Women who are using or have used Depo Provera

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innocenceportrayed
innocenceportrayed Posts: 569 Member
in Chit-Chat
I had tests back in February to try to figure out what the hell is wrong with my stomach and pelvic region, I will go weeks and be fine then for 4-5 days I will have such severe pain I'm crying and writhing on the couch. The doctors could find NOTHING, after blood work and scans, NOTHING. Obviously, there's SOMETHING. They said I could have pelvic inflammatory disease but there's no definitive test for it.

I am currently on depo and have been for almost 2 years (I go to the health department so they only allow 2 years of it... my last shot would be in october) but I honestly think after reading many peoples testimonies and similar symptoms that I do not have PID it is infact due to this stupid shot.

Don't get me wrong, I love not having a period, it's awesome, but at the cost of my health, I'm not so sure.
I've been on and off of birth control since I got a period so....almost 13 years now and I think it's time to come off of it for a while and try to let my body regulate on it's own. I was on it to begin with because my period came with some really intense cramps, like screaming in pain cramps, wanting morphine cramps, and yes birth control took those cramps and dulled them and hell depo completely took them away except for the random 4-5 days every few weeks where they decide to all come back and once and gang up on me like a demon spawn from hell.

I have a feeling once I come off of it, I'll drop the weight I gained over the past almost 2 years on it too. I'd never gained with birth control before this one.

Anyone else have similar symptoms or stories?
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  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
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    Sorry, no. I thought the shot was awesome. I was on it 5 years without any problems. As soon as I went off it I went on BC pills and had a normal cycle the first month, then I went off the pills and had a normal cycle the first month. The only side effect that I didn't like was that it reduced libido... so a birth control in more than one way :laugh:
  • innocenceportrayed
    innocenceportrayed Posts: 569 Member
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    Definitely have a problem with reduced libido, my poor boyfriend has put up with me telling him no too often for almost 2 years.

    I know it works differently for everyone and for the first 8 months to a year I was fine with no symptoms besides the libido at all, but now...I don't know.

    I'm glad you had a better experience than me!!
  • tallulahthunderbird
    tallulahthunderbird Posts: 138 Member
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    Depo made me gain a ton of weight and screwed up my hormones badly.
  • xvxCelticWandererxvx
    xvxCelticWandererxvx Posts: 2,890 Member
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    After having my oldest, by my six week checkup I was down all my weight with a flat, tight tummy. At my six week checkup, the doc gave me the depo shot. Within four weeks, I weight more than when I delivered my son. My hormones were messed up beyond belief! It brought on so much pain and continued problems!! One shot is all it took and I was not the same person.
  • innocenceportrayed
    innocenceportrayed Posts: 569 Member
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    I've had 6 shots, so I can only imagine how much my body is screaming at me to stop. I've heard so many mixed things on it though. Some people swear its the best birth control ever and for a while I'd of agreed with them, but now, I'm kind of leaning towards it should be banned from use except for in the help with endometriosis.
  • Ashkea76
    Ashkea76 Posts: 7,151 Member
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    hmmm....I had Depo Shots for years... though my doctor recommended I quit them after I'd been on them for so long after having my boys. Using an IUD now, and has pretty much the same things I loved about Depo- no periods for the most part (now that I've had it for more than 2 years) it will last for 5 years.....loving it though...
  • oregonzoo
    oregonzoo Posts: 4,251 Member
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    I've been on Depo for two years. LOVE it.
    When I started I gained about 10 lbs... and honestly I have not lost that weight(no have I really gained more).

    NO decreased libido AT ALL. May have increased, honestly.

    But that's just me and how it affects my body. If your body is telling you go to off of it, do so.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Depo is the devil. I knew enough about it to never, ever go on it. My current OB/GYN won't even prescribe it.

    I've never heard of this specific issue, but it wouldn't surprise me.
  • onwarddownward
    onwarddownward Posts: 1,683 Member
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    I had it and had seventeen weeks of nonstop bleeding until they put me on hormone therapy to reverse it. Never again. Still, even that beat being pregnant.
  • innocenceportrayed
    innocenceportrayed Posts: 569 Member
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    I've honestly never talked to so many people who didn't have complications. I know when she read me the side effects of what could happen before I started it, I thought it was a little long and apparently some odd 40% of users have issues with it, I'm glad other people find it great. Maybe it's just me being too worried and my pelvic pain has nothing to do with it. Some people complain of infertility after long use of birth control too and I think that worries me because I've been on some form of birth control since I was 10.
  • innocenceportrayed
    innocenceportrayed Posts: 569 Member
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    Depo is the devil. I knew enough about it to never, ever go on it. My current OB/GYN won't even prescribe it.

    I've never heard of this specific issue, but it wouldn't surprise me.

    Both my gyno and my NP said it wouldn't bother me that I was perfectly healthy and i shouldn't have any side effects. I WAS perfectly healthy. . . .
  • innocenceportrayed
    innocenceportrayed Posts: 569 Member
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    I had it and had seventeen weeks of nonstop bleeding until they put me on hormone therapy to reverse it. Never again. Still, even that beat being pregnant.

    Oh god that's terrible! When I first started getting my period, I'd get it for about a month straight fairly heavy too and then not have it for 2-3 months and then get it for a month again but 17 weeks is a bit much. /)_(\ I'm so sorry.
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
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    i loved being on depo and implanon. i had very few bad side effects. I don't know if your symptoms are due to the bc or not.
    Do your research, figure out what type of birth control you'll be using now, if not on some type of pill form.
    http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/ovulation_calendar.html?gclid=CNbYhM2YwrMCFUZgMgodXTcACg#
    learn as much as you can about your individual cycle, and how the cycle works.
    Just do as much research as you can. so you're prepared, and have back up methods ready.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Depo is the devil. I knew enough about it to never, ever go on it. My current OB/GYN won't even prescribe it.

    I've never heard of this specific issue, but it wouldn't surprise me.

    Both my gyno and my NP said it wouldn't bother me that I was perfectly healthy and i shouldn't have any side effects. I WAS perfectly healthy. . . .
    My best friend was on it and she had lumps in her breasts (benign, thankfully), extreme bone density loss and went into menopause when she was 27 all due to the shot. She didn't want to go off it, though, because the one positive side effect she had was that she got really thin and could eat anything.

    I know MANY women (including my best friend) who had multiple miscarriages after going off of it. A nursing student told me years ago (though I've never been able to find this study anywhere else, so keep that in mind) that the uteruses of rats on Depo were disintegrating due to the shot.

    40% of women on it have the most severe side effects. Still a minority, but that's a big percentage.
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
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    I've honestly never talked to so many people who didn't have complications. I know when she read me the side effects of what could happen before I started it, I thought it was a little long and apparently some odd 40% of users have issues with it, I'm glad other people find it great. Maybe it's just me being too worried and my pelvic pain has nothing to do with it. Some people complain of infertility after long use of birth control too and I think that worries me because I've been on some form of birth control since I was 10.

    this is an unfounded fear. there are infections that cause infertility, but bc like depo is simply giving your body the hormones like progesterone. which is also found in pregnant women. what ever the method is,it tells your body not to send out eggs, or makes it harder for the sperm to get to the egg, and so on. as long as it's a short term method, you can get pregnant the next month, or on the shot, as soon as your window has expired. I've experienced this personally, be prepared.

    http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/birth-control-shot-depo-provera-4242.htm
    How Does the Birth Control Shot Work?
    Like other methods of birth control, the birth control shot releases a hormone — progestin — into the body. Hormones are chemicals made in our bodies. They control how different parts of our bodies work.

    The progestin in the shot works by

    Keeping eggs from leaving the ovaries. Pregnancy cannot happen if there is no egg to join the sperm.
    Making cervical mucus thicker. This keeps sperm from getting to the eggs.
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
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    Depo is the devil. I knew enough about it to never, ever go on it. My current OB/GYN won't even prescribe it.

    I've never heard of this specific issue, but it wouldn't surprise me.

    Both my gyno and my NP said it wouldn't bother me that I was perfectly healthy and i shouldn't have any side effects. I WAS perfectly healthy. . . .
    My best friend was on it and she had lumps in her breasts (benign, thankfully), extreme bone density loss and went into menopause when she was 27 all due to the shot. She didn't want to go off it, though, because the one positive side effect she had was that she got really thin and could eat anything.

    I know MANY women (including my best friend) who had multiple miscarriages after going off of it. A nursing student told me years ago (though I've never been able to find this study anywhere else, so keep that in mind) that the uteruses of rats on Depo were disintegrating due to the shot.

    40% of women on it have the most severe side effects. Still a minority, but that's a big percentage.

    they warn you every appt from day 1 to either take more calicum or eat calcium rich foods to prevent the bone density loss,
    this is not news.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    they warn you every appt from day 1 to either take more calicum or eat calcium rich foods to prevent the bone density loss,
    this is not news.

    Never said it was news. However, you assume that actually prevents the bone density loss. Not to mention that there is a myriad of other side effects from that crap that taking calcium supplements won't help or have any chance of preventing.
  • innocenceportrayed
    innocenceportrayed Posts: 569 Member
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    Depo is the devil. I knew enough about it to never, ever go on it. My current OB/GYN won't even prescribe it.

    I've never heard of this specific issue, but it wouldn't surprise me.

    Both my gyno and my NP said it wouldn't bother me that I was perfectly healthy and i shouldn't have any side effects. I WAS perfectly healthy. . . .
    My best friend was on it and she had lumps in her breasts (benign, thankfully), extreme bone density loss and went into menopause when she was 27 all due to the shot. She didn't want to go off it, though, because the one positive side effect she had was that she got really thin and could eat anything.

    I know MANY women (including my best friend) who had multiple miscarriages after going off of it. A nursing student told me years ago (though I've never been able to find this study anywhere else, so keep that in mind) that the uteruses of rats on Depo were disintegrating due to the shot.

    40% of women on it have the most severe side effects. Still a minority, but that's a big percentage.

    I could only assume that the rats uteruses would be gross, think about it, you don't get a period so all that leftover blood and eggs are still in there, they're just not being used. After 2+ years of that, ew.

    I've been on calcium pills to lower the chance of lowered bone density and I doubt that's an issue because I take 2 calcium pills a day plus drink tons of milk and eat lots of cheese. I think i'm good there.

    I know how the shot works whoever said that, I was well educated on it before I went on it and my symptoms/issues weren't reported although the nurse said new ones are being discovered all the time. And whoever said to research birth control methods...I have, I have a list of them which ones I will use and which I wont and right now if I get off it, I wont be going on another method for at least 6 months because I feel my body needs some good old TLC and no hormone replacements. I'll be using condoms and nothing else. I want my body to go back to how it should be--medicine free if possible.
  • brutalbug
    brutalbug Posts: 6
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    I love depo provera. I've managed to go from ~137 pounds down to 111 while on it, which elated me. The periods and terrible side effects are gone. I get pretty severe stomach pains just after my shot but nothing like my period where I would be consistently vomiting everything I tried to eat, had migraines, was suicidal, was violent, etc. I'm also the tiniest bit moody just after my shot and of course there's injection site soreness but all in all entirely worth it. I only spotted during my first dose. I'm used to pain and everything has pros and cons. If the cons outweigh the pros then definitely get off of it.
  • innocenceportrayed
    innocenceportrayed Posts: 569 Member
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    I'm glad it worked for you, sounds like it worked awesomely for you!

    I haven't really made a pro con list because the con is so big i think it would outweigh any of the pros. I'm not due for my next shot for 3 weeks and I woke up today spotting, I just don't think it's working for me anymore and of course the rest of the crap that has been happening.

    I started it at 140 pounds, I'm currently 157, that's a lot. I used to be crazy active and i dont want to make an excuse and say oh the shot made me lazy but that's how I feel, like I have no energy to do anything, I have to make myself get up and go for a run it's not like I used to just get up and willingly go for a run.

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