What side effects have you had?

Slingnmom · #1 (**permalink**) 02-18-2005, 12:40 AM

Depo-Provera has many side effects, especially when you are coming off of it. What ones have you had and which ones have impacted you the most?

Do you think you will ever try Depo-Provera again?

toeandmel · #2 (**permalink**) 02-18-2005, 10:56 PM

I voted constant bleeding, increases headache, mood swings. I'm not sure about the prego symptoms or weightgain/loss.

toeandmel · #3 (**permalink**) 02-18-2005, 11:05 PM

I hit enter before i was done. No, i will never use depo again.

Slingnmom · #4 (**permalink**) 02-18-2005, 11:45 PM

Originally Posted by toeandmel

I'm not sure about the prego symptoms or weightgain/loss.

Many women will have pregnancy type symptoms like tender breasts, excessive acne, cramping and even nausea,but mainly the tender breasts.

as for the weight gain or loss, rarely have women lost weight while on depo-provera the majority will gain and many have significantly gained weight like 30-50 pounds or more and because depo is synthetic and places out bodies into a menopausal like state we have an extra hard time getting rid of the extra weight.

http://www.myvag.net/birthcontrol/depo/
Because it contains no estrogen, the shot is sometimes touted as having fewer side effects than the birth control pill (no estrogen-provoked migraines, for example). However, it can have more of the progesterone-related side effects that are counteracted by estrogen in combination pills (weight gain, acne, loss of bone density, etc.). It is also delivered in significantly higher doses. Whatever the side effects turn out to be, they last for 3 months or more. It can take over 6 months for the hormones to be completely flushed from the body after the last shot, and longer than that to become pregnant after stopping the shot. There is no antidote or reversal except waiting for the hormone to dissipate.

HTH

ladkins · #5 (**permalink**) 02-21-2005, 11:11 AM

I voted for quite a few of the same.........definitely had amenhorrea (sp?) for the 5 years that I was on Depo. Singe getting off in 2002 - I had no period until December 2003 (the whole year we were waiting for it to clear out of my system so we could TTC). Then I started bleeding and wouldn't stop so I had to do Provera at certain times of the month to try to regulate things out. This didn't seem to help either and I had horrible mood swings from it so I decided to quit that and just have periods back to back until everything regulated out. In October 2004 my dr finally agreed to do some testing and found that I wasn't ovulating (surprise!) so I am currently on my 4th round of clomid to stimulate ovulation .... the first two did not make me O - last month for the first time in well over 2 years since stopping depo I did!

Slingnmom · #6 (**permalink**) 02-21-2005, 01:27 PM

Congrats on your first O Leslie!

toeandmel · #7 (**permalink**) 02-21-2005, 11:09 PM

Yes, congrats on your 1st O!

ladkins · #8 (**permalink**) 02-24-2005, 12:20 PM

Thanks!! hopin to get a second one in a few days and maybe catch this eggie!