Type of birth control symptoms and conditions

I have to say I am SHOCKED over this site but had to read every bit of it. I am a TRUE believer in the Mirena and until I came across this site while searching for sites to send a friend to encourage the Mirena I never knew how many horrible things could happen for someone on the Mirena. HOWEVER, I guess this is proof when with any type of birth control including Mirena it is said it's not for everyone. I happen to LOVE mine. I'm actually on my 2nd insertion. My first one went very well, after a crampy insertion and 2 days of horrible cramps controlled by ibuprofin I was left to enjoy 5 years of birth control w/out problems. I can't take the pill as no matter the dose I spend the 1st to weeks nauseated and vomiting in the morning, I tried the Depo Shot (personally that is the EVIL OF ALL EVIL birth control methods, gained 68 pounds in 11mnts never going over 105 pounds except for pregnancy in my life, have battled to control my weight since therefore I believe it destroyed my metabolism forever, major depression to the point of medication and medical leave from work & the world). And after an accident pregnancy no way was condoms going to be enough for me. My Dr. recommended Mirena and I gave it a try. I was not lucky enough to go period free my first insertion I did have a max of 3 days of period with little or no cramping. My second not as good, I now have about 5 days of spotting only if sex promotes it and occasionally after using the bathroom a little blood on the toilet paper, never needing to actually use any feminine products. I use to get ovarian cysts all the time, small enough surgery was only needed once but I knew when one was there and I knew one they "popped" as my doctor would call it. I haven't had that problem since I started with Mirena, I'm told its due to the small amount of hormones (hence the reason my Dr suggested Mirena versus a non hormone IUD). My sex drive has not been affected one bit...in fact like one of the positive posts I just read...my husband and I have discussed more then once prior to coming across this site how much more of a sex drive I do have, although we contributed it to not being pulled down in the dark world of depression from the Depo shot...and the freedom of placed once & forget for 5 years type birth control. I have 8 friends and coworkers that have the Mirena...One person had a problem, hers "fell out" in the toilet and she had been cramping and in abdominal pain for a few days prior not connecting it to her Mirena...but after 2 months of other methods she had another one placed and has had no problem since...that was 2 years ago. It stinks to hear how horrible this "wonder bc method" is for others...(are you seeing how terrible the other methods were for me first for me to feel this is the wonder of all wonders) and of course I'm concerned with the fact that most of you that had a problem had SEVERE problems..not just a small one here or there. But I'm going to bet that on the flip side the methods that caused me hell might work for one of you. I have 2 more years left on this 2nd cycle...I pray I never have the problems you do if I chose a 3rd insertion...however, with science today we can only hope your complaints are taken seriously and the makers of Mirena continue to improve so that less and less people run into these side effects. I'm not sure I would have another option...SCARY!

Wow, am I ever glad that I've read all of these horror stories!! I am scheduled to have Mirena inserted next month (for the first time) and I was told that it is the best way to go! I am 26 with 3 babes (my youngest being 6 mos. old) and I was just looking for some type of birth control until I get my tubes tied (I am looking at a 1+ year wait). I have tried every other type of birth control and anything chemically induced makes me a crazy person. I wasn't even told that there were hormones in Mirena... that's how much was explained to me! I am canceling my appointment.

I am on day 5 of Loestrin 24, I do not read the "pamplets" that come with medicine simply because if I read it I will get it, power of suggestion is what my doc calls it. My boyfriend noticed almost immediately my mood swings, I thought I had the flu, I cry all the time and last night, after 4 days of no sleep I planned out my own suicide in my mind, even what I would write in the letter to my parents and my new niece. I layed beside my boyfriend and convinced myself he was cheating on me, he was seeing someone else and I got up, woke him up and started throwing his clothes in the backyard. I have full blown anxiety attacks and cry all the time. I am sick on my stomach but starving at the same time, my head is splitting wide open and I am waiting on a call rom my doctor right now. I called in to work "crazy" today, thank God my boss is very understanding and I will never take this pill again in my life. This is scary and as I sit here now I'm still not sure how long this feeling will last

I had just gotten married and never been on any type of birth control. i decided that since i was a forgetful person the best option was the nuvaring and my husband agreed. my gyno gave me the script and i swear not 8 hours after i put the thing in i was more sensitive. i stayed on the nuvaring for 8 months. i had serious depression, i slept the majority of the day, i'd even sleep at work. i had no sex drive, which doesn't make since, b/c i was a newly wed. i would be angry with my husband if he didn't say i love you in the right way. i had never had any problems in the vag department, and then all of a sudden i had cramps that you couldn't imagine, yeast and bacterial infections and itching that could not go away. i thought my body was just transitioning or something. i had to eat like 24/7... i was always snacking and i have hyperthyroidism so its hard to gain weight but i gained like 15 pounds one week then dropped 20 the next. i hated my life and my family. when my husband would ask me what was wrong i just couldn't tell him b/c i barely knew who i was.

ive been on sronyx for about 3 weeks, and besides forgetting to take it here and there, i am back to my old self, i can have fun and i don't cry if someone tells me i look nice. lol i would definitely caution anyone who is even thinking about the nuvaring, to really do your research!

i am 24 and i was on loestrin 24 for 8 months. at first i didn't notice any side effects but gradually i became lethargic, moody, and i lost my sex drive almost completely. none of those things described me in the slightest before i started taking this pill, in fact i used to wonder if pms was a myth...now i KNOW its so real.anyway because of the lethargy i was having i went to the doctor to see if maybe i was having thyroid problems, i wasn't but he did tell me that studies he has seen link hormonal birth control to breast cancer and advised me to get off the pill. kinda scary i know. i did quit and ive been off for about a month now and i swear its like night and day, im not moody, i have energy and my intimate life is back to normal, im so happy i quit.

I am 34 years old and I used the NuvaRing for about a year and it was the absolute worst year ever! I experienced weight gain, dizziness, depression, I was always angry with my husband and kids and I was extremely emotional. Another side effect I experienced was stuttering. I have never had a problem with stuttering in my life. It wasn't a constant stuttering but it was very embarrassing. And the depression and mood swings were absolutely horrible. I would loose my balance just walking because the dizziness was so bad. Eventually I decided to stop using the NuvaRing and my depression, dizziness, mood swings and stuttering stopped. I have been off for over a year now and my life is back to normal. I have actually never had a good experience with any type of birth control so my husband decided to get a vasectomy. I can honestly say that I have never experienced anything like it in my life.

This is my second pack of Loestrin 24, and I am not sure if I like it..Last month was very light spotting, but not a TRUE period, and this month I didn't even get my period. I was on ortho low before, and my period was light as it is. My gyno recommended that I be put on Loestrin, as I was having a lot of stomach problems. NOW, I'm not even getting my period. Should I be worried? Reading everyones posts makes me feel a little better that we are sharing similar symptoms. I am cramping, and I feel like my period should be here, but it's not!

Wow, thank you all for your postings. I just wished I had found this before I had Mirena put in. I had it placed in Feb 2009, it's been exactly 5 months. I have been extremely tired and agitated. I didn't really associate this with the Mirena until reading the other posts. My hair comes out by the handful (with root attached), I never have solid stools, I have gained about 10 pounds even though I have been trying to lose weight through a diet and exercise program. All the weight is in my stomach and people keep asking me if I'm pregnant. I started to wonder if I could be seeing as I was crying all the time, extremely moody, and that I look at least 4 or 5 months pregnant. All pregnancy tests have come back negative. I got this put in the day before my fiance and I got engaged ( not knowing at the time) and last week we were about to call of the wedding because of my emotional state and constant conflicts. I have to wonder how much of this is caused by the Mirena. I have already made an appointment to talk to my doctor after reading what all these other women have been through. It's just so tough because with any type of birth control their are side effects so I don't want to make it out to be like this is the worst thing ever, it may be exactly what someone is looking for, but just be informed that there are some side effects because I like a lot of other women on this post was lead to believe that there were no side effects or very little side effects.

I'm 39 yrs old and I had the Mirena inserted in Sept.of 09. Since I've had this put in, I have a period every 2 weeks and it last for 2 weeks if not longer!!!!! Very annoying....... It seems like I'm always bleeding or discharging and I can't stand it anymore. I've also experienced hair loss, I have always had thick hair and now my hair is getting thin and it hasn't been growing. I'm also experiencing insomnia, my sleep has progressively declined since this was inserted. Now I'm on my second medication to try and get some sleep. I'm tired all the time, extremely moody. I get pissed off all the time over nothing. It is affecting my relationship with a man I'm totally in love with and if something doesn't change I'll end up losing him. Before the Mirena things were great and now they're getting worse and worse. I don't do things with my friends anymore cuz I'm tired all the time and moody and my boyfriend gets the grunt of it all. He has a 5 yr old and I have no patience with her and I've always been really good with kids and I never had such a lack of patience before the Mirena was put in. Needless to say I have an appointment on July 7th to get it out. Oh and did I mention the 15lbs I've gained since I've had it put in. I've never been overweight or had weight issues in my life. Since this has been put in, it seems like I keep gaining weight and it doesn't seem to stop. I go to the gym and do weights and I do a lot of cardio and nothing seems to stop the weight gain. I'm praying that after this evil thing is taken out, I can get back to being my happy self and treat the people around me the way they deserve to be treated. I know some people haven't had any problems with the Mirena, but for me its been a living hell!! No birth control is worth all these side effects. I'm thankful I found this site because I didn't know what the hell was wrong with me until I started reading all the things that other women have experienced that are similar to what I've been going through!

Well reading all of this is very scary to me. I'm 23 years old and have never had a kid and have never been on any birth control before. I thought it would be a wise decision for it since i'm starting to get serious with my boyfriend and we have sex, but he never ejaculates in me...mostly because he cannot ejaculate from sexual intercourse the only way is thru oral or a hand job (sorry for the TMI lol). I have an appointment on July 1, 2009 to get the Mirena in place. My OBGYN doc told me Mirena was the best thing for me because I am on high blood pressure medication. I've always kind of had my doubts about this type of birth control and she didn't really explain the side effects that much, she just gave me the little pamphlet about it which of course makes it sound like the best thing ever. I am going to another place to have it put in because I have no health insurance and they do it for free. Well...I had to have a consultation with that doc and she did explain the cramping and it may hurt when it's put in, and the spotting but that's it. I almost kind of felt like I was pressured into it. After about 10 minutes the doc was like ok lets get you set up. I'm having very very serious thoughts about calling and canceling this appointment. I like who I am now and I think I would rather risk it and use a condom than ruin my life. Thanks for the help everyone.

Hi
I've read quite a few of these listings and i think most of you are from the USA, I'm from the UK and had my Mirena Coil fitted last November and since then I have still had bleeding every 2 weeks like I was before (although not as heavy), I have had awful tummy pain whilst bleeding, my mood swings are awful and the worst of all is that I have completely lost my sex drive which seems to be a common occurrence with us women using this type of birth control.

I'm 42 and have finished having children (I'm actually sterilized so can't have anymore) and had the coil fitted so that it would stop the continual bleeding as it was making me so ill. But it hasn't stopped it at all. Next week I go to see my consultant to see how I have been getting on over that 7 months or so with this coil, and the first thing I will do is to ask him to remove the coil as I want to get back to normal and get my marriage back on track. The second thing I will ask him is to have it all removed completely as been as I don't want and can't have anymore children anyway. I wish I had done this in the first place, but being only 41 at the time, the Consultant wanted me to try other things first.

My advice to anyone would be to give it a try see if it works for you as it does actually work for some women I work with so its just not completable for my body. But please please please don't leave it years before thinking about getting it removed if it doesn't work for you. You know withing the first 6 months whether it will or not, its not going to get any better if it hasn't worked by then.

I'll keep you all posted as to what my Consultant agrees to do next week.

Keep healthy and happy.

I have had the Mirena for 5 months, due to the pain, bleeding, tiredness and lack of sex drive, I have only had intercourse once since then. At the insertion, my Gyn. told me he had to manually dilate me which was difficult for him and extremely painful for me. I was well informed of procedure and side effects, but I have never had any major problems in the past with any other type of birth control, so I did not think it was a big deal. I was wrong! After the insert, I was in excruciating pain even after taking several Tylenol 3 that I take for pre-existing back pain. The extreme constant abdominal pain, with frequent bought of stabbing breath taking pain, lasted for almost 2 weeks. Since then mod to severe pms pain that I never had problems with before M. Recently I have started having more frequent stabbing, breath taking pain on the left side of my uterus/hip area with pain that radiates down the front of my thigh and to my back. The last 2 weeks I started having thick, white, constant vag discharge. Yesterday I had the freakiest thing happen when I seemed to loose bladder control for a minute or two. Reminiscent of my water breaking with my daughter's birth. In the past I have been told by my Gyn. that my symptoms are normal. The more recent have led me to this site. The side effects of this product are much more than with most drugs/product that I have ever encountered. Usually side effect don't occur for the majority of patients. This product's side effect should not be considered "side" but probable additional short to possible long term effects. The people who are"lucky" and did not have side effects are really not the Norm. I will be calling my Gyn. on Monday.

I agree with all these posts on here. I am still on the nuvaring and want to go off so bad but I know my doctor would make me go back on it. I have mood swings like crazy which has made me and my partner break up 6 times now !! and iv been having like break outs, nausea, randoms pains, a lot of symptoms you would have with pregnancy but I had a test and it came out negative so its the nuvaring doing it. Can anyone suggest a different type of birth control they are on and actually like?

day # 3 ive got the worst yeast infection i was fine b4 i put it in now im uncomfortable ........bloating,fatigue, nausea,headache,.. all after 3 days called the doctor he said to give a month just use some monistat but it is now midnight and i just took it out, and you know what...... instant relief im not putting that thing back in ( from my fiance.....fellas don't let her do it you will be sorry)......well back to the pill : ) keep posting this was very helpful

I had mirena inserted after 2 months after having my daughter, and i was hoping this would be the best birth control ever. BUT i never thought the side effects would be soo bad! At first the insertion did not hurt one bit, but hours later i had severe cramping to the point of not getting out of bed. The cramping lasted about 3 days, and the spotting for about 3 weeks. I did not wanted to get it removed because i figured it would take a while for my body to get used to it, (and b/c i paid 500.00 for it). Here i am almost a year later and i have pregnancy symptoms having periods for 11 out of 12 months. Constant nausea, horrible cramps on each side of my stomach, zero sex drive, and bloating. I am going to make an appointment b/c i am scared that i may have either an eptopic preg. or an ovarian cyst.

First of all, a big thanks to all of you who have shared your experiences. I am a biochemist, with a background in pharmaceutical research...I chose the Mirena IUD after careful consideration of it's active ingredient, Levonorgestrel. The side effect profile seemed pretty acceptable...until I started to experience nearly ALL of them...I am 33 years old and had the Mirena IUD placed in October of 2008 after the birth of my second child in June of 2008. The initial reaction was to be expected...cramping, a little spotting etc...nothing to be alarmed about. I still have yet to have a period (which I really don't miss so no problem there) I never gave a second thought to this until now...for the past month or so (coinciding with the weening process, since I have been nursing the entire time, I believe the side effects were not as noticeable) I have been experiencing the following (that may or may not be related to Mirena as my OBGYN has so adamantly pointed out, but after reviewing your posts I'm willing to bet they're connected) and are in order of occurrence: Major, but temporary, hair loss after 2 months or so; Major respiratory infection lingering over a month with difficulty breathing, tightness and pain in the chest at around 6 mos; And in the past month, several instances of motion-like sickness/ nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, major impatience/ mood swings, loss of appetite (pregnancy-like symptoms...yep, I was thinking man I'd be pretty pissed if I was that 0.01% pregnant statistic), and as of this past weekend, my first aurora migraine with tunnel vision and serious nausea and vomiting, to the point where I went to Urgent Care...who referred me to the ER...who wants to perform a battery of tests including a head CT. I have an appointment with a trusted GP tomorrow to discuss possible root causes...but it is to coincidental that so many women are experiencing these same symptoms! I am certainly leaning towards having this removed. CAN THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE HAD THIS REMOVED PLEASE RESPOND IF YOUR SYMPTOMS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED OR WERE RESOLVED!!! THANK YOU!
These side effects seem to go well beyond a 5% rate of incidence according to all of you who have reported. I will investigate further and keep everyone posted. As someone who is highly experienced in the pharmaceutical industry, you bet your a$$ I'm going to get to the bottom of this! Good luck ladies!

I used nuvaring about 2 years ago but stopped because i wasn't intimate with anyone and i wanted birth control to clear up my skin which the nuvaring did not do. Now I'm married and I was using yaz bc pills but I would forget to take them so when I went in for a pap smear I asked the doctor to put me back on the nuvaring. I noticed the brown discharge which i know is common but doesn't seem healthy to me. Lately i have also gotten sharp stomach pains and a foul smell and itching. the odor and itching made me think i had a yeast infection because i remember going to the doctor frequently 2 years ago and being treated for yeast infections but my symptoms didn't go away until i stopped using the nuvaring. i went to the doctor yesterday and he sent off tests for everything imaginable... including stds... he also told me he would bet the nuvaring is whats causing all these problems. i should get my test results by next week and will update here. the only thing i am worried about is taking out the nuvaring yesterday b.c. my husband and i had sex about three times last week and since im not on any type of birth control now, i don't know if i might get pregnant... does anyone know the chances of pregnancy in my situation?

I have only been taking this pill for 6 weeks. I am 44 and was put on it to help with severe cramping (I would pray for death every month). I have not been on any type of birth control since I was 23. I also have never been pregnant (not by choice). I have read hundreds of reviews from users on different sites and do not see anyone having leg cramps (calves). They are so bad at times that they hurt the next day from cramping so bad the night before. I have called the nurse and am waiting for a call back. I also have noticed that I am way too emotional and it has only been 6 weeks. I'm just not sure I can wait out 6 more weeks. Every night just about now I seem to be sick to my stomach or have diarrhea. I have always had headaches so I can't contribute Loestrin 24 to that. I have gained about 5 pounds...which I certainly don't need. Like I said in the beginning, my most severe side effect is the leg cramping. I wish they would just do the hysterectomy and put me out of my misery!

It's been almost a month since I've had the Mirena removed. Today I got my first period. I was a little surprised. I thought it took several months for the drug to be out of your system and for the lining of your uterus to thicken up. Anyways, after not having a period for almost 2 years I was a little taken aback. So far everything seems normal. I am so glad that I had the Mirena removed. I'm no longer bitchy, angry and withdrawn. The sex hasn't returned completely (only because I don't want to get pregnant and we haven't decided on what type of birth control we want to use) but I'm definitely more affectionate and don't shun any intimacy. I don't regret my decision to have the mirena removed.

I'm entering into my third pack of Loestrin 24 Fe. I had an IUD for 5 years, was to have it replaced on 12/29/08 but could not take the extreme pain when inserting so didn't do it. Don't know why it was so unbearably painful this time vs. 5 years ago. Anyway, doctor gave me 6 free samples of Loestrin 24 Fe. At first I had no problem, no need to use back up method because medicine from IUD was still in my system so transition was a breeze. First month on Loestrin, I bled for 2 days but so light that it wasn't even noticeable, second month didn't bleed at all, now I'm half way through my third pack. The mood swings are unbearable. I am now suffering from diarrhea and stomach cramps that are so painful I find myself in a ball on the bathroom floor moaning in pain as well as nausea. Although the lack of period was nice the strain of wondering if I'm pregnant is just too stressful.

I personally don't recommend Loestrin 24 to anyone unless of course you like monthly guessing of whether or not your pregnant, sever mood swings, diarrhea and stomach cramps so painful you would give your left arm for it to go away.

Since I don't want to get pregnant nor risk any chances of getting pregnant, I am suffering through this last pack and will go on another type of birth control. I plan on having my tubes tied this summer.

I don't recommend this pill to anyone. One more side effect, tender breasts so severe that it hurts to wear a bra and not wear a bra, I can't win.

For those skeptics, no I'm not pregnant and no I don't have a stomach bug, it is all from this pill.

I'm taking Yasmin bec i lost my period a year and a half ago. the only symptoms i have had is the nausea and severe stomach pains. Every other night i wake up screaming- the pain is that intolerable! Sometimes I though up and sometimes i just have to wait it out. I chose Yasmin as my first choice for birth control bec I heard that it didn't make you gain weight, however if this is result im not so sure it's worth it!

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting on anything like this so please just hang in there while I explain my side effects. During the first few months of having the IUD, I did bleed sorta heavy but it wasn't a shocker to me because I have always been this way, then 3 months later, my periods were gone. Almost a year to date, I began to have a few problems; including thinking that I felt the IUD moving inside of me, it was like a scrapping feeling, but after 2 months of those pain it went away. So, in October 2008 I had the IUD removed and I felt great, but a little more depressed and gained about 12 pounds. In January, I found out that I was pregnant, which was really soon after having the IUD removed. Well, today is 2/16/09 I found out that the baby has died, which is very upsetting, not only because this is my first miscarriage, but because I almost got my husband fixed. I can't prove that the Mirena could have been the cause of this, but it is something to think about, I am going in for a D & C tomorrow, which is something like an abortion but it is for a dead fetus.

I had Mirena inserted 09/30/2008 under general anesthesia as I was also getting a D&C. I bled for one month following the insertion. Throughout the next 4.5 months I have experienced the following symptoms: shortness of breath daily, foul odor when spotting which was pretty much daily, fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain I swear I could feel exactly where it was it was achey, pain on the right side of my stomach, muscle pain and joint pain throughout my body and this last side effect started in January 09, 3 months after insertion which was the straw that broke the camel's back as new side effects were starting instead of diminishing. I felt like I had the flu and it never really went away. Many times I had to leave nights out with my family as I felt so ill. I had it removed 02/10/2009. My doctor acknowledge the odor and ran a pH test -no bacteria was found, my body was just not tolerating the Mirena. She did not blink an eye when I asked to have it removed but only asked me if I was interested in any other type of birth control. Last night I woke up sweating, dizzy, pounding heart and having a very difficult time breathing accompanied with a lot of bleeding. Withdrawal symptoms?! I think so. I knew that removal of Mirena would cause my body to react and it is. Today is much better and I am on the road to recovery. All of my aches and pains are gone, I'm still bleeding but not heavily and the shortness of breath is better but not gone completely. I'm hoping all side effects will be gone shortly. What a nightmare - thank God it is out of my body!