DepoShot - Ladies

Listen to your body. As you can see from all the other posts, it works very well for some women and very terribly for others. It sounds to me like your body is telling you No.

Personally, I was on Depo for about 4.5 years and it had a very negative effect on me both physically and emotionally. The worst is that I was diagnosed with osteopenia (a precursor to osteoporosis) -- and I was only 23! I also lost hair, had severe mood swings, mild paranoia, and, in an unfairly cruel and ironic twist, experienced a severely lowered sex drive. (I was horrified to learn, later, that Depo is sometimes given to male sex offenders as a sort of chemical castration to kill sex drive.) I didn't gain any weight but then I was a heavy smoker at the time. I initially liked not having a period but as other posters have said, it can be freaky not having that monthly reassurance. Particularly when the paranoia and mood swings would hit: I would be convinced I was pregnant but had no way of knowing, short of a pregnancy test, which I wasted a lot of money on. That sort of makes me sound like a nut-job and to be honest it's true; I was not myself when I was on this drug. I was also sleepy for 100% of those 4.5 years.

I know it works wonderfully for some women, and I will say, it did a stellar job of keeping me pregnancy-free. ;-) But I must admit to being somewhat surprised that this is a drug that is still given to women.

Depo works well for some women; not so well for others. I've been on Depo for 13 years without a single negative side effect. It's been a miracle drug for me.

I agree! I've been on it for almost 14 and the only negative side effect my OBGYN has talked with me about is bone weaking/loss and to make sure I am taking extra calcium to help counter it. Other than that my weight has gone up and down over the years (which is why I'm using MFP) but I don't think that has to do with my birth control, but more to do do with my getting older, my less than active career, diet choices etc.

What I will say is it's not for everyone, which is why there are so many wonderful options available nowadays. I would talk to your Dr. about what best suits your lifestyle and needs etc.