Depo provera and weight loss?

24

Replies

  • heatherc369
    heatherc369 Posts: 1,555 Member
    I have had no negative effect in the 20 years I have been on it, as a matter of fact I gained all my weight after my doc said I needed to take a break from it (7 years ago) and I kept forgetting to take my pill so I got pregnant and couldnt loose the weight for the life of me...my son is now 6 adn I am FINALLY close to goal and back on depo
  • DaisyHamilton
    DaisyHamilton Posts: 575 Member
    I gained like 20lb and it gave me mood swings and a period that lasted 7 weeks. Also it sucks the calcium from your bones so make sure you're taking a vitamin.

    But as long as you're careful with how you're eating, you'll be fine. I lost the 20lb I gained after a few months. It just made me really hungry so I ate all the time.
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
    Hi, just to reassure you further I too have been on depo for around 10-12years, I lost around 2 stone, have kept it off and have no adverse side effects. If anything, not having a period each month means I can exercise more freely and burn more calories as a result.
  • lgoldfarb
    lgoldfarb Posts: 76 Member
    My dr took me off of it. He explained to me that depo keeps on any weight you gain and it's harder to lose that weight gain, especially in the belly area. I had my last shot 10 months ago and have yet to restart my cycle. I'm hoping that once my cycle returns the weight will come off easier.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    lgoldfarb wrote: »
    My dr took me off of it. He explained to me that depo keeps on any weight you gain and it's harder to lose that weight gain, especially in the belly area. I had my last shot 10 months ago and have yet to restart my cycle. I'm hoping that once my cycle returns the weight will come off easier.

    you need a new doctor...the only thing that can cause it to be harder to lose is eating more than you need to lose....
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    lgoldfarb wrote: »
    My dr took me off of it. He explained to me that depo keeps on any weight you gain and it's harder to lose that weight gain, especially in the belly area. I had my last shot 10 months ago and have yet to restart my cycle. I'm hoping that once my cycle returns the weight will come off easier.

    you need a new doctor...the only thing that can cause it to be harder to lose is eating more than you need to lose....

    I agree. Weight gain is listed as a "potential side effect" simply because some women gain weight while using Depo or any other hormonal birth control. That doesn't mean the bc caused it. Your body can't make extra fat if you don't give it the materials to do so. You need a doc who doesn't believe everything they're told without considering context.
  • NotGnarly
    NotGnarly Posts: 137 Member
    I had 2 shots of depo in 1999 and gained about 40ish pounds. This was long before calorie counting and websites like mfp came about. Heck I think it might of been before the Internet became widely available. I never had a weight problem before depo and would eat what I wanted. Depo made me super hungry but never ever having to count cals in the past I didn't realize how much it had increased my appetite. Been struggling with my weight ever since.

    My sister on the other hand lost a lot of weight on depo but she had her period non stop. Today if you are on depo you have more tools available to you when it comes to not gaining but for some of us those tools weren't available years ago. Good luck.
  • NotGnarly
    NotGnarly Posts: 137 Member
    Oh and might I add that I'm a raw vegan now and the weight is coming off. I personally believe that depo can screw your body up and as a matter of fact I never had hypoglycemia until depo. A lot of people think that just ignoring the hunger caused by depo will work but not if it causes your blood sugar to crash. Your body is demanding those extra cals for a reason. I personally wouldn't recommend depo or anything that can stay in your system long term. Sometimes it can take years after stopping depo in order to get pregnant or back to normal.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    NotGnarly wrote: »
    Oh and might I add that I'm a raw vegan now and the weight is coming off. I personally believe that depo can screw your body up and as a matter of fact I never had hypoglycemia until depo. A lot of people think that just ignoring the hunger caused by depo will work but not if it causes your blood sugar to crash. Your body is demanding those extra cals for a reason. I personally wouldn't recommend depo or anything that can stay in your system long term. Sometimes it can take years after stopping depo in order to get pregnant or back to normal.

    good thing it's just a personal belief and not a fact.

    the side effect of depo is actually "increased appetite" not hunger...and most people don't know the difference.

    and I read once where a women had POD but couldn't take metaforim for it due to hypoglycemia and they used depo instead...go figure.
  • ldowdesw
    ldowdesw Posts: 222 Member
    Hi, I've been on the depo for 6 years and my sister has just come off after 23 years.. For me my weight gain is due to over eating and I don't blame the depo for any increase. It has tamed my pmt from 'wild raging beast' to perfectly tolerable. Pmt was my motivation for having it initially, I'm losing weight slowly and steadily. I would rather be obese than have the horrendous pmt that I have suffered since 11 years old.. I wish you all the best and I do hope it works well for you. Any consolation my sister is a very slender 9st 2lb and she didn't gain with it either. Xx
  • NotGnarly
    NotGnarly Posts: 137 Member
    It's a fact for me sweetheart and I don't need your validation to share my story. Increased appetite leads to increased hunger. You're basically validating my point. Still my story stands true. No research can undermine my personal experience. Depo increases appetite, which in turn increased hunger. Hunger happens when you don't feed your increased appetite. Still I am free to share my personal experience with the op. If you don't like it then feel free to skip over my personal experience with depo.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    NotGnarly wrote: »
    It's a fact for me sweetheart and I don't need your validation to share my story. Increased appetite leads to increased hunger. You're basically validating my point. Still my story stands true. No research can undermine my personal experience. Depo increases appetite, which in turn increased hunger. Hunger happens when you don't feed your increased appetite. Still I am free to share my personal experience with the op. If you don't like it then feel free to skip over my personal experience with depo.

    see mistaken appetite for hunger.

    appetite = desire to eat
    hunger = requirement to eat

    appetite cannot increase hunger lack of food does that and based on what I see you didn't have lack of hunger due to weight gain.

    personal experience is one thing but using that the discourage the use of a very viable birth control method seems a bit obtuse to me...correlation vs causation...your experience is correlation...doesn't mean diddly in the large scheme of things...

    and as part of this forum I can express that...and if you don't like it you can put me on ignore.
  • NotGnarly
    NotGnarly Posts: 137 Member
    Like I said it increased my appetite (desire to eat) which in turn increased my " need/requirement to eat"because it caused hypoglycemia. When blood sugar is low you have to eat. I don't need your validation or approval to post my story about my personal experience with depo. Not sure why you think my story is discouraging her when I am openly speaking about my experience. Why the hell are you so concerned with my depo story? Do you work for them? I've clarified a million times that it's my personal experience. Me thinks you are just hangry and wanting to start a debate over nothing lol.

    I don't have to put you on ignore. What are you the forum police? Lol. I can share MY PERSONAL experience all day long and the original poster is free to make her own choice. It doesn't bother me one bit either way. Depo even backs up my claim of it increasing appetite and weight. Depo is validating my story whether you like it or not. Stop being so hangry about my personal story.
  • NotGnarly
    NotGnarly Posts: 137 Member
    Haha you find my story discouraging because I'm sharing my personal story about how depo was bad for my health. Not sure why me being open and honest about some of the negative experiences I have had with depo would warrant such combativeness. Heck I even said my sister lost weight but she did have a non stop period for years while on it. I guess the drug companies just like the food industry sends its shill to forums to attack anyone who speaks out negatively about their product.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    anyway...*rolls eyes* someone had their cereal pissed in.

    I am not hangry...I eat lots of food and lose my weight even on depo.

    and depo does not validate that it causes hypoglocemia...period otherwise it wouldn't be used to treat people with POD and hypoglocemia.

    You go ahead and share your personal experience but don't go spouting "beliefs" as fact as they are not.

    otherwise you get called out for the BS that it is.

    I just have issues with grown "adults" looking for an excuse for not losing weight or gaining when in fact it's all them putting too much food in their mouths...

    and no increased appetite does not lead to increased hunger...wow...appetite <>hunger.
    must be your hypoglocemia kicking in to be so upset someone is calling you out on something you are so sure is "truth"...but won't argue and derail the thread any longer...

    I don't need to prove I am right...science.
  • KombuchaKat
    KombuchaKat Posts: 134 Member
    edited April 2016
    I've never been on depo but I was on the pill for many years. I stopped all hormonal birth control about this time last year due to multiple issues, fatigue, hair loss, anxiety/depression, etc. Over time any form of hormonal birth control will mess with your system. I realize that this does not answer your question but personally I wish that I could go back in time and never start that stuff. The decision is ultimately yours but there are other options like the fertility awareness method FAM and of course, condoms. One thing I learned from reading a book called "The Period Repair Manual" is that for women most of our serotonin is created in the first part of our cycle. End the cycle, end a huge part of your serotonin production, which is why so many women on hormonal birth control end up depressed and anxious and have to take antidepressants. Rather than stop what is causing the problem doctors tend to just start prescribing pills.

    Women can no longer afford to separate their reproductive health from their overall health. Your body's primal functions do not care if you want a baby or not. The pill and other hormonal birth control had their day, and were important at the time for feminism and women's rights. And certainly it is, and should remain, your right to take them if you wish. But it should also be your right to be completely informed on the side effects and other options.
  • KombuchaKat
    KombuchaKat Posts: 134 Member
    Checking to see if this convo might have been locked by MFP admin. I wrote something additional and now it's not here. Maybe it was a computer glitch...but I'm going to check back to see if this is here later. I would be extremely unhappy if this convo got blocked since I do not think anyone has said anything that terrible and it is generating some meaningful discussion about women's health. Reproductive health IS related to overall health, for both men and women, and IS relevant to weight loss, body comp, all of the things this site is supposed to help with.
  • KombuchaKat
    KombuchaKat Posts: 134 Member
    NotGnarly wrote: »
    Haha you find my story discouraging because I'm sharing my personal story about how depo was bad for my health. Not sure why me being open and honest about some of the negative experiences I have had with depo would warrant such combativeness. Heck I even said my sister lost weight but she did have a non stop period for years while on it. I guess the drug companies just like the food industry sends its shill to forums to attack anyone who speaks out negatively about their product.

    Writing this again, hopefully will not be deleted. It took 15 years for the damage from hormonal birth control to accumulate for me. It does not always happen immediately. Over time it reduces your good gut bacteria, messes with your neurotransmitters...I could go on but there are lots of resources online you can check out for this. I totally agree with NotGnarly, think about the fact that the drug companies make millions of dollars off a drug sold to HEALTHY people! Then, on top of that, they get to sell you other drugs to deal with the side effects, all the while you are being told it is safe. Does that make sense?!
  • erinc5
    erinc5 Posts: 329 Member
    KombuchaKat wrote: »
    NotGnarly wrote: »
    Haha you find my story discouraging because I'm sharing my personal story about how depo was bad for my health. Not sure why me being open and honest about some of the negative experiences I have had with depo would warrant such combativeness. Heck I even said my sister lost weight but she did have a non stop period for years while on it. I guess the drug companies just like the food industry sends its shill to forums to attack anyone who speaks out negatively about their product.

    Writing this again, hopefully will not be deleted. It took 15 years for the damage from hormonal birth control to accumulate for me. It does not always happen immediately. Over time it reduces your good gut bacteria, messes with your neurotransmitters...I could go on but there are lots of resources online you can check out for this. I totally agree with NotGnarly, think about the fact that the drug companies make millions of dollars off a drug sold to HEALTHY people! Then, on top of that, they get to sell you other drugs to deal with the side effects, all the while you are being told it is safe. Does that make sense?!

    Pros and cons to everything. Pregnancy causes a lot of side effects, too - one of them being approx. 18 years of a freeloader taking up your time, money, emotions, etc... And lets not forget the toll being pregnant takes on your body, okay.
  • jenm9499
    jenm9499 Posts: 5 Member
    I haven't been on depo but just stopped using a progesterone only mini pill (depo is progesterone as well) and dropped almost 5 pounds in a week. Im guessing that was retained water as I was bloated the entire time I took the pill no matter how much water I drank. I also agree that it increases the appetite 10 fold along with some other not so pleasant side effects. Hormonal birth control just sucks and that's why my hubby and I have agreed that he will get the big V instead. I definitely think every woman responds differently but for me (and many others) this just isn't worth it.

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