So I found this website because I am looking into ginseng and how it interacts with birth control since I've heard that it may interfere with the way birth control works.

I've been taking ginseng for a couple week now to relieve my EXTREME EXTREME fatigue. Now... after reading some of your posts... I feel very concerned about my health and safety.

I am a 20 year old mother of one. (hence the reason i decided to get on mirena because my pregnancy occured while on birth-control, in between depra-provera shots)

I have been having many many problems. I've just been beginning to think the worst of the worst.

I got my mirena put in at my 6 week post preggo visit and it has now been 16 and a half months since that day...

i've had issues with weight gain. i was 110 pounds after i had my daughter. Today I am 130 pounds and it is ALL in my stomach. my "fat pad". it WILL NOT go away. believe me, I practically kill myself working out.

i've had issues with my heart (some of it, i feel has intesified since using the ginseng so to clarify i am talking prior to it's use) i have irregular heart rates often, irregular beating, i actually have a nodal rythum or whatever it's called when there is no P wave on an EKG strip. I have an S-3 (a third "lubb-dubb" so like a "lubb-dubb-dubb"). there have been a few times where i think im going crazy because i'll have a sharp sharp pain in my left arm and hell i think i'm having a heart attack or something.

I have EXTREME fatigue. God I might start crying now typing this. If I could vaguely get across to you how much this new "fatigue" is affecting my daily life. I mean i hardly EVER want to get up to even play with my daughter or to shower or to do ANYTHING. Im 20 years old!!!! I used to have TONS of energy. I feel like I'm dying now... I'm ALWAYS ALWAYS sooo exhausted, and irritated and moody!!

Depression. That's a huge one. along with the moodiness and irritability. I thought for awhile that maybe it was post pardom that has just lasted along time... but I don't know. I don't understand. Some days, sometimes lasting for weeks at a time, I'll be fine. and then boom. out of now where just. a negative outlook, everything is going wrong. i hate my life. i don't wanna do this anymore, kinda thing. i've had suicidal thoughts a few times when in these "lows".

Then there's the abdominal pain, its occasional, nothing REALLY bad, I actually haven't really NOTICED having much pain until recently. Over the past 2-3 months, its been increasing in frequency and intensity.
And for the first year after having the mirena put in I DID NOT have a period AT ALL (nor cramps or any PMS issues). now, for the past 2-3 weeks, I spot. Not all the time, not through out the whole day but I spot, also I get noticable, uncomfortable, sometimes really painful, cramps.
Also, ever since having the mirena put in I have crazy discharge issues. Like being "wet" alllllll the time. It's annoying. I have to wear pads, spotting or not, just so i dont have to have a change of panties (funny but rly not).

NOW- prior too having the mirena put in i was told i had cervical dysplasia (at 18 years old). Most likely related to HPV. (I've never been told directly however that I have the human papilloma-virus). I had the abnormal pap smear, then the biopsy (colposcopy), then a lazer coinization January 20th (WHILE I WAS PREGNANT they were wondering too?! - my daughter was born OCTOBER 6th 2007 i went 40 weeks and 2 days and was induced) By April of 2007 however I had another pap and it STILL came back as abnormal and then again after I had my daughter the pap came back abnormal. They just said they would watch it but that it was nothing to be really concerned about. I have not gone in since the 6-week check up after having my daughter, however (lack of insurance!).

So again I've been wondering if all these ABOVE issues are because maybe i have cancer or something. Like I said, i've been thinking the worst of the worst. I just don't understand. I can't put into words how I've been feeling. The EXTREME (extreme can't be said enough) FATIGUE is probably the worst part of it though. It's horrible when you could get a full 8-10 hours of sleep and wake up and feel EXHAUSTED! So you lay back down (AND I'M TALKING A DEEP DEEP SLEEP HERE, NO DREAMS, JUST HEAVY SLEEP) and wake up a few hours later and.... yep, still tired.

I don't know. I don't have insurance, but I'm beginning to wonder now if maybe I should get this thing out... Hmm... I have a pap smear this friday scheduled since I've waited so long... maybe I'll bring some of these issues up with her.... *we'll see what she says*


Oh yes.... I forgot, the dizziness and lightheadedness... sometimes like when I stand up too fast I'll get really dizzy but what makes this abnormal and concerning is that... my VISION will black out. For 30 seconds if even that... maybe more like 15 seconds. I won't be able to see anything for a second. Just pins and needles of color and black. Not everytime does it do this, just some times... Other times the dizziness/lightedness/black out vision episodes will happen if I've just been walking around to much (been active for a long period of time) like when I'm at work or school, or when I'm at the gym, or at the zoo with my daughter, etc. etc. and I'll FEEL fainted, I've never passed out tho, fallen from lack of balance a few times but never PASSED OUT.... just wanted to add that in.