When will I finally Lose the Weight After Depo Provera?

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Replies

  • Jodsmission
    Jodsmission Posts: 130 Member
    Had a Depo shot March to stop ovarian cysts. Not only didn't stop the cysts but have been bleeding for 3 1/2 months straight. The doctor has given me a script for BC pills to stop the bleeding ,which will also cause weight gain, While I have lost in the last 4 months I have killed myself to do it and I have this bloated look to my stomach (almost look pregnant) I can't shake. Please someone tell me how much longer before this crap is fully out of my system? Will my weight change when it is?
  • Jojopepe
    Jojopepe Posts: 1
    I had Depo-Provera almost 20 years ago....I felt great while I was on it but only had 2 injections. When I went in for my 3rd I had gained 100 lbs in 6 months. As with you I thought it would come off but it did not. I have tried FOR YEARS to get this weight off. I am now on the HCG diet and am so happy to FINALLY be losing weight. It has been 16 days and I have lost 14 lbs.
  • TutuMom41
    TutuMom41 Posts: 278 Member
    Ugh! Started taking Depo Provera last May. Within months, I had already gained 15 pounds, but I didn't put it together that the Depo is what was causing my weight gain. I ended up having two more shots and gained a total of 50 pounds. I was about 3 pounds underweight before and now I'm 13 pounds overweight. I stopped getting the shots and hoped the weight would just come off, but it didn't. I exercise like crazy and eat a mostly vegan diet. I thought there must be something else wrong with me and had every blood test known to man done on me. All the labwork came back as 'normal' and I'm back to questioning if this could be because of depo. I finally am getting a normal cycle as of this month and have lost about 4 pounds in the past month or so. I have never had an issue with my weight. Am I finally turning a corner with my weight loss journey? Will the weight come off easily now? Advise from other would be very helpful!

    I have been on depo since I was a teenager. You have to eat the food to gain the weight. It is possible to loose on depo
    I also hope 3 lbs underweight is not your goal
  • AllieBear88
    AllieBear88 Posts: 170 Member
    I have been on Depo since August of 2011 and have lost 50+ lbs. It isn't the Depo that makes you gain weight, unless you already had a weight issue to begin with. Your doctor should have explained that to you. I still get the shot and am still losing weight.


    Every body is different. I wasn't hungry while on it at least three to four days a week. I gained weight. My acne worsened. My sex drive was GONE and I hated being anywhere near people.

    My best friend was on it and lost so much weight on it she was underweight and sick. Her sex drive was through the roof and she had no skin problems with it.
  • Berry2084
    Berry2084 Posts: 13 Member
    Quick update from me so I did come off the depo but mainly due to moving to a country where I can't get it haha.

    My last shot was in Aug 2013 and so far it appears to have made little difference to my weight loss. As it has been nearly a year I guess it wasn't the depo for me that was causing the weight gain, through increased appetite I just have a big appetite.....

    However I know everyone is different.

    Not sure I'd go back on it when I get home it takes a while to work its way out of my system which is annoying to say the least.
  • Jodsmission
    Jodsmission Posts: 130 Member
    I have been on depo since I was a teenager. You have to eat the food to gain the weight. It is possible to loose on depo
    I also hope 3 lbs underweight is not your goal
    [/quote]

    Its great that you have had a success story with Depo but to say you have to eat to gain is not true. You can hold water due to high hormone levels . Just because some people may have a good experience doesn't negate how many woman have horrible experiences on Depo.There is no question that I had to work twice as hard to lose while it was in my system and as I mentioned in previous post I bled for 3 1/2 months. Not spotting . bleeding. and when it left my system I had bleed so hard that I looked like I had lost a baby.
    Some people get rashes with penicillin some don't every body is different. You can't say you can't get a rash from peneicillin because I didn't .
    same priniciple.
  • stacey31
    stacey31 Posts: 1
    I started on Depo for the first time at the end of April 2014, I have since gained 8lbs, now am not saying I have been perfect in my eating habits but I haven't seen weight go on that quickly ever. So I started to research depo and checked the side affects and found that weight gain is common, so I've deicded to come off it, the 3 months is up today, hopefully over the next weeks/months I will see the weight come off, I've also started changing my diet to support the weight loss as well. so we will wait and see :)

    Side Note: I saw that someone mentioned weight gain to water rentention, well over the last week, I have been going to the loo at least every hour and sometimes up twice during the night, which is completely not like me, so I wondered if that was an affect of the depo wearing off, just a thought!
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I started on Depo for the first time at the end of April 2014, I have since gained 8lbs, now am not saying I have been perfect in my eating habits but I haven't seen weight go on that quickly ever. So I started to research depo and checked the side affects and found that weight gain is common, so I've deicded to come off it, the 3 months is up today, hopefully over the next weeks/months I will see the weight come off, I've also started changing my diet to support the weight loss as well. so we will wait and see :)

    Side Note: I saw that someone mentioned weight gain to water rentention, well over the last week, I have been going to the loo at least every hour and sometimes up twice during the night, which is completely not like me, so I wondered if that was an affect of the depo wearing off, just a thought!

    Weight gain has to be listed if any of the participants in the 5 clinical studies reported weight gain....any amount...even if they were not on a calorie controlled diet...this is the way trials work. Any symptoms that are "odd" must be report to the study leads and reported as possible side effects.
    There is a tendency for women to gain weight while on therapy with DEPO-PROVERA CI. From an initial average body weight of 136 lb, women who completed 1 year of therapy with DEPO-PROVERA CI gained an average of 5.4 lb. Women who completed 2 years of therapy gained an average of 8.1 lb.

    Women who completed 4 years gained an average of 13.8 lb. Women who completed 6 years gained an average of 16.5 lb. Two percent of women withdrew from a large-scale clinical trial because of excessive weight gain.

    http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/archives/fdaDrugInfo.cfm?archiveid=11565
    You may experience a weight gain while you are using DEPO-PROVERA Contraceptive Injection. About two-thirds of the women who used DEPO-PROVERA Contraceptive Injection in the clinical trials reported a weight gain of about 5 pounds during the first year of use. You may continue to gain weight after the first year. Women in one large study who used DEPO-PROVERA Contraceptive Injection for 2 years gained an average total of 8.1 pounds over those 2 years, or approximately 4 pounds per year. Women who continued for 4 years gained an average total of 13.8 pounds over those 4 years, or approximately 3.5 pounds per year. Women who continued for 6 years gained an average total of 16.5 pounds over those 6 years, or approximately 2.75 pounds per year.

    These are quotes from the clinical studies...

    But to be frank sounds like average weight gain of a woman who isn't watching calories...

    As for the other side effects there are warnings all over the clinical studies about who should and shouldn't be taking this particular method of BC...

    If you are counting calories and in an actual deficit you won't gain weight with depo...it's science.
  • twiggycmt
    twiggycmt Posts: 1 Member
    Hi this is actually my first post... felt like I had to say my story.
    So I had the injection about 3 years ago now. The first one I had gained crazy amount of weight in 3 months (about 14 pounds) .. plus my hormones were all over the place (sudden out burst of tears). At the time I didn't think of this weight gain and mood changes being down to the injection so I had my 2nd one only to be confronted with loads more weight gain (don't know exactly how much as I was to scared to weigh myself but at least 3 dress sizes) plus constant bleeding. So when my next injection was due I told nurse my symptoms and she said to do the 3rd one as it will all settle out once you have the 3rd injection. So I took the 3rd one and of course more weight gain as well constant bleeding/ mood swings. After that I thought no more, so I stopped the injections.. but then two weeks after I was due the next injection, the bleeding stopped and I didn't have period for about a year after!!
    Even now I am still struggling with weight. I eat very healthy (mostly raw) and exercise at least 4 times a week at the gym. I think it has messed up my metabolism for good. So please please please, anyone who is thinking of having it... just be careful after the first injection and you are showing negative symptoms.
  • Depo has stuffed my body, l have ran 8km 6 days a week since l was 22, lm now 36 and still running. l have put on 5 kg since having the shot for about a year, l felt like l was running for nothing, so l have stoped the shot. I have noticed that l have more energy after being off the shot for 3 weeks but l haven't lost any weight yet. This depo shot is very bad for your body and should never be taken for more than 1 year because it destroys bone density, 3 doctors have warned me about this. I was on the pill for 15 years and never had any weight gain. I have quit the shot not just because of weight gain but because l need strong bone density to raise my kids and run long distances. Good luck everyone and remember dont stay on depo for more than 12 months. I will never have it again and would never recommend it to my friends or family.
  • I also lost weight on the depo shot was on it for for almost a year but got off it cause I had my period for 8 months straight!!! After I got off the depo i started to gain weight im up 13 lbs!!! My body doesn't really look much different tho my measurements are pretty much the same!! Honestly weight is just a number as long as ur comfortable in ur body u should be fine!!! If u don't like the way u look then u can change it!!! Working out, getting ur body toned, working on getting rid of fat and gaining more lean muscle, those are all my goals!! And the only way to do that is by working out and eating healthy!! Which will eventually show the results u want!!!
  • I was recently on Depo for 6 months, so i only got 2 shots. I have gained over 30 pounds. I have stretch marks all over my body now and since a lot of the weight went to my breasts, i have serious back pain. I also experienced major stomach pains (I don't know if it is related or not). I've been off of the shot for only about 2 weeks now, but I've been insanely tired all of the time. I did switch back to my original birth control - Lo Loestrin - and i recommend it highly, especially in comparison to the Depo Provera shot. It has the lowest amount of hormones possible. If anybody has any information for me (how long it took you to lose the weight, if you know anything about my stomach pain and/or tiredness, etc), PLEASE let me know..
  • Also, I am a smaller frame and only 18 years old.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    I have been on Depo since August of 2011 and have lost 50+ lbs. It isn't the Depo that makes you gain weight, unless you already had a weight issue to begin with. Your doctor should have explained that to you. I still get the shot and am still losing weight.

    ^This^ The depo injection itself doesn't make you gain weight.

    What it does do though is increase your appetite, more food makes you gain weight, not the drug.

    Exactly. I've been on Depo for years. No weight gain, and no trouble losing. I am hungrier at certain points, especially the week before my shot, but I know its just the Depo and I adjust accordingly. If it makes you so hungry that you can't control your food intake, then it probably isn't the right BC for you.

    Right, and the fact that you're off the shot and are not losing weight, should be an indication of that. I've never been on Depo, but I recently went back on the NuvaRing, and my weight loss has actually accelerated.
  • Arkwoman1990
    Arkwoman1990 Posts: 7 Member
    Hi folks, want to share my story. I've been off the depo shot for about two and half yrs, i was on it for one year and during that year i gained about 20 pounds. Now i always weighed the same throughout my high school years and after i graduated, I wasn't active and ate what i want and didn't gain a pound. Now when i got on the depo, i started to gain weight and my ob gyn doctor was like its from your eating habits or its makes you hungrier and such which it didn't.

    Everyone's bodies is different and will react to birth control differently. Its been two years and i don't see this weight coming off.
  • Cjlaws43
    Cjlaws43 Posts: 2 Member
    I have been on depo since I was a teenager. You have to eat the food to gain the weight. It is possible to loose on depo
    I also hope 3 lbs underweight is not your goal[/quote]

    ^^^ That is not entirely true. I am very active, and very body conscious. I am on a nutrition plan. I exercise regularly. I am also a heath coach. And I've been on this shot for 7 months, and have gained around 25lbs with it, and I continue to gain. I'm assuming its water weight.

    Just because you didn't experience weight gain, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. Do not diminish the concerns of others . Everyone's body is different.
  • Cjlaws43
    Cjlaws43 Posts: 2 Member
    fatcity66 wrote: »
    I have been on Depo since August of 2011 and have lost 50+ lbs. It isn't the Depo that makes you gain weight, unless you already had a weight issue to begin with. Your doctor should have explained that to you. I still get the shot and am still losing weight.

    ^This^ The depo injection itself doesn't make you gain weight.

    What it does do though is increase your appetite, more food makes you gain weight, not the drug.

    Exactly. I've been on Depo for years. No weight gain, and no trouble losing. I am hungrier at certain points, especially the week before my shot, but I know its just the Depo and I adjust accordingly. If it makes you so hungry that you can't control your food intake, then it probably isn't the right BC for you.

    Right, and the fact that you're off the shot and are not losing weight, should be an indication of that. I've never been on Depo, but I recently went back on the NuvaRing, and my weight loss has actually accelerated.


    ^^ like I've stated, the depo DOES make women gain weight. Not all women, it depends on their body. Do not assume that she over eats, or "can't control herself". That is extremely rude, and judgmental.

    Its called "Water Retention".
    Certain bodies simulate a pregnancy, due to this shot. That could be a LARGE reason for the uncontrollable weight gain.

    I plan to get off of this BC, as I have gained 25+lbs in just 7 months. No matter my eating and exercise. I exercise regularly, and have a proper nutrition plan. So where is my fault in my weight gain?
    Please tell me?
    (Sarcasm)


  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    25 pounds of "water retention"...?

    Yeah.

    Good luck with that.
  • 1966spen
    1966spen Posts: 33 Member
    It is weird reading all these posts about depo. I have been on it for over 15 years. Absolutely no ill effects. In fact it stopped my monthly migraines and pains. Have gained and lost weight during that time. Not due to depo. Due to me eating too much! Losing again now at a steady rate. My bone density and overall health is excellent.
  • vannerbeth
    vannerbeth Posts: 2 Member
    I know this is an old post but I have been on depo for a little over a year now, and have gained 35 pounds. Before, I weighed 135 which wasn't optimal but even without exercising I hovered at this weight. I did not change my eating habits, I did not change how active I was, and I still gained all this weight. I am eating less than I used to, I even am working out which I didn't do before the shot. Guess what, I still am gaining weight! My boyfriend and I decided to work out together so that I would maybe feel more motivated, but I still gained weight while he lost it. He eats twice as much as I do, same food as I do, and he is losing weight while I gain. IT IS THE SHOT, stop making people feel guilty for gaining weight that is so rude. I am so excited for this shot to run its course so I can stop taking this horrible thing! I have tried so many things to lose weight. I used to have an eating disorder in high school and lost 30 pounds in two months, gaining weight in college was hard enough but I knew it was unhealthy to go three days without eating. Now that I weigh 170 pounds I want to kill myself, but I know that it isn't my fault and that when I get off it IT WILL GO AWAY. I came here to see how fast I could see results but all I see is rude *kitten* people trying to blame people for their weight gain. Every body reacts differently, and unless you are a doctor yourself shut up.
  • iw1llb3thin
    iw1llb3thin Posts: 1 Member
    vannerbeth wrote: »
    I know this is an old post but I have been on depo for a little over a year now, and have gained 35 pounds. Before, I weighed 135 which wasn't optimal but even without exercising I hovered at this weight. I did not change my eating habits, I did not change how active I was, and I still gained all this weight. I am eating less than I used to, I even am working out which I didn't do before the shot. Guess what, I still am gaining weight! My boyfriend and I decided to work out together so that I would maybe feel more motivated, but I still gained weight while he lost it. He eats twice as much as I do, same food as I do, and he is losing weight while I gain. IT IS THE SHOT, stop making people feel guilty for gaining weight that is so rude. I am so excited for this shot to run its course so I can stop taking this horrible thing! I have tried so many things to lose weight. I used to have an eating disorder in high school and lost 30 pounds in two months, gaining weight in college was hard enough but I knew it was unhealthy to go three days without eating. Now that I weigh 170 pounds I want to kill myself, but I know that it isn't my fault and that when I get off it IT WILL GO AWAY. I came here to see how fast I could see results but all I see is rude *kitten* people trying to blame people for their weight gain. Every body reacts differently, and unless you are a doctor yourself shut up.

    I'd like to hear how things go for you and if you're able to lose weight when you come off the shot. I too had an eating disorder in high school so realizing I've gained weight has always been extremely hard for me. I went on the depo shot August 2014 and only ever took one shot. I weighed myself the other day because I've been feeling a lot bigger lately and realized I'm up 9 pounds from when I took that first shot. And in the past year I've been eating healthy and exercising but haven't been able to lose any weight at all. Taking the shot was one of the worst decisions I've ever made.
  • nicholajaneryan
    nicholajaneryan Posts: 76 Member
    I'm glad I'm not alone! I had two depo shots since March, decided not to have the October shot as I'd gained 10-15lbs!
    Still waiting for the hormones to clear my system as I've not had a period since (although I bled almost constantly for the last two months while on it- hence wanting it to stop).
    I'm down about 5lbs now but fluctuations are all over the place.
  • pootle1972
    pootle1972 Posts: 579 Member
    Vicks1978 wrote: »
    I came off it a few years ago after becoming a psycho ***** on it.
    It took me about a year to get back to normal and for my periods to return.


    Me too....gained loads of weight and became a person I didn't recognise anger wise . ..bf TOLD me never to have it again.....6 years for periods to settle and weight ....don't get me started on how difficult it is to shift
  • kaylinmn613
    kaylinmn613 Posts: 2 Member
    jdleslie18 wrote: »
    Thanks, ladies! I'm getting so discouraged. I just want to make sure that nothing else is wrong with me. I think I'm convinced this is all Depo related. BTW, I was supposed to have my last shot November of 2012, so its been about 5 months. Does anyone who has lost weight after Depo remember the timing of when it became easier?

    I have been off the deposit shot for almost a year now. I was in it for a total of 6 years and never gained weight while I was on it but started putting on weight since I have been off of it! It seems to just keep piling on despite my efforts to eat healthy and exercise. I too never had a weight problem before the shot! It's so discouraging but I thought I'd let you know that if anything the weight gain has gotten worse over time.
  • calebsmommy15
    calebsmommy15 Posts: 1 Member
    This is an old post, and I'm not able to answer the original posters questions.

    But I saw the arguments and would like to comment something for future readers.

    I used to be on depo back in 2012, and went from 120lbs to 140. I quit the shot and switched to pills and dropped to 117 in about two months with little exercise.
    I forgot a pill and had a son this year. At my pp check up I was 150. I decided to go back to the shot to prevent another forgotten pill and wow mistake. Not only am I suffering from almost every side effect, including hair loss, water retention/bloating, 3 month period etc, i also have not been able to lose weight! After my pregnancy i weigher up to 175 (i do not soley blame this on the shot as my son was in the nicu and i was stress eating) but since july 2015 i have been doing intense exercising and eating healthy. And i still look bloated as ever and i have not lost any weight or measurements since september. Stuck at 164ish

    Just wanted to share backstory so people will understand that all bodies are different and while one girl may have no side effects at all, or even opposite of them, some girls do get bad side effects which is the reason they're listed as side effects for the product in the first place.

    Im not getting my next shot. Hopefully I will bounce back like last time lol (fingers crossed)
  • Emelie649
    Emelie649 Posts: 5 Member
    Hello, first post.. I've been looking up what happened to other women while trying to loose weight after the depo. My story is a little different so I just need some input I guess. So I got off of the depo about a month and a half ago. And i was on the depo for about five years and in the last six months I gained 40 pounds! Went from a size 1 to a size 9 in jeans. So its been rough. Also my face was breaking out and stretch marks everywhere. Feel better after getting off of it but.. The weight makes me feel terrible. I'm 17 and I realize it was because of a hormone change is why it all happened at once. I was just wondering if I'm the only one? And if not what happens next. :/

    Thanks,
    Emmy
  • HutchA12
    HutchA12 Posts: 279 Member
    edited January 2016
    If these shots just magic weight on to people I don't get why we don't use it to fight world hunger. Granted we would need to throw in some whey powder.
  • kyreestancil
    kyreestancil Posts: 1 Member
    So I was on Depo from August 2013 and my last shot was in November of 2015 so when it was time in January of 2016 I didn't get the shot. For the first year on depo I bled/spotted non stop but after that I never had a "period" for the rest of that time I was getting the doses. Over the course of me being on depo I went from a consistent 145 (at 18) to 176 (now at 21) at my largest this January. My Dr. switched me to lo loestrin fe and I have now lost 11 lbs doing absolutely nothing since Jan 27th when I started the pills. I hope this helps someone make a decision. This shot for sure makes you gain weight.
  • LydKris
    LydKris Posts: 1 Member
    Hello! I wanted to post on this board because it was one of the forums that I came across when I was dealing with Depo weight and like so many people, I felt hopeless. Even though most of the posts are from years ago, I know people today are still reading these posts trying to find solutions. I wanted to post my SUCCESS STORY that I think everyone will benefit from. I was normally 123/124 lbs, 32 years old and 5 6". I only received the depo shot once and gained so much weight in a matter of months. At my highest weight, I was 144 lbs. This was Feb, 2018. For over a year, I didn't know how to lose weight because I hadn't dealt with this much gain before and had always just gone up or down 5 lbs without trying. To those who say they workout and eat well and they weren't budging, I thought I was working out and eating right too. I thought If I just waited until the shot left my system, the weight would start falling off because my metabolism would bounce back, but it never did. Turns out, I probably wasn't eating as well as I thought and although working out is great, it can't counter a diet if you're not paying attention to the calories and trying to actually lose weight. So, being fed up and newly engaged, I downloaded an app to start tracking the calories I ate with a goal of 1200 calories a day (which was based on a calculator of my weight, height, etc, so this may not be the goal for everyone). After over a year of struggling and not budging on the scale, it's the calorie counting that finally got my weight falling. I'm 9 pounds down in 3-4 months (started at 141.2 when I weighed myself and now at 132.2). It's sort of a pain in the *kitten* to log in food every day, but the scale trending down every day and every week is what keeps me going. Hope this helps those who are reading this thread still!
  • heathercook03
    heathercook03 Posts: 1 Member
    I am 35 yrs old with a 13 yr old daughter and prior to this I was never on birth control because I was married for 15yrs and my husband recently passed away 2 yrs ago so since he passed and I don’t want anymore children I decided that if I was going to start dating again eventually I would put myself on birth control just or be safe, and prior to all this I was always a fit slim athletic build girl/woman even after I had my daughter I went right back to my size between 1-3 jeans, like I said I have never went on birth control but under the circumstances I made that choice and I choose the depo it was easier and more convenient for with my life and my schedule and I was on it for exactly 1 yr. before I went on I weighed about 130 and since then I have gained between 25 and 30 pounds and it went right to my belly and my love handles. I’m not used to being this size at all and since I stopped the shot months ago nothing has changed I haven’t dropped any weigh at all and I feel like it just not gonna come off. And it’s not like I want to be super skinny I just wanna be like 135-140 and I’m good with that. The weigh came on quickly but just won’t come off and even after I stopped the shot months ago nothing still at 155 which I was never that big in my life except while pregnant even after birth I bounced right back within wks of giving birth. Sometimes I regret choosing To go on bc or at least this type maybe I should have really weighed my options more, I just wanted to be smart and safe just in case I wanted to date eventually because I really don’t want anymore children and definitely not with anyone else. I was with my husband basically my whole adult life from 18-34 and my daughter is almost a teenager and I don’t want to start all over again raising a new baby, I’m already working and holding *kitten* down with her and I just don’t want to have kids with anyone else. I wish I would have done way more research and weighed my options better. Cause I don’t know how to lose this weight or if it will come off naturally