Depo Provera Shot

I had weight gain problems on the Depo shot as well. I would definitely not recommend it at all. My sister did the birth control patch for a while and really liked it. I have always taken the pill (aside from when I tried the Depo) and have found it very effective. I had two different friends who tried the Norplant, and both of them came down with endometriosis. Then I had another friend who swore by the IUD, but she didn't have bad cramps before she got it put in, so if you regularly cramp very bad, I wouldn't recommend that.

Hi M.,

I am SO sorry to hear about those awful side effects. I was actually on my way to the doc to get the Depo shot a few years ago, when a friend told me about acne and weight gain. So I cancelled that appt and ended up getting the Mirena IUD instead. I've had it in for almost 2 years with no few side effects. Really the only negative thing was when I first got it, I bled for a month. But after that, my body regulated itself to normal. I'm told that if we want to conceive again, it is easily removed and my body should be ready.

Good luck.

P.

All that you have descrbed could be side affects from the depo shot. I had taken the shot but only experianced the bleeding. That lasted until the shot was out of my system which could take 6 to 13 months. My advice would be not to get the shot again, and maybe look into the "non-hormonal" IUD. It is said to not have any hormones which is usually what causes spotting and iregular bleeding and also weight gain. Hope it works out.

I used the Depo shot once after my son was born. I was fine for the first month. During the second month I had my period for 15 days. then after one week I started my period again, but this time it lasted for 28 days. By then I had gained at least 5 lbs. But felt week from being so iron deficient. I didn't go back for another shot.

I had a bad experience with the depo shot too. I had bleeding for 9 months straight. They kept telling me it would stop but it never did. I always felt exhausted and didn't want to do anything. I had severe migraines as well. Pretty miserable time for me. I did know other women who took it without any problems. But I was not that lucky. I have now settled with the iud. I love it. No hormones, it works great and I feel great. Good luck to you in your search for the right birth control.

Dear M.,
I have never had the Depo shot but I have worked in the pharmacy industry for over 20 years and I think the Depo shot is not the most ideal form of birth control. Our bodies were meant to have periods every month and it is not "normal" for us not to have one. If you and your husband are not sure if you want more children or do not have an idea when you will want more, perhaps you should ask your Dr. about an IUD. I have the Copper T IUD and it works wonderfully. Sperm are allergic to copper and when they come in contact with it, they die instantly. It is very effective and no there are no hormones involved. If and when you are ready to have a baby it is easily removable. If more kids are not in the future it is good for 10 years. I am sure there are websites out there to better inform you. I hope this helped. Good Luck.
~ L.

Oh my gosh get off it asap! I was on lunelle (sp), which is very similar, back in 2002. My body has never been the same! I ended up bleeding for 75 days in a row, and almost dieing. I put on a bunch of weight I still haven't been able to take off, and my periods are now 16-18 days long! The worst part is that now it looks like I can't get pregnant. Check out sites on the internet about it. Just type in Depo Provera and read what other women have gone through.

Hi M.-
I haven't personally taken depo and the main reason is that I once had a boyfriend who's mom was a nurse and she told me that depo is a drug that is given to anorexic women to force them to gain weight! I am not overweight, but certainly don't want to gain so I always stuck with the good ol' pill. There are lots of options when it comes to the pill and your doctor can help you with those. After I am done having children I will go for the IUD. Good luck!

I too cannot take any birth control that has any hormones in them. The side affect are so intense that it makes my quality of life miserable. I have the non hormonal IUD and love it. I had it implanted after my youngest son was born (about 4 years ago) and have had hardly any side effects. Cramping the day it was implanted and PMS cramps every few months. I would definitely recommend asking your doctor about it.

Hi M.,

Ask your doctor about Norplant. Five 1" tiny tubes that have a time release birth control, which are inserted under the upper arm. Lasts for over 5 years. I had that and there were no side affects for me.

I will pass your request on to my 22 year old daughter in WA. She is taking Depro Provera.

Be Blessed!
C.

I took the Depo shot years ago and had a terrible time with it. I spotted the entire time I was on it and gained a lot of weight. I also had several friends that had uncontollable weight gain with it. I will never take it again!

I also have tried the Depo Shot, I had no problems with it the first time I tried it. Then a year after my son was born I tried the shot again, I then gained some weight. Currently I am on the Nuva Ring, I love it!! I've been using the ring for almost 4 years. I have had no side effects, and you only have to remember to remove it one time a month then place a new one it a week later.

Hope this helps, good luck.

Hi M.,

I dont use depo or any form of oral contraceptive. Personally, I am against putting anything synthetic like that in my body. A few yrs. ago I was taking oral contraceptives and I felt so strange after a few days I stopped and have refused taking them ever since.

I personally know someone who took depo for years and gained weight uncontrollably. Now she is so heavy that she can't loose it. She is too big to effectively work out and loose any of it. Kind of scary.

But of course, each persons chemistry is different and every person will have a different experience. I personally don't feel that I am a good candidate for these birth control methods. You have to do what you think is right for you and your body. There are other forms of birth control out there. IUD, condoms, spermicides.

All the best!

You know I am on the Nuvaring, and both me and husband love it. I have no side affectes, and it is of to take with my Zoloft. You can look it up in a serch engen, and do some reserch. Good luck!

My experience was BAD! I haven't met anyone else who has had a terrible experience with it. I have bad reactions to most birth control, so my husband stepped up and had a vasectomy. (We are done having kids) I feel your pain though. I never had cramping during pms, now after depo I do. My skin was clear as a sunny day, with an occasional blemish now and then. I started breaking out more and more after taking it. Not regular blemishes either. I still get the hard cyst like acne at times. I bled more while taking it as well. The weight gain was horrible for me (like other birth controls, but worse) I also found myself VERY depressed. I got the shot 3 times in total, and finally switched to NuvaRing. I wasn't on that long, before my husband had his surgery. So I don't know if that was different, but I know that the depo stayed in my system for a long while. I finally started losing weight about 6-9 months after I stopped. I hope you find something that works for you, but with the experience you are having, I would look into something else and talk with your dr. Have you heard of Mirena? I haven't met anyone with it, but it's something else to think about. GOOD LUCK!

I have never taken the shot personally. However, My best friend and cousin have . My cousin loved it. She never had a period and had no side effects until she got off the shot to have a baby. The doctors told her that the shot weakened her uterus and she miscarried 4 times before she was able to successfully concieve.

My best friend started the shot right after she got married cause she and her husband wanted to wait to start a family. She put on about 60 pounds was always broke out(acne) and started battling bouts of deppression. The worst part is that because of the shot she will never be able to have children now.

These are only two that I know of in detail and there were a couple of other women that I met in passing that had complications from the shot.Mostly in the form of endemetriosis (spelled something like this) I would say stay away from it.

Hi, I was on the depo shot for about a year and had all of the same symptoms and then after being on the shot for one year (without a period), I bled for about 2 months straight! I am now using the NuvaRing which is amazing! I have virtually no side effects and it is so easy to use~I love it! I hope this helped! Good luck!

When we first got married, I got the depo shot. What a mistake! I gained 45 pounds in the first three months. I was angry all the time and had no motivation to do anything but fight. It was hard to even get out of bed somedays. So I switched to the pill. That was just as bad, but at least the weight gain stopped. So we decided to go with the condom method, because both of us hated the hormone therapy and my reactions to them.

We just recently had our first child and my nurse midwife suggested a non-hormone IUD. It is a short in office procedure to insert and is good for 10 years. It can be removed at anytime when you wish to try for another child. For us, this was perfect, because it meant no more condoms and no hormones.

Good luck and I hope you find something that works for you!

Hey M.,

My name is S. and I used Depo Provera for 3 years after I had my son. I didn't gain a lot of weight, but I did have some major emotional effect from it. I had terrible mood swings and depression the 3 years that I used it. The spotting for me lasted the whole first year. After that 4th dose, the spotting stopped completely and I was menstral cycle free for the duration of the depo usage. The side effects you are experiencing with the face breakouts could mean that you have an allergic reaction to some substance in the depo provera. I would consult your ob/gyn about this. Unfortunately, I don't have any great advice of what other forms of BC to use - after the depo I was too scared to try anything else. GOOD LUCK!!

I got the shot one time, and I had a non-stop period for 3 months. Never will do it again. The OrthoTriCyclene pill works great for me!

I tried "the pill" but it affected my moods. After my 4th and final child I had an IUD put in and it has been wonderful. I've had absolutely no adverse side effects, my sex life is better, because I don't worry about getting pregnant and I don't feel any different--Physically or emotionally. If you are not done having children I would recommend the IUD that still allows you to have your monthly cycle. Good luck!

I had the shot once, with all of the symptoms that you mentioned as well as uncontrollable mood swings. Unlike you my period stopped and didn't come back for over a year and that was with only one shot. I also had a miscarriage after getting off the depo and I think that it had something to do with the shot. In all experiences that I have heard from friends and family they have all had very bad experiences with the depo.

Hi M., I am a Registered Nurse for an OB/GYN doctor's office. The Depo Provera can cause the side effects that you are talking about, ESPECIALLY the weight gain and spotting/break through bleeding. I gained 7 pounds after my first shot and I never got the second one! I would take a look at getting a Mirena IUD, if you are not planning on getting pregnant in the next year or two, otherwise, there are methods such as Nuva Ring, which our patients seem to like.
Good luck!
S.

Hello I am soooo sorry you are having such a hard time. I also had the Depo shot and hated it, but only because it did not work for me. I was at the beginning of my 3rd month and found out I was Prego.(Now I wonder what was really in that shot!) I have since gone to the newer form of IUD and love it. I don’t have periods or mood swings and so far over 4 years later, still no problems. Hope everything works out for you! Good Luck!!

I never took the shot - but never did well on the "pill" either. So, after our first baby I asked about the Mirena IUD and absolutely love it. I hardly ever had a period and my PMS was lessened. After our second baby I opted to have my tubes tided (had a c-section) and kind of wish I still had the IUD - my PMS symtoms are really bad. I really liked the IUD because it was good for five years and was easily inserted (the cramping of a pap smear) and easily taken out (five second procedure). Never knew it was there. Good luck to you!

ugh depo provera shot was bad for me...i had it after i had my first born..i gained 40 pounds in two months, had just WEIRD dreams, depression, mood swings and haven't had a regular period/cycle since...that was almost 8 years ago...i had to take fertility meds to get preg with my second child and even though i didn't have regular cycles (still don't)i managed to get pregnant with my third and final w/o even trying. incidentally i found out during my third pregnancy i had thyroid cancer..so yeah..having played sports my entire life and playing volleyball in college..i know how to get into shape..i was walking 3 miles a day and eating healthy but was still not able to lose any weight....depo was just a bad awful thing for me. and apparently has been bad for a lot of other people..google depo provera and some of your symptoms and you'll pull up some sites filled with negative testimonials..you'll be surprised at how many experience the same things you are experiencing.

you're supposed to be able to file reactions with the FDA regarding depo and any other birth control..i reported it to my ob/gyn but he wasn't convinced it was the shot..funny cause i was just fine when i was on the pill *rolls eyes*

You might want to talk to your doctor about non-hormonal forms of birth control like the diaphragm or the IUD- the kind without hormones.
For a lot of women it's the hormoes in the BC that cause the acne and exacerbate feelings of depression, anxiety, and paranoia.
You can also look into natural family planning and charting your cycle. In order for NFP to be effective you need to chart your symptoms, temperature and other things. Here's a report on it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17282285/

A few good sites for more info are Taking Charge of You Fertility www.tgoyf.com and mymonthlycycles.com
There are a few others- just do a web search for fertility tracking or natural family planning.

Good Luck
M.

I was on the depo shot for 7 years and weight gain is one of the side effects of being on the shot. I gained approximately 50-60 pounds during my time of being on the shot. I also noticed that towards the end of being on the shot that I had horrible "charlie horses" in my leg which were so painful they woke me up in the middle of the night. After I got off of the shot the pain went away and I did not gain anymore weight. The depo has a lot of side effects because it is a synthetic hormone. If given the choice I would not choose depo again. Also, spotting is a side effect you have to be on the shot for up to a year in order to get to the point where you don't bleed at all.

I am so sorry for the trouble you are having. Maybe your reaction is allergic in nature? You should probably discuss it with you doctor! I had a good experience with the depo-shot. I was on it for 5 years and during that time I only spotted the first three months; after that I never had a period. I loved it. I used to joke with my friends, never mind prozac, try the depo-shot! I no longer had the roller-coaster of emotions/hormones, that I normally got from my monthly periods. I felt the same all the time, straight as an arrow. I had a hard time with the pill, so I loved the shot. I did notice with the shot that I had an increase in headaches. I'm not even sure if the headaches were from the shot? It could've been stress. Also, are you in your 30's? A lot of people get hit with adult acne at that time. Just something to keep in mind. Do what feels right for you! Good luck with everything!