Depo-Provera: asking the FDA to investigate
- kris19417
- blankens87
- julesred
- mandab81
- cat128
- julesred
- vahajojo
- johnsonrc
- judgejud
- johnsonrc
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» kris19417 - Let's be realistic about Depo
Believe me I know what some women are going through. I was on Depo for 4 years and i came off of it when my husband and I decided to have a baby. I came off of it in June '05 and a year and half later I am still not pregnant. Do I blame Depo? I guess to some degree I do. But regardless of how much our doctors told us about Depo before they gave it to us, the one thing 99% of us knew is that you don't get pregnant because "IT STOPS YOU FROM OVULATING!" We can all sit around and blame everyone else for not telling us all the other side effects, but when it really comes down to it we should be blaming ourselves. WE decided to stop mother nature, (I doubt VERY much your doctor strapped any of you down and forced the needle into your a**cheek) If you made the choice to accept this medication as a form of birth control then stop blaming your doctor.
I also realize that when a lot of us came off depo things were different, or maybe things changed while you were on depo. Maybe depo warded off some of the other things your body wanted to do. For example I have read SOOOOO many stories (like mine) about women who went on the drug relatively young, stayed on it for a couple of years then came off of it and years later still aren't pregnant. Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe you (or me, but hopefully not) were infertile BEFORE going on the shot? If you've never had a baby how do you know? Or even if you have had a baby, maybe your infetile now. Just like all the women who couldn't get pregnant after years and years of trying then finally *POOF* they're pregnant. Then after that they they have no problem getting pregnat. Or maybe your skin is bad now but it wasn't before depo. Your hormones are constantly changing on depo or not and this can and will effect your skin. Maybe you gained weight while on depo, I gain 40 pounds working at a donut shop. Do I blame the owner for not telling me straight out, "if you eat them you'll get fat!" No I don't. Some people think they are losing their hair or are getting more body hair. There are 1000s of things that could cause this, hormones, stress, PCOS (also causes all of the other symptoms we're talking about.)
Some people have gotten depressed while on depo.
Let's think about this. You have gained weight, got bad skin, and your're "going bald", and growing a mustache. I'd be pretty freakin' depressed too!!!!
My Point is most of us did not go on depo for a month or 2. We were on it for years. Maybe all of the things we are experiencing are just life's changes. The fact of the matter is for most of us we were (basically) young and didn't want to get pregnant and hey look!!!....now there is a birth control that will stop our periods. EVERY WOMEN'S DREAM DRUG! Now we are forced to live with the side effects until the drug is completely out of our systems,... could be years! In the meantime, just be happy about what we have. I mean, hey, now that we're off depo we do get to see good ol' Aunt Flow once a month again. For those of you who don't well I guess in a sense YOU are the lucky ones.
Oh, and for anyone thinking Depo has to be a bad drug since you don't see people with positive happy depo experiences, that's because they don't sit around (like me) googling, "Depo Provera + Infertility"
Good luck to all of you, hope in the long run things do work out.
-- posted by kris19417
» blankens87 - Let's be realistic about Depo
In response to Let's be realistic about Depo posted by kris19417:Hi, I used depo for 3 or more years and then my husband and I decided to have a baby. I missed 2 shots and still no period, but my gyno gave me premphase. It is a low dose of "the Pill". I got a period after the first month which was only a day and a half long and then I was pregnant 10 days later. Now, our daughter is 5 and I went off the shot again for good and am having the sideeffects of what most are posting here. No hair loss thank goodness. But every one is different and I am not sure this would work for you, but it is worth a shot. I am going in to the doc today to get my period started again with premphase. I was supposed to get that shot in Sept and we decided we were done having kids so my husband go the vascetomy instead. I went on the shot as my period was every 3 weeks, but it only lasted 2-3 days. So, maybe this option wouldn't work for you, but we have a healthy baby girl and it just might work for you! Take care and hoping for the best for you!
-- posted by blankens87
» julesred - depo shot
In response to depo shot posted by mynameisJen:
I was just wondering if anyone can give me some remarks on how they like Depo. I know that there are a lot of negative comments on the shot. Are there any women that can give me specific good reports on your experience with Depo. Personally, I have taken the Nuva Ring for over 2 years and because of one specific negative side effect, I need to switch. I have an appointment for the shot on 1-26-07. I would appreciate any feedback on my question. Thanks all.
-- posted by julesred
» mandab81 - depo
i am a mom of 3, and went on the depo shot 4 years ago after the birth of my third child. over the last year i have begun to have a lot of problems. first within the first year i did gain about 60 lbs. i am a personal trainer, so i know that i am doing the proper exercise and eatig correctly. no matter how hard i try i can not lose this weight. then i began to have migrains about twice a week, with accompanying vomiting and visual disturbances. when i try to move it feels like my head is going to explode. i never had these before. towards the end of the shot cycle i have breakthrough bleeding even though i get the shot every 10 weeks, to avoid this. i have had 5 cavities in the last 6 months due to bone loss and i am going to an orthopedic to have this checked out and see how extensive the loss is. i ahve had the same ankle broken twice in the last two and half years, in two different occasions and two different places. i had a broken thigh as well, and now have a metal bar for life in there. my skin stays broken out all the time and i had very clear skin before this. this last shot has been the worst. i have always had a problem with breakthrough bleeding towards the end, so i got it as early as the doctor would do it. well i am 10 weeks into it right now, and about 3 weeks ago i had some light spotting. a little early, but i didn't think much about it. then after about 10 days later my breasts became unbearably sore. this has never happened before. then 3 or 4 days later i became really tired and wanted to sleep a lot. i wondered if i might be pregnant so i went to the drugstore and got a test. i had a faint positive. barely there, but there none the less. so i went to the doctor and told her what was going on and she ran an hcg test. it came back borderline. anything between 5-25 is considered borderline, over 25 is positive. i was at 15. likely pregnant 3-4 weeks. so we waited a few days and did another blood test, and in the mean time i did 2 more home tests. both positive. the next morning i took another test that she gave me to take home and it was negative. two days ago i began to cramp really badly, and the results came back that my hcg level had dropped to less than 2 as of yesterday. she said that i had miscaried due to the thinning of the lining of the uterus and that is one of the side effects of the depo shot. that is great but the depo is supposed to prevent ovulation right? so if you get pregnant you can't implant successfully. this is why you might miscarry. well i was so excited about being pregnant, now that i am now not, i am devastated. i do want another child but we wanted to wait until next year, so the thought was exciting for me and my husband. this is the kind of thing that i did not want to go through, and why i went on the depo to begin with. 99.99% my a$$ i guess i am that one tenth percent.
-- posted by mandab81
» cat128 - Depo - so far
Hi, just thought I'd let you know of my experiences on depo as so far they haven't been that bad and after reading this discussion I am regretting being on it for so long in case something does go wrong in the future.
When I was 19 I had the implant for 18 months. I couldn't stand it any longer as I had almost constant bleeding for the last 12 months of it. I went on depo and have been on it for about 4 1/2 years. some of the symptoms I have read about such as fatigue, low libido and headaches I have had, but these could just be normal for me anyway. Also, unlike the implant, I have had virtually no period for 4 years, just occasional spotting, also no experience of weight gain. Now, however, the doctor has said they are unsure of the long term effects on bone density and recommend that I come off it. The problem is that my mum had a DVT on the combined pill so I don't want to risk that so my other option is the progestrogen only pill(cerazette). As far as I can tell this works the same as the depo injection, but is a much smaller dose. Everyone who gets depo gets the same dose regardless of size, and as I am slightly underweight, they think I would be more at risk of bone thinning and that the smaller dose from the pill would be safer. I am a bit worried about what might happen when I come off it after reading your posts. Has anyone here had experience of the POP?
-- posted by cat128
» julesred - Depo - so far
In response to Depo - so far posted by cat128:
Thank you for letting me know of your experience. I spoke to my GYN PA regarding the progestrin only pill and she said that the effecacy rate on pregnancy protection is greatly reduced and they don't like to put any women on the progestrin only pill if they can help it. So that is out for me. I have also scheduled IUD's twice and because I have not had children, my cervix is too small to accept the implant. I am really at a loss as to what avenue of birth control to pursue. If anyone has any other advice or suggestions before Friday I would greatly appreciate it.
-- posted by julesred
» johnsonrc - depo
I LOVED the depo shot. I went on it after being diagnosed w/ hypertension. The pill was elevating my BP further so the doc suggested depo. I lost weight in the beginning and was rid of my period w/i the first 3 months until it was time for my next shot and then I would start spotting. I went off of the shot after being on it for 12-16 months. I have been off of the shot now for 1 year and still have not had a period. I have gained about 25 lbs- was overweight to begin with! I am hoping that I am not pregnant. I get cramps- bloating etc but still no period. I go see the doc in a few days but at my last appointment she did tell me that it can take up to about 18 months to return to normal after ending the shot. While I don't feel so hot now w/ no periods and bloating- wieght gain....I really enjoyed the freedom w/ depo. Does anyone have any suggestions for BC for those w/ hypertension? I don't really want to have my tubes tied yet- thinking about an IUD but the "installation"
process seems scarey....and input on that?
-- posted by johnsonrc
» judgejud - Depo
I have 3 children and have been on depo for 9years and 4 years before the birth of last child. My doctor put me on this to control headaches. I love depo as its has stop my periods for the last 9 years.
However over the past 12 months I have suffered from pelvic pain. I have had many tests done with no results. I have a laparoscopy coming up in a few weeks to find out what the problems are. My GYN thinks there is now something very wrong with my ovaries, and perhaps this is due to depo. For me this is not so much of a worry, as I do not plan to have anymore children. The like hood of everything being removed is high. I hope this makes women think twice about prolonged use of depo.
-- posted by judgejud
» johnsonrc - still no period after 8 mo
In response to still no period after 8 mo posted by vahajojo:
I posted a messge yesterday...but didn't read your message first. I have been off of the shot for a year and still no period- i am bloated, sometimes heave sore breasts, and feel as though I am going to start my period. I have not yet taken a pregnancy test, but go to the doctor on Monday. My doctor told me that you can become pregnant at any time after quitting the shot....as soon as the month after you miss or stop the shot. She also told me taht you need not have a period to become pregnant.....good luck
-- posted by johnsonrc
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