Temples symptoms and conditions

I have been on Lipitor for almost 5 years. I started with a low dose of 10mg for 3 years but my cholesterol did not come down significantly enough so the dose was increased to 20mgs two years ago. I have noticed my hair thinning almost immediately after being put on Lipitor but when the dose was increased the hair started falling out where now it is noticeable, at the front along the hairline, on top and at temples. It has become another problem, at this point, like having high cholesterol. It seems to be happening now at an accelerated rate and my scalp is visible from my hairline 3 inches back. Styling is now impossible without coming the hair all the way forward from the crown, what's left of it. I had no idea hair loss was a symptom of Lipitor until I thought about when it started and the fact I take no other medications. There is no history of this type of hair loss in my family. The Lipitor brought my cholesterol level down to preferred levels but if I stay on it much longer I will be bald on the top and sides of my head. I'm worried it won't grow back.

My third day taking lowest dose of Lamictal. Have been taking Adderall and Cymbalta with no negative effects. I expressed to my doctor, that I am still sleeping a lot and sometimes don't even feel like getting up to taking my meds. When I do take them, I'm pretty great for about 6 hours, then right back to the couch.....
My doctor told me to stop the Cymbalta and start taking Lamictal. The first day I was my usual self, second day: dizzy, cloudy head with bad headache in temples. Weird throbbing in head. If I turn my head to fast, it feels like I need a extra second for the rest of me to catch up. I've been in bed, lifeless for the past two days. Don't feel that I can do much with my head like this. My hip bones and lower back ache.
My main concern is "Will these side effects subside?" I'm not Bipolar. I suffer from long term Depression/Anxiety triggered by abuse and trauma.
Please if anyone out there has felt similar effects from this drug, let me know. I want to give the drug a chance, but also would like to hear other's experiences.

I have taken Lurpron Depot 3.75mg June 11, 09. I am due another injection July 09,09. I had to get a prescription of prometrium 100mg from the OB/GYN because of the night sweats and hot flashes.Since the injection, I have had and currently experiencing migraine headaches in the frontal lobe and temporal lobe areas. I have slight pain in the temples. I am going to see a neurologist because I was told the lupron may cause brain bleed with people whom have pituitary cancer. I would like to know if the CoQ10 and red yeast rice interacts with Lupron.

My experience was a seven day short-lived trip through hell on Topamax.

I began experiencing a constant headache for several months in February 2009 (no prior history of headaches). I am healthy 32 y/o male. After multiple MRI's and CT scans came back negative I had a very severe headache that sent me to the ER. The ER helped arrange for me to see a Neurologist, who after patient listening to my laundry list of symptoms concluded I was having migraines (even though I had no sensitivity to light, sound, or nausea). I had been doing a decent amount of research on headaches and didn’t agree that they were migraines but decided, he’s the neurologist, I should trust him. Let me also say at this point, I am not a person looking for a pill to cure my problems, but I was getting desperate as my headaches were ruining my life. I was prescribed Topamax.

I was suppose to start with three days at 25mg, then go to three days at 50mg, and finally up to 100mg per day. The first three days were uneventful when I hit 50mg and then 75mg…I was out of my mind. I read these messages and see people at 400mg with no problems…it makes me cringe to think of dosing that high. I stopped at 75mg…here were my side-effects. Tingling in my face, lips, hands, arms, and fingertips, chest pains (I do have GERD and it jacked up my GERD bad!!!), pain in the back of head, taste confusion (soda tasting flat), and pressure in my eyes and temples…But those are NOTHING compared to the complete feeling of anxiety that over took my body. I had a mild nervous breakdown at work, became paranoid to the point where I was afraid to do routine tasks. And the MUSCLE SPASMS…those are the worst part. I have muscle spasms all over my body, just random fluttering of muscles in my chest, arms, back, neck, head, and face! I became suicidal and had the worst night terrors ever, of things, that I wasn’t even afraid of.

I have been off Topamax cold turkey for four days now and the anxiety has significantly subsided. I have worked through a lot of the anxiety with my wife and I now believe that stress is the cause of my headaches, not migraines like I tried to tell the doctor…but the muscle spasms have not stopped (they have decreased) yet…but I can’t wait for the Topamax to leave my body.

I used to think these messages boards were part of the problem, but they are very helpful. Do your research before you put anything into your body…trust yourself and if you disagree with your doctor, get a second opinion. This has been a life changing event for me.

Health and Happiness to all

My daughter is 18yrs old. She has a 4 month old baby. She started taking NuvaRing 1 month ago. She has had major hair loss since then. Her hair is normally thick coarse and curly. She now looks as if she has a receding hairline, it goes about 3 inches back on her temples. She only has baby hair there now. I decided to look up NuvaRing, because her hair loss is definitely abnormal even after having a child. Very large globs of hair in the drain and then again in her brush DAILY! Hair loss does not run in my family or my husbands.

She was also crying for a whole week, everyday she was angry and sad. It was driving me crazy. Such extremes, I would rather have another grand baby than have my child go through that (hopefully I wont anytime soon). She is going back to using condoms, until we find something better.

I have had the exact same side effects that most of you have reported. Hair loss/thinning at the temples, weight gain and more acne than I have EVER had in my life. I just threw the rest of the pills away today thank god I researched this and saw all of these wonderful, helpful comments. Now, I will need to see a doctor to see if my hair will come back.

I feel like such an idiot. I'm usually so careful about new things. When I was prescribed Alesse 3 years ago I researched all the side effects, but I never had a problem. About a year ago, my pharmacy offered me Aviane, and since the pharmacist told me it was exactly the same as Alesse I figured I might as well save a few bucks. I trusted the pharmacist, and never thought to research the side effects since I believed it was the same. Now I know I was so wrong. I never connected the side effects until recently. I have noticed thinning hair around my temples for about 6 months, and it wasn't until I googled that expecting to find that its a normal part of aging (even though I'm only 25) that I came across so much about Aviane. Then reading everyone else's experiences, I realized I hadn't connected all the other side effects to this generic brand. I had rapid weight gain the first 3 months and have been unable to lose it no matter what I do. The depression, low sex drive, acne, and practically constant yeast infections I think now are all connected to Aviane. After reading this yesterday, I went straight to my pharmacy and switched back to Alesse. Even though it cost me $25 with my health plan (2 years ago it only cost $6 so I wonder if my plan pays less because of the cheaper alternative) I don't care, I just want to be healthy and sane again. Thanks for sharing your stories, they made me realize there was a problem and I can't wait to start my new pack tomorrow and see what happens.

*JENN*

I am three weeks into my first pack of pills, and today I stopped taking them because of the severe headaches I have been experiencing. I rarely get headaches, and when I do I can treat them with advil....but three weeks ago (right after I started my first pack) I had a headache that lasted for three days. I thought I had a sinus infection, the headache was behind my eyeballs and throughout my forehead and temples. The headache went away but came back two days ago, and I still have it now. I am convinced it is from Yaz. I have not been able to find a birth control pill that doesn't make me absolutely psycho, and I was hoping Yaz would be the pill to work for me. I never experienced headaches from the other pills I was on, but these headaches are so severe and last for so long that I know it's more then just a common headache. I hope they go away soon...this pill is scary!
And on I side note I also noticed I have NO sex drive...but that happened with the other birth control pills I was on too.

I took Yaz for a couple months and was fine during that; however, about a month ago my doctor switched me to Yasmin(I have been on BC for years however, the ortho brand). I've been in the most pain in the past month than I ever have and I'm usually pretty good with pain and just try to take advil or something... but the symptoms have only gotten worse. I finally decided to google my symptoms and I found a lot of people on Yasmin had very similar symptoms. I have the worst anxiety like there's a lump in my throat and sometimes I'm literally grasping for air and I always try to drink a lot of water or cough or eat or burp to make it go away but it doesn't until I wake up the next day (sometimes). Also, I have never ever experience migraines in my life, but the past month I have the worst headaches imaginable. It happens at least 4 times a week; at first I thought they were caffeine headaches because it would sometimes help, but the past 3 days my headache has pretty much been constant (usually located near my temples/eyes). I take probably 8 Ibuprofin a day and drink an excessive amount of caffeine hoping it will make it go away, but it doesn't. Along with these problems I've been feeling lightheaded more often and usually have to sit down immediately or else I feel like I'm going to faint. The biggest/scariest symptom is my heartbeat and chest pain. Heart disease is extremely dominant on my moms side and almost all of her siblings have already had at least one heart attack. Lately my chest will hurt extremely bad, then I feel like my heart rate is just freaking out; I can feel my heartbeat from anywhere on my body and it's very intense. And then because of all of this going on, I always start to freak out and realize i'm getting extremely anxious so I try to make myself take deep breaths but nothings works. The past 4 nights I've been up til like 4 a.m. because my heart rate is so high and my chest hurts so bad in every position I try to lay in that I'm constantly moving. I never thought about going to the doctor because I thought it would get better but now I'm starting to think I should... I'm just wondering if anyone else has/had any of these problems from this medicine and if you've done anything to get rid of them.

(a couple other minor symptoms I've noticed recently are: joint pain and rapid memory loss (I'll be in the middle of a sentence and completely forget what I was talking about and blank out))

Hey everyone was recently switched to omeprazole about 10 days ago:

At first it seemed to be working better than my previous medication yet 3 nights ago i got up to get some water and got a very painful Migraine type headache above my temples and toward the front and back of my head.

Have had the headache since ranging from mild to very painful. Also have tingling in my hands / face.

Can this all by caused by the drug?

Hi,

I posted the paragraph below a few weeks ago. I just wanted to give an update. I went to a neurologist and he pinpointed the cause of the headache to being TMJ (jaw disorder). He diagnosed it by having me open my mouth, dropping my jaw and he pressed on the sides of my jaw up by my ear which was very painful. It caused all the headache symptoms, sinus like pain, back of head/neck and shoulder pain and tightness along with ear popping and some dizziness. We still don't know what caused the TMJ ( I still suspect it might be Yasmin since this developed a few days after I started taking it, no history of grinding teeth). It is starting to get better after 5 weeks since it started and 3 weeks of no Yasmin. Just thought I would share this in case it helps anyone with similar symptoms.

Previous post:

" I started Yasmin generic (ocella) 3 weeks ago. After a few days I developed a headache that feels like constant pressure around my temples, eyebrows and in between nose. It does not go away with pain killers. I have no history of reoccurring headaches and when I have gotten one advil usually takes care of it. After 2 weeks I decided to stop Ocella to see if that was the reason. I still have the headache a week later. I went to the dr. yesterday and he said it wasn't a sinus headache which I thought it might be. He said it might be a migraine even though it doesn't sound like a typical one. If it doesn't go away this weekend I'll have to get a Cat scan and maybe MRI. Does this sound familiar to anyone who got headaches from Yasmin? "

Hi,

I started Yasmin generic (ocella) 3 weeks ago. After a few days I developed a headache that feels like constant pressure around my temples, eyebrows and in between nose. It does not go away with pain killers. I have no history of reoccurring headaches and when I have gotten one advil usually takes care of it.

After 2 weeks I decided to stop Ocella to see if that was the reason. I still have the headache a week later. I went to the dr. yesterday and he said it wasn't a sinus headache which I thought it might be. He said it might be a migraine even though it doesn't sound like a typical one. If it doesn't go away this weekend I'll have to get a Cat scan and maybe MRI. Does this sound familiar to anyone who got headaches from Yasmin? My dr. said BCP wouldn't cause a headache but several people on this site described it as a side effect. Input much appreciated.

Thanks!
C.

I am in shock reading these posts. I thought i loved my Mirena (no periods, increased sex drive, no daily birth control...), but am now questioning that. I had my Mirena put in after the birth of my last child and I think close to when I stopped nursing, about 2 years ago.A few months prior to that I had health problems and had to have my gallbladder removed. I have had many physical problems since and always wondered if it was due to the gallbladder removal. I have always been thin, but have put on 15 lbs in past 2yrs (only put on 20 with each pregnancy which was off right after each birth) even though diet has not really changed and i am active.I look like I am 3-4 months pregnant,bloated belly, I have begun getting headaches, developed a weird type of migraine "ocular migraines", get dizzy, my blood sugar drops, I wake up hungry in the middle of the night, I am irritable and moody and exhausted and achy all the time. The worst however is that for almost 2 years I've been losing my hair. At first I noticed it after stopping nursing and just thought it was hormonal. But it is getting worse, and I am growing more facial hair, how ironic! I have an appt to see my MD next week, i wanted her to check my thyroid again. I also am seeing OB this week for PAP. I think I might ask her to get this thing out.
How long has it taken for others to get thier hair back after removal???

Hi Everyone,
My experience with Mirena is still causing me distress, and I had it taken out on 9/1/08. I've been Mirena free for 5 months now, and still waiting for my hair to grow back. I do see some small, short hairs around my hairline, and I'm hoping that it's growing back, but maybe it's breakage? Any thoughts?
Here's my story: I have always had very heavy periods, so after one botched ablation two years ago, my doctor suggested Mirena. I had it placed in June, 2008. Almost exactly 3 months later, I figured out why my hair was falling out. Every time I brushed my teeth, I noticed how thin my hair had suddenly become. You could see each individual hair from the front of my hairline backward about 2 inches - each individual hair surrounded by lots of space! There was hair loss at the temples as well. I had my thyroid checked first, because my mother has a thyroid problem. My bloodwork was fine. I thought maybe my last highlight/foil might have caused it...but it was not breakage, it was an all-over thinning out. I finally realized that the only thing different was the Mirena, so I insisted it come out immediately. My doctor told me that at 45, I should expect thinning hair, which was probably the cause, not the Mirena. I told him to JUST GET IT OUT!
I really wish I had researched the matter beforehand, but am thankful that I put two-and-two together in a matter of months.
If anyone else has experienced hair loss, please post. We have to get the word out!

Quick question for those who have had hair loss - when/if you had Mirena removed, how long did it take for your hair to start growing back? If you didn't have it removed, did this side effect correct itself? I'm thinning rapidly (especially on my temples), and I'm thinking about having it removed. This is my only side effect, so I'm just trying to decide if it's worth getting the thing yanked because other than the hair loss, it's been great. Had it since March 2008. The only problem is that I don't really trust the pill - got pregnant & miscarried on it.

! am a 45 yo male and have been taken in 10 mg of Lisinopril for the past 4 yrs. I am 230 lbs and my doctor tells me that he would stop prescribing Lisinopril when I lose about 20 lbs. I also need to tone down on the sugars, liquor, salt etc. which makes sense. I just realized that when I saw this website, I too at times felt the dizziness, faintness, cramps on my hands, especially when I am weight lifting and playing a quick short game of basketball with my son. I am going to stop taking this for a week and schedule a physical check-up to see where my bp stands without it. For the past half of year I have been walking 4 miles per day and trying to eat healthier. I also, have been depressed, some stomach pains, headaches are like those that seem to feel like pressure near my temples. I also play the drums on weekends and have had cramps and have experienced much tendinitis on my shoulders. Anxiety and sleep problems also affect me. I notice that when I am off my dosage, I do feel much better and more energetic. I feel though I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't take this drug.....anyways...thanks for your posts!

I have had Mirena for almost 5 years now. I got it inserted in 2005 after I had my son in March of that year. I was 20 when I gave birth to my son and got the mirena inserted. Let me state that I have great skin. I have only ever got a pimple here and pimple there which was usually associated with my period and would be gone within a week.

Now I have HORRIBLE acne. It covers my chin, jawline and all over my forehead onto my temples and on my scalp AND behind my ears! When I first had it put in, my weight was 175 because of my pregnancy, granted I started out at 106 and I am 5'6" when I got pregnant. I have always been a tiny woman, and now I average at 120. At first I lost a lot of weight after I had it inserted (My metabolism has always been super high!) and now I am starting to gain weight. 120 is not unhealthy for my height but I am worried about my weight increasing over time. I never ever thought that the Mirena could be the cause of my acne. I went to the doctor and instead of taking it out she gave me a speech and explanation of how smoking can be bad for your health. I have quit smoking since then but she did not help me with what I went to her for.

Instead she insisted so much that I keep it in that I got tired of arguing with her about it and left the place! I too felt pregnant and I have a horrible discharge and smell. At first the discharge and smell started only when I was about to start my period and while I was on it but now it is everyday and all the time! When I went to the doctor again, they told me that it must be a bacterial infection and then they tried to say I had some kind of STD and that turned out to be negative. I tried to explain to them that I never had any of these problems before I had it inserted! I didn't have heavy periods or any real reason to get it other than the fact that I had just had a baby and didn't want another one for a long time. I wouldn't say that I have been depressed but emotional would cover it accurately.

I get upset over stupid things and I am quick to snap at someone if they are upsetting me, which is NOT like me at all. I am a quiet and nice person. I rarely let anyone get me angry enough to react in a way that is rude or disrespectful but now I feel like crap all the time. I have an appointment for the 9th of Feb and I plan to have them remove it and find some kind of medication for my severe acne and fix my issues with my discharge. I hope that all of this will go away after I get it removed but I have heard of people who continue to have infections constantly, even after having it removed and all because they decided to get the Mirena.

Thank God for each and every one of you'll who posted!! I am a 31 year old female who has consumed this poison since March 08. My PCP had started me on the Lisinopril 40mg and eventually increased it to 80mg per day.
OCTOBER 2008-
I begin having "flu like" symptoms which I started taking over the counter medicine for.

NOVEMBER 2008-
I was becoming worst so I went to my doctor (the one who prescribed this mess) and was told it sounds like bronchitis so she prescribed a "z-pack" (which is a 5 day course), "cough syrup", and stated to "quit smoking".

FIVE DAYS LATER-
I went back to my doctor with the same complaint chronic cough and now shortness of breath. I was told that since the "z-pac" didn't work it may be "asthma"!! SO of course I was prescribed more drugs one being one called "Augmentin" (which is a 10 day course), and an inhaler now for asthma!! I was ordered to have a "chest x-ray", and another script for more cough syrup with codeine!!!!

SEVEN DAYS LATER I WAS IN THE ER-
I felt as if I was dying! I was so scared and did not know what to do. I couldn't even go to work all I could do was cough, gag (sometimes vomit), and gasp for air!! I knew something was terribly wrong. The chest x-ray was clear other then a small amount of inflammation. I was prescribed yet more pills this time a 5 day course of "steroids" for the inflammation, more cough syrup, and was told I didn't need the inhaler!!!

1 WEEK LATER IM STILL COUGHING-
I was beginning to think that this condition was smoke related and begin to feel depressed as if my life was over. I decided to quit smoking as of 12/19/08, however the gagging cough and shortness of breath is still present.

I GOT A 3RD OPINION
I went to an internal medicine doctor (just 6 days ago) who stated that it appeared to be the Lisinopril the whole time and to stop taking it immediately. I was prescribed a medication called "Diltiazem" generic for " Tiazac" but the insert mentions cough as a possible side effect for this medicine as well. I am to weak, broke, and cautious to take another one so quickly. I'm still coughing as I type this!! I think I will just stick to my fluid pill and a better way of living before I continue to put this stuff in my body. To sum up this whole coughy blog, please, please think twice before taking this or any other medicine, trust me it will save you a lot of health problems and medical bills. And finally if your doctor wont listen, don't hesitate to get a 2ND OR EVEN 3RD OPINION IF NEEDED!!!!!

I just wanted to hurry and post this for all of you and anyone else reading these posts. I was having bad hair loss from wellbutrin.It works so good that I did not want to quit so I went to gnc and bought womans ultra nourish hair supplement by gnc just to see what would happen and behold...it works the very same day I took it. I haven't been losing hair at all except the normal 1 or 2 a day6. Please go try this it really worked for me. God speed...

I have been asked about my Wellbutrin experience by another member and want to post my answer to the group in case it is helpful to others. I originally posted some of this information earlier in the year. Here is my answer.......

It is the most difficult drug reaction I have ever faced but slowly the hair started growing back. It may not be quite as it was before (I have always had fine thin hair but I did have hair!!!) but it is so much better than when I finally realized what was happening to me while I was on the meds. The top of my head and temples had thinned alarmingly. I have been off of Wellbutrin since March 2008 and the regrowth started within a few months time. It is a slow process but at least you can feel hopeful when it begins.

Be sure to take the Biotin available from health food stores and shampoo and condition with Nioxin products and use the foam treatment every day no matter how tiresome it seems. I went with the starter kit. See description for products at http://www.folica.com/brands/nioxin_183.html

And to help you right now, I can offer this advice. While I was waiting for the regrowth, I used a hairpiece which helped to heal my spirit a little faster. There is also a scalp make-up product called ShaBo that helps to disguise bald spots amazingly well and Bonnie, the inventor, will personally work with you to get just the right color. Check the website for more information.
http://www.shabocosmetics.com/

Best of luck and yes it will get better!

I am a 47 year old female that has had asthma all of my life. I was wanting to stop taking Advair and looked up this website, boy am I glad I did. I have all of these side effects. I have been taking Advair 500/50 twice daily for 7 yrs. I have all of the side affects and more. I have experienced hair lose, depression ( I also take Wellburtin XL) since I have started the Advair, I have pain in my legs that make me feel older than I am. I have gain 40 lbs in the past 7 yrs. I now wear reading glasses because my vision is blurry. People always say my face looks rounder. I hate the drug. My doctor said the none of the side effects are caused for the Advair. As of yesterday I stopped taking the Advair. I have cut down my does slowly for the past 2 months. Can someone who has stopped the Adavir tell me what to expect now that I have stopped. Advair is a crazy drug and I refuse to keep taking it.

i have been on warfarin since April 2008 when i had a clot in my left leg. since, i haven`t really had much going on until last week. i was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. i got dizzy and had a very cold wave rush up my body twice. when it was over, i couldn`t hear anything and my temples were tingling and my heart rate was elevated along with my bp. the er drs didn`t seem concerned with any thing that had to do with the dvt or the warfarin. their response???????? you drink too much coffee. WELL. i haven`t had a cup of coffee for almost a week, and have also quit smoking. i am still dizzy. my head feels heavy. i get little cool rushes that almost take my breath away, i don`t feel like ME. i feel like someone has taken over the me i knew. my family doctor has done liver, mono, hepatitis, b12, folic acid profiles, all negative. had a ct scan yesterday, normal. having an echocardiogram next week and having a holter monitor put on for 24 hrs to monitor my heart. i have done nothing but sleep since this episode. my husband is scared to death i`m gonna die during the night, he wakes up just to check on me. i haven`t been sleeping very well, as i`m afraid i`m not gonna wake up. i am only 40. i am not ready to let my life go to pot because of a drug that all the doctors insist is "safe". well i don`t know. call me stupid, but if its so safe, why do they kill rats with it????????????

Anybody concerned about their pill symptoms, look up CANDIDA. It is related to so many symptoms and my latest thoughts are, The pill causes candida and candida causes the symptoms. This means your body may not go back in check after stopping the pill.

I have had
Mood "problems" we'll call them,
headaches mostly as a soreness in my temples,
Dizziness,
Sore feet,
Random cramps in legs,
Flu like aches and pains,
Chemical sensitivity,
Fatigue,
Stomach problems
Decreasing ability to concentrate,
Severe and sudden beer intolerance, meaning taking only 2 beers to get a wicked hangover,
Sudden noise and light sensitivity,

To keep it kinda short here, I just kept telling my doctors, I feel like I'm getting old. I'm 27! I think this pill gave me a great breeding ground for candida and candida did the rest. Look it up!

First, a huge THANK YOU to all of the women who have posted on this forum. You have been an incredible help! I know this is a long post, but if I can help even one person by sharing my Mirena story, then it's worth it. So many women have similar stories that I feel I'm being redundant, but here goes: I had the Mirena inserted 2 1/2 years ago after the birth of my second daughter. For the first two years I loved it and thought it was the greatest birth control ever invented, plus no periods! I was telling all of my friends to get Mirena (SORRY). About 6 months ago, it was like someone flipped the switch. I started gaining weight although I am a very healthy eater, not previously over-weight (even after kids) and I exercise regularly. No matter what I tried, I just kept packing it on - a steady 3-4 pounds a month. My stomach was so heavy and bloated that I looked about 6 months pregnant, my breasts were sore nearly all of the time. I had terrible back pain (have probably put my chiropractor's kids through college). I had joint pain in my fingers and wrists. I got funny little bumps and a sore scalp just above my temples, and my hair started to thin. There were times I felt pure rage. I was always hot (especially on my palms) and always thirsty. My skin was vrey dry. When we had sex, my husband always poked my cervix (never happened pre-Mirena). I was exhausted, forgetful and irritable all of the time, but blamed it on the daily stresses of having two kids and working full time. The symptoms got worse each month. I went to the doctor for a full blood work up and thyroid testing because I just felt old and sick (I'm only 35 but I felt about 80). Of course, all tests came back normal. My husband was at wits end with me, because I snapped at him all the time, and we never had sex. Sex sounded like as much fun as scrubbing the toilet, and on the rare occasions we did have sex, it was almost impossible to have an orgasm.

As an aside, this is why Mirena is GREAT birth control - what man wants to have sex with a fat, grumpy, sore-boobed, balding woman that is either going to cry or rip his head off?!?!?!

I certainly didn't think that all of my health issues were related until one night when I was getting really frustrated with the weight gain, I Googled Mirena Weight Gain and found hundreds of posts all over the web of women with very similar symptoms. I was so relieved to see that my health issues had a cause and that I wasn't crazy! Within 10 days I was able to get an appointment with the OB/GYN and get this evil thing out. Removal was quick and painless (easier than a pap smear). My husband was very skeptical that removal would help. Within 3 hours (I couldn't believe it was so fast!!) my breast tenderness was gone. On day 2 I got a very heavy, clotty period and was kind of crampy, but my mood started to improve and my energy started coming back. By week 2 I was exercising more, playing with the kids, cleaning house with a vengeance and actually wanting to have sex. Lost about 4 pounds, the weird bumps on my scalp went away and the back pain was gone. The best part is that I have been so happy!!! Relationship with kids and hubby is much improved. A few days ago my husband gave me a huge hug and said "It's so nice to have you back!!" Lots of good sex and much easier orgasms! Most of the joint pain is gone. On the down side, I have been unbelievably forgetful and spaced out, and I have random days where the anxiety hits. And now that I'm at the end of my third week post-removal I think I am getting my period and all the fun PMS to go with it.... bloating, sore breasts and killer headache like a hangover. And even though I feel happy as a clam, I get teary-eyed over everything and nothing. Thanks to seeing everyone's stories, I see that this is probably normal and will get better with time. I am taking a multi-vitamin, extra B vitamins and magnesium. I've been to the acupuncturist to see if I can get back on track faster. My acupuncturist says the Mirena hormones send the body into "estrogen dominance" and it takes a while to get all the extra estrogen flushed out and to get the body making its own progesterone again. She also recommended lots of exercise and drinking lots of water to help the body cleanse and regulate naturally.

My OB/GYN thought the symptoms I had sounded "weird" and were probably just from my body aging, not the Mirena. She said the dose of hormones released by the Mirena was too small to cause these symptoms. But she said she was happy to remove the Mirena if I wanted to try it (and she said I could always get another one!! LOL!) and that she was interested to see if my symptoms improved. She also said I wouldn't get a period until a month after removal and that it would be very light, getting heavier each month as I got back to normal. Strange that I got the heavy period 2 days post removal that so many other women experienced -- how can the docs be so wrong on all of this stuff? I see her again in 6 months and will happily share all of what I've learned.

Since discovering the downside of Mirena, I have talked to lots of women who have suffered through it, but had mild enough symptoms that they never sought help or answers. They all just assumed it was part of life, part of getting older, part of being a busy mom. So many are relieved to see that their birth control is to blame. SPREAD THE WORD!!!

I'm glad I thought to check to see if Wellbutrin might be causing my hair loss. I had some natural thinning at my temples before and started using Rogaine for women with great success. Then after my mastectomy and breaking up with a guy I went on Wellbutrin. I am currently taking the 150mg three times a day. I am losing so much hair it's scaring me. It comes off my head all day long. Like others have said I also have a handful in the hour, another handful in my comb and then it just continues to jump ship all day long. I have lost at least half of my hair.