Depo Provera weight gain

PrincessBelle2 wrote: »

My gyno told me that the shot DOES NOT cause weight gain, but can increase appetite, which causes weight gain. I chose not to get on the shot, but the pill instead for other reasons. My little sister, however, went with the shot and did, in fact, gain 20 pounds in six months. However, she was also eating whole family sized bags of chips, entire boxes of macaroni, and huge fast food meals 1-2 times a day. She became a basket case of emotions and ate to soothe them. The shot can't make you gain weight if you eating at, or below your maintenance calories. The shot can increase your hunger, but it can't "make" you gain weight unless you chose to eat more than you need.

I seriously don't want to get into an argument, but did you read my post at all, or read any of the actual medical information available? I do track, and I track everything. Exercise, calorie intake, macros. I am not overeating nor am I eating junk. I've still gained on the shot, and never before gained as a result of a new form of birth control (and I've been on various types of BC for twenty years).

Please have your gynecologist refer to the official Pfizer site, the 2009 study on Depo, etc. If your BF% is 30 or lower and you are beginning Depo, you stand a higher chance of gaining early (within 6 months) and continuing to gain during use. It's linked to body fat. The drug lives in fat cells, and is harder to get rid of at lower BF% since your body clings to a certain, healthy amount of those cells even during periods of attempted weight loss. Lower BF% at the beginning means it's more likely that the drug is living in the fat cells your body is retaining.

This would infer that it is the DRUG, not necessarily overeating, causing prolonged gains in that percentage of the user population. This isn't to say some people don't overeat. I'm sure they do.

"DMPA users whose weight increased by 5 percent within the first six months of use, called "early gainers," are at risk of continued, excessive weight gain...the early gainers averaged weight gain of 24 pounds over three years."

I won't be responding to any other parts of this conversation, but the original point stands: yes, some women might eat more or eat unhealthily as a result of the chemicals in the shot. I don't. I still gained and am fighting to lose it.