Watery discharge symptoms and conditions

I am a 48 year old woman, 5'1" (now 145 pounds). I had Mirena inserted almost exactly 5 years ago, and am scheduled to have it removed in 2 weeks. I gained 25 pounds over the course of the last three years; prior to that, my maximum weight for my whole (non pregnant) life was 123 (I was at 120 when Mirena was inserted, four years after the birth of my second child). I have always been very healthy, never abnormal blood tests except during my two pregnancies was tested as pre-gestational diabetic and had to watch my carbs.

I never put it together with Mirena until just recently, when I started doing research on hypothyroidism after a friend told me that my symptoms could be due to that problem. Depression, hair loss, acne on my back, and the terrible weight gain. I went to see my G.P. who referred me for blood work. I hoped to see evidence of low thyroid function (actual TSH value, 3.12 -- I was told this is normal on a range of .4 to 4.5). I also discovered that I now have high cholesterol (269 triglycerides, 251 total cholesterol, 46 HDL, and 151 LDL). My fasting (14 hours) glucose # is 99 (I was told this is normal on a range of 65-99 mg/dL), and my vitamin D, 25-OH is 21 (also was told this is still normal but low on a range of 20-100 ng/mL). I tried to give blood six months ago, and was turned down because of anemia, so I've been eating a lot of spinach, greens, and more red meat than I normally would, so I was interested to see if I am still anemic -- the red blood cell count is 3.8 (told it was normal on a range of 3.8-5.1 mill/uL). I mention these specific results because although I was told they were normal (except for cholesterol), when I physically went to the doctor's office and requested a copy of the results and did some research online I see that my thyroid IS actually low-functioning -- according to guidelines revised six years ago, anything over 3.0 is considered hypothyroid and should be treated. Plus, isn't a fasting glucose of 99 pretty high? Yet my doctor's only suggestion: diet and exercise. Good grief, I've been on a diet since I had my first child, 13 years ago. True, I don't exercise regularly (I'm a teacher and mom of 2; I never seem to have the me time.) I guess I have an excuse to get a gym membership now.

Also, for the last year I've had increasing pain in my shoulder (I couldn't lay on my side, for example, and lately I can't reach behind me or over my head). An x-ray turned up mild bone degeneration, but not enough to cause the pain I've been having. I was referred to an orthopedist, who today diagnosed a shoulder rotator cuff injury (I've had no injury; he says it is a common degenerative complaint in the over-40 crowd). He gave me a cortisone injection and I'll be on PT for a while to see if the pain goes away. If not, I'll have to have an MRI and surgery to correct the tear.

I'm posting all of this in case it might be useful to someone out there who might be going through the same thing. I had a thyroid test done about six years ago at my OB/GYN, and it was normal then (though I don't have the number; I'll get it in 2 weeks at the OB/GYN). It will be interesting to learn whether my thyroid level has gone up since Mirena. Also, although my research suggests that the effects of these synthetic hormones do not wear off for some time, possibly even years, I will finally feel like there may be hope if my symptoms improve over the next few months when Mirena is gone. If so, I will share it with you.

If you are reading this, perhaps you have a similar story. I wish I had been more aggressive about checking out the possible causes of my many symptoms, but I let them go for years because, I guess, I just figured I'm a healthy woman who is no longer young. (Oh, one more thing: for the first year or even two years that I had Mirena, I had incredibly heavy periods. The blood flow was similar to that during the day or two after the vaginal births of my daughters. Don't know if that's significant, but it took a couple of years for my periods to get fairly normal on Mirena.)

This is my 4th month on Nuvaring. Luckily, I work in a clinic and have a pretty good gyn as well. The symptoms normally pass after the 2nd month. I developed a rash on my face, headaches, nausea, and lost about 5-7 lbs because I wouldn't eat due to the nausea. The discharge stays. Each time I have sex something new happens. I swell up, I itch, I get a bump, something. The last sexual encounter resulting in a watery discharge that lasted for 2 days. My partner doesn't seem to notice this. I too have had the night sweats. I do like the convenience. I began the nuvaring because of very bad periods, cramps, bleeding for 10 days. Month 3- I had so many clots I thought I was having a miscarriage. I wasn't. At this point, unless something severe happens, and I don't have sex 2 often, I may remain on the nuvaring. Without it, I am out of work at least 3 days of my, READ, 10 day cycle. I should mention that I have the beginnings of PCOS, and it has helped to reduce the hair on my face. I may consider the birth control pills. I just read today that inserting them would alleviate a lot of side effects. However, I don't feel like inserting them each day. Within the last month, I have become fatigued. Vitamins help some. Everyone is an individual. I am still evaluating if it's for me. I can't blame all of this on the Nuvaring, but let's just say, I couldn't report any of these symptoms prior to it's use.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences- I should have done a search on Nuvaring long ago. I have been using it for almost a year. At first I loved it but now the bouts of itching have become unbearable and embarrassing. No one wants to be caught scratching herself! I have also had lots of watery discharge- my underwear always feels damp. Not comfortable and certainly not helping the itch. I also often have thick white discharge (but smooth and without odor and so not exactly like I understand a yeast infection to be). I say "understand" because I have never had anything remotely like a yeast infection up til now (34), which is another reason that I suspect the ring. My sex drive is also nonexistent, a problem I have had with oral contraceptives too- I feel bad for my husband. I didn't connect it all at first because the itching is external, but then I noticed that I felt better when I took it out for my period and even better still when I stopped using it for three months due to other health issues. I hate to admit it because I loved the convenience of the ring but I took it out an hour ago and think I already feel better. Now I'm wondering if it was the cause of any of my other health issues but will have to wait and see. Can anyone recommend any non hormonal methods of birth control (other than condoms) or at least any oral contraceptives with less sexual side effects?

I am 25 years old. A mother of 2, and i have now been on the NuvaRing for 5 years. I got on the NuvaRing the day of my postpartum check up after i had my second child.. I loved the NuvaRing at first thought it was the best thing in the entire world, hell all you had to do was put it in leave it for 21 days days leave it out for 7. Go on your period and other then that everything was great. About 2 months into using the Nuvaring i started having HORRIBLE HEADACHES that would last 3-5 days at a time without letting up. I could not stand to be around noise, light or anything that had a strong smell or it would get my head pounding to where i just could not take it anymore. So i called my doctor and told him about the horrible headaches that i have had. Explained to him that before a bad headache would come on i would have this horrible burning sensation in my head that would make you want to die.. And the doctor told me just hang in there and give the Ring time to work, so i did and then as time went on i started having other side effects along with the headaches.. Such as BAD ACNE that scars after clearing up which has made my completion not so good. Breakouts on arms, back ,chest. So i got some neutrogena soap to help with that and it has worked.. But then i got more side effects such as BREAK THREW BLEEDING right after my period was suppose to be over and after intercourse.. Then i totally HAD NO SEX DRIVE which caused lots of problems in my marriage cause my husband began to think i wasn't sexually attracted to him anymore.. And i began to think that also. Cause i had lost my sex drive didn't want to do it, the thought of it made me cringe. After being on the NuvaRing after so long you began to develop this THICK DISCHARGE that is annoying then as time goes on you get another type of discharge that is thin WATERY DISCHARGE that is aggravating cause it almost feels as if you have peed your pants a bit almost feels like a yeast infection with out the smell. Which brings me to my next awful side effect which is the Yeast INFECTIONS and the number of UTI's i have had while being on the NuvaRing never had a UTI or a yeast infection before the nuvaring. Not having a sex drive because you cant because intercourse is too PAINFUL sex it hurts like FRICTION and STABBING because of the DRYNESS the Nuva Ring causes. So i called the doctor he told me that i would have dryness at first and to just use lube so i tried that. Didn't work still had pain from the dryness so i called the doctor again and told him about the pain so he wrote me a prescription for a numbing jelly that you use right before intercourse and that was suppose to help with the pain.But that didn't work either just made everything numb till where you couldn't feel rather anything was out or in so i quit using that and hoped to god that my body would adjust to the Nuvaring. Still today after intercourse it causes STOMACH CRAMPS similar to the ones when your on your menstrual cycle,and PRESSURE similar to the pressure you have when your 8-9 months pregnant. Going to the bathroom after intercourse is a total NIGHTMARE i have had times it has burned so bad that i have pinched my stomach as i peed to take some of the PAIN AND BURNING away.Dont always work! Another side effect that i have had is DEPRESSION i have noticed that i have been unhappy and just got to where a lot of times i don't care about things that matter to me because i don't feel that i have the energy to do so.. I also have ANXIETY ATTACKS which i have never had until i got on this NuvaRing. CHEST PAINS that i thought the first time i was having a heart attack it hurt so bad. I had to take little breaths to breathe which would then lead into a PANIC ATTACK cause i felt like i was unable to breathe like i am suppose to.. So yet again called the doctor who told me that i need to be on prozac to handle this. Never got on the prozac just delt with it hoping that it was just a little side effect and that my body would adjust to the NuvaRing, but guess what NO never did.. Another side effect that i always hate is getting SICK AND THROWING UP caused by a medication, guess what i still have this after 5 years i get to cramping so bad and headaches tied onto being MISERABLE and BLOATING and DIARRHEA and DRY MOUTH so bad that you cant stand it seems no matter what you drink to get rid of dry mouth nothing can quench your thirst and this is all hours of the day. So i would take Midol which would only help for a few hours and then i was right back to square one with the B.S caused by the NuvaRing. So i call the doctor and get told "well you will have that." the side effects will be less obvious the longer your on the NuvaRing." So stupid me stays on the NuvaRing hoping this is true! Which i have found out is not. The only good thing that i have noticed is the NuvaRing is easy to use and you don't have to remember take a pill everyday! I never had any weight gain or loss while on this dang thing. Pretty well maintained the same weight as i have always been. I have tried to get off the ring several times, but always get back on it, Because while the ring is out for 7 days i am miserable mostly with a headache that last 3-5 days untop of the TERRIBLE MOOD SWINGS that i get. i truly think that my body has been on this hormone so long that i have HORMONAL WITHDRAWALS when i don't have the ring in. Cause i am fine after the ring is inserted again. People can say what they want and say that this is a issue and that they haven't had problems and that is understandable and different people adjust to hormones in different ways but the time that i have my ring out i always get my sex drive back 1-2 days before i start my period. I am not asking anyone to believe me about any of this and if the ring works for you then great, i thought that it was going to work for me also but it didn't. . I have taken the nuvaring out this last past Sunday and have no intentions on putting another ring back in.. Yet again i have had 3 days of a SEVERE HEADACHES some thing that i believe is HOT FLASHES or NIGHT SWEATS,BLOATING,DEPRESSION,CHEST PAINS,ANXIETY ATTACKS,YEAST INFECTIONS, and BAD MOOD SWINGS and i am hoping that all this will pass and my body will go back to the way it was before the NuvaRing came along... I would not suggest anyone to get this as a form of birth control i would actually tell then that the pill is better off to have in the long run.. This has caused me nothing but a miserable life that i have tried to deal with and i am just not going to do it anymore. I hope to see in the near future the NuvaRing go off the markets and not able to sale anymore.. The only reason that i was put on the nuvaring is because my doctor had a hard time finding a birth control method that my body would accept I was on Ortho- Tri- Cyclin and got pregnant and had a girl... My postpartum check up with her i was given the Orthra- Evra patch and i got pregnant with my son. Tried IUD and my body rejected it. So the doctor says" lets try this new birth control"you insert yourself leave in for 21 days leave out for 7 and have your period," the longer your on this NuvaRing the lighter your period will become and the side effects which aren't many will fade also.". "So how bout it." Well i thought this NuvaRing was a dream come true, BUT IT WAS A NIGHTMARE WAITING TO HAPPEN..

I've had mirena in me for almost 3 months.and am now realizing where my constant back and knee pain is coming from. When I went in, I asked my doctor for the copper IUD w. no hormones, my sister has it and has had no problems, and he immediately recommended the Mirena. He said he had concerns with the copper IUD w heavy bleeding and that Mirena was safe. It felt forceful, I wonder what kind of kickback these doctors are getting for inserting it. I also had very heavy bleeding for the first 10 dys and nothing since. I feel bloated occasionally and definitely can relate to the watery discharge, I though i peed my pants:) I also feel confused often.
I am currently breastfeeding and feel bad for not doing my research before having this inserted. I'm going to supplement until this thing is out. Good luck everyone. I'm glad there's a way we can educate each other on these things, since it seems our doctors aren't. thanks.

Well here's yet another unsatisfied customer. I am so relieved to see I'm not alone but so angry and my doctors for not doing some simple research like this on behalf of their patients, so I could've been more adequately warned about the side effects of this product on some women. Basically, if you are sensitive to hormonal changes, which I am, then this product will really mess with your body. These hormonal changes can affect, among other things, changes in the ph level of your vagina which can lead to both bacterial and fungal vaginitis. Did anyone tell you that? Have you had more of those infections while on this and think you were crazy? You weren't. Symptoms of a bacterial infection include a thin, watery discharge and a fishy smell. Did you think you smelled different while on this but figured there's no way there could be a connection to Mirena? There is. Looking back now, how could I have trusted a pamphlet from the maker of the product? Obviously they want you to buy it. That was my stupidity. But how could my doctor trust the pamphlet? Why do they assume the hormone level is too small to make an impact when there are thousands of women having them removed and citing the exact same reactions. Demand that you be taken seriously as a women and a patient. Do not be bullied nor belittled by your doctor into thinking you must be wrong and a corporate drug company is right. Get it out.

Had my coil fitted in Nov 2005 and have only now just realised my many symptoms started around that time.
My lack of sex drive, I am now on anti depressants, I sweat so much my face and down my back. I have put on weight and my mood swings come and go I often end up in tears at the slightest thing. I constantly have a watery discharge which means having to wear panty liners. My memory is terrible I find I have to write everything down at work as soon as it is said or I forget.
But the worst thing is the sweating my underarms stay dry its my face & it runs down my back it is really getting me down I am always looking flushed and hot I did think it was the menopause as I am 45 this year but I have tried various herbal remedies with no effect any one have any suggestions.
My GP is not keen on me having the coil removed as my periods were so heavy I often could not leave the house for fear of the blood flow showing through the pads.
Karen