Not sure what's causing brain fog, anxiety, hormonal imbalance?

@marye2 Yes, many people recommend reading Terry Wahl’s book
https://terrywahls.com/about/about-terry-wahls/
What about the book did you like the most?

Her writing style was easy to read and understand and she had some factual information about autoimmune in general. There's also a cookbook, and she is all about root vegetables and organ meats-not quite for me, but there's lots to glean that can be used in other parts of life. I was able to borrow the books from the library. She also has lots of free webinars with other integrative practitioners.

Hi @ljune !

Wondering how your symptoms are now after removing your IUD. Did your symptoms ever get better?

How are you feeling now going through the same thing how long did it take ?

Have you been checked for lyme disease or mold mycotoxin exposure?

Hi there, I hope you are finding some relief. This may or may not be helpful, but as an older mid-life woman, I have experienced the onset of major anxiety and heartburn that sort of came out of nowhere. It became so bad that I honestly hated to sleep at night because I’d have gerd/heartburn and because I’d have to do breathing exercises just to fall asleep. During the day, I’d feel like I was going to pass out due to the anxiety and was generally miserable. I’ve been to my primary care doc, obgyn, cardiologist and neurologist, but none were able to help me with the anxiety. I’m not on any anxiety meds currently even though that’s what a few of the docs were recommending. The only thing about me that has really changed in the last year this all started is being in menopause; so my hormone levels have morphed. I noticed after dinner one night that my anxiety was a 9 out of 10 and fed up I googled effects of food (since I’d just eaten) on anxiety and found that my blood sugar levels were perhaps affecting my anxiety. So just as an experiment, I tried eating low glycemic foods the next couple days and believe it or not, it worked! My anxiety dropped to a 2 out of 10, my gerd/heartburn absolutely disappeared and I feel generally like my old self. I can sleep laying down, the pain in my hips I was having disappeared, and my anxiety is still there but waaaay more manageable. It’s worth a try to change your food to see if it helps. I find it interesting how little is studied about women’s hormones and the effects on mood, anxiety, and general well being. If I didn’t feel so much better, I’d be mad that it took my own hunting down of the cause, but honestly I’m just so relieved to be feeling so much better. Good luck and I do hope you find your own relief.

Wow you are having a rugged time and a few things come to my mind that I have! One is Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which I take Effexor xr for! Life changingly wonderful! I was never actually depressed….but untreated this can LOOK like depression when it is a geneticly inherited disorder! It can feel very much like you are describing adding a possible panic attack or a nervous tic in the eye or arm?…….hives or rashes when stressed……?…..and one or two things you simply can’t tolerate, bridges? Tunnels? Heights? ……are common but I know folks with different ones. It is much more frequently diagnosed properly in women but men have it as well. It’s so very important to get this in check. One of the other issues that came to my mind was another one that is often co morbid w GAD and thats POTS. And you have a lot of flags to indicate getting that one looked at. My version of POTS is simply a rapid pulse, very! And I take 25 of Tenormin for that for decades, and I also experienced some vertigo btw!…nasty stuff vertigo. That may be what you are referring to.!!…..it’s hard to describe. I remember being under a lot of stress more than a few times when it really hit me before Tenormin and Effexor! Never had any of that again. You may notice other family members that as they age become very controlling and bitchy if you alter anything and they don’t handle NO very well at all. Thats what GAD looks like as an other difficult woman….or man…..undiagnosed and treated was what happened to Robin Williams who then developed Parkinsons Lewy Body, just like my mother. So much was learned from his brain study and diaries he left to help others. He was Welsh and so it my mother, so I, as a professional counselor and before that teacher, soaked up every finding. And yes, my family is riddled with it. My two adult children are now both medicated for GAD and finally enjoying a normal happy productive life. My son said he was shocked at the difference it made in his life. He was a tough one to convince.!. If nothing else, this will give you a few things to look at and consider! Don’t let any doctor blow you off! You must be the advocate for yourself and you are so very smart to ask on an open site like this! Bravo to you! I would have loved this possibility at your age!…..God Bless you!!!!

Hi my name is Erika, everything you wrote here I understand. I am currently going through depersonalization and depression that I can’t explain. I had to be hospitalized and am currently in an intensive outpatient program and yet I still don’t feel connected like my brain has been unplugged and I’m dream walking through life. I am also in nursing school currently and had to take leave from work due to barely being able to function. This all started last month when I got my period. Now that I’ve begun to have it this mont, these symptoms are intensifying to the degree they were when it began. I know you wrote this around 2 years ago but please if you are out of this fog let me know how you did it. I’ve already scheduled an appointment to have my Mirena IUD removed as I suspected that was a contributing factor but I am seriously struggling.

I dealt with a very similar situation when I was young (and had been on birth control for years, and had terrible hormone imbalances). It took me years to find a doctor who recognized I may have systemic candida (most dr's will tell you it's not a thing). This dr put me on 200 mg of diflucan 2x a week, and the first month was AWFUL -- probably due to the stupid stuff dying off and causing even more toxicity. But around day 31 tings tarted to look up. Getting off birth control, getting off antidepressants, staying on the diflucan (1x a week now), walking in the fresh air, reducing alcohol, worshipping, and cutting out wheat have made a huge difference in my clarity of thought, my energy (which was at about a zero for years--spending the majority of my time sleeping or in a zombie-like state), my general mood. I know the formual is different for everyone, but if you can find a functional medicine dr or someone who would be willing to let you try a course of diflucan (while monitoring your liver levels) for 3 months, it might be worth it. Wishing you success.

I am new to this website so hello everyone. I’ve started having issues with my IUD as well. The only difference in what the original post and I have is the brand name, mine being Mirena. I have two different hormonal diseases that my OB/GYN thought would be beneficial by starting the Mirena. While yes the excessive (hemorrhaging) has stopped after the placement of the IUD. I’ve started experiencing similar symptoms. Brain fog, can’t concentrate, extreme anxiety, but I also have a nasty symptom the original poster didn’t have, edema. I’m getting established with another regular doctor however, another on of my specialists wants me to see her sooner than she can get me in. I basically just wanted to post and let you know you aren’t alone in this weird side effects from the IUD. While I thought it would be the answer to my issues (Adenomyosis, PCOS), I’m fairly certain now with the current symptoms I’m having that my next option is oblation. I myself, am starting a low dose of anxiety medication because I’m good some days and not good at all on others. I’m sure I will also get added to another group such as hormonal imbalances, Adenomyosis sufferers, and others but I just wanted to offer, even though three years later after the original poster, my letting you know you aren’t alone. My brain fog is worse on days I have edema and the only thing I can figure is it has to be this Mirena IUD.