Weight gain symptoms and conditions

i've had my mirena for almost 2 months now. had it inserted september 29. my ob told me the day it was put in place that it could be either a mildly uncomfortable feeling or it could hurt like hell. luckily it was a mildly uncomfortable feeling. (no worse then the internal exams when i was pregnant...actually less painful then that) i have had the irregular bleeding (he never told me it'd just be spotting. he said it COULD be irregular bleeding and spotting. that was either light and barely there or a flow like a normal period. unfortunately mines been like the normal period....) and the period like cramps. i haven't experienced the weight gain luckily. i've actually been loosing weight. no acne, hot flashes, i do have the moodiness but that could also be from the sleep loss from having twin 3 month old boys who insist on keeping mommy up all day and night. my sex drive....has increased. i mean dramatically increased. my husband isn't complaining.

so for the ladies who are thinking about getting mirena....not every experience is bad. people tend to write about the bad but forget the good.

my ob also said if you never had problems with side affects from previous b/c (which i never did) then the chances are (it's not 100% guaranteed) you'll be fine with the mirena. but you have to remember that the side affects with mirena are the same with a lot of other b/c. besides the constant bleeding from hacing it inserted.

so happy to have found this site! I have been taking loestrin 24 since mid July, making it almost five months on this medicine. IT IS HORRIBLE. to say the least. for almost a year and a half I was on NuvaRing, which surprisingly I liked, aside from the almost 20 lb weight gain and virtually no sex drive. Who needs birth control if you don't have a sex drive? So anyway, I switched to loestrin 24 in July. BIG MISTAKE. for the first few weeks of this pill I lost all appetite and hardly ate a thing. In the past few months I have been experiencing incredible anxiety, uncontrollable thoughts, and depression. This pill is messing with my head! It almost cost me and my boyfriend of two years our relationship because of the way it makes me crazy. I experience increased heart rate, especially when I wake up and strange leg cramps. I have always been funny, outgoing, and upbeat about life until this pill. This past weekend I was a social recluse and just felt like being alone. I cry over the littlest things and am so irritable when someone says the slightest things. I have been overly mean to my mom, sister and boyfriend over the simplest things. Something is not right with this pill. I thought I was just losing my mind until I read all these other posts. Thank goodness I'm not alone. I had an appt. with my OBGYN today, told her all my symptoms, and she gave me a trial pack of Femcon FE. I am very wary to start them because I have read it has very similar side effects to Loestrin. Has anyone found a good birth control that actually makes them a happy, normal person?! Jeeze, I am ready to swear off hormonal birth control for good! Please let me know if anyone has any experience with switching from Loestrin to Femcon? I just want to be my old, happy self again!

I am set to begin taking Nuvaring as soon as I get off my period this week. I got it from my campus health center and the resident ob/gyn said it had the same side effects as other forms of BC. This is the first time I will have started BC and am honestly a little nervous after reading these reviews. I am in college so any unwanted weight gain is the last thing I need. Also, I don't have sex that much but I am worried about the sex drive issue. I have issues with fatigue and insomnia already so I am also worried about these side effects. The ob/gyn never said anything about this stuff to me, so I am just going to try it and see what happens. I'll let you know!

WTH? I got off Yasmin 2 months ago and I have started gaining weight since then! :-o I have always had pretty much the same weight since 16 years ago but now after getting off I've gained 5 pounds in 2 months. This sucks! And trust me, it's not my fault that it's happening.

And the weird thing is that I eat half the sweets and candy now versus when I was on the pill. Is the weight gain going to stop? Am I going to loose these extra pounds then? How long can I expect it to take before it levels off again and my body is back to normal?

I hate that I even started taking this pill in the first place. :-(

I got my Mirena inserted in May 2008. I thought this was great since I am horrible at remembering to take the pill. I am 29 and have tried numerous BC. According to my GYN at the time, I was informed I would not experience weight gain and very minimal periods along with occasional cramping. I understand everyone is different. Well, the weight gain was much a lie as I have gained 40 pounds since the Mirena was inserted. My lifestyle has not changed. It took me a year and a half to loose 60 pounds and 6 months to put most of it back on. I encounter two periods a month and they last 7 days. The cramping can be horrendous. I am more tired than I usually would be but being a mother of two I do not have time to think about it. What concerns me the most is after intercourse I experience horrible sharp uterine pains and I begin to bleed. I feel the Mirena poke/stab me during intercourse but try not to let it affect mine and my partners relationship. Don't get me wrong, he is very understanding. The last time we had intercourse (2 days ago) I experienced strange clots which seem to be a bit more than just blood clots and since then I have had a pain around my left ovary area. It has left my lower abdomen area tender. I made an appt. in 2 weeks to have the Mirena removed. Have anyone experienced the after intercourse pain and/or bleeding?

After I got my IUD removed 2 mos ago, my male obgyn showed no empathy so I changed to a female obgyn and saw her yesterday for an annual checkup. I explained to her what had happened and she gave me the same dumb straight face look - "No, I wasn't aware of weight gain or other side effects from Mirena". I bet you she won't get my co-pay again. Back to the drawing board, searching for someone to believe my misery. Is there anyone out there who has a doctor who believes them????????

I am a 27 year old who has been on birth control for the past 11 years. I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen for the majority of that time until my sophomore year of college when the doctor suggested I switch to the "shot". Depo Provera caused me to bleed continuously for several months on end and I was then switched back to pills by my new gynecologist. He placed me on a generic form of the ortho which again worked wonders for several years. At 25, I started bleeding constantly from the generic and was switched to several Loestrin 24 which completely stopped the breakthrough bleeding... initially. After a year of it, we were back to constant bleeding. The ONLY side effect I have ever experienced from birth control is breakthrough bleeding. I moved cities and with a new town came a new doctor who thought Femcon might work. I was prescribed it in May and have been taking it for nearly 6 months. Over that time I have been so happy with it as there is no bleeding except when there should be. That is until I read today that my increased anxiety (I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder to begin with), vivid, realistic nightmares, and 15 lb weight gain could be caused by this pill. I am getting married in January and my dress barely fits at this point because of the weight gain. I go to the gym 5 days a week for cardio and weight training yet keep getting fatter... I thought I was stressed out by the wedding and that is what was causing my emotional imbalance... I really thought I was losing it. I just called my gyno and left a VM asking if this could be the reason... Don't quit taking a birth control based on other peoples reports, they are all going to react differently to different people and all meds come with an initial side effect that goes away once your body is accustomed to having that hormone or chemical in it. Initial nausea is common... I have always had it when I started a new medication, especially birth control. It goes away after a couple of weeks. Will keep you posted.

Omigosh! I can't believe all that I am reading!!! I have had the Mirena since Dec 7, 2005 almost 3 full years. I have been feeling icky for quite some time now. I have had frequent headaches, backaches, acne, memory loss, weight gain, mood swings, and most of all feeling like I live my life in a fog with severe tiredness. I decided to come online and look for side affects to the Mirena and found all of you having alot of the same issues as I am. I never thought all the things I have been experiencing were related to the IUD. I am in shock sitting here reading all of your stories. I am a 36 year old mom with 4 children and decided on the Mirena because I get pregnant very easy and didn't want to have any more kids but also wasn't ready to have my tubes tied. I thank everyone for this very informative and eye opening forum. I am going to make an appointment and have my Mirena taken out for good! I will take the risk of pregnancy over feeling like I have for so long any day!! God Bless you all and good luck to you all.

Hi all i have been taking Yasmin for about 3 years now and am so glad i have now discovered this site. Initially Yasmin worked well for me but in the last 2 years or so i suffered the anxiety, panic attacks and depression(which i was then given Zoloft to treat) and decreasing eyesight and weight gain, diarrhea, bloating i never thought it could be related to Yasmin! i have tried to come off it but experienced the most terribly painful periods. i recently went to a naturopath and was given herb tablets(vitex agnus-catus)
to stabilize my hormones whilst coming off the pill. I urge other women to really think about the side effects before taking YASMIN and ask questions if you have any of these symptoms.i hope i get back to normality once ive stopped this pill and hope everyone else does too!

After reading this I feel inclined to write. I am a 35 year old mother of 2. I decided to use NuvaRing as my bc after having the morena (sp?) IUD taken out due to weight gain and excessive acne. I was really excited about the ring as pills make me feel pregnant i.e. go to bed early and force myself to eat saltines.
I have in the past 4+ years of being on this drug noticed huge mood swings and definite lowered sex drive. This is suppose to be my sexual prime and man, I feel like a dead fish. I am recently separated and filing for divorce so it is interesting to think that all my husbands comments about my mood, over the years, may have been directly due to the NuvaRing. I thought that he was being insensitive (which he has always been guilty of).
Don't get me wrong...my marriage was abviously not strong enough to withstand such hormonal turmoil especially for this length of time, however, this is all very interesting. I have felt rageful around ovulation time. I cannot keep from yelling. Also prior to my period I am again feeling a little crazy. I had excessive eating and drinking due to depression but some of that could be my unhappy relationship.
I did have leg cramps mostly at night that I did not understand. Nausea seems to hit mostly at night and headaches were something that happened off and on. The fatigue I remember off and on over the years.
I believe that I was one of the first people to try this drug and was very happy with it. I always recommend it to others. I thought it was wonderful. I did go off at one point and remembered why I need regulation...My periods are long, heavy, painful, horrible and irregular.
I am due to put the ring back in tomorrow, however I will be heading down the road of recovery alone, with out my beloved NuvaRing that may have led me astray long ago.

I love my NuvaRing. But don't get me wrong, I have had severe side affects (vaginal swelling tenderness, chronic yeast infections, Vaginitis, painful sex, gas, bloating, fatigue, anxiety, weight gain, no sex drive, engorged breasts, clear skin, leg cramping, you name it I have probably had it) with it some of the effects are just normal for birth control or my not so perfect lifestyle). I have been on NuvaRing for 2 and a half years. I have had many drastic changes in my life while on the medication. I will not blame it on the Ring, but I won't say it was something else.
I loved the NuvaRing when I first got on it. It was strictly for BC, not to regulate my cycle or bypass cramping or anything else. The first year I was on it, I was a sophomore in college. My stress level was normal for a college student on scholarship, I was anxious and sleepless even before starting the NuvaRing. So when I started it, I remained the same. The first few months were fine. After a while, I began to get easily irritated and snapped easily. Again I was a college student, handling more than I should have. I had 18 hrs. in courses, a full time job, and a part-time job. So I just thought it was me, it couldn't have been my BC. Again sleepless and anxiety were a way of life.
I have always struggled with weight. I'll admit I was 198 lbs. when I started NuvaRing. I am slightly ashamed to admit that I now weigh 255 lbs. Granted: I have poor eating habits and exercise for me is walking to my car.
But this year something changed. I graduated college (cum laude) and started my career. I don't feel the stress of college anymore and I thought I would have no anxiety, my sleeplessness would dissipate, my patience back, and frankly would return to what was normal for me
Now for some of the negativity.
My parents have noticed my irritability and my weight gain. (who hasn't its pretty obvious). They never said anything, until I one day just couldn't take it anymore. I yelled at my parents (I have never done anything like that before) and I cried all night. The next day, my boyfriend called and I for some odd reason did not want to talk to him, yelled at him, and hung up. Not really a nice way to treat someone you love so dearly.
I have been short tempered and honestly don't see why anyone puts up with me. After I yell at people (the anxiety and short temper) I always feel so bad and end up crying for hours. Even the little things will make me cry. I was always an emotional basket case, but I was never a crier. I now cry for no apparent reason at everything.
Because of my gift of forgetfulness: a few months ago (5 to be exact) I forgot to take my ring out for the one week. I put it in a week late. Ever since then my body has been out of whack. I have suffered major depression. I struggle to get out of bed in the mornings. I can't wait to get off work to come home and crawl back into bed. Not exactly the thoughts for a new college graduate doing her dream job. Some days my depression will control my life. Other days I feel like a normal person. If you ask anyone who knows me typically; I am a fun loving easy going patient person. I mean I gotta be: I became a special ed teacher. Lately I have suicide thoughts, as I lay awake for hours.When I fall asleep, I feel I could sleep for days. I attempt to get 8 hours of sleep a night, but usually end up with 2 maybe 3. Then there are days I will sleep all night, come home from work and go to bed at 4pm and sleep all night again.
I also have noticed that I crave food 24-7. I kept attributing it to my way of coping with everyday stress and my eating my emotions (emotional basket case, I know) I feel like I am constantly starving.
Why is it now that something has changed so dramatically. It is just me and my chaotic emotional basket case life or is it something directly linked to my method of BC? I have no honest idea, but I feel much better knowing that others out there have had great experiences with NuvaRing, and something then goes wonky. (for lack of a better word).

Does anyone know if maybe they changed the formula or something?

II'm a 54 year old male and I've been taking Lisinopril for about 24 months for moderately high BP (135/85). Initially, I was fatigued late morning, but that seemed to go away in a month or two. Having a previous back condition, I didn't blame the tightness in my glutes and legs on the pill or the extreme morning soreness, but now I wonder. Also, in six months I gained about 50 pounds with no change in lifestyle (205 to 255). I read in a few of the Drug Co. sites that this is a rare effect, but not in any postings here. Anyone else have this problem?
I also seem to have developed an explosive type of temper that I don't recall before, blowing up at minor things, then it quickly passes. Anybody?
Where the drug initially lowered my BP to 120/75, with the weight gain I need the drug to keep it in the neighborhood of the original problem (140/85). If I miss a dose it spikes to 170/115 or higher, so I'm basically forced to take it or another BPM where originally I had a very minor problem. I thought this was a common pill that was described as relatively benign, but I' starting to realize that's not the case at all.

Okay WOW! So interestingly enough, I was out w/ a friend last night and when I mentoned to him that I have Mirena-he pleaded with me to google it and find out the troubles that ppl were having. He said He almost lost his wife because of it(and by lost- I mean death) That got my attention. I told him, I thought I didn't have any problems with my Mirena... I don't even have a period ever-its great! I am truly glad he told me to look, and I am glad I read the other problems women were having. I had symptoms, that I didn't even realize I had; basically blaming it on stress or other things. I have Narcolepsy which is a sleeping disorder, and recently I was diagnosed with Fibromaylgia (s/p?) Anyways I have had my Mirena for a lil over a year; I chose it because I absolutely suck at remembering to take the "pill" everyday and I am a single mom, and I told myself I will not be in this position again with another child. (I know- a lot of "ands"...lol) Well Here is my symptoms that I didn't realize could be related. I had a nervous breakdown at Christmas last year.... I called my dad and told him he needed to go get my daughter because I didn't think she was 'safe' with me, I was balling my eyes out... I was so stressed and full of anxiety and the littlest thing would set me off-AND I knew it wasn't my babys fault, I didn't want her anywhere near me! I went to the doctor and got treated for - you guessed it manic depression/anxiety ( I have had a history of it- but NEVER this bad) She came home after a few days. However, I still get easily irritated, more easily then I should- normally I am a very patient person. I sleep all the time....ALL THE TIME, I suffer from eccessive Fatigue, and nothing I take seems to help. weight gain-yep I got that too... I am the heaviest I have ever been in my life! I weigh more now then I did when I was nine months preg. with my daughter. Bloating.... yep I got Bloating, I don't feel comfortable in any of my clothes- I absolutely hate to wear Jeans anymore, and Yes I do suffer the 'gas' problem too. I was completely embarrassed and thought I was all alone on the fear of making it to the bathroom on time... I am a grown woman of 30 (so I am still kinda young to have any problems like that!) Oh yeah...I do have the Hot flashes, people would tease me and tell me I was too young for that-DUH! I want to enjoy my daughter, she will be 4 years old in march, I want energy to do the simple things, to enjoy life again, I want to feel attractive again.... honestly right now I feel kinda hideous.... So I have two major positive I am facing... no pill to take everyday, and no period!!!! If I go have it removed; what will my cycle be like? will I bleed all the time, will it just last a long time at first and then regulate, I guess I would like to have a heads up on what to expect. then there is one more question... If I remove the Mirena and choose a different IUD; will it have the same side effects? I need a B.C. option that doesn't require me taking a pill everyday, and I already tried the depo-shot that was a bad one for me.... that was like one long, on-going period that never stopped(don't want that-lol) So if Anyone out there has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you so much!

I am 48yrs of age- had the mirena coil fitted to help with menopause symptoms, had my 1st one fitted in 2003- have kept it for 5yrs and then had it replaced in jan 2008- well whats the problem then?? shortly after having my 1st mirena coil fitted i had a bit of a nervous breakdown and didn't put 2 and 2 together - that maybe some of my symptoms could have been connected to the coil.... i guess im just saying i plodded on with it- ( quite literally i gained almost 3 stone - since having my 1st coil fitted,. but alas blamed it all on my state of mind at the time...-?, any way in Jan 2008 i went along and had my old one out and a new one put in(all in the same day)i suffered a vaso vagal attack on the insertion of the new one- spasm of the cervix! and thought i was gunna die!- my mind is a bit clearer now and have had my 2nd mirena for 11months... and its coming out on Monday!!! I believe i have given this foreign body a fair crack at the whip !..almost 6yrs! if u want any advice- just didn't do it, (blurred vision, weight gain despite good diet exercise etc,oily skin ,loss of
concentration/memory, poor sleep pattern- night sweats etc and going out to work of a morning unsure sometimes even if ur dressed (dream state). p.s i am a nurse and kept it for so long because.... i was led to believe by ...nurse practitioners, doctors, reps, health care professionals that i was talking a load of crap... they didn't have 1 (or rather 2!) i did... get it out!

I am at the end of my 4th year with the Mirena and except for the first three months of on and off cramping I have have a wonderful experience - no weight gain, excellent sex drive. I have been very glad to not worry about pregnancy. However....here it is, I have been having unexplained itching for the last year and my doctor cannot figure it out. I have also been having heavy hair growth on my chin and lip...I am 39 years old. I plan on having it removed to see it the itching ends. I have been grateful to have it because I hate condoms and cannot take the pill. I think each person needs to weight the benefits and side effects. Thanks for all of your honesty :)

Extreme weight gain during the past three years on ambien and ambien cr. Unfortunately this is the only medication that helps with my insomnia; I've tried a bunch of different prescriptions and over the counter sleep meds...

I started taking yaz last summer about 3 months before i got married. sex drive went down the toilet. absolutely none whatsoever. it also caused depression. and even caused me to get a syndrome that is terrible and marriage threatening! my periods were shorter which was nice. but i got more acne than before. weight gain was probably 5-10lbs in the 4 mos i took it. i would not recommend for anyone to take this pill!
it was absolutely terrible.

I just want to thank everyone for their experiences with Mirena. I went to the GYN on Tuesday for my annual exam and inquired about birth control since I am now in a relationship. I am 42, no children. She recommended Mirena and gave me a booklet on it. I have been researching it.

I am now deciding AGAINST this. I will stick with condoms for now and start researching another type of birth control. I don't want weight gain (I am already overweight but have lost over a lot of weight thanks to Weight Watchers). I don't want acne or bleeding everyday.

It helps so much hearing everyone's experience with this. The brochure doesn't list all these side effects. The doctor was pretty honest with me but thinks I would be a good candidate but I think I really need to rethink this.

Has anyone had any good experiences with other types of birth control?

Thanks!

I have had Mirena now since August 29th '08. I was one of the people that was lucky enough to not experience any pain what so ever when it was inserted. Not a single bit of discomfort at all!!! I did have my period though so that may have had something to do with it. But ever since I've had Mirena I've gained 12 pounds, my husband and I fight all the time, we have been together for 15 years and haven't fought this much as long as we've been together, I'm always depressed lately which is weird for me at this time of year because until Christmas I love this time of year!! I've had a few anxiety issues, I don't sleep at night, my poor kids I snap over the stupidest things, the fatigue oh my the fatigue. I've had sleeping problems for many years now but I can't even sleep on sleeping pills most nights either and I could before. The last couple of weeks now I've experienced gas (I mean gas very regularly) out of the blue didn't think that had to do with Mirena but then I started reading this site, some days I'm constipated others I don't stop going. It seems I get the "spotting" one week straight done for a few days then here it is again. My husband feels it when we have intercourse. If and when we have intercourse these days it's not enjoyable for me and not him either, he can tell it's not enjoyable for me, let alone he can feel the thing. I have a very clear completion (normally only get acne at that time of the month and only a couple), lately I've broken out along my hair line, getting pimples in spots I didn't know you could get them. And with the weight gain and acne it makes me feel real good about myself. I look like I'm pregnant again some days. And I'm bloated all the time. Oh the one I almost forgot about the hot flashes, I'm 31 years old having hot flashes.
I was thinking that my body just needs to "adjust" to this thing inside me, but after reading this why wait and make it worse with more symptoms I don't have yet?! Like the cysts, I guess as far as I know I don't have them yet.
I just want to feel like myself again. I'm a happy person, normally motivated to clean my house, normally don't feel like I have a grey cloud over my head, I hate feeling like I have a scowl on my face all the time. These are the memory making years for my kids, do I want them to remember the always crabby yelling mommy? No I don't. Well I'm gonna go cry now and call my doctor to have it removed. Thank you for having this site it's made me feel like I'm not going crazy and it's not just me! And you know what I will respond back in a few weeks after having it out and let you know if I've gotten rid of any the "side Effects" the doctors claim have nothing to do with Mirena!

I have been reading all the side-effects women have been experiencing with the Mirena, and I just needed to add my two cents. I am a 28 year old woman, no children, very physically active, and I have had no problems with my mirena. I have had my Mirena in place for a year and a half. I have had no weight gain, no tenderness, no facial hair, no mood swings, nothing. The only side effects I have experienced are very light to non-existent periods. I have had my Mirena checked by my doctor regularly, just to be on the safe side. So, some women may experience negative side-effects, but others do not. I have been on several different types of birth control; the pill, the patch, the ring, natural planning, and now the Mirena and this is BY FAR the best method I have used. I feel for the women who have experienced negative side effects, but for me it's the one that works. Oh, and it did hurt having it put in since I have not had children. My cervix did not want to dilate, and it took two tries to get it in, but once in, I was good to go. Now my husband can be active any where at any time with no worries.

I'am 45 year old female and I have been on simvastatin 40mg for at least 6 months. Here in the past 3 weeks I have had very weak legs and arms,they felt like they were wet noodles. I also was getting these week spells where it felt like I couldn't lift my arms or legs cause they was so weak.I had pain in my ear and big bad headaches that wouldn't leave. My heart feels like it skips a beat and I get very bad anxiety attacks. I have been to the ER several times and they can not find anything wrong. I even got very dizzy. The ER doctor told me that the dizziness and headaches was from a inter ear disturbance,well I think the inter ear disturbance might have come from the simvastatin after running across this web site. I'm going off the simvastatin tomorrow! Oh yeah and forgot to mention the weight gain and the tiredness and how I feel like a couch zombie. I think I'll stick to my salmon oil.

I was on Aviane for about 2 years. During this time, I had very severe cramps during my period. This included majoe hot flashes, to a point where I would sweat! Just about every time I ate, I would have to go to the restroom with severe diarreha. All I wanted to do was to lay in bed, curled up in a ball, so nauseated from the pain! I was so miserable!! Not to mention my horrible mood. I was mean to everybody and I was so depressed that I would just cry for no reason. It almost caused my boyfriend and I to break up a few times because he couldn't take me anymore! Once my period ended, the mood swings ended, but I had no sex drive what so ever! It kept getting worse every month, and I am only 25 years old! So, I recently switched to Yaz. It costs a lot more, but so far is worth it. My sex drive is back, no PMS or mood swings! Cramps are very light and I haven't felt depressed at all. I am in such a better mood all of the time every day. Something else I noticed is that my sudden feelings of anxiety have disappeared! I thought it was just me, but now I believe that it was caused by Aviane. Also, It has made by breasts grow a whole cup size
with no weight gain! One more thing is that I used to have so much hair loss in the shower, and I thought it was from straightning my curly hair! Since I switched, it has dramatically lessened! Ooh! And one more thing...I have smoked for about 8 years...not a lot, just a few a day. Since I have been on this I have not had any cravings cir a cigarette.... maybe occasionally while having a drink or coffee. So maybe it is from Yaz as well! I am so glad I found this forum, and wish I found it sooner! Good luck everyone :)

Hello All,
I am a 40 year old woman and I have had the mirena iud insert for at least 5 years. My doctor asked if I would like to try this iud because of the heavy bleeding. So..of course I told him yes I would like to try it(especially when I knew that I would not have to worry about taking the pill everyday). I asked the doctor right before he inserted this device if it would hurt. He said no, it would take less than 5 minutes to put it in. I heard a snap, and then the pain in my abdomen was so great, I thought I would fall against the wall on my way out. I almost pulled over on the highway on my way back home because the pain was so great. It felt like labor pains. I decided that my body just needed to adjust. I have experienced depression, the worst anxiety, severe cramps, some hair loss right above my forehead, crazy moodiness, weight gain constipation(I sit on the toilet for at least an hour.)headaches, unreasonable crying at least once a month, fogginess, gas, pain traveling from both sides of my uterus and around to both sides of my lower back. Some days I wanted to just die. I was so afraid to go to the doctor to remove it because of the experience getting it put in. Having intercourse was another issue. When I felt myself even getting in the mood, I would start cramping. I would ignore it because I didn't want to disappoint my mate. He would hit the threads of the iuc sometimes and he said it would hurt him. He somehow learned to maneuver some type of way to keep from sticking himself and after intercourse I would get the worst cramps. At times the pain was so severe, I would call off from work and sometimes had to leave work. My skin on my face looks terrible. I have always been complimented for my skin but now it looks a sight to me. I do get acne on my back from time to time and I experience breast soreness. One night this week, my cramps were so severe I didn't know how much more I could take. When I went to the bathroom to check it out, the blood was bright red and not like a period. More like something was torn. For the last couple of days the blood looks like a rusty brown color and it smells like metal. I am so afraid to have sex and I am still getting cramps. All I find myself doing is lying down because I am always tired. I am very afraid of this whole thing. It has been a total nightmare. I am glad I came across this website. I did not realize so many women are having some of the same problems that I am having with this device. I don't even want to be alone when they take it out. My mate says that he would be there with me if I want to get it removed but my anxiety is so great. I am terrified!! I can't believe I let all of this time go by thinking that my body would adjust to it. Thank you all for sharing your information. I am about to embark on the journey to have it removed. Wish me luck and I pray for all of you who have felt my pain. I would not recommend this device to anyone. I am glad that I have 3 daughters already so I don't have the worry about not being able to have children. Thank you all for your responses, it has given me(finally)the motivation(which I have not had)to get rid of this iuc.

Okay, you might think I was the THE spokesperson for Mirena when I previously posted. What I was trying to convey was that we can have similar symptoms even without the IUD if our eating habits and lifestyle are not healthy and if we have our hands full with raising little ones. I didn't want to mislead anyone into thinking that I was symptom free myself. I had many, many good days of feeling great once the 6 month of unpredictable spotting/bleeding was over. However, I have a laundry list of things that were not right and recently had the Mirena removed. The things I'm reading on the site are pretty right on: Fatigue, no to little sex drive, weight gain (expect 7-10 pounds), pain at times during sex, did I mention FATIGUE?, bloated (looking 4-5 months prego at times). After 2 years, I had one whole week of cramping no period and was starting to get sharp pains. I had had enough and had it removed. I need to say that I have never felt better. I had a big period the moment it was removed. I think it's bogus that it thins the lining of the uterus. If that were true, I would not have had a period for a while. It was just the opposite. I had a real heavy one. But boy was it a relief. I don't know what to expect in the coming months with PMS and so forth. I am banking on eating right and exercise and limiting caffeine, sugar and any thing that would affect my emotions and weight.
I'll post again later and let everyone know how the weight loss is going. I did lose 3 pounds after a couple of days. Whew! I had gained 10 with it in the first year. Blessings to all! John 3:16

I am getting my mirena removed today, It has been nothing but trouble. I have hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety for no reason, i always had anxiety but this is awful I can't stand it. I started seeing a shrink, now I come on here a couple of weeks ago and OMG its has to be the mirena. Also the facial hair is unbelievable. My husband and I fight constantly, I feel so bad I have been awful. Weight gain is awful, I had a baby boy 11 months ago, these kind of symptoms should be gone already!! I just want to feel myself again!!!! Oh I also have gotten multiple ovaian cysts, that hurt!! It is awful, not worth the trouble!