I had my 2nd child in June '08 and had Mirena placed on 8-8-08 wi...

I had my 2nd child in June '08 and had Mirena placed on 8-8-08 with no discomfort or problems of any kind. I had already heard great things about it from two co-workers who LOVE theirs. This past weekend I finally started poking around on the computer because of my husband's constant complaints of the "whiskers" poking the head of his penis when we have sex. Lo and behold, I find this page and am BLOWN AWAY. I felt so relieved. I have never been one to have headaches, nausea, back pain or low sex drive. I had been attributing those things to a combination of being significantly overweight, having two babies under the age of 19 months and being on Prednisone (for rheumatoid arthritis). I also have been experiencing a lot of fatigue, night sweats/hot flashes, weight gain, swollen breasts, dizziness, swollen hands/feet, and crazy mood swings. I know that all of these symptoms can probably be explained away as being due to the prednisone, my weight, my life right now (two babies and working full-time) and any number of other things, but there are so many women who have Mirena who are reporting the EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS. I can't just be a coincidence. So anyway, I went to my doc today to have it removed and he, of course, told me that he doesn't believe that any of my symptoms are due to Mirena. I had it removed anyway, but he did tell me something I didn't know: the tiny amount of hormone is delivered locally, as opposed to oral contraceptives' systemic delivery in a larger amount. Go figure. In any case, I am disappointed and have mixed feelings, but I cannot wait to see if my sex drive returns and my lower back pain subsides. I also want control of my moods, weight and breasts again! We discussed the Essure, but I'm just not sure I'm ready to put something foreign in my body again right now. I don't want anymore kids (I'm 40 and have two already), but the options for 98%+ are limited. Everything seems to have a drawback. Oh well. I'll just be glad to see if the symptoms were related to Mirena. If not, I'll get it put back in.