I hate the depo provera shot!!

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lovinmamaxo
lovinmamaxo Posts: 368 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I got my 1st shot in November did wonderfully accept that i gained almost 20 lbs!! Then comes March i am not due for another shot until May and i've now been spotting for 3 WEEKS! I go from brown to light pink to a moderate period to brown again. It's bad enough at this second that i had to buy pads! I am not a happy camper. I am on it to prevent pregnancy and for my heavy periods.. but i would rather have 5 days of heavy bleeding than 3 weeks of this. Hubby agreed that i can get off of it so as of May i am not getting another shot. Anyone have similar experiences with this? Is it possible i have lost more weight than the scale is showing as well since i am bleeding on & off?
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Replies

  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I was on it when I was younger, and I think that in the first few months I went through some of that, but just know that it really wreaks havoc on your body. My period was wacky after I got off of it and has really never been the same which was just magnified even more when I had my son! Happy to hear that you are going to stop having it, you'll find something suitable :)
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    i hated depo !!

    research it on a medical website, not good for ya!
  • CallejaFairey
    CallejaFairey Posts: 391 Member
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    yeah, it took my body a little while to get used to it, and eventually i had no period at all. but after i stopped cause of my concern over the issue of it inhibiting calcium absorption, things got really bad. i have never been normal, but after stopping that, it was so bad i developed severe anemia. i am on the pill now, and it helps, but i sure wish i had never gone on depo to begin with. luckily...or unluckily :P i was overweight way before depo, so i don't think it actually caused any weight gain for me.
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
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    its been a dream for me since the begining love love love it. the most problem i can say is a small brief jump up on the scale that happens a day or two after , then can loses in the next couple . retained water i am thinking

    get maybe some very light brownish show for 1 day maybe twice a year
  • l3xii
    l3xii Posts: 160
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    i hated depo !!

    research it on a medical website, not good for ya!
    me too i gained so much weight :(
  • hellenyork
    hellenyork Posts: 19
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    I didn't really pay attention to any weight gain when I started getting the shot because I was fat and just didn't care if I got any fatter at that point. I've been on it for 3 years now and the only problem I have with it is the spotting. At first, like you, it was off and on for a number of weeks. After I got my second or third shot it leveled itself out.

    The only problem I have with spotting now is if I wait until the very last minute to get my shot. As long as I get it in the 2 weeks before it's due, I don't have any problems at all.

    Sorry for all the problems your having!
  • trixylewis
    trixylewis Posts: 197 Member
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    the nuvaring works great for me!
  • lovinmamaxo
    lovinmamaxo Posts: 368 Member
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    yeah, it took my body a little while to get used to it, and eventually i had no period at all. but after i stopped cause of my concern over the issue of it inhibiting calcium absorption, things got really bad. i have never been normal, but after stopping that, it was so bad i developed severe anemia. i am on the pill now, and it helps, but i sure wish i had never gone on depo to begin with. luckily...or unluckily :P i was overweight way before depo, so i don't think it actually caused any weight gain for me.

    I heard it was bad from several people and didn't listen! I wanted a non estrogen BC due to my weight and increased risk with things like blood clots, etc. I though the depo was the way to go. For almost 5 months i had no period and no spotting then this pops up out of the blue after 6 months almost passes i don't get it. I did read the depo can cause bone loss but my doctor said not to worry about that short term.. even though my blood work came back very bad and i am vitamin D deficient as well. My levels for vitamin D were 10 which i guess is very bad! So i am taking vitamin D pills and i am anemic as well so i am on iron pills... this 3 weeks of bleeding won't help that issue.
  • elvb
    elvb Posts: 423 Member
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    I went on the shot in August last year, around the time I started on this website. I started it to get rid of the pain my periods were causing. I stopped bleeding entirely for the first 3-4 months. Then I started to add exercise to my plan here. Within a week I started spotting every other day or so. I didn't mind the bleeding/spotting as long as the cramps didn't come again.

    I'm going on my 4th shot in a couple of weeks.
    The ONLY complaint I have is that my cramps seem to have come back. I'm not sure this has to do with the shot though. I think I'm actually doing it to myself. I stopped exercising regularly for about a month - only doing something once a week or so and nothing drastic - and it seems when I do exercise again, the cramps start.

    For me, the shot has saved me from removing my uterus (the pain is that bad). But if fixing my exercise regimen doesn't make the cramps go away, I may have to do it anyway. :(

    Oh and as you can see by my ticker, I didn't gain weigh while being on it. :) I may have been able to lose MORE if I wasn't on it, but I'm okay with that.
  • ANeWcRe8N
    ANeWcRe8N Posts: 1,180 Member
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    I was on the depo when I was younger for about a year.. I didnt really know the side effects and all that but realized after that year that I had gained so much weight with it and I stopped getting it. After some time being on it I didnt have a period for about 5 months which was great for me :happy: but at the same time I would always worry what if Im prego and dont know but glad to be off any type of birth control.. I now have my tubes clipped so much better for me cause Im done having kiddos anyways :laugh:
  • pixietoes
    pixietoes Posts: 1,591 Member
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    If you want a non-chemical solution for birth control, why not consider the IUD? You have it inserted once and you're good for 10 years. There are NO chemicals messing with your period or your weight loss. And if you decide you do want to get pregnant it can be removed in a 15 minute appointment and you're good to go right away.
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
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    I never gained weight on it,but it seriously screwed me up.I never had cramps before I went on that and since I was on it i have really bad cramps everytime and its been 10 years since I was on it.not only that but when I stoped it i didnt get a pierod for a year and a half
  • angelastates
    angelastates Posts: 19
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    I quit the shot last year in May. I have gained about 80 pounds and I was only on it for a year and a half. My body is still out of whack.
  • theresnoeggs
    theresnoeggs Posts: 188 Member
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    HATED Depo! I was ONLY on it long enough for 2 shots and gained 60 lbs. :/ I have YET to get back to the weight I was at when I started that damn BC...
    Only positive for me was absolutely no period.

    Now, I have the Mirena IUD, and LOVE it!
  • comiclady24
    comiclady24 Posts: 25
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    I hated it too!! Made me gain weight like crazy. Pill is much better, screw the shot!!
  • perrytyra
    perrytyra Posts: 357 Member
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    When I was younger a friend of mine(who was always in good shape) gained 5 pounds each time she got another shot. I tried it myself, but it was so long ago, I can't remember what side effects I got. I only did it once or twice. I moved out to the country, and my car broke down. We moved back closer to town, and decided to just not use birth control anymore, and now I have my lovely 4th child. I am happy with that. I decided to just get my tubes tied after her because I was not willing to use any other option.

    I have always heard that it causes weight gain, but I thought I read somewhere recently that it is not true. Tell that to all the women gaining weight on it.
  • roqoru
    roqoru Posts: 31 Member
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    I did it back in 2006, and gained 50 lbs. I then went to IUD because it was more permanent, with fewer side effects and no remembering anything. But because I have not had any children, it kept slipping. I use the Ring now and it's working wonders.

    I wish doctors would explain to women, when they get the shot, that weight gain is nearly a given, and at enormous rates. I was on the shot for less than a year and I gained that much. It was ridiculous.
  • Bridgetc140
    Bridgetc140 Posts: 405 Member
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    I have never had the Depo shot, but I have heard several women say that they have gained weight while on it. I was always too afraid for the simple fact that some get their period for the entire 3 months.......EEK! The pill...you can stop taking, the IUD....you can have taken out, the patch...you can stop wearing...........but with the shot...you're stuck with the side effects for at least 3 months. Yikes!! I hope you find your old self after the side effects wear off. Good luck!
  • BandMom2
    BandMom2 Posts: 64
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    the nuvaring works great for me!

    I LOVE the Nuvaring, been on it for five years now, my (.) last about 12hours, no cramps, no mood swings (a least not enough for the family to tell) So easy to use !!!!
  • ivyjbres
    ivyjbres Posts: 612 Member
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    Yeah, I had one shot as a preventative measure to make sure I couldn't get pregnant between having my son and getting my IUD six weeks later. I bled for 6 months straight! I had to go on the pill to counteract depo and stop the bleeding. Even though you get the shot every three months, that doesn't mean that its out of your system when you quit taking it. It stays in your system for a year, just not at levels that are effective at preventing pregnancy. I asked my OB about the bleeding at 3 months, and that's when she prescribed the pill instead of the deop, it still took 3 months on the pill for the bleeding to stop. I don't know how long it took for me to feel "normal."

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