*Ladies ONLY* The Depo

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balfonso
balfonso Posts: 370 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was just thinking this morning of all the reasons how I gained the extra weight over the years and failed to realise that perhaps part of the reason was because I am on the Depo injection. A contraceptive injection taken every 11/12 weeks.

I have been taking it for so long (a good few years....maybe eight) that it's actually slipped my mind that this could also be the reason why I am losing weight so slowly. I've been so used to taking this 3 monthly injection and have been enjoying the zero TOM.

Now that I've come to realise that it has totaled up to eight years, I wonder how this will affect me when I finally do decide to come off it.

I'm not due for an injection for another 3 weeks, but now re-reading articles on it, I'm starting to wonder if I should really come off it...? Yes, I'm aware of the side effects but it hasn't bothered me so much now, just the weight gain.

But with every woman out there who has taken it, my weight gain over the 8 years hasn't been "too dramatic". I have gained probably a total of 13 pounds since I started. Now that I'm trying to lose it, it's taking even longer than most who aren't on any contraceptive pill or injection.

Since starting MFP, I have lost 3kg, but the question is now, do I stop the Depo or continue it but still carry on this new "healthy lifestyle" alongside it?



Anyone else taking Depo but changing their lifestyle, and how has this worked for you?

Replies

  • bellanean
    bellanean Posts: 220
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    I was just thinking this morning of all the reasons how I gained the extra weight over the years and failed to realise that perhaps part of the reason was because I am on the Depo injection. A contraceptive injection taken every 11/12 weeks.

    I have been taking it for so long (a good few years....maybe eight) that it's actually slipped my mind that this could also be the reason why I am losing weight so slowly. I've been so used to taking this 3 monthly injection and have been enjoying the zero TOM.

    Now that I've come to realise that it has totaled up to eight years, I wonder how this will affect me when I finally do decide to come off it.

    I'm not due for an injection for another 3 weeks, but now re-reading articles on it, I'm starting to wonder if I should really come off it...? Yes, I'm aware of the side effects but it hasn't bothered me so much now, just the weight gain.

    But with every woman out there who has taken it, my weight gain over the 8 years hasn't been "too dramatic". I have gained probably a total of 13 pounds since I started. Now that I'm trying to lose it, it's taking even longer than most who aren't on any contraceptive pill or injection.

    Since starting MFP, I have lost 3kg, but the question is now, do I stop the Depo or continue it but still carry on this new "healthy lifestyle" alongside it?



    Anyone else taking Depo but changing their lifestyle, and how has this worked for you?

    The depo just doesnt make you gain weight, it makes you hungry so you naturally eat more without noticing it. I asked my doctor about this, seeing as I am trying to lose weight and I have been on if for about 3 years now and I didnt want to slow down my process.

    i never gained weight from it, she said all it does is make you hungry and thats how people gain the weight, usually when your hungry, you eat more and therefore your gaining weight.

    Honestly I love not having the TOM and Im scared to go off it. lol
  • dawn_eichert
    dawn_eichert Posts: 487 Member
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    I would suggest having an open and honest dialogue with your dr. Discuss the pros and cons and then make an informed decision. I haven't taken the shot so I don't know anything about it (tied my tubes after kids so not an issue) so I can't help you there but use your dr as a partner in your weight loss journey. Every dr I have ever talked to would rather be part of it and ensure you do the healthy choice.

    Good luck and keep up the losses...
  • aerobicgirl
    aerobicgirl Posts: 354 Member
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    actually i stopped taking a birth control 2 mths ago and my weight hasn't changed and am actually getting back on the depo next month. i really think it is how you eat and exercise. you may have just hit a plateau, i would try changing your eating habits a little and maybe a little longer or challenging exercise. after eight years of taking the depo and dont think i would consider that as being the problem, after a couple of months your body should adjust to the depo. although this it just my opinion. but good luck.
  • jdsouthernbelle
    jdsouthernbelle Posts: 274
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    I was on the Depo shot for 3 years and I gained over 100lbs on it! It was gradually so I didn't notice really, but my Dr. did and took me off of it immediately.

    I am now on Mirena and still don't have TOM.....and now I am trying to undo all that weight gain from Depo.

    I would suggest getting off Depo ASAP and trying something else.
  • foxxybrown
    foxxybrown Posts: 838 Member
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    Years ago when I was deciding on a birth control method, the nurse practitioner adamantly suggested that I not get on Depo because of the potential of gaining weight. She told me I could expect about 8lbs a year! So I took her advice and went with regular oral contraceptives. I'm on Seasonique now with only 4 periods a year and they don't seem to affect my appetite.
  • Mirlyn
    Mirlyn Posts: 256
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    I think with most medications everybody's body will react different depending on your personal chemical makeup. I started depo when I graduated high school. I was on it for a year. I gained 80lbs over the course of that year, going from 120's to 200's. I did not eat right but I didn't change my eating habits from the year before nor did my activity level change. I've been around the 200 mark ever since and also was diagnosed with PCOS. Before depo, my periods were regular and I had no PCOS symptoms. When I stopped depo, I went without a period for an entire year and had extreme irregularity with cycles ever since. I've convinced myself that the large dose of hormones was not good for my body and triggered an imbalance in my hormone levels causing cysts on my ovaries which in turn kept my hormones out of whack and thus the PCOS. There's no studies supporting my theory but the fertility specialist that diagnosed my PCOS said my theory had a lot of merit and she wouldn't doubt it could have happened just as I described.

    So um after ranting about my own scenario I guess long story short? I think that depo can absolutely make you hold onto your weight if that's how your body wants to react to it.
  • dore0021
    dore0021 Posts: 137
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    I took depo for 7 years. The only reason I gained weight is because I quit exercising (figure skating full time) and kept eating the same food.
    I gain weight regardless of what birth control I'm on or not on if I'm not making healthy choices.
    Yes, talk to your doctor. But I believe it's all about our lifestyle choices, though the hormones do influence our choices ;-)
    The only reason I stopped taking it was the osteoporosis risks. I don't drink /consume far enough dairy products and depo is known to reduce bone density no weight related reasons. Hope that helps!
  • sherry_80
    sherry_80 Posts: 86 Member
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    Depo was the last attempt i did for birth control, and the ob told me that it affects your bones at a certain age, i think she said 35 i dont remeber. I forgot what exactly but i only i did it once because i feel sick afterwards and i gained weight, She also told me the weight gain is because it makes u hungry and its up to you to control cravings. so ended up with the other version of mirena, the one with out the hormones. i forgot what its called
  • autumn130
    autumn130 Posts: 48
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    I lost a lot of weight my senior year of high school. I was doing great but a year later I decided to get on the Depo... Worst decision I ever made!!!! Not having a TOM was great but I would rather have had 2 every month then be stuck with the weight I gained... I have never been able to get back to where I was... not even close.
    When I expressed this to my doctor (he was male) he said it was all in my head and that BC does not affect your weight... he was a jerk. Since then I have done some research and found the opposite. It absolutely CAN affect it. But it doesn't always. Everyones body is different.
    I will say that when my sister was on it she gained weight as well, but when she got off she was able to get back in shape. (Our bodies are totally different)

    Good luck!
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
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    Very interesting that this was brought up, as I am meeting with my doctor to change BC on Monday. I am on Yasmine, have been for 4 years now, and have "suffered from gall-bladder failure". So, I decided it's time to get off the BC that caused my gall bladder to fail. Before going on Yasmine 4 years ago, I was on the shot for 4 years. As soon as I went off the shot and on Yasmine I gained about 15 lbs within 6 months... Not sure if it had to do with my lifestyle changes as I went from a somewhat active job to a desk job, but I was wondering if changing BC would have any effect on my weight. If anything, I'm hoping it will help me let go of these last few pounds, but I'm not getting my hopes up because I do believe that it's probably just dependant on how the BC effects your HUNGER rather than your metabolism...
  • raykie2003
    raykie2003 Posts: 1
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    I also was on Depo for 8 years. My OBGYN said that any birth control that contains hormones will have some weight gain associated with it (some minimal..some not so minimal).

    That being said, I also gained weight over the eight years I had depo but I was three weeks late in getting my depo (almost three years ago now) and..well..now my DH and I have a beautiful 2 year old!...see side pic :laugh:

    So be very careful if you do go off of it and follow up with another type of contraceptive.

    After the birth of my little girl, my OBGYN put me on Mirena IUD and I love it!!
  • spike1380
    spike1380 Posts: 82
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    I just have to say that it's irritating to hear about so many people having no TOM with Depo. I was one of the very very small percentage who doesn't have that side effect. In fact, I was the reverse and had my period every single friggen day for the entire 6 months I was on depo, and then for an additional 2 months after I got off it.

    I didn't gain or lose weight while I was on it for those 6 months. Actually, that was probably the most stable my weight has ever been.
  • balfonso
    balfonso Posts: 370 Member
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    I just have to say that it's irritating to hear about so many people having no TOM with Depo. I was one of the very very small percentage who doesn't have that side effect. In fact, I was the reverse and had my period every single friggen day for the entire 6 months I was on depo, and then for an additional 2 months after I got off it.

    I didn't gain or lose weight while I was on it for those 6 months. Actually, that was probably the most stable my weight has ever been.

    That DID happen to me for the first few months when I started and the doc/nurse told me to come back 10/11 weeks rather than 12 which worked and I stopped "spotting" everyday.


    Well thank you everyone for your advices. I will ask doc/nurse at the Family Planning for other alternatives. :smile:
  • spike1380
    spike1380 Posts: 82
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    I could have dealt with spotting. I was getting full on flow. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. I'm the person who takes the pill to get my period down to 7 or 8 days instead of 2-3 weeks.
  • melodyg
    melodyg Posts: 1,423 Member
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    I was just thinking this morning of all the reasons how I gained the extra weight over the years and failed to realise that perhaps part of the reason was because I am on the Depo injection. A contraceptive injection taken every 11/12 weeks.

    I have been taking it for so long (a good few years....maybe eight) that it's actually slipped my mind that this could also be the reason why I am losing weight so slowly. I've been so used to taking this 3 monthly injection and have been enjoying the zero TOM.

    Now that I've come to realise that it has totaled up to eight years, I wonder how this will affect me when I finally do decide to come off it.

    I'm not due for an injection for another 3 weeks, but now re-reading articles on it, I'm starting to wonder if I should really come off it...? Yes, I'm aware of the side effects but it hasn't bothered me so much now, just the weight gain.

    But with every woman out there who has taken it, my weight gain over the 8 years hasn't been "too dramatic". I have gained probably a total of 13 pounds since I started. Now that I'm trying to lose it, it's taking even longer than most who aren't on any contraceptive pill or injection.

    Since starting MFP, I have lost 3kg, but the question is now, do I stop the Depo or continue it but still carry on this new "healthy lifestyle" alongside it?



    Anyone else taking Depo but changing their lifestyle, and how has this worked for you?

    The depo just doesnt make you gain weight, it makes you hungry so you naturally eat more without noticing it. I asked my doctor about this, seeing as I am trying to lose weight and I have been on if for about 3 years now and I didnt want to slow down my process.

    i never gained weight from it, she said all it does is make you hungry and thats how people gain the weight, usually when your hungry, you eat more and therefore your gaining weight.

    Honestly I love not having the TOM and Im scared to go off it. lol

    I'd believe that except MY doctor (ages ago) told me the same thing about birth control pills. Guess what is cited as a drug that can lead to weight gain now?

    Anyway... I had enough problems from taking birth control pills that I never considered taking Depo. I would think that 13 pounds in 7 years is not due to the shot and that if you are comfortable taking Depo for other reasons I wouldn't stop just because of weight issues. I'd talk with your doctor about your plans for the next few years to see what your options are.
  • rjcherek2
    rjcherek2 Posts: 26 Member
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    I was on depo shot for 8 years.. I did not notice any weight gain with it. I gained weight, because I did not watch what I ate. I was on it, and did Weight Watchers and lost 60 lbs like nothing. Although everybody is different, but this is just my perspective.

    I recently got off of if, due to other problems, and switched to the pill. I had no problems/spotting anything, it just easied into it smoothly.. I think i got my TOM into my 3rd cycle of the pill....
  • circusmom
    circusmom Posts: 662 Member
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    I was on Depo about.......13 yrs ago(???) I was only on for 1 yr and gained about 10lbs, and the pounds didn't start to pack on till after my 2nd or 3rd injection, it was towards the end on the 12 months that I was on it.

    After saying something to my Dr she confirmed that "Yes, Depo can cause weight gain, more for some than others." I also never had a period, which at the time didn't bother me at all, one less thing to worry about!

    It took about 6 months for my cycle to start again and about another 6 months for it to get regulated, on top of that it took about 6 months for me to lose the weight I had put on during this time.

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