depo shot

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xraychick77
xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I take the depo shot. i've been on it for about 2 years now. i used to be very in shape, muscle mass, run races etc etc. but last year I injured both my calves with a grade 2 strain. it put me out of commission for half a year. i tried running again when i thought it was healed..ya it wasnt. anyways. over that time period it was winter. i started having muscle aches and pains, weakness and chest pain, turns out i had a severe vit d deficiency. now thats fixed, but in all that i let myself go and gained 30 lbs. i have been trying my darndest to lose weight. i know how to lose weight and be in shape. thats not the problem. but no matter what i do, i cant seem to lose any weight. i eat about 1300-1400 cals a day. i am just getting back into light jogging (still scared for my calves). is the depo really that bad?

Replies

  • stagmania
    stagmania Posts: 6
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    I am also on the shot, and have been able to lose weight through reduced calorie intake (1200-1500 per day) and regular exercise. I'm sure the exercise is a big factor; I don't think I would be losing much without it. The depo shot does affect everyone differently, though, so if you're worried maybe talk to your doctor about it.
  • jumpyjavajawa
    jumpyjavajawa Posts: 36 Member
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    I was on depo for about 2 years before I stopped so we could get pregnant and then another year and a half after I gave birth. I was able to loose all by baby weight and more. I even lost some weight before I got pregnant while on depo.
    Part could have been I was one of the lucky "weight falls off when you breastfeed" women. But I also watched what I ate like a hawk so I could loose weight and maintain my supply.
    I switched to the patch recently because of some of the other side effects that I didn't like though.
  • stephylove321
    stephylove321 Posts: 32 Member
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    My close friend gained 30 lbs on the depo shot, when she got off it the weight kind of fell off. Now surprise, she's pregnant but still has a lower bodyfat %. If you can't lose weight with it you can look at other forms of birth control or non hormonal types. Just make sure you replace it if you get off.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    The first time I was on it, it wasn't so bad, or at least I didn't notice it being bad. I was a hair underweight when I went on it the first time, so I didn't care much that I gained. Plus, I attributed my gain to finally being able to eat normally after a time when I had wicked bad TMJ problems and couldn't chew. Maybe that wasn't it at all.

    This last time was horrible. I didn't gain all that much on it, only about 10 pounds, but that was in a short span of time (3 injections) and while doing everything I did to maintain my weight for nearly two years before. It's about 7 months since my last injection, and my periods are still all kinds of wonky and weight loss is ridiculously hard.

    I'm at the point now where I'm not even trying to lose, I'm just waiting it out and happy I'm not gaining, because when I eat at enough calorie deficit to lose, I feel like absolute crap and don't have the energy to work out the way I want. At the moment, I'd rather be a little heftier than I'd like to be and be energetic than try to lose and feel lousy.
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    I have taken depo for years, and have had no problem losing or keeping weight off. Depo does make some people hungrier, but in and of itself it cannot make you gain weight
  • Nicoleace22
    Nicoleace22 Posts: 32 Member
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    My friend was on it for years- She smelled really bad, gained about sixty ilbs, and always felt bad. She got off, got pregnant., lost the baby fat and the prievious sixty and doesn't smell anymore. I think it affects people differently. If you thinks its a factor swith, but give it a couple months before you see any change.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I have taken depo for years, and have had no problem losing or keeping weight off. Depo does make some people hungrier, but in and of itself it cannot make you gain weight

    I would have believed that, if I hadn't been maintaining my weight for over a year and a half before going back on depo, and hadn't been logging my calories and exercising the same after the depo. It's a little too coincidental to me that my TDEE apparently changed drastically, or I completely forgot how to exercise and log, at the same time I got those injections. :huh:

    It changes your bodies hormones. We all accept that men have different ratios of muscle and fat because their bodies have different hormones that women, so it only makes sense to me that changing the balance of our hormones can create other changes to our bodies.

    I'm not saying everyone has that effect, but not everyone is allergic to peanuts, either. I'm certainly not going to tell someone that their anaphylactic shock is all in their heads because I have no problem eating peanuts.
  • zackery2011
    zackery2011 Posts: 11
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    I gained weight from my pregnancy, but then began losing it. As soon as I got the shot the pounds piled on- and NO I wasn't eating a lot. The shot made me gain 65lbs in FOUR months! When I went to my obgyn he denied it was the shot. Then I started getting bad back pain, my feet swelled up so bad I couldn't fit any of my shoes. My feet hurt and turned blue. Chest pains as well. I was clueless as to what was wrong with me. Went to the ER they told me it was the Depo shot and to stop getting it. 2% of people have extreme side effects... welp I was one of them. Now I am 80lbs overweight due to baby and depo. They also say it takes 18 months to come out of your system. I cannot wait until that times. I am dieting, but its not decreasing my weight as fast as I like due to my thyroid. I don't think the shot is worth the risk- JUST IN CASE you are that 2%. I know the chances are low, but I wouldn't want what happened to me to happen to anyone.
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
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    Depo isn't for everyone...but in OP's case, I don't think it's really a case of the injections that's preventing her from losing weight. Too many variables described.
    I have been on depo most recently 2 years (tried two other forms before coming back to it after my son was born) and I have lost around 50 pounds this year. Last year I was breastfeeding and exercised but had a hard time losing so I put it off until I felt comfortable counting calories (weaning). As a plus I don't have the mood swings I had on other BC. I ate a net of 1500-1600 calories/day, in the beginning I had freebie food days while I learned what I was doing. This month has been a net of 1700 calories/day, eating back all exercise calories.

    OP, if depo doesn't work out for you, try other BC, but make sure you've checked other points in your life too. You really don't need exercise to lose weight; I ran a half marathon yesterday (my first ever) and I've had a ****ens of a time losing anything while training for that race--went from average .8/lb a week to less than .5/lb a week lost. And most days I had gained. It was water weight, my healing leg muscles. I still feel healthier, weight lost or no weight lost, I am stronger. Perhaps since you are recovering from injury, you could focus on strengthening yourself before worrying about losing weight?

    YMMV
  • amyg007
    amyg007 Posts: 52 Member
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    I know this is about the shot, but I just wanted to mention something. It seems that many of you are getting chest pain symptoms. I myself was on the pill for the last 13 years. I recently was getting chest pain and thought it was just stress from things going on in my life. Two weeks ago I went to the hospital with more severe pain. Turns out I have 2 small blood clots in my lung. They were caused by the pill. The pain did start in my leg which I thought was a muscle strain so I didn't go to the doctor right away. I had a scan and the blot came up negative, but at that point it was travelling up to my lungs. It was the scariest ordeal of my life. Please don't take the chest pains lightly. I am off the pill now and I am no longer able to take any form of birth control that has these hormones in them. I am not saying this will happen to everyone, but please be cautious.

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