreading taking beta-histine for vertigo. After reading the postings here I am seeing my doctor this week to have my medication changed. Since I live in the Uk cost is not a problem

It's been a week now since I got mine removed and on a scale of 1-10 my severe lower back pain has gone from a 15 to a 2 in one week!! I used to take tylenol every night to wake up pain free and I haven't had to do that anymore. I am still trying to clear up the acne but overall I am soooooo happy to have the IUD removed. As much as I hate condoms, I would rather use those instead of this IUD - it's just sad that our doctors don't believe the connection with these wild side effects.

I finally had mine removed last Thursday and it was quick and painless. The doc still refused to believe any of my side effects were from the IUD - needless to say he is now on my EX-DOCTOR list! I should have printed this website for him. I had a very light cycle on Sun/Mon and then it stopped. I mentally and physically feel better. Now I can focus on losing the 40 lbs I gained over 1 year on the IUD without severe lower back pain, achy joints, bloating and acne in the way. My best friend has an IUD and 3 kids and loves it ... so go figure!! She is one of the few lucky ones.

MY 2 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS DIAGNOSED WITH KIDNEY REFLUX GRADE 3, THEY GAVE HER SULFAMETHOXAZOLE. ABOUT A MONTH AFTER SHE STARTED IT SHE BEGAN TO COMPLAIN ABOUT STOMACH PAIN, SHE HAD A LOSS OF APPETITE, NIGHTMARES, NERVOUSNESS (SHE IS VERY JUMPY), SEVERE LOWER BACK PAIN, AND VERY IRRATABLEAND IT ALL SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE. THIS IS NOT MY EASY GOING DAUGHTER!

I can't believe I didn't google this stuff before i got the IUD. well I had mine painfully inserted in April 07 and have gained 40 lbs since then. I also have severe lower back pain, achy knees, lack of sex drive, anxiety, acne from outer space, severe sugar cravings and bloating. I am soooo relieved to know I am not going crazy when in fact my MALE doctor told me the same thing that the IUD shouldn't have caused any of these side effects. on that note, I am scheduled to have it removed in 3 days and see how things go. I am so tired of people telling me to just eat right and exercise, all the time I knew I wasn't doing anything out of the norm to gain this much. thank you all for sharing and helping me to see the light!!!

In the past five years I've gone through two six month Lupron treatments. The first Lupron treatment was given without a Laparoscopy. After being told for ten years that I was one of the unlucky few who have "bad periods", I finally found a doctor who would listen. She diagnosed Endometriosis after I listed my symptoms and put me on a Lupron treatment plan. I had one one-month injection and two three-month injections. Most of my side effects were tolerable; weight loss (almost sixty pounds but I was over weight to begin with), hot flashes, night sweats and memory loss. However, I experienced horrible back and hip pain...to the point of following up with a pain management doctor who insisted there was no reason for me to be in pain.

About four years later I found a really great doctor who performed a laparoscopy to diagnose my endo. She removed fibroid tissue from both ovaries and my colon. My next period was just a horrible so she suggested we follow up with another Lupron cycle. I expressed my concerns with the pain I experienced the first time and she suggested I have add-back therapy. She prescribed a regimen of Estradiol and Norethindrone along with six monthly Lupron injections. The side effects were worse this time around. My depression kicked into overdrive, I was constantly struggling to keep my anger in check, I would wake up dripping from night sweats, hot flashes were bad, blurred vision, memory loss, insomnia and the pain in my back and hips was excruciating. She prescribed Celebrex for my back and hip pain, which didn't help too much. I have a three year old son and had to use a wheel chair when we went to the museum because being on my feet for more than fifteen minutes was impossible.

I've now been off the Lupron for about six months and I have yet to regain any sort of short term memory. My vision is much worse than before I started the second cycle and has yet to reverse. My depression is still bad, as well as anxiety and irritability. However, as soon as the last month of Lupron started to wear off, my back pain did dissipate. I'm still having trouble sleeping but have found solace in Ambien...which could be a bad thing. I don't want to depend on chemicals to help me sleep at night. I just had my yearly exam with my doctor and she apologized for all the pain I experienced. She told me that in all the years she's given Lupron treatments, she had never seen a patient in as much pain as I was in. I don't think I'll be undergoing the Lupron treatments again in the future. I'm currently starting Yaz as a way to keep my periods at bay and only have three or four a year. I'm not real sure if that's a good thing either but we'll see. I have sympathy for all the other Lupron patients out there who experience the bad side of the drug. I don't understand how a medication such as this, which has such drastic side effects, can be marketed to people who are already suffering from pain in the first place.