Vaginal area symptoms and conditions

I am on my 4th day of sulfameth/trimethoprim 800 mg @ 2 x's a day along w/ another medicine, I have bronchitis & staph (from an ingrown hair on my inner thigh OUCH!!) This is the second time I've had to take this medicine in the past 2 months & this is the second time I've had a sore throat & swollen vaginal area (labia mostly) i'm use to it swollen at times after "personal time" w/ my husband, but this is ridiculously swollen!
Anybody had that symptom before???? And is that normal???

I have been on the NuvaRing for a little less than 2 years now. Everything seemed fine until four months ago when I started to get very intense "irritations" in my vaginal area. I thought I was inflicting this upon myself because I switched to boy shorts underwear and a little tighter jeans. My ob/gyn attributed my problem to using a new brand of soap and a new brand of pantiliner, and she simply suggested I "soak my bum" in the tub 1-2 times a day to reduce the irritation. (She's British.) She also suggested I use as much A&D diaper rash ointment (which is mainly petroleum jelly) as I wanted or needed. After 2 months of continued vaginal irritation, my ob/gyn simply said that what I had can take a while to clear up, and that I should just continue to soak my bottom and use as much A&D ointment as I needed.

After reading everyone's postings, I've learned that it's not unheard-of for one's body to take several months to show NuvaRing side effects. I share the same symptoms of complete loss of sex drive, vaginal dryness and intense pain during sex that many of you have described. I went through so many months of accepting these conditions because I thought all of those things were happening because I was nearing my 40th birthday and simply getting older. Those of you in your 20's that described similar symptoms helped me realize that what I was experiencing wasn't natural.

I've decided to take my NuvaRing out and stay birth control free for a couple of months to see the irritability goes away. I am very eager and hopeful to lose my dependency on A&D ointment, to want to have sex again, and to wear boy shorts and tight jeans again.

Hi Ladies, like all of you I too have my share of Mirena issues. I have had my IUD in since March 2008, so a year & four months now. To start with the positive- I do not get periods. I haven't had a period starting the following month I had it put in. Now for all the Negatives- Bad Acne and usually I have great skin. Not anymore. They are more like red bumps mainly on my forehead, Constant migraines, mood swings, constantly stressed, pain in my lower abdomen, lower back pain (Doctors thought I had a kidney infection- all urine, blood tests, pelvin ultrasound, CAT scan were normal), constant urinating & cannot hold my urine (like a bad UTI), I have noticed when I comb my hair after washing it, I am losing a lot of hair, I get a lot of dizzy spells all the time, painful cramps in my legs, fluttering in my stomach (like a baby moving/kicking- I thought I was pregnant), I have a lot of discharge- I will be walking a big gush just comes out, my sex drive is barely there- I am in my 20's and just about every time I have sex with my husband I will just go dry in the middle of it & just about every position hurts, I have very itchy skin now. I am always scratching especially my legs. I am always applying lotion to help with the itching, I also developed a ganglion cyst in my hand next to my wrist. It was so painful my hands would swell, numbness & tingling in my fingers, pain in my forearm, I just had a needle aspiration done a few days ago. Now that I have confirmed the side effects with this site, as soon as my doctor's office opens I am calling to have this trash removed!!! Thank you Ladies.

Been on Wellbutrin for almost 6 weeks now. Last week I started having a really itchy scalp, no flakes, just itchy and then bumps would appear where I had itched. My vaginal area was also itchy and I treated myself for a yeast infection unknowingly. This past weekend I broke out in what I now know was hives (urticaria angioedema). First my left ankle swelled (3 inches) and looked like it was sprained, but instead it was super itchy and then became achy and painful. Within 24 hours that ankle went down but the other side swelled up so badly that I had pitting edema in my ankle and could leave dents in it. The third day, still with constant scalp and ear itching, i developed hives and large welts on my inner thighs as well as a large welt on my shoulder. I have been taking benadryl, which seems to help the itching for a little, but not for long enough. Yesterday I was at work and my butt started to itch so badly I had to leave. I had developed huge welts in the creases between my leg and butt right were one sits on a chair! Huge 3-4 inches. I was so uncomfortable. My thumb also had swelled up and I could not move my left hand without burning itch and pain. I finally called the doctor and set up an appointment.
I was told to take benadryl 25-50mg, zantac 150mg twice a day, and Zyrtec once a day to control the hives. This has helped a bit.
When I saw the doctor today and we went over everything, the ONLY change in months has been the addition of the Wellbutrin. I am going to stop taking it today and since my story sounds much like the ones below hopefully this will improve before my eyes or throat swell! Thanks for all your posts.

the mirena gave me PID ( PELVIC INFLAM DISEASE) it started of with swelling on my left side of my vaginal area and now i get sharp pains on my left side and its going 2 cause me 2 not have kids again

I have had my Mirena in for almost 5 years. I had it put in 7 weeks or so after my son was born. It settled in the cervix within the first few days. The strings were too long and they were hanging outside of the vaginal area. It was extremely uncomfortable. I went back in to have them cut and the length was great ever since. Other than it was poking my husband during intercourse. That effect took about a year for the strings to soften up. The first 2 months or so I had bad bleeding almost what is was like after giving birth. I do sometimes feel it inside me, especially when I get cramps. Sometimes I go one to two months without a period then when it does come it's heavier than normal. But not bad enough where I can where a tampon. Within the last year and half I have become bloated most of the time. I go a week or so without bloating. I usually get cramps for two weeks before my period starts and it comes every 24-26 days. I'm cranky too. I cant' wait to get it out!!!

So glad I found this site. I've only been using NR for 4 days now (started Sunday), but by Monday, I already knew that something was "off". By last night, the only thing I could contribute all my symptoms to was NR, thus why I went in search of answers. Thank you everyone for their stories ... I would have never known.

So what had me looking? First and foremost, my ankles are the size of tree trunks! They are so swollen, that you can not even distinguish between the ankle bones and the tendon in the back. Just this morning I shot out of bed due to a cramp when I was stretching myself awake.

I weigh myself every day, and normally at 6'1" I am 135-138. By Monday morning, I was 150.6, Tuesday 150.4 and so last night, I consume some water pills and a laxative ... at 149.8 ...

I am so tired, it's not even funny .... Monday night, I fell asleep when putting my son to bed at 8PM. Yet Tuesday at work, I couldn't keep my eyes open. My lunch was spend sleeping in the car. I just canceled a "lunch meeting" for today (Wednesday) as I predict I need to do the same thing again today. I can't seem to keep my eyes open.

My pants are tight, I have a slight headache, and my skin (especially my hands) are excessively dry. Last night in the shower, I actually looked to see if I had anything noticeable going on down there because I was so itchy and irritated in the vaginal area.

My doctor thought this would be really great for me, as I seem to bleed constantly ... taking the pill or not ... so their trying to get me on something that will help regulate it. I was so excited when she said it will be more direct since it is "right there", and to be honest, I've only had a spot of blood in the 4 days I've used it ... but is it worth it .... NO.

Good luck to everyone else ... this one is just not for me!

After being on YAZ for about 7 months and realizing how it was harmin my mind and body, my doctor told me to stop taking it immediately, even though it was mid-cycle. he put me on Loestrin24fe because "there has been a much higher success rate with a lower dose of estrogen" NOT IN MY CASE!

i started taking it on a Tuesday, it is now the following Monday and i have already experienced:
harsh aches and pains throughout my body, unbelievable mood swings from cryin until my eyes hurt for NO reason to sitting and talking calmly within 5 minutes of each other, once again a complete lack of sex drive which i *just* recovered from with YAZ, not being able to eat yet having extreme weight gain??? my stomach is completely round when i have had a 6pack for my entire adult life and my jeans will not get past my thighs anymore, my skin and hair are oily and i have broken out worse than i did when i was a teenager ...

and the BEST one yet! Severe Panic Attacks during the night to the point where i am terrified to sleep because of waking up hysterical and actually "feeling" my dreams. i woke up from a nap yesterday crying uncontrollably because i was convinced i snapped my spine/neck because i dream it, felt it snap and HEARD it snap in my dream. it is all too real and i am on lack of sleep AND not eating for a few days.

Needless to say, i have stopped taking the pill as of last night. i am hoping to get back to normal in about a week because i clearly cannot function like this. I missed a gorgeous Easter day yesterday because i was having a low grade panic attack ALL day and couldn't eat or even talk to anyone.

i am not going to let another bc pill ruin my life this year. its not worth it but i must ask, where do i go from here? i am concerned about getting an IUD because my body seems to have every side effect possible with any type of birth control but i think the IUD is my only option besides complete abstinence.

Hi All - I took my nuvaring out last night after a week with it in. Went to bed feeling relieved! I still have the slight burning sensation in my vaginal area, but it's much less than before. I think I did the right thing. Now I'm just concerned when I am going to get my period - I kind of messed up my cycle taking the ring out so early. This just wasn't the BC for me.

I am glad I read about all these women and the side effects of the nuvaring. I have been using the ring for around 7 months and even though I always suspected it had something to do with my mood swings, I never really knew for sure (at least to this extreme) until I read other girls explaining their situations. I have a strong character so It is hard for me to differentiate what is the hormones acting out or just my personality. I specially have fights with my boyfriend for no reason, feel sad and want to cry (I have never been a big crier), can't sleep parts of the night (I just lay in bed widely awake with my head going 1000 miles per hour as if I had done speed). Basically I was starting to think that I was loosing it and that it is my head (not the hormones). I considered therapy (which I haven't done) because I even had suicidal thoughts and this really scared me. I am really desperate for not being able to control my emotions. While using the ring I have felt misunderstood and blamed my boyfriend for not being empathetic of what I am going through. I want to break up with him all the time and then I regret it. At the same time it makes me really frustrated since I cannot explain when I am asked WHY acting like this? which also makes me insecure.
But this is not all. On top of all the mental issues I also experienced physical problems which are not caused by nuvaring directly. I think my emotional instability didn't help. I believe that your head controls all your body even the physical part. Years ago I had my first bartholine cyst in the vaginal area. This is a painful and depressing thing to go through as a woman. The cyst gets infected and grows to the size of an orange making it hard to sit or even walk. When infected you have to get it drained (cut it open basically). In the past 7 years this happened to me twice. Since I put the ring on (7 months) it has happened to me 3 times so I am finally getting surgery to remove the 2 bartholine cysts. All this has obviously affected my sexual life and my relationship with my boyfriend.
I am really disappointed with the fact that doctors don't inform you of all the terrible side effects. They just give you a leaflet but don't really talk about it. It seems like the nuvaring is a serious thing to be prescribing it that easily. Today I have decided I am not using the ring anymore. I hope this helps someone else like the stories I read helped me.

After reading all of these posts, I realize I'm not alone. Mirena was the perfect option for me because I'm very forgetful when it comes to medications. What sold me was when I was told it has a 99.9% effectiveness against getting pregnant. I was only told of the good things. After it was inserted i was in SEVERE pain from the cramping, it reminded me of labor contractions. I took 600mg of ibuprofen then layed down and cried myself to sleep. I got it July 28th, 2008. Since then I've been bleeding on and off but more bleeding than not. I get sharp, cramp-like pains in my lower stomach and sometimes vaginal area. I also suffer severe lower back pain. I was bleeding so bad at one point and it was very different from any period I'd ever had so I thought maybe I was miscarrying. I called the doctor and it was rather blown off and I actually got kind of laughed at, saying it's just your body adjusting. I have restless nights and wake up exhausted. I have those far out dreams like you do when you're pregnant, except I'm not. I also get bloated and uncomfortable at times. I've been bleeding now for almost a month straight. It comes and goes, which is very aggravating. I'd almost just thought about getting it taken out and just going with oral birth control that way I'd have a normal period but I love not having the boundaries in the bedroom. I'm giving it the 6months, like they told me it'd take and if all my symptoms are still present I'm considering removal.

ok so now it has been almost 3 months since i hot this and now i am so nauseated that i was prescribed a pill for it because i went to the emergency room telling them i was very nauseous and i had a bada pain in my side as well as in my vaginal area...they did every test and looked at me like i was making it up because they couldn't find anything. they thought maybe i had a cyst or something but turned out that i didn't have one .they wanted to know why the hell im still bleeding if i got this in oct. they said i could become animic if i don't be careful i never thought of it that way.the past week i really notice my hair falling out. im only 19. i have no reason for this .plus i can not sleep. i have a 2 almost 3 year old daughter and a 3 month old that sleeps through the night and i still cant sleep .i am also very emotional and very touchy the littlest thing my boyfriend says and want to lock my self in a room and cry .i dont care what the doctors say i know this mirena has something to do with all this. i just need to find something to take its place but have no idea.if you have any ideas on what to use next please let me know.i know you are all smart women on here.

I used Nuva Ring after the birth of my first child in 2003 until I decided to get pregnant again in 2007. I've always had a low sex drive, so I never suspected Nuva Ring could be the culprit, but after reading some of the testimonials, I'm wondering...By the way, after I stopped taking it, my sex drive soared - I was having the time of my life and so was my hubby. We got pregnant right away.

I just went back on the NuvaRing 2 months ago after the birth of my second child, which was a scheduled c-section (no harm done to the vaginal area in other words). We've had sex about four times since I started birth control again and it has been extremely painful every time. When I'm not on my period, I'm experiencing a yellow discharge accompanied by some minor irritation. I have been wearing a pad around the clock for literally 3 months! I started bleeding (a period I guess) the day after I started the NuvaRing for the first time. When I called my ob, she said it was a normal side effect of the Ring and to keep it in business as usual until I was scheduled to take it out again in 3 weeks. I bleed the entire 4 weeks until inserting my second NuvaRing. We've had sex twice since and it was almost unbearably painful both times. Now, I am experiencing a yellow discharge again accompanied by some minor itching and discomfort. My ob again said it is a normal side effect but just in case, prescribed a yeast infection med. I completed the course and still have the symptoms.

I loved this product and highly recommended it to my friends for the past 5 years - it is so easy! Now I'm wondering if they've changed it over the past year? Plus, the last thing I need is an even lower sex drive.

I'm trying my hardest not to cry right now.
I was on the Nuvaring for exactly 3 weeks. Today is my 4th day without it (it took me 4 days to get my period) and I'm still miserable.

The first 2 weeks:
emotionally: nothing changed. I was feeling pretty normal

physically: boobs grew about a cup (A to B) which made me really excited and love the nuvaring (for a very short time)

sexually: sex drive went UP, believe it or not.
*** EXTREME burning, irritation, stinging and dryness in my whole vaginal area. I had UTI once before, but this was even WORSE. I knew it wasn't an infection because there was no odor, but the pain was incredible DURING and AFTER SEX. For the first time EVER, I had to PRETEND I was enjoying sex.... I thought it would worry my signifcant other if I told him that I was in pain. I was so sore, I really wanted to cry because of the pain. I never had trouble getting wet before either, until I started the Nuvaring.

The 3rd (last) week:
physically: bad back pain (very tense, no matter how much I stretched), noticeable lack of focusing ability, couldn't get anything done.... headaches, tensed up neck/shoulder muscles.

emotionally: chronic depression, ANGER, IRRITABILITY, cranky/grumpy ALL THE TIME, even started cursing about the smallest things...Paranoid and worried all the time... Suicidal... became ANTI-SOCIAL!!!! I'm usually always out with friends, but this week I stayed home in my pj's the whole time. Had the biggest fight with my boyfriend BECAUSE OF THE NUVARING. I am 100% sure, because the way I was responding and reacting was seriously not myself. He didn't know how to deal with it because I was just... SO ANGRY at everything!! I couldn't stop crying, after feeling guilty about yelling at him. It was the worst feeling ever. Cried for about 5 hours straight... didn't sleep. In the morning at work, I had to keep myself from exploding with tears... I didn't understand why I was such a bitch, until I read all these posts on this site. I kept wanting to believe that everything will pass and be back to normal, but.... I've already taken the ring out and STILL having problems... I really wish I figured it out sooner that the Nuvaring is just too scary to "let things pass"... I've never been so hopeless and uncontrollably sad in my life before.

I bought 4 rings, after the doctor told me that there were "virtually no side effects". I loved not remember to take the pill, but the pain down there... how can I explain... like boiling, scalding water thrown on your vagina. I'm not exaggerating.

Please make sure that you're a very emotionally strong person... It would break my heart to see anyone else go through what I did... A part of my heart has been ripped off, from all the stress and tears the Nuvaring caused me.

Hi all, I tried the Nuvaring for 3+ months and there was probably only a week in there where I could not feel it. I adjusted and adjusted and adjusted! I eventually took it out because I could feel it in there and all the way down to my vulva. I then ended up getting a burning feeling when I used soap on my vaginal area and sometimes even the water just hitting it made it hurt. I finally went in for a pap smear and brought up the side effects that I was still enduring--at this point it felt like little cuts might be springing up and healing on the vulvar skin--and my doctor suggested it might be lichen sclerosus. (By this time if it was just related to the Nuvaring, it would have subsided.) Heck, I don't want to think that that's what I have because it's not curable (it's inflammatory and likely hormonal) and I'll have to keep using steroid cream topically for ever it seems. The reason why I'm pretty sure I have it is that twice daily for 10 days now it has not cleared up. My doctor wouldn't make the connection with Nuvaring but a couple of searches I've done have found the two things written up together.

i feel AWFUL reading this. i have on the ring since 16. im now 21. i cant believe how i dealt with this mess for 5 years!(and is now just realizing like TODAY now realizing). Before i continue, the ring usually fall out when when its MIA(missing..). When you poop or pass gas ur lady mussels pushes it down(like givn birth). Also one time i started having pains like my period was coming.That meant i needed a new ring. I just bought one so i knew it hadn't "ran out". I checked myself for the ring. It was gone. Lets just say i found it under the bed from the night b4 lol. i say this b/c they don't get lost in you. neither does tampns but this is NO JOKING MATTER. I know that i WAS a happy OUTGOING energetic young woman. I have thought to myself several times why aren't i going anywhere? It seems for that last few years my life's story is really basic and it includes the following:
random moodiness, fits of crying coming out of no where, terrible PMS symptoms , increased irritability with my boyfriend, white lumpy discharge toward the end of my 20 something days when its time be replaced, itchiness sometimes ,i was told i had bacterial vaginitus last Wednesday , random painful stabbing sensation in the vaginal area,but i haven't really experienced increased dryness during sex, major lack of sex drive, painful breasts and or extreme swelling of the vaginal walls during and after sex. I will tell you guys a SECRET if u twist the nuva like a bow. it will perfectly sit inside you w/o moving and u wont feel a THING! that's how i stopped mine from sliding around. i also noticed when i have it like that no spotting or NOTHING until its time for a new one...
I found this sight by looking for nuvaring lawsuits and i found much more than i bargained for. I never put all of these symptoms together b/c i was a teen and going thru teen things. I am a grown woman and i realized something IS wrong. This isn't me. My sudden outcries and fits of rage wasn't enough for me to realize bc it is hormones that i was taking and i expected that. The headaches and wanting to sleep all day was surely coming from work and school & in my alone time my family and friends thought i was too busy to be bothered... And i was! Sulking in my room about nothing for hours. Now i reflect back as i type. I am more depressed that i missed out on fun and business opportunities b/c of this and didn't even see it coming.i so badly want to go "natural" but i have never been preggo and don't want to be now bc when i do get preggo for the first time i wanna plan my pregnancy. My friends call there babies "patchbaies or pillbabies" b/c that was the method they were actively using at the time!PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!:Does anyone out there know of anything better? ****** if you do.

Wow, i am so intrigued that i found this website. I just started taking femcon FE. I just started my brown pills yesterday. I just had a baby girl in May. The past few weeks have been horrible for me and now im wondering if it has to do with this pill. I had what i thought was food poisoning about 2 weeks ago. Horrible throwing up and diarrhea which i still have up to this very day. Then last Sunday I began to start feeling very itchy in the vaginal area, which i still have. i bought an otc treatment for yeast infections but i have never had one b4 so it said not to use it. Now im gonna have to go back to the doctor to get checked out.

Here is my Mirena Story.

I was 6 weeks post partum....I had mirena inserted...it was very painful and I was not warned about that.
About a week later I noticed yellowing in the whites of my eyes which I thought could be coming from a iron def. since I just gave birth. So I made sure I was eating well and taking vitamins. I also had severe itching at night especially on my ankles and legs. Oh and sex drive was gone. It was fine the 6 weeks after birth but as soon as mirena was in it was gone!!! I went to the doctor about a month after insertion and asked to have it removed, of course my doc said it couldn't be iud causing my problems...come back in a month...So I did....within this month I started having severe anxiety, insomnia and panic attacks, to the point were I actually thought I was loosing my mind. Of course again the doc told me that it wasn't iud and prescribed me an antidepressant which I reluctantly excepted. I'm not depressed...my life was perfect before mirena!!! I finally went back for the third time and decided I wasn't leaving until somebody took this thing out of me!

Here is a list of other side effects that I had/still have!!

acne
migraines
extreme lower back pain
numbness and tingling in hands and feet
vision problems
fogginess
An ADHD type feeling
inability to focus or concentrate
extreme fatigue
feeling of throat closing up
heart racing and palpitations
night sweats
sinusitus
dizziness and light headiness
headache

The problem here is that the doctors don't even know how extreme these side effects can be and they keep telling us that it's not the mirena. PLEASE trust your instinct.....I wanted to trust my doctor but I knew in my heart what was causing my problems...I am only 1 week post mirena and I am still having a lot of my problems but I can tell a difference. DON'T LET IT GET OUT OF HAND....TAKE IT OUT!!!!

DON'T GET MIRENA...IT MAY WORK WELL FOR SOME...BUT IN MY OPINION IT IS NOT WORTH THE CHANCE THAT THESE HORRIBLE SIDE EFFECTS COULD HAPPEN.....HAD I BEEN INFORMED PROPERLY I WOULD HAVE NEVER HAD MIRENA INSERTED!!

Good Luck Ladies!!

6 weeks ago, I began taking Doryx 100 once a day for mild acne. 10 days into treatment, I started with what I thought was a yeast infection, feeling as if I was "on fire" in the vaginal area. I used a Monistat 3 and I felt no relief. I went in to a Take Care Clinic at Walgreens and the RN had me do a urine culture. It came back positive, I had a bladder infection. I was prescribed an antibiotic, Cipro 500, dosage of twice daily for 3 days. My symptoms persisted, some days worse than others. A few days later, I went in to my gyne office. The Dr. did a swab test and found no yeast. They took a urine culture and it was negative. She saw some redness and inflammation, but could not explain what it may be from. Perhaps a new soap, she questioned? She prescribed a cream (Lotrisone) to help with the inflammation, but the cream seemed to make the area burn even more. 2 weeks later, my symptoms dulled. However, I felt that there was still something wrong. I received an Rx for Diflucan, as if the symptoms might just be from a yeast infection this time? It's possible, I thought? Again, no relief in site and it's gotten worse. A week later, I go back into the gyne office and another Dr. tells me to try switching soaps again? What's wrong with this picture? I have NEVER had any type of issue in the past and now I am 6 weeks into this one? Doryx is the only thing new that my body has come in contact with. One of the side effects in the pamphlet was "vaginal irritation/discharge." According to the pharmacist, this may occur with prolong use (such as 6 months) of any antibiotic. Although Doryx has cleared up my acne, I have decided to discontinue its use. I am hoping that this cures my symptoms. Were these the side effects from the use of Doryx? I shall see.

I am 29 yrs. of age. My experience with Mirena has been mostly bad. With any medication I usually try to see how it works for me and my body before reading into any web site. I don't want to pre-determine my side effects before they even happen! So, I didn't look up anything on this until I started having side effects of my own. And here's my story...
I got this thing put in right after the birth of my son in Feb. (MY 2ND BABY)My dr. told me it would be the best time to do it since everything was still fairly loosened up down there. I have to say that it really didn't hurt me to have it put in. I barely felt it. I went home with some minor bleeding and started cramping a bit. The next day I cramped a lot. Nothing that a menstrual cramp medication couldn't handle though. Next, I started gaining some weight. I checked on-line immediately to find out if weight gain was an issue. I found that many if not most of the women had some weight gain. Little did I know that weight gain was minor compared to my other symptoms.... I have had HAIR LOSS!!! I think I'm going bald. Ok I am over exaggerating, but seriously I lose handfuls of hair with each shower. I have gotten to the point where I just towel dry my hair and spray it with hair spray (kind of the messy look) I don't want to comb it and lose more hair. I have been very itchy in the vaginal area, and have had discharge also ( kind of wet and watery looking). Is my water breaking again??? lol I have read some of the stories about the mirena and decided that some are far fetched, but I really have to say that having these side effects for myself I realize what my "normal" is. My body is not agreeing with this at all. Even if it would level out after a few more months I don't even think it's worth the wonder! I have tried to stick it out just thinking I must be crazy and that these side effects are not from the birth control, but now I am realizing that I am crazy to leave this Evil thing in! I will be getting it taken out ASAP!

I am 34 years old. I went to the OB today after having Mirena inserted in August. I had a baby last March and was nursing her at the time. I had asked my OB a few months ago if fatigue was a side effect, as I have been just exhausted for months. She said no. I am exercising, eating exceptionally well, and losing very little weight. I have been extremely emotional--on the verge of tears all the time. My marriage is terrible right now.

I mentioned at today's appt that I had some irritation/itching/rawness feeling in my vaginal area. She did a culture of my discharge and said there was no bacteria/infection, but she saw some "premature" cells, (I don't know recall exactly what she said, is a blur, but she gave me estradiol vaginal insert tablets and told me to use them for 3 months. She said that maybe starting me on Mirena while I was nursing got my estrogen too low and that I "shouldn't have to be on this {estradiol} forever." Am I now experiencing premature menopause? No wonder I've suddenly sprouted gray hairs over the last 6 months!

I am 23 years old and I have never used a birth control besides NR which I have been on for 2 years. My first few weeks of being on it were almost disastrous. I was having symptoms of a UTI, but Planned Parent Hood told me that my tests were not showing that I had any infection. They offered to treat me with a generic antibiotic for UTI, but I didn't want to use antibiotics if I didn't need to. I asked them if my symptoms could have anything to do with the NR, they said impossible. A week later I was in the hospital with a UTI and kidney infection. It took me weeks of best rest and 3 antibiotics to be well again. The first antibiotic they put me on had no effect on me at all, but they made me keep taking it once I started. I discovered by myself that my UTI and my kidney infection were due to a tiny piece of lint that had gotten stuck to my Nuva Ring. The bacteria on it had climbed up the uretha and turned into a kidney infection. None of the doctors even thought to have me check if something like that could be the source of the infection. I was told that if I had waited any longer to come into the hospital that my kidney's would have failed/collapsed. I had E. coli and another bacteria growing in my kidney's. It took me weeks of best rest and 3 antibiotics to be well again. If you are on the NR, please take it out after sex and examine it and rinse it off. Bacteria will cling to it!

Other than that experience I have noticed many side effects mentioned by others here: random moodiness, fits of crying coming out of no where, PMS symptoms can be two weeks long for me, increased irritability with my boyfriend, massive amounts of white lumpy discharge all month long, itchiness, multiple UTIs, bacterial vaginitus, random painful stabbing sensation in the vaginal area, increased dryness during sex, major lack of sex drive, painful breasts (which have increased in size, not complaining there), extreme swelling of the vaginal walls during and after sex. No matter how much precaution I take with cleanliness before and after sex this will randomly occur. There is so much swelling some times that wearing loose cotton underwear even hurts with all of the sensitive skin exposed. Walking really hurts! The cost of the Nuva Ring is also a problem. My insurance doesn't cover birth control and it costs me $60 a month to get the NR.

I am strongly considering going off of it. I do like the fact that I do not have to worry about taking pills or getting shots. In that sense this is a great alternative! I also only bleed for 3 days with a little spotting on the 4th day. I do not have cramps. I really like the idea that this is a low dosage of hormones localized right where it will be most effective, but I am getting concerned about what it may do to my body long term.

There is new research coming out that shows that our brain's ability to sense pheromones (which are nature's way of telling us if some one is a good match for us or not), is altered when we use birth control and that this can lead women to fall in love with some one that may not be a good genetic match for a mate. In the larger scheme of things this means that children coming from these couples may have weaker genetics. Very disturbing.

I am so glad I found this website. I have used the Ring for 5 months now and felt so depressed and tired for the past 3 months. I didn't want to get out of bed and isolated myself from my friends. I have been snappy and nasty to my co-workers because I just felt so irritable - like I wanted to crawl out of my skin! I now realize why I have gained weight even though I have tried diet and exercise for the past few months. My skin has broken out with acne which I have never had, even as a teenager. (I am 33) It was nice to forget about taking a pill every day and actually the ring increased my sex drive. But now I'm getting yeast infections and feel like my entire vaginal area is swollen and itchy when I take the ring out for a period. I won't be renewing this prescription!

I just had Mirena put in on Friday, Feb. 8th and as soon as it was done I started experiencing crampiness, and some dizziness. Once I got home it was a different story. The crampiness got even worse and then I began throwing up and having hot flashes. I felt more miserable than I ever felt when I got sick during each of my 4 pregnancies. Last night I had a throbbing headache and I have been tires more lately and have been a lot more moody than I am usually. Even though I have only had it for 3 days, I already cant tend to my 4 month old the way that I use too. I'm sooo scared that I am going to drop him one day because I keep getting sharp shooting pains in my vaginal area from the Mirena and I keep feeling like I feel the device when I bend over. Its unpredictable. I don't know when I am going to have the sharp shooting pains and I don't want any of my children getting hurt when I am holding them because the pain takes all my energy away. The pain is unbearable. Not to mention that I cant even sit in an upright position because of the pain so it makes it harder for me to be able to nurse my son. I did a lot better on the depo and had no problems with that. Now I'm mad because now I feel like I messed up a good thing by thinking that the Mirena was going to be better for me since I wouldn't have to worry about getting the shot every 3 months. Id rather go through natural, drug free childbirth all over again than to go through what I have been experiencing for the past 3 days. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. After reading everyone else's responses. I'm really having seconds thoughts about having it removed. I'm too scared to be intimate with my husband and I don't even want him to touch me and everything was great before I had the Mirena put in.

I was taking Femcon for 6 months. During this time, my sex drive was terrible. I was unable to have normal sex due to dryness in my vaginal area. I've never had this problem before in my life. My fiance noticed a difference in my body during sexual intercourse while I was taking the pills. We knew that this was something unusual, because we have been together for 4 years now. I contacted my doctor and she advised that I come off the pill and try Sprintec. This is my first month on Sprintec so I hope that it is a whole lot better than Femcon. After all, I don't need a problem with satisfying my fiance' or my own personal needs.