Question for females or a doctor

Depo-Provera can cause a number of side effects, including:

Irregular menstrual periods, or no periods at all
Headaches
Nervousness
Depression
Dizziness
Acne
Changes in appetite
Weight gain
Excessive growth of facial and body hair
Hair loss
Loss of bone mineral density

Just eat less calories than you burn
Do this by weighing ALL your solid food on a food scale and logging it ( counting)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

When you dont lose weight now you eat more than you think.

Excess calories cause weight gain. Some medications can make people feel hungrier, so if you don't count calories, you will gain weight. Some also cause you to retain water, which will up the number on the scale.

But no, the medication will not cause you to gain weight alone. It doesn't matter how many stories people tell about how they are a special snowflake and gained weight when they started it. Too many calories = weight gain. It's physics. You can argue with science, but the magical thing about that is you'll still be wrong, and the fact will still stand.

Many people do not calorie count, and gain weight during drug trials. They report it, and then it has to be listed as a side effect. I have done a few drug trials for lupus. Each time I went in, I had to report new symptoms, and those symptoms would end up as a side effect.


ETA You aren't losing weight because you are eating too much. It doesn't exactly matter what you eat, just how much. Get a food scale, measure out portions accurately.

My doctor told me the #1 side effect was weight gain. No thanks. I also had a bad experience with birth control in general that I took the pill (5 kinds!) and gained 40# and could NOT lose it!! Threw it in the garbage! Lost it eventually but was much faster to gain then lose. I went on again for cramps, gained it all back and have not been as resilient later in life.

I was on depo for 5 years. I was able to gain weight, lose it, gain it again, lose it again, and finally gain. I switched to Mirena because depo isn't recommended for more than 2 years use (due to bone density loss). I'm able to lose on Mirena as well. Depo is a huge surge of hormones so it can increase your appetite, thus leading to weight gain. CICO still applies though.

Wow thank you for this. Ive been on depo for well over two years! Is Mirena the injection too? R u in the uk? Will defo have a word with the nurse! X

Depo doesn't make you gain weight but it makes you ravenous. Everybody I've ever known gained 20 to 40 lbs on it. My nurse told me she alwayssss sees women gaining ugly amounts of weight on it. Skip it, go to Orals

A lot of girls I know that have gotten the depo shot has gained 5/10 pounds. I would chalk it up to increased appetite, so if you stick with you calorie limit you should be fine. My little sister has become a ravenous cavern since she started, so her weight gain is due to her eating more, not the birth control making her. Her gyno did tell her to expect about a five pound gain, but I'm chalking it up to appetite.

eyeofnewt555 wrote: »

Ignore everyone's semantics about "hormones don't cause weight gain, CICO does." A) hormones can directly cause significant water retention regardless of CICO, and Obviously unless you're a will power machine, having an increased appetite is going to make weight loss a lot harder. And it's hard enough as is.

You contradicted yourself here. Yes, water retention is definitely a factor and is going to vary in severity from person to person, but as far as CICO goes, it still applies. If you are more hungry due to the hormones, you are likely to eat more = more calories in. When I was on depo and trying to lose weight, I was always thinking about food, but had the willpower to ignore it. Obviously that willpower did not last the entire time I was on it, or my weight would not have yo-yoed like it did.

Believe me, I too was in denial that I was the cause of my weight gain. When I went in for my Mirena consultation I brought up difficulty losing weight and the doctor straight up told me that losing weight off the depo would probably be easier, but that it just came down to my diet. And she was 100% correct.

[quote="kaseyr1505;32349685

But no, the medication will not cause you to gain weight alone. It doesn't matter how many stories people tell about how they are a special snowflake and gained weight when they started it. Too many calories = weight gain. It's physics. You can argue with science, but the magical thing about that is you'll still be wrong, and the fact will still stand. [/quote]

I wonder where you get your "scientific" information from? Unless you are a fully qualified pharmacist, who keeps up to date with all drugs I don't believe you can comment on all meds. Particularly when most of your knowledge comes from being a guinea pig. In fact MANY drugs cause weight gain. Particularly meds that interrupt hormonal balance or serotonin/ dopamine. So before you be so damned snide, do a bit of reading.