Surprise surprise symptoms and conditions

Hey I see Im not the only one with problems that the doctors blam on other things!! I have always been so healthy UNTIL I had twins in Feb 06 and had Mirena put in Oct 06 and almost immediately started having side effects.I started to read up and realized the ones I had were all listed as side effects with it.The first side effects weren't that bad but OMG now I am horrible.I have so many side effects and am wondering if anyone is in the same boat??Mine are:weight gain,hair loss,facial hair,migraines,irritability,fatigue,NO sex drive,anxiety,depression,fluttering in my stomach,back and joint pain,pain during sex,stomach spasms,the list goes ON and ON, oh and lets not forget they say I have PCOS!! Now I wish they could tell me how I went from perfectly healthy to THIS!! I have been to 3 different docs and asked to have it removed but surprise surprise they all did not want to remove it and now I have NO insurance..I am to the point if I could take the thing out myself I would!! I am SOOO miserable and if I say I want it out who are they to tell me no?? Can anyone else relate?? I AM GOING CRAZY!!!

It amazes me to read all of these posts. I have been on Birth Control for just over 10 years, and in early November, due to a change in health insurance (SURPRISE, SURPRISE), I had to switch to $7 Tri Sprintec, I have been tracking the incredibly obvious side effects and today is my final straw. In 10 years I have never had any of the issues I have been having. I occasionally have mild to moderate headaches, since November, I have had intense migraines every couple of weeks, I was actually in bed tonight at 6pm, because I was feeling so awful. About 2 weeks in, I also become a raging hormonal maniac, I cry, get angry, and I mean angry (in a scary way) and am unreasonable. My sex drive is gone, and I know this is taking a toll on my relationship of over 2 years. With all of that great crap is the 5 pound weight gain and the early periods. In the past I got my period on a Wednesday and it was gone by Saturday, now 2 weeks???
Anyway, I am going to contact my ob/gyn in the a.m., I hope there is something better out there. This drug is just awful.

My mother actually stumbled across this site and encouraged me to look into a possible connection between my severe joint pain and the Mirena IUD. I had the IUD inserted in July of 2007. For a few months following I experienced breakthrough bleeding but that did eventually end. I suffered from some mild bouts of depression and would completely fly off the handle at my two children. Always linked it to stress. My sex drive became nil. But no other real problems to complain of. But this past Nov (2008), I started having pain in my wrists and hands. I type all day so I assumed carpel tunnel. Then we began a kitchen remodel. After one particularly tough day of demolition, moving and climbing up and down stairs, I became really stiff and sore. Of course I didn't think much of it until a week later when the pain was getting worse, not better. After a few more weeks, the joint pain became so severe that I could not get up and down off the couch, off the toilet, out of the car, without wincing in pain. I felt 90 years old! My doctor had prescribed Naproxen (which wasn't helping at all) and gave me a course of Prednisone. The Prednisone made me feel like a million dollars. Problem is, you can't stay on it. That's when we found this site. I immediately called my OB/GYN and had the IUD removed 2 days later. Of course, doc didn't believe this could be the issue (Surprise, Surprise!). Once the course of Prednisone was over, the joint pain gradually came back, albeit not as bad as the first time. RA and Lupus panels were negative, no thyroid disorder, no diabetes. Going to see a Rheumatologist next month so we'll see. I can mention that I already see a difference in my moods. I feel more patient with my children lately and that alone was worth having the stupid IUD out.

I have been taking Tri-Sprintec for 3 months. I switched because my insurance does not cover birth control and I was paying $50 a month compared to $9. But it is not worth saving the money. Since taking Tri-Spritec I have had a 7 pound weight gain, I have terrible mood swings and have feelings of depression. There are days when I can't even stand myself. I get angry at everything and everyone. I also have no sex drive and have days where I just want to be alone. I am going to stop taking these pills they are not worth it.
K. T.

Back again Oh my am so confused on what to do.. I was taken off this med(LISINOPRIL) at my extreme constant complaint- and put on another--well either I have atypical reactions to all these drugs or am still having side effects from the Lisinopril-- I am taking diavon now-- I feel even worse-- rash is back head hurts so bad I could cry and I am weak all the time.. I could pull every hair that is left on the top of my head right out! I now have that rash around my neck and upper legs- was told before it could be the shingles hey I never had them before,, never.. my nerves are shattered I cry a lot and am hesitant to change again-so I stopped this is day 2 and my headache has subsided
What are we to do I am at wits end.. I know I need something but what today I am at 140/90 going back up,, any suggestions? I started taking Zinc yesterday was told that I am experiencing LOW ZINC LEVELS DUE TO THE LISINOPRIL(HAS ANYONE ELSE BEEN TOLD THIS?)

I just started taking Loestrin, and so far it's made me sick to my stomach, cramp and generally feel like I'm on my period.
I started taking it right after a normal period and so far it's been ok except for the symptoms mentioned above. Surprise surprise, I started what seems to be like my normal period when it's the last two days (mostly brown rust color). I know that it might take a while for the hormones to regulate in my body, but I feel that this shouldn't be happening... Any suggestions? I'm planning to call my doctor tomorrow.

I've had the mirena for 3 weeks. I got it when my non-hormonal IUD was starting to fall out, and my new doctor really pushed mirena on me. I was sure my insurance would cover it but, surprise surprise, I was billed a hefty $1,000 for this little thing inside me that is making me crazy!!! I have not stopped bleeding since it was "installed"--THREE weeks ago. I have backaches, headaches, and though I have not noticed any weight gain, I haven't noticed any loss either (even though I am at the gym 6 days a week and chasing around an 8 month old baby all day, you'd think I'd drop some pounds by now!). I have no sex drive anymore and though I have never been an emotional person, I am weepy all the time. My old IUD never made me feel this way, and I would NEVER have gotten a mirena had my doctor not absolutely insisted it is the "best form of birth control on the market". I'm so frustrated because I just got the mirena, haven't even paid the bills for it yet, and to remove it will be another huge bill I'm sure!

WOW!!! I am so glad i decided to google Yaz. I actually stopped taking Yaz 3 days ago. Not because i felt i was having problems...but because i just no longer need birth control. Little did i know that it was the cause of a lot of my problems. I was diagnosed with Anxiety disorder at 18 and i am now 28. I stopped taking antidepressants about 2 years ago. I have been doing great! then i started taking Yaz...UH O! all of the sudden i was having mood swings, anxiety attacks, headaches, dizzy spells...ugh i thought i was loosing it! of course i related it to my anxiety disorder and fugured i just needed to get back on meds. Surprise, surprise my doctors said the same thing. I even asked "Could it be the new birth control i am on?"..DOc- "O no, Yaz is great ...no anxiety side effects"...
So of course i listen to my doctor and continue the pill. I got back on prozac (I really didn't want to) but what else could i do...i was going crazt and my doctors said YAZ had nothing to do with it...UM HELLO!!! did they research this drug?????? Obviously not..it says right on the website "May cause anxiety" UGH!!!
I just stopped the Pill 3 days ago and i am hoping that all these problems go away and i can eventually get off Prozac as well. THe only major problem i am having now is that i stopped the pill mid cycle and now i am having a really HEAVY period. i never had heavy periods before :(... I am hoping that this goes away and all goes back to normal...
CAN ANYONE TELL ME IF THEY TOO HAD A VERY HEAVY PERIOD AFTER STOPPING YAZ?????????
AGAIN THIS IS NOT NORMAL FOR ME..NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH HEAVY PERIODS!

THANK YOU,

I was prescribed this drug as an after operation precaution. I only took the tablets from Thursday- Monday after seeing the posts on this site!
I had been getting what i thought was heartburn on the day after my operation and assumed that the burning in my throat was from the tube placed in my throat during the anaesthetic. How wrong was I! By Monday night I was unable to eat or drink even my own saliva was buring me right down to my Oesophagus. I began to think that this was not normal as my breathing was getting weaker than normal-( i am asthmatic) constantly feeling dizzy, and to feel like someone was pouring acid into me ?? All sent warning signs. So i read the leaflet in the box to see the side effects. Surprise surprise i was getting the severe reactions to the drug. If only i had looked sooner! So i called my local gp first thing Tuesday, who advised i was being silly and that it was not the doxycycline!!! Even though i told him about the side effects. He then told me to continue to take them! Well I was not convinced and contacted the gp that operated on me and he told me to stop taking them immediately due to the severity of the side effects i was having. Its been 4 days now and the most i have managed to consume is 1/4 of a pot of yogurt. I also am a single parent with a 2 year old to look after so I am really struggling with the effects from this drug! I have seen that others are still affect by this for days after they have ceased the treatment. I just hope it calms down soon so that i can eat something. I am terribly drained and in so much pain, not to mention having to put up with the pain from the operation! I would advise that the first signs of discomfort on this drug stop taking it!

I have been on Topomax for 2 years now at 200 mg. for mood stabilization. I was recently hospitalized for my depression and they upped my Topomax dose to 400mg saying it was the "therapeutic dosage". I went into the hospital weighing 116 pounds and I am 5' 6" tall. I started having diarrhea within a couple days. By the tiime I left 2 weeks later I had gone from a size 4 to a size 2. A month and 1/2 later I had lost 15 pounds, had severe abdominal pain everytime I ate, diarrhea every morning, nausea, and had absolutely no appetite.

My psychiatrist insisted it was not the medication and I went to a gastroenterologist for the full workup- ultrosound, colonoscopy, endoscopy and surprise surprise they found nothing. My Gastro doctor concluded it must be the meds so I started backing down on the Topomax and already the diarrhea has stopped. I am at 250 and up to 101 pounds now. I am taking in over 1200 calories a day but I still can't seem to gain weight. My doctor still doesn't believe it's the Topomax but it all points in that direction. Instead they insist I'm just not eating enough But I make sure to force myself to get down 3 meals plus 2 ensures and some snacks. I still am waiting to get some appetite back. I know some women would love to be in my place to have to try to gain weight but I feel like I'm dying all the time. I have no energy, I can't even get up in the morning to take care of my kids. My fiance left me because he got so fed up with my "sickness" and thought it was all in my head. I have my mother living with me now just to help me take care of my own children and it breaks my heart that I don't have the enery to play with them. I can't see my psychiatrist for 2 more weeks so I am taking my level of medication into my own hands which I know you are not supposed to do but at this point it's that or lie in bed feeling like I'm just wasting away.

I have had my Mirena since 6/5/06, three weeks after giving birth to my third child. I only opted for it because a paperwork fiasco at the hospital did not get my authorization for the tubal ligation after delivery in time, then went I went for the pre-surgery consult, the doctor highly recommended the Mirena instead of a tubal and even though I told her that I had horrible problems tolerating the pill, I was told that the hormone level was low, and localized, and not to worry about any side effects.

I didn't have pain or cramping initally like a lot of the other posters, and had very light spotting for the first few months, to the point that I couldn't really tell "Is THIS my period, or am I still just spotting?". I thought that would subside, but here, 15 months later, I still "spot" up to 20 days a month. I have tender/swollen breasts almost every day of the month (to the point where even an accidental brush against them is painful and I have to wear my bra even to bed, something I never did before). FORGET about my husband even wanting to touch them! More on that later....

I go to my PCP tomorrow and am asking to have it removed. To help her, I made a list of my symptoms, and have divided them into Physical and Emotional Categories. I am hoping she does not give me a referral to a mental health specialist when she reads it, cause its quite extensive. I am NOT a hypochondriac by any means, just someone who knows my body and knows these are not normal: bloated stomach (still look 6 mos pregnant), weight gain (I am 7 lbs over my weight when discharged from the hospital after delivery. 7 lbs is not alot, but consider that is on top of a considerable pregnancy weight gain that has not come off, add another 7lbs to it despite a rigorous exercise and diet plan, including Alli (orlistat) that resulted in a 2lb. gain). Headaches, blurry vision, acute insomnia in spite of prescribed sleep aids, fatigue, achey muscles, joint pain esp. in wrists and hands, acne, cramping, night sweats, pain during intercourse (when I'm coaxed into having it), a worsening in my hearing and ringing in ears, sometimes a burning sensation in the top of my right foot.

The worst part is the emotional effects. Depression and dispair beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Wild mood swings. I thought "maybe I'm bi-polar?" but no, I don't have manic episodes, I'd say I have two moods: Despair & Self-Loathing and RAGE. I have destroyed almost every relationship I have. I have lost friends, family members that I have alientated with my wild temper, and last week, my husband walked out on me, saying "I just can't take this anymore, what is WRONG with you, you aren't the woman I married". My rage is 99% of the time directed towards him. It can be over something as simple as he didn't push his chair in after leaving the dinner table. I have anxiety attacks, severe daily crying spells, and the thought or suggestion of sex sends me into severe panic attacks. A sexual encounter, formerly a much enjoyed and daily event, has become a MAYBE twice monthly event that ends with me in tears and my husband frustrated and angry beyond belief.

I just hope and pray I am not met with "It's not the IUD" when I see my doctor (not the doctor that put it in, as we have moved across the state). All I can say is NONE of these symptoms were present before Mirena, it just took my husband walking out on me to sit and think and make the connection that maybe there is a coincidence. I started to see a connection to wild behavior while pregnant and years ago being on the pill and then, duh, light bulbs went off in my head. "This is hormonal". Sorry it took me so long and cost me so much pain to figure it out.