Wellness symptoms and conditions

I had a gorgeous baby girl in April. My future husband and I spoke about our B.C. options after her birth and decided that the Mirena would work great for both of us. I spoke with my Dr. because I had been on the Depo in the past (progesterone based) and I had gained a ton of weight. She said that because of the low continuous dose of progesterone, weight wouldn't be an issue. At the end of June I had the Mirena put in. I went in for a recheck to make sure that it was in position in the beginning of August after my wedding (I know... The cart before the horse). At this time I weighed 132 lbs. It is now mid November and I have been having some pretty severe gastric problems. I went to my internal med Dr. a couple of weeks ago and I weighed in at a wopping 146 lbs. I know that it doesn't sound like a lot but to gain that much weight in a short time is nauseating. I am not pregnant anymore. Here is what my symptoms were and why I chose to go to internal medicine and not the gyn. I had TERRIBLE gas. Not only often but the smell. My new husband and baby looked at me like I was a monster. Not to mention the horrible side and back cramps. Bloating was now my best friend and not saved for "that time of the month". My internal med Dr. thought that my gall bladder might be failing because she said that she sees a lot of this in post natal women. I went through 2 weeks of tests from blood draws to scooping my stool into test vials for analysis to having radiographic dyes shot into me to make a movie of my gall bladder function. I couldn't hold my baby for a whole day because I was radioactive. The results turned up nothing. I sat at home on my couch that night (11/13/08) feeling defeated and not understanding what was happening to my body. I reflected on what was different about me, since the birth of my daughter, and all I could come up with was the Mirena. I decided that it was a shot in the dark, but I was going to check out the side effects online. Then I found all of you. OMG, I am a text book case of everything that you all are reporting. The following are my other symptoms that I have been dealing with. I hope it helps you when trying to find a B.C. that is right for you. My sex drive has gone out the bottom... Not to mention my new found skinniness. My headaches are dull and nagging and I am on the verge of massive panic/anxiety attacks on a weekly basis. I lost about half of my head of hair (it started falling out about 2 months after the Mirena was inserted). I go from massive, can't find a bathroom fast enough diarrhea to really soft obnoxious smelling stools. My husband has stated, on many occasions, that he is a man and can "appreciate a good, healthy fart" but what I have makes him want to throw up. Did I mention the bloating? My periods are lighter but last almost 2 weeks every month. I have night sweats and hot flashes. I am irritable and tired all of the time. Funny enough, my tolerance for alcohol has decreased dramatically and I go from having fun and drinking a cocktail to wasted, hammered drunk in seconds. I have acne all of the time and its everywhere... my face, back, chest. I have never suffered from acne. I hope that I covered all of my side effects but I may have missed a few because there are so many things that I am experiencing. Needless to say, I feel like a have a voice and a remedy to everything that I have been going through over the past 2 months. Today, at 30 years old, I going to take a stand for my body... I am having my Mirena taken out at 1:15 this afternoon. Hopefully life will smell and feel so much better... LOL

Most of the "side effects" are die off responses (sometimes referred to as a herxheimer response similar to that which occurs when treating syphillis) from bartonella or borrelia. Levaquin is a potent intracellular antibiotic...where these and other organisms can hide. These can be subclinical infections where (at this time) you are not even aware you are infected. If your "side effects" start around the 3rd day into your prescription...rejoice...and suffer for a while, you are killing something really bad.

I have only been on it for 8 days, but it has been wonderful for me. I suffer from nearly daily migraines. My migraines are brought on by strong smells like smoke, or perfume. The first day I was on Singulair, I went on a field trip to a farming community with my daughter. This is usually enough to have me in bed with an aching headache for a week, but instead I got a mild migraine late that afternoon. My imitrex knocked it right out. The next day, I cleaned house all day, no headache even with cleaning chemicals. Now 8 days later, I haven't had to take any migraine medicine at all. Three nights this week, my neighbor has burnt grass (a major trigger for me) and still no headache. I may get side effects later, but for now, this has been a godsend to me. It has my allergies under control and I can now go out to dinner without fear of smelling smoke, or too much perfume. I can work in my yard again.
If you are having side effects, try something else. I have had terrible side effects from medicines before so I know they do exist. I wish you luck in finding the one that works for you.

Sarah,
I live in the US. I totally understand your fear about taking hormones. For me though, the natural progesterone has made a huge difference. I don't know how long you have been recovering from Yasmin, but rest assured that as time goes on, you will get better. Two years ago was when I was at my worst. I checked this forum several times a day. It made me feel so much better to hear from other women going through the same thing as me. I don't think I've checked this forum for over a year until today, if that's any indication of how much better I feel. You will too. I also take a multi vit., fish oil & magnesium too. I think they help as well. Do what works for you. Wishing you wellness!

-Tiffany

If any doctor can answer this for me: WHY do you all discount the birth control pill when we women complain about health issues that have only started occurring in conjunction with the taking of the hormones???!! I'm certainly not a medical professional, but I'm intelligent enough to realize that hormones play a HUGE part on the wellness and activity of ones body. To tell a woman that her pain and symptoms are all in her head, to me, is neglectful, insensitive, and downright ignorant considering yours is a field based on a machine as mysterious as the human body is.

For those of you who have had horrible side effects, I urge you to contact Berlex who is the manufacturer of Yasmin in the U.S. The phone number is located in the Yasmin Forums link above. You will speak to a live person who will take your information down and note it. It's very important that if this crap isn't safe for human consumption, that it be taken off the market.