Single day symptoms and conditions

I got my Mirena in about 20 months ago and almost immediately my life started going downhill. I got moody, depressed, started gaining weight, my skin broke out in TERRIBLE cystic acne. Then I started having trouble sleeping at night, and was waking up EXHAUSTED every morning. etc etc. At first I blamed job stress. Then poor eating habits. Then poor skincare products, my new apartment...everything but the IUD.

I have Type 1 Diabetes, so I see an endocrinologist regularly and when I went in yesterday to show him this new BALD SPOT on the top of my head, and talk about my random weight gain, despite joining weight watchers and exercising every single day, he started asking me questions and determined that that IUD needed to come OUT. He said if the hormones were affecting my body enough to cause acne, and increase my insulin dose (I went from 10 units a day to 20...a HUGE increase!) then it was most certainly affecting my hormones enough to cause weight gain, hair loss, etc. It even explained why I suddenly needed to get waxed every three weeks instead of every six.

Unfortunately all the literature indicates that removal comes with terrible bleeding, clots, and cramps. I'm going on vacation in less than one month and I'm super bummed that I have to keep it in until I get back from vacation but I'm not going to the most civilized region so I don't want to risk the kinds of horror stories I've been reading while abroad.

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 was just wondering....those of you that mentioned fluttering in your belly while taking Mirena......
I have the fluttering and then sometimes I can actually see my belly bump up, just like when I was pregnant and was being kicked. My question - has anyone else noticed that?

well im so glad i found your site. i thought it was just me. the headache every single day. the strange cramps for no reason. the joint pain. the unexplained mood swings. im getting this thing out of me asap

I have been on the Yasmin now for nearly three months. I have no energy, chest pains, shortness of breath, tenderness of my breast, ribs and I feel REALLY TIRED even after having a nights rest. I thought this was perhaps after having a toddler and using my energy up during the day from lifting him and swinging him. I feel slightly anxious about different things in my life, sometimes depressed. I though my headaches and chest pains were stress/work related and so was the fatigue. I am popping vitamin tablets like it is an addiction thinking that if I don't have them I am going to feel WORSE( anxious/depressed). I also could not understand why I was feeling so nauseous and having stabbing pains in my stomach. - thought again this was just stress related - acid build up. I am going to see my Doctor today and get off this tablet!!!! I would rather have the odd pimple on my face than feel like this.

I am so happy I found this sight. I am 32 and I started taking Yasmin in 2002. I have had SEVERE migraines that are taking over my life every month. Also, I have gained over 50 pounds since being on it. I want to get off it, but am scared of getting pregnant. I'm married, but cannot afford a child right now. Any advice?

I am in the 5th month of taking Yaz. My dr put me on this because I was complaining that I didn't feel right as I am getting older. I am 36. I was on triphasil and was starting to feel more intense symptoms during my periods. Heavier bleeding, cramping, extreme moodiness and of course, migraines. Dr thought Yaz would help and switched me. The first couple of months were fine. Then I started having anxiety, Occasional blurred vision. I have felt "wrong" for a long time now. The worst has been "constant" migraines. I have taken some sort of over the counter medicine every single day for months now. A friend told me her doctor took her off Yaz after her blood pressure sky rockited. I decided to check mine and sure enough it was way over what is considered high. That explains a lot!!! I have stopped taking this pill. It made everything so much worse.

Hi, I am a mother of 2, and not quite 23 years old and got the Mirena inserted at my 6 week check up after having my second. I read all the literature that the Dr. gave me and I was sure that Mirena was the right thing for me (no where in the brochures did I read anything about the symptoms Ive read about here or anywhere else on the internet). I started having incredibly horrible mood swings, bloating, fatigue, nausea (sooo bad, every day) back pain, neck pain, no sex drive (!!!), depressed, lazy, headaches (to the point where I thought my head was going to explode), constantly hungry, acne, smelled maple syrup constantly, complaining all the time about everything, weight gain (only 7 lbs but I just had a baby, I need to lose weight, and I'm nursing),chest pain, and some other symptoms but the most important one is the stomach pain i was having. The pain in my stomach felt like a knife, and I kept having pain in my right side. So after a few days of this pain I went to the dr. he ordered an ultrasound of my abdomen and I am scheduled to get that done Wednesday. My doctor thinks that I may have gallbladder disease or something else seriously wrong with me that we suspect is induced by the Mirena. Keep in mind that I've had this thing in me for about 4 months!!! So after my doctors appointment I typed into google "side effects from Mirena" and Omg, I wish that I had done that before I got the thing inserted, those brochures about the Mirena make it seem like a Godsend and I am all for a lawsuit due to the problems I am having and the depression Ive felt. My 3 year old has suffered from my mood swings, every time id feel it coming I had to make her go to her room :( that poor girl deserves to have a mother that is not so depressed and ill that she can actually play, and both of them deserve that really, and im doing the best I can.... anyways I removed it myself yesterday, i had a hard time finding it but I took it out and I feel as if a huge burden has been lifted, EXCEPT I have been cramping very bad, spotting and incredibly sick, i also read about this thing called "the mirena crash" no matter how long you've had it in, if the hormones were in your system then you are effected and can feel very ill from it (and it can happen to women who had no problems while on it at all, even after 5 yrs). Im hoping that I have nothing wrong at my doctors appt on Wednesday when I get the ultrasound, and it may just be a cyst, turns out that is a side effect of mirena as well, that and bleeding the first several months (oh yeah, I did for about 2 months maybe 10 weeks altogether) Im also hoping that my daughter whom I am nursing is not sick as well :/

oh and for anybody out there thinking that the only women gaining weight are fat to begin with, well I am usually 105 lbs, after my baby I weighed 145, lost some weight, went down to 130ish gained it all back then some, losing weight is easy for me because I diet and exercise like I should, now I am doing all that and nursing a child.... and hello weight, when it really should be goodbye... well goodbye mirena I WONT miss you!!!!

I really did think i was crazy. I found this website and started reading everyone's stories. well here is mine:
I got the Mirena September of 2008 right after my son was born. I have never been on birth control before.The docs really insisted i get the Mirena..so me thinking wow not having to take a pill everyday and 99.9% sure it works. Well stupid me i went for it. At first i liked it a lot didn't hurt when i got it, no bleeding it was great. Well now reading the side effects i am going crazy. I have these dizzy spells were i want to get sick, headache every single day, i got these rashes above my eyes and had no lcue what they were and now i wonder if its from the Mirena. Not wanting to have sex at all, i am always in a bad mood. Tired all the time, never want to go out, i wear t-shirts and short all the time, and last but not least I gain LOTS of weight like 25-30 pounds. i was smaller after having my son than i am now. I had to be on a waiting list to get the mirena so i guess i lost all the weight and didn't look bad at all now after getting it and can not loose this weight for anything. i am only 21 and i run everyday eat healthy bc my parents are health freaks lol. so on Thursday i am getting this thing outta me. I kinda want to schedule for and ultrasound to see if i have any cysits or anything bad bc its horrible.

I've been on Loestrin for four months now. Previously, I had a hormonal IUD, which was in for 2 months and I had it taken out because I had HORRIBLE HORRIBLE side effects. Cystic acne, had my period the whole time it was in, it stabbed my boyfriend when we had sex, made me incredibly depressed, I sobbed myself to sleep every night, and then the icing on the cake was when it started to slip out, but then got embedded in my cervix halfway through and caused me intense pain that wasn't helped at all by any pain medication, over the counter or under the table ;)

So then I switched to NuvaRing. I had that for two months. First it gave me a yeast infection. It also caused intercourse to be very painful, my boyfriend could feel it when we had sex, and I could feel it at all times. It also made me INSANE. I didn't trust anyone, was a total paranoid freak, and at one point I locked myself in the bathroom screaming and crying because I thought my boyfriend was trying to kill me. I was pretty close to actually hallucinating. I would describe my side effects with NuvaRing as similar to paranoid schizophrenia.

Then I was on Ortho Tri-Cyclen, which gave me a migraine every single day which once again was incurable by any drug. So I was only on that for a few days.

Since then I've been on Loestrin. I am not completely happy with it, but I've stuck it out because compared to side effects of other hormonal birth control, they've been relatively mild. If I miss a single pill, I'll get my period, but true to form, they only last three or four days at the most. Before I started birth control, I hardly ever got cramps, but on Loestrin I get pretty bad ones. The worst thing is my skin. When I wasn't on birth control, I had beautiful skin. Maybe the week before my period I'd get one pimple that cleared up quickly with spot treatment, but now I have between 10 and 20 big, red, angry pimples on my face at all times. I've spent literally hundreds of dollars on Proactive, Neutrogena SkinID, Mario Badescu, UV acne "zappers," and many many other face washes, lotions, masks, scrubs, etc, but NOTHING helps. The weird part is that for the first 2 months I was on Loestrin my skin was fine. It wasn't until the past month and this month that it's been a problem.

I'm going to wait it out for at least another 2 months to see if my body gets used to it and my skin calms down, but if these flare ups last longer than that I'm going to have to try something else. I don't want to unnecessarily switch pills because I've had such horrible results in the past that I'd kind of rather stick to the devil I know.

I would also estimate that once or twice a month, I get a killer migraine. I assume it's related to the Loestrin because I used to get them only once or twice a year. The only thing that helps with them is going to sleep, usually with the help of a couple Tylenol PM or 5 or 6 Benadryl or Dramamine. To give you an idea, the first month on Loestrin when I got a migraine, I took 2 Excedrin Migraine, 2 Excedrin Tension Headache, 2 aspirin, 4 Motrin, 2 Tylenol, 1 Aleve, AND 1 Percocet over the course of 6 hours, and it did not help ONE BIT. I hope that this will also improve over time.

I began getting debilitating headaches 3 years ago. They were everyday and not the classic headache (no visual, nausea etc). It felt like a jackhammer to the back of my head every single day. My neurologist told me they were migraines. I was skeptical as every other migraine med had not worked. I began on Topamax at 25 mg twice daily. I started at this dose for a month. The body really needs to adjust SLOWLY to this med. My side effects were pins and needles in the hands and feet, strange taste in foods, flat tasting sodas, drastic cut in appetite. My doctor assured me these would go away. Headaches did not start to improve until the second month when I went up to 50mg twice daily. By the third month I was up to 100mg twice daily and I feel like I have my life back. I still will have occasional migraine breakthroughs, but nothing like the misery I had before. Within 5 months or so, food began to taste normal again and the pins and needles stopped. I dropped 30 pounds total on Topamax. It has been a life saver for me!! My advice for anyone thinking about this drug is to ease your way up slowly until your body adjusts. One week on a dose is not enough time.

i am a 32 year old woman who has had mirena for about 7 months now. i have bled every day since the insertion with the exception of 10 days. i had decided to use mirena in an attempt to minimize my period and instead i live with it every single day. i also have really bad stabbing cramps that have never ceased. they come and go very sporadically and are enough to have me stop in my tracks and nearly fall over. additionally, the insertion was awful! i would never suggest that anyone goes through that pain. what i am only now putting together is the lack of sex drive. my poor husband has been very patient but i've been very upset with my lack of sex drive and it is hurting our relationship. unfortunately he won't go for a vasectomy so i'm going to have to go back on the pill but i have definitely now decided to have the mirena removed. thank you all for sharing.

this is probably the worst thing Avelox caused, besides death, which would have happened without help..

7th day on Avelox for sinusitus - massive pain back of my head, sweating so much my clothes were soaked, threw up 2 times, legs were uncoordinated when trying to walk

Called 911 - paramedics took blood pressure - guess what.. 210/180.. something was definitely wrong. Rushed to hospital - passed out in ER - woke up with wife and family present - CT scan found my brain bleeding and brain surgery was performed to remove the clot..

But wait, it gets better... 2 days in the ICU my brain swelled from the surgery and the fluid stopped circulating.. I was semi conscious in the ICU for probably 4-5 hours and nothing was done. My wife came in early in the morning and thought I was sleeping, but could not wake me.. The nurse said that a doctor was called and will be there later. I'm DYING right before their eyes in the ICU!!! My wife demanded I get a CT scan immediately. If she didn't I would have stopped breathing. Later CT showed my ventricles enlarged with fluid backed up so much that my brain and brainstem was ridiculously squeezed so much, my head was all ventricles and barely any brain showing in the CT. I attribute my current brain damage to this episode.

A shunt was placed in my head for about 3 days.. basically a needle is inserted into my brain and left there to drain the excess fluid.. After my condition stabilized, the shunt was removed.

Spent 1 week in the hospital, then transferred to another hospital to stay in for inpatient PT and treatment. I didn't know left from right, had double vision, was throwing up constantly, was hot, then very cold, my legs hurt, had hallucinations (was believing certain things were happening, that really weren't) was incontinent, had a new catheter inserted every single day, was taught to walk again, had to use a wheelchair.

I had always been healthy, was vegetarian and did not smoke cigarettes.. I exercised regularly, did not use drugs (i.e. - cocaine or methamphetamine which can cause high blood pressure leading to a stroke)

Didn't know what happened to me, but realized I had to be there.. After 1 month, decided to go home (the hospital was becoming too stressful, somebody was always screaming and yelling at night and the daily catheters were uncomfortable), to be back in the lifestyle I knew.. my wife, my granddaughter, my house, my dog, cats, and other pets were sorely missed.

Once home I found that I couldn't do what I used to anymore - could not mow the lawn, drive, speak well, walk properly, had double vision, a tingling on my face, a metallic taste in my mouth so bad that good food tasted bad.

My wife set me up for physical therapy three times a week daily outpatient at the hospital I was at. Vomited regularly from the daily dizziness.

This was most disturbing, I developed a pain in my left hand and left shoulder, to the point where I could not raise my arm above my head and had to sleep with my arm straight down for at least a year. After playing guitar for 30 years, I found myself unable to play my guitar anymore. My left hand had lost all its dexterity and was not usable. I did not realize what happened to me until my wife explained the entire thing to me.

In the next few weeks I spent each day trying to put "2 and 2 together" and figure out why this happened to me. When doing research on strokes, I realized that certain things happened to me that were not consistent with having a stroke. In my brain damaged condition, I remembered taking the antibiotic Avelox, based on a physicians prescription. I researched the adverse effects and to my amazement, the listed side effects were consistent with what happened to me.

I began a quest to file a lawsuit - was unable to find a lawyer willing to tackle such a huge case.. although one lawyer did file before the 2 year time limit expired.. I had MRI's performed on my hand and shoulder which revealed scarring and previous ligament tearing.

During the time of having more outpatient and in home therapy, I regularly visited a psychologist and my physician confirmed that the Avelox most likely caused the brain bleed, tendon tears, and other mysterious symptoms when I presented him with my research. I was unable to work and my only income was from monthly Social Security Disability benefits that didn't begin until 6 months after the incident.. leaving me with no income and unpaid bills for 6 months. The mortgage payments fell behind and soon foreclosure notices arrived. We decided that an alternative would be to sell the house.. it could not be sold after 1 years attempt, so my wife and I moved to an affordable apartment. I put household items in a storage facility. I either sold to pay bills or threw away much of my personal things,since I was devastated by what happened to me, I didn't think I was going to survive long after reading statistics on strokes.

While in the apartment, I needed an income and was forced to take what was in the scpoe of my limited ability. I accepted an early morning paper route and then made deliveries for a courier company using my own vehicle.. That was a 12 hour work day. Being completely upset over what happened, losing everything including my house.. I decided to attempt to escape the overwhelming things that happened and were still happening. I found a house for rent that was less than the apartments rent, except it was in North Carolina. At the time that seemed perfect, a 3 bedroom house located in a far away place where I could forget everything that happened and make a fresh start. Only problem is my wife not want to go, but I was adamant upon doing it. She helped me move everything, including all storage items.. I had moved to North Carolina, but soon found being alone and unable to find suitable employment unbearable. I was being contacted for back rent owed, but could not do everything alone - I became more depressed to the point of feeling suicidal, so I called my aunt in NY and she said just leave everything and get myself to her house. I did, leaving everything behind, and stayed with her for a month until my cousin invited me to stay with him.. which I did. I stayed with him for 3 months, all the while searching for employment.

With help from my family I moved back to my familiar area in NJ in the summer of 2008. I had lost everything..unable to be physical with my wife and being seperated for 18 months, she has requested a divorce. Currently I live by myself and am still slowly recovering, yet my left arm and hand are uncoordinated, my talking is difficult, slurred and gravely (diagnosed with dysarthria), my balance is bad and am dizzy every single day for the past 4 years.. Although brain damaged, I am attempting to rejoin the computer support business again.

My entire past, everything I knew and did, everyone I knew, who I was, etc.. is all a strange hazy memory. If I don't take a sleep aid, I wake up around 4am with racing thoughts, unable to sleep.. My depression and anxiety are so bad, it is difficult to function and interact with others. My psychiatrist has diagnosed me with post-traumatic stress disorder and prescribed Zoloft and Xanax.

Upon proper research, I have to blame the prescription and subsequent use of Avelox for causing the brain bleed which led to my life being completely and utterly destroyed. My intentions are to file suit against the manufacturer Bayer and/or the hospital for allowing me to die in the ICU

How is everyone having such bad effects if it just came out 2 weeks ago? i always take ortho lo and they just handed me this new pill....im really concerned...

I received my iud im October of 2008 it was a little painful when inserted but very quick and simple. I had a period for almost 2 months straight then it calmed way down and i had it every other month for 8-9 days but so light that i could wear a panty liner. i haven't had any children so my side effects may be different from some of yalls. I haven't noticed any hair loss but i have always lost lots of hair when in the shower. I have had major severe cramping the whole time, even now. I haven't noticed and mood swings or sleep issues or sex issues but i am also very young so. I have had at least 5 bacterial infections if not more, i believe its from the iud. That is my only real complaint it smells and is always pouring out of me. I haven't had a period for 3-4 months now except for a light spotting for a single day, which i love! i have felt it during sex maybe 3 times not bad though. i have noticed hot flashes but never thought of it as being the iud. idk though ive been pretty happy with it...

I was not on Yasmin, I was on Aviane...if ANYONE on birth control ever comes down with a case of gastritis STOP YOUR PILL immediately! It is caused by the pill, I was on Aviane for 5 years ; apparently that was too long. I now use the nuvaring which is a lower dose or hormones and I love it.
I have never been so sick in my life; I was severely nauseous every single day of my life, never knowing it was because of the birth control pill. If you ever get sick after being on a birth control pill for too long, get off of it and go to a lower dose. Believe me .. do not waste your life being sick!

I have had no bad side effects whatsoever with Armour Thyroid. I was diagnosed 6 years ago with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (before I became symptomatic, actually, it was dumb luck that my neurologist sent me to the endocrinologist for a slightly off T4 level.)

I was started on Levoxyl (sp?) which gave me a headache every single day at the exact same time, exactly 9 hours after taking the pill. Then I was given Synthroid at too high a level and had rare side effects which subsided when I went down.

However, a couple years later I became symptomatic for Hashimoto's and although my endocrinologist swore up and down that no one should take Armour Thyroid, I had read otherwise, and had asked about it an an online women's forum. 9 out of 10 women on the forum said they did much better on the Armour Thyroid, and my new wholistic physician said, "Interesting, those are the same statistics I have in my office."

All my Hashimoto's symptoms went away within 6 months after starting Armour Thyroid and I've had no problems in years.

I have had Mirena for 7 months. The first three months I bleed every single day. The past four months I haven't had a period at all. Not to mention the worst pain that would be comparable to a c-section after a week. I have gained weight but worst of all I got PID ( Pelvic Inflammatory Disease) because of this. I am married and both my husband and I are extremely faithful. Now I am looking at a lot more problems all because of this IUD. This is by far the worst birth control I HAVE EVER BEEN INTRODUCED TO.
I wanted to attempt to have one more child later in the future now because of this I may not be able to have anymore children. I have two beautiful boys one 8months old and one 2 years. I waited four months before seeking care due to the fact that I lost my insurance. That is what hurt me the most. Because I waited so long there may be abscesses that my cause me to have a Hysterectomy which then crushes my dreams of trying for a girl.

I had Mirena in for a month ( 2 days shy, actually ) and it was a living hell. I had it removed this past Friday, much to the disappointment of my doctor. "Give it more time" she said. I said "give it more time for WHAT?!". In the 4 weeks I had it in I gained 8 pounds, bled every single day with the exception of 3, and I mean heavy bleeding. Equivalent to after the birth of my children. It was horrible. I had headaches and extreme moodiness. My sex drive went to absolutely nothing. I'm so anxious for my body to get back to normal and I hope and pray it does soon. Very soon. I can't drop any of the weight and feel hungry constantly. I'm watching what I eat and I exercise and so far no results. I don't know how long it'll take to get this nasty thing out of my system. I can't wait to have a sex drive again. I've been so moody even I can't stand myself. This just really sucks.
As far as the removal, it wasn't painful; just a slight pinching. Having it put in however, was another story. Nightmare city. I'm just glad it's gone and hope I return to normal soon. Also, after having it removed, I bled like CRAZY for 3 days. Small price to pay to have it out though.
So anyone thinking of getting it .... DON'T! Anyone who has it and hasn't had any problems ... count yourself very lucky. This thing should be banned. My insurance isn't covering any of it so I'm out $1200.00. Yes, that's $1200.00. Just the icing on the cake, I guess.

Less than 2 months after taking Lipitor I have been experiencing intense weakness of the legs, especially the hip area. A normally avid walker, last week really woke me up when I was unable to walk over 40 feet without having to stop from sheer leg exhaustion. I'd have to actually lean on my partner until I could manage to shuffle again- a shuffling gait is what I had to resort to just to make it back to the car.
This is bullshit because even though I've had some angina symptoms, right up until I went to the hospital I was able to hike; was still relatively strong.
So today I have spent hours researching side effects and have seen on this site alone many mentions of intense leg weakness and pain with Lipitor.
This, along with simultaneously educating myself on the truth about high cholesterol has convinced me to gradually cease taking this medication.

Instead I will replace with sufficient quantities of VitC, buckwheat combined with gingko, and of course I can never stop with the garlic because it is delicious.

I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis at the end of 2007 and have been on prednisone since then. I started on about 105mg a week and am currently trying to reduce it but it is really hard as the moment the dosage goes down I lose all mobility and cannot even get out of bed. I am only 23 years old and really feeling the disease to the extent that I cannot even cope with my life. The prednisone has really taken its toll on me and the side effects are crazy! I just want to go back to my old self as I am finding it sooo hard to get through a single day. My side effects include:

Insomnia, tooth sensitivity, depression, anxiety, mood swings, moon face (my face is so swollen that I cant stand looking in the mirror anymore, dizziness, temper, feelings of uselessness, nightmares, night sweats, water retention, and to top it all off the arthritis is getting worse and I am in constant pain. Is there anything anyone can suggest then please help me!

DOXY SUX BIGTIME. If you want to feel like you have an ax in your forehead and knives in your torso, chow it down. Not just the stomach either, SHARP PAINS in the whole organ area. Also, extreme LETHARGY, if I took on an empty stomach I'd THROW UP, numbness in extremities. Took it so I wouldn't get malaria. The drug company must have an overstock of this & they prescribe it for everything! In other countries you get other drugs for malaria. WTH? Intracranial hypertension?! How scary is that? Of course I read about that after I got the head splitting HEADACHES FROM HELL. I hope it isn't permanent because I still get the headaches & have stopped the devil's drug for 14 days now. You take it 28 days after exposure to mosquitoes has stopped - and every single day you of your trip. Someone is making a ton of ca$h off this poison & they will pay in the next life with the worst karma ever. I thought I was having an aneurysm. (seriously). It was obviously pulled off some countries shelves, renamed, & sold here. DO NOT USE. Going to research intra cranial hypertension now & see if it is permanent.

Ironically, when I was in high school, I was sick for 2 years; I had migraines so bad I couldn't read, write or even watch TV. I was nauseated every day.. felt a bit better in the evenings. But my eyes were so sensitive to movement, if i was to move my eyeballs just to look at something move on the TV screen, I would be in agony. At the time, my mother was so worried about me, she took me to see every specialist there was in the city (Winnipeg), I missed 2 years of high school. After seeing about 50 doctors, finally one asked me if I was on the birth control ill and told me to get off it. 3 months later I was completely cured! Since then, i have been so afraid about birth control. i have used nothing but condoms.. until my son was born, my maternity doctor recommended the Mirena. I was skeptical because it had hormones in it, but she assured me they were different hormones then what were in the BC pill, and she said the risks were so low. I thought I would try it, and be on the look-out for the same symptoms I had with the pill. But I didn't have any. No visual problems, no nausea, no headaches... so I thought it was the greatest thing on the planet. Meanwhile, I was miserable, angry at my husband all the time, had no interest in sex whatsoever, was not sleeping.. I thought it was post-partum hormones. We decided our son needed a sibling so i had Mirena removed to get pregnant, and after our daughter was born in Dec '07, i had it put back in... again, thinking I had post-partum depression or something. Even 6 months later after I quit breast-feeding, I still couldn't lose the weight. I was eating chocolate and peanut butter by the cup every single day, crying all the time, had no energy to look after my kids and wanted to nap all the time, and cried when I couldn't! Then a few months later all of a sudden my joints started hurting. My wrists, elbows (like tendinitis), then a couple of days later I was limping because my hip or my knees hurt or my ankles felt swollen and weak. I felt like a hypochondriac because I was always complaining of something. Did I mention the hair loss?
So, sorry for the long story. But most of my symptoms have disappeared since removal if the Mirena this past Valentine's day 2009. However, as I was forewarned, I have recurrent symptoms every month while PMSing. I have never suffered from PMS in my life, until I had Mirena removed. I get depressed, eat more, and my joints hurt so bad, and sex repulses me. My poor husband; A couple of weeks ago I got so grossed out during sex that I made him feel like a creep.
These last 2 weeks, I wasn't supposed to have joint pain, because i wasn't PMSing anymore. But it has gotten worse. That's when I put up my post asking if anyone else has this pain. I was beginning to think I had Fibromyalgia. I also have very dry burning eyes, which is also a symptom on Fibromyalgia. I saw my doctor twice last week, and she thinks I may have it too. Is anyone out there in a similar boat?

I can't believe that after months of searching for an answer to my daughter's health problems I may have found it! My daughter was a healthy, active happy child until recently. She is 17 and started experiencing joint, bone and muscle pain and swelling, unexplained rashes, migraines, tingling in her hands and feet and was diagnosed with neurocardiogenic synchrony (heart rate and bp out of synch) shortly after her first shot (she was 14).

We have been to a rheumatologist for the joint pains, they did blood work and there is a marker for some sort of auto immune disorder, but nothing specific.

I never connected the dots to the shots. In January of this year she started having severe diarrhea, stomach and intestinal pains. She has no energy, the most basic activities wear her out. We ended up at a gastroenterologist looking for a diagnosis (they thought it was Crohn's or lupus). All the tests have come back negative, they said she had gastritis and blew us off. She is on medicine for the intestinal pain, a prescription for an antacid for gastritis and an anti-inflammatory for the joint and bone pain.

She was a straight "A" student up to January and has had to finish her junior year at home. It has been a very stressful experience for all of us.

I posted last week about my side effects of Mirena. I had it removed Tuesday and it is now Saturday. I don't care what anyone says, it is so much better since having it removed. My doctor said some of the symptoms I was having might be due to something else. She said if I gained weight on this then going back to the NuvaRing would do the same thing. It did actually occur to me that when I was off birth control entirely I did lose weight more easily and felt better, but even with NuvaRing I didn't feel like I did with Mirena. My weight hasn't always been stable but my stomach felt so much more bloated with the Mirena. With how awful I felt I had almost wondered if I could have been pregnant, as I read someone else thought as well. I spoke to the doctor first not completely set on removing it, but that it was very likely. She tried telling me the headaches might be from something else and the only thing that she could really attribute directly to Mirena was the cramping. She said she couldn't guarantee the cramping or bleeding would ever go away if I was still having it. So less than a week having it removed and I feel wonderful. WONDERFUL! So even if the hormones weren't a direct reason for the weight gain the pain - everyday - the feeling like you were PMSing the worst you've ever PMSed, every single day and everyday thinking it might get better and it doesn't and not wanting to move is enough to make you gain weight...the fact that in five minutes that was all relieved, that very day feeling so much better, is enough reason to get it out. ONE day of no tampons, no pads, no cramps, no headaches. I started getting a cold before getting it out and someone said, "Oh yeah and that awful headache..." No, no headaches. I don't get headaches unless it's for a damn good reason (as I mentioned before, wisdom teeth removal), but almost every day I was getting them. I ride quads and after riding and sometimes during I was getting cramps, after being on a trampoline I would cramp and be bleeding. I would have irritation, discharge. That alone is enough to make someone feel awful. Every day feeling gross and in pain, even if the hormones didn't give someone mood swings the feeling awful would make one moody. However, I fully believe that the hormones effect mood. When I decide to go back on birth control I'm going back to NuvaRing. I always liked it, I just though Mirena was a better option. I have the prescription but I've decided to take a natural approach for right now and am abstaining from intercourse right now. If I choose to have sex I will use condoms. I don't know if it's the hormones or just not feeling gross but I've already had a greater desire for sexual activities. The day I had it removed I spotted right afterwards and the rest of the day was fine. The next day nothing, I mean nothing. The day after it seemed like I got my period heavily but it was the closest thing to a period I've had since getting Mirena, not discharge, spotting, and huge clumps. Since then, nothing. You don't even realize all the little things that add up until afterwards. I drink a lot of water and thus have to urinate a little more often than some. I can't stand pads and would use the very light tampons. Well, I'd either have to end up ripping out a dry tampon if I wasn't spotting much and had to pee, trying to hold it longer, or using liners that bothered me. It's one thing to have to wear them sometimes but every single day. You never want to have sex if it's always, "Wait, I have to go take out this tampon or remove this pad." I'm eating less and less tired. I want to actually do things again that involve something other than sitting. I've found it helpful that I've got a cold right now and can barely breathe out my nost, thus making getting intimate difficult and less appealing because it's probably helping me abstain at the moment. If anyone is considering getting it out, if someone tells you it's in your head, trust your gut. Nobody knows your body, or your mental state, better than you. I am not kidding, less than a week and I feel 500% better even in spite of my Rudolph nose and tissue trail. Once I'm rid of this cold I can't even wait to get out and start enjoying activities like I used to. I had a bunch of things going on while on it that I'm starting to wonder if it had anything to do with it. I couldn't wear contacts because my eyes were irritated and got even worse headaches than I already had and I've already worn them this week no problems. That may be something else entirely, but whatever it was seems to be fine now; hair growing faster (noticed facial hair that was pointed out to me by more than one person as well as body hair growing rapidly; breaking out; mood swings - more like swings that went from bad attitude to worse attitude to just plain angry at the world. I could keep going but I'd rather go enjoy this nice weather and get out now. Please, trust your self and your body. As much as I liked the concept of Mirena, I couldn't stand the effect on my body. Get it removed and if you're considering getting it - don't.