Sex drive symptoms and conditions

Some of this may be TMI for some, but I believe in not pulling the punches:

I had mine inserted 12/07 when my youngest was 8 weeks old. I had the para-guard (no hormone) previously and loved it, I didn't take into account how poorly I have done with hormonal BC in the past (2 pregnancy's on the pill, 30lbs weight gain in 6 weeks of the patch, constant 'morning sickness' with the shot, etc) all I heard was no more periods....

After doing the HGC diet (as a last resort) I am finally down to the weight I was 2 days before my dd was born. At my peak I was 20lbs more. I want to get pregnant again next spring, but I have at least 35 lbs to loose before even considering it.

I bleed 2-3 weeks out of the month- too light for even the lightest tampons, but still no fun. I have actually developed raw spots from wearing a pad ALL THE TIME since I never know when the bleeding will start.

And, best of all, I hate sex. I have always had a great sex drive (I'm 29 with four kids) but now if my husband even looks like he's thinking about it I snap at him. When I finally give in (maybe once a month!) it hurts horribly for days- two main types: even with copious amounts of lube I am still dry enough that I feel swollen and bruised. On top of that I cramp for a full day - Feels like I've been punched in the stomach repeatedly. And then the bleeding starts.

Also some (relatively mild) acne, constant, but manageable (never a problem before). Including some in the groin area that end up as boils when on a stretch mark. I had never attributed it to my IUD until reading these posts, but had never had them previously.

The only reason I've had it this long is we lost our insurance shortly after the baby was born (DH laid off after 10 years in construction) I am calling my doctor on Monday to find out how much it will cost to have it removed!

I would ( and have) recommend IUD's to all my friends, but if any have ever had a problem with any hormones- para guard it is!!

Hi there... I came off of Yasmin just 2 weeks ago and thought I should share with you my story since yours is a skin issue. I took Yasmin for 3 years. This past year I would wake up some bumps on my lip.. then on my hands.. then (this is over a period of months) I would wake up and have a slightly swollen lip... this was over the last year or so. I would also get a feeling in my throat, like something was in it and swallowing felt funny.
WELL, 2 weeks ago, I took my bc like I always do, right before I go to bed and my lip starts to tingle and itch.. and in the morning my face was swollen 3x the normal size on on side, mostly at the lips... I couldn't really talk.. it was like those awful photos on google. It was angioedema and can kill you by swelling of the throat. I had also for about a year- an ear issue.. it would sound like I was talking under water and felt like swimmer's ear- related to the swelling I found out later. Turns out I'm allergic. I developed this allergy over the period of time I was exposed.

I just want to say to anyone out there that has FACIAL/LIP SWELLING, or swelling of the hands... GO TO THE ER. It can kill you. I got lucky.. my swelling started slow and after about a year if was full blown. It is not something to mess around with!I was prescribed an epi pen. I developed an allergy to a preservative in it and I'm not an allergen sensitive person. That was just the parms/doctor guess I might add.

The first year I took Yasmin I had numb and tingling toes. and the whole tie I've had on and off leg pain.. no sex drive, that's the truth..definite bloating issues about 6 lbs weight gain, sometimes more without change in diet. I haven't noticed any hair loss thankfully. Migraines. Lots of nausea in the morning, every morning like morning sickness. Car sick even when driving.. not normal! I used to work on an airplane and I never got motion sickness.

I'm now on day 4 of Mirena IUD and I'm having having severe diarrhea and trouble sleeping.. I really, really don't want to get pregnant. Our next step is a vasectomy for the hubby. I'm 25 and I weigh 140 5'10 if that helps. I wasn't an 'at risk' like the pamphlet said.

OMG! SO glad I decided to research Loestrin24Fe. I am on my 2nd pack now well into the 2nd week. I used to be on Ortho-Tri-Cyclen Lo, but that made me moody, emotional, crampy, bloody and fat. I was switched to Trivora which was 10 times worse. I quit BC pills for a year. Now, I am on Loestrin 24Fe. I have for sure experienced some changes good and bad. I feel my sex drive has gone up! But my eyesight is getting blurry, my breast and nipples are sore most of the time. I'm very constipated all of a sudden. I'm also feeling exhausted and started experiencing headaches. I do get heartburn, but I think that's not related to the pill. I will start paying close attention to the things you ladies pointed out. My husband wants me to stop the pill (due to the eyesight thing) but I want to see if things get better by the 3rd pack. I'll let you know.
-L.

I began taking this pill in August 2009, to prevent pregnancy. I am nineteen years old. In the first month, my sex drive increased, I had no "breakthrough bleeding" or spotting, no mood swings that I could tell...everything seemed fine. My doctor put me on this pill because I told her I wanted a pill that wouldn't make me go crazy. This is the first bc pill I've ever been on, and hopefully the last. Let me put it this way: before I got on Loestrin 24 Fe, I actually WANTED to have sex. I had a sex drive. I have absolutely NO SEX DRIVE now. Sex is a chore. What's the point of taking a pill that enables you to have sex without the risk of being pregnant, if you completely lose interest in having sex anyway? I'm extremely frustrated. Over the past two months (I'm now on my fourth pack) I have been extremely fatigued, depressed, and especially anxious. I also have a blistering headache 90% of the time, I kid you not. Additionally, my blood pressure has gone way down, which makes no sense, as I am a very active and healthy person. This pill is literally deteriorating my mental and physical health. I refuse to put these pills, or any bc pills, in my body any more. I would much rather deal with the terrible cramps and heavy periods that I had before. And I still experienced bad cramps while on the pill anyway. I'm sticking with condoms.

I had the Mirena put in November 2008. And this is the WORST birth control I have EVER had. I have uterin contractions, hot flashes (im 19 yrs old) No sex drive, bitchy, and no period for over 6 months. and nothing is getting better. So I got the depo shot which is 99.7% effective. And no side effects. I wouldn't ever recommend this birth control.

C

I had Mirena placed in August 2009. I was so excited when I first heard about it; shorter, lighter periods, decrease of cramping, no taking a pill daily, birth control for up to 5 years... Well I am so ready to have it taken out! My face broke out worse than a hormonal teenager and I have NO sex drive since it's been inserted, none. Also I have to wear a panty liner every day and night due to spotting. I didn't experience any weight gain but would rather take a few pounds versus all the side effects I do experience. I would not recommend Mirena to anyone and am scheduling an appointment to have it taken out asap.

I had the Mirena put in October of 06 and had it removed in October of 08. During the time that I had it, I didn't get a period, which I expected but I was really hormonal. It was like I would get angry or upset for no apparent reason. It was ruining my relationship, and I would also get terrible headaches, no sex drive, and I started getting cysts in the groin area. The doctor told me it had nothing to do with the Mirena, but I believe it did. Since I had it removed I don't get so bent out of shape so easily, no more headaches, but I do still get the cysts, but just prior to my period every month. Also, we have been trying to get pregnant again and it just isn't happening. I never had a problem with my first two kids, and now I just cant seem to make it happen. I would not recommend that horrible IUD for anyone. It caused nothing but problems for me.

I've had the mirena for only about two months now and about two weeks after it was placed my stomach ballooned to over twice the size it was before and I've gained about seven pounds that are unexplainable. I have not had a regular period which is understandable but I cant deal with the weight gain and bloating. I just had a baby four months and am trying so hard to loose the remainder of the baby weight,and I was doing extremely well until I got the mirena, and nothing drastic has changed about my diet or exercise routine.Does anybody have any idea how long this is suppose to last or what I can do to combat the bloating/weight gain besides getting it removed?

hi i had my mirena in for a year and a half and jus recently took it out...i loved mine i never had a problem with it no mood swings still had sex drive...and i actually lost 20 pounds i guess its just different for everyone...im trying to have another baby right now but i would definitely put mirena right back in after that..sorry to hear about all the side affects i mean it scares me a little but i guess it all depends on ur body and how it reacts to it...good luck ladies

I had my daughter in December 2006 and my doctor tried me on numerous types of birth control pills. Finally I agreed to try Mirena. Since then I too have been moody and gained weight which has never been a problem. I have always weighed no more than 120 now i weigh 150 and can't lose it no matter what I do. The worst part of Mirena is my sex drive is gone and I bleed for at least 2 weeks out of the month usually 3. I am only 23 years old!! There has got to be something else but my doctor has prolonged taking the Mirena out. She keeps telling me that it is the best method of birth control available.

I am amazed to see so many woman going through the same things I am. I really do feel like I have been going crazy with my doctors. Since I have been on the Mirena I have experienced, weight gain, depression, nausea, excessive tiredness, cramps in my uterus and breast tenderness. I also have a hard time sexually. I cant seem to get wet either. Although my sex drive is there I still can get wet. I also have lost hair on my head and have started getting hair on my face. YUK!!!!!!Since I have been on thr Mirena for the past 2 years I have maintained my weight but have lost nothing. I am going to get it taken out really soon, since my husband was nice enough to get a vasectomy. Hopefully these mood swings and tiredness will go away.

i've had the nuvaring for 6 months now and not once have i had all those negative side effects. i've gained 3 pounds, not too bad. it hurt my boyfriend the first two times, he got use to it. it made my boobs noticeably bigger, no one looses with that.
i honestly feel like everyone is just saying all this because someone else has. the nuvaring is amazing, no itchy dry vagina like some of the other people claim to have. and my sex drive has defffffffffffff not gone down. but ive noticed my arms get itchy, although i doubt they are related in anyway . so i would refer this to anyone. but i would rather have the rod that goes in your arm for three years..

Migraines, weight gain, dizziness, depression, no sex drive, some what of an odor and discharge, spotting, numbness and tingling in my hands and feet, nausea, mood swings, tired a lot.

I had the Mirena for the full five years and loved it once I got through the first couple of months of side effects. I actually lost about 15 pounds and maintained the weight loss the whole time. My sex drive improved over what it was on Ortho Tri-Cyclen and its generic. Now I'm struggling since having the Mirena removed at its expiration. I tried Seasonale for one pack, but it made me loss sex drive and gain weight. Now I'm trying NuvaRing, but having terrible headaches and nausea. I would have another Mirena, but I really expect I will try to have a child in the next year or so, so I don't want to spend the money for a short usage. My sister also uses Mirena and she likes it as well as I did. The best part was light or no periods for the around four years!

I am on the same boat with all of you!! I had my daughter at the end of July and had my Mirena placed September 21st. At first I thought this was going to be so great and I wont have to worry about a pill every day! WRONG!! I feel pregnant again.I'm swollen, my skin is WHACK, I have never had a breakout so bad, and I have been bleeding ever since it was placed. Sometimes its super heavy and other times its just a gushy brown discharge. So gross. My doctor says "Oh, this may happen" but this is just insane. I have NO sex drive, I'm moody and after reading all of your posts, I know it is from this MONSTER MIRENA! I am calling on Monday to have this removed. Thank you all for sharing!

Hi, I am on the mirena and I have been on ther for almost 2years. At first everything was fine. I don't have a cycle but that didn't bother me cause all the BC I've been on is like that. But know no sleep it's like I sleep but I am not sleep. I have to take Tylenol PM. My sex drive is horrible I can't even get into it or can't get wet either. And especially the weight gain that I experience I'm a person that hardly ever gain weight. I talk with my physician and said that it could be my thyroids I went through all the test everything seems to be fine. I was also thinking about going to a urology doctor.I scared to get the mirena out I have 2 kids and been with my significant other for 9 years. I want to get off but I don't know what else to get on. I have been on everything you can think of and I am not trying to have anymore kids. THIS IS HORRIBLE I MA TO YOUNG FOR THIS

I started NuvaRing 3 weeks ago yesterday after having the Mirena IUD removed (kept in all 5 years). I removed it yesterday as planned. 1 week ago, I felt a terrible pain in my right side under my ribs. I started having very slight trouble breathing, pain when laughing or coughing, etc. I applied heat and the pain subsided over the weekend and I could breathe easily. On Monday, I decided it best to go to the doctor since I had trouble breathing, I didn't want to assume it was nothing. I went to a doc in the box (bad idea) and I was told that I had a swollen rib cage (the cartilage). I'm certain I was misdiagnosed because the dude didn't even do xrays, even after I explained that I had just started NuvaRing. I wanted them to be aware of everything. The doctor dismissed it.

On Tuesday night, I was in so much pain and my difficulty breathing was worsening that I cried myself to sleep. Wednesday I went to work and was in so much pain that I was in tears and headed to URGENT Care, as my primary care physician could not fit me in. They xrayed, ran a urinalysis, a CBC to check my white blood cells and found nothing except for a bit of what appeared to be constipation, though I have regular bowel movements. My white blood count was slightly elevated, but distributed normally. I was prescribed a laxative and Lortab for the pain, which was excruciating. The doctor told me to come back the next day (today) to retest my white blood count. It went down a tad, as I had taken the Nuvaring out yesterday evening. The doctor seemed puzzled, but gave me my CBC results and urinalysis just in case I developed a fever or an infection of some sort, but told me that she thinks I am having side effects from the NuvaRing. She asked me to not put it back in.

On a side note, I had called my OBGYN on Wednesday before I headed to Urgent Care and explained the situation and they advised me to remove the NuvaRing as well.

I'll have to bite the bullet and pop the daily bc, such as Ortho Lo.

Hello, Everyone!
I have read a few of the posts and have finally realized that the Mirena that I have has caused some issues for me. I have had the Mirena for about 3 1/2 years now. I just thought it was me, but I have been experiencing painful intercourse with abdomen pain, no sex drive, mood swings and depression. I have an appointment with the OB/GYN in a couple weeks to get the Mirena removed. I pray that I will be back to my old self again. Take care!

Well hi all. I see we have some new ladies on here since I was here last. I had my Mirena removed on Feb 14, 2009 after it nearly ruined my life and my marriage over a nearly 3 year period. Feel free to read my old postings. My Mirena symptoms have been gone for months now. My chronic pain has been diagnosed as Enthesopathy. It may or may not be related to the Mirena, but I'm getting treatment from an internist, not a moment too soon! I was at the point where I couldn't go on another day. The interesting thing is, Enthesopathy is a disease of the ligaments and tendons. I couldn't figure out why I had little to no pain whatsoever when I was on my period, and my pain and mood and depression got progressively worse as my period approached. I wouldn't be surprised if the Mirena is involved in this. Anyways, I recently did some research and discovered that during our period, we release a hormone called relaxing, which relaxes our ligaments and tendons (among other things). So it's nice to finally put things together and make some sense of it all.
Since the removal of the Mirena I have energy again, I used to be so sluggish I would cry, sex drive is back, I'm not crying all day and am very happy, not angry at my hubby, no more insomnia, and my hair is still growing back. I didn't realize how much I had lost until it started growing back and see all this 1-6" -long hair.

PS: One more thing I forgot to mention. My sex drive was zilch.

cramps, tired ALL the time, no energy, sinus type headaches, sever bleeding, periods lasting 2-3 weeks with only a week in between, no sex drive, moody, on edge, gained 20lbs in last few months despite diet and exercise. can't wait to get it taken out!!

Loestrin 24 Fe has been nothing but a nightmare for me. I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo for about a year (originally prescribed for a sudden, random outbreak of HORRIBLE chin acne), and started noticing depression, mood swings, very heavy periods, and severe stomachaches and indigestion problems about nine months into it. I had to switch doctors in order to get off of it...I was seeing a male doctor who thought that my side effects were "in my head" and wanted me to take 5000 blood tests before he'd switch my prescription. My new doctor prescribed Loestrin 24 Fe during my first visit with her.

The first month of my new pill was great; no mood swings, no depression, no issues...I even dropped five pounds, even though the Ortho hadn't given me a problem with weight gain. I didn't get my period until the second day of the new pill pack though, and it was VERY light. I took a pregnancy test that came out negative, even though my husband and I had used back-up methods the first month of the pills to be safe. One week into the second month of my Loestrin pills, everything went crazy. It's been three weeks and not only is my chin AND my forehead completely broken out, but my hair is falling out in clumps when I wash or brush it, I am completely depressed and unhappy with life, I am exhausted beyond belief, AND I have gained a total of TWELVE POUNDS. I am a very physically fit girl...I eat right, I have always had a very fast metabolism, I have been a size 0/1 for years, I work all day and am on the go all day and all evening...and now I am twelve pounds heavier in three weeks and have jumped to a size 4/5. None of my work clothes fit me anymore, and I feel awful. I have taken seven home pregnancy tests just to be sure and have even gone in to the doctor for a professional test, but everything has come out negative.

I am apparently switching to another pill (or whatever will work) today; I'm waiting for my doctor to call and discuss my options as I type this. Ladies, if your doctor suggests this stuff, please take my advice and DON'T try it. It has been nothing but hell for me over the past several weeks. Save yourself the time, money, aggravation, and lost pounds and stay away from Loestrin.

The first time I got on Mirena was in October of 06 after I had my first son. I don't remember it being painful to get. But I do remember getting a head ache every single day. And I would bleed for weeks at a time. I was moody and unhappy. I had to have it removed because my husband (now eX) cheated on me. So once I had all of that cleared up I decided to get another one. So 4 months ago I went in. Since my uterus had closed all of the way they had to open it back up, I screamed because it hurt so bad and tears were just flowing. I have not had a period in about 4 months and that part is great. But I have gained an extreme amount of weight. I would say 20 lbs with the first one and another 20 since I had the second one put in. I relate ot those of you that say you breakout like a teenager. Its awful. Not only am I fat again but I cant get my skin under control. I am afraid to take it out due to pregnancy, but I don't know what else to do at this point...any of you that have had yours taken out, were you able to loose the weight that it forced you to gain? And did your skin clear up???

I think I know how Mirena works now.. You don't get pregnant because you never want to have sex!!.lol.. At least that is my experience. I had it put in about 4 months ago, and have completely lost my sex drive. I have tingling in my arms and hands all the time now, my whole body aches, and I feel flutters in my stomach as if I were pregnant (even though I'm not).My breasts also hurt like heck! I feel confident in its effectiveness but don't want these side effects anymore!! I also was told that using Mirena is like always having an abortion.. does anybody know if that is true?? I wasn't informed this when I had it put in... I was just told that the hormones stop you from getting pregnant, If any of you ladies have any answers to my questions that would be great!!

I have posted before and have been on the mirena going on three years. My symptoms started about April of this year; severe anxiety with all the symptoms: chills, panic attacks, even in my sleep, insomnia, depression, numbness and tingling in my hands and feet, shortness of breath, chest pain, the works... My doctor put me on celexa and my psychiatrist put me on klonopin to sleep. Note: I had never needed these types of medication or any kind of mental specialist ever, in my life. I have one daughter she is 2 and a half, and a very happy home.
My anxiety has gotten so much better since I have been on the meds. but the paranoia kept me from taking them for at least a month.
I can't say the mirena caused it but my doctor says that it is possible. A hormonal imbalance can be caused by your bc, The longer you take it the greater the risk.(for some women)
I have horrible mood swings still... and my sex drive is ok, but not what is used to be, but she did warn me of this before-hand. The acne and weight are my biggest problems now. I cannot stop eating, and I am not depressed, just so very very hungry even an hour after a big meal. My doctor said this is because of the hormones. Your body thinks its pregnant and will react as such, so as we all know; all of our bodies react differently to a pregnancy, morning sickness, swelling, sex drive, these things are all different for different women. It has not been a picnic for me and for others I know that it may be an ideal bc. I will have mine removed this coming week and will update if I see a change.
Thanks for reading.
emg1223