Depo users: Past and present

DaBearsFansWife · July 2014

My husband and I were wondering how many others are in the same boat as us. I know Depo works differently on each person but in my limited research it seems like there are some commonalities. So, humor me.

When was your last Depo injection and how long had you been on it?

What symptoms/side effects did you have after stopping Depo?

What did your cycles look like after stopping? (How long til AF returned, how long til you started ovulating again, etc)

Have you seen a doctor about anything post-Depo related? What was your problem and what did they say?

Any other info is welcome, too. Depo fucking sucks so I'm just curious to know how it has effected others.

DaBearsFansWife · July 2014

I'll go

When was your last Depo injection and how long had you been on it? I only had two injections. July 2013 and September 2013.

What symptoms/side effects did you have after stopping Depo? I gained about 35 pounds in about three months (holy stretch marks). I went from having a petite/athletic build to being technically overweight. Most of the weight went to my boobs (hooray!), belly, and thighs. My thighs have stretch marks from such rapid weight gain. (Well I guess I now know that I have stretch marks to look forward to if I get KTFU)

What did your cycles look like after stopping? (How long til AF returned, how long til you started ovulating again, etc) I got AF pretty quickly after stopping. I want to say it was less than a month. Since then I have been getting my period every other week. I also haven't ovulated since I stopped taking Depo. (I did see the doctor about this, read on)

Have you seen a doctor about anything post-Depo related? What was your problem and what did they say? I saw (like 5) OBGYNs about the whole not ovulating/AF every other week thing. They ran a battery of tests for things like diabetes, thyroid disorders, and the like and all came back negative. Most of them wanted to put me on Clomid (no thanks). I finally got a competent doctor who said that Depo can remain in the system for a year on average which will cause me to have irregular cycles. Most Depo users can expect to not see a period at all for a few months but it is also possible to have hyper-frequent periods like me. There is no danger in having AF every other week except the slim possibility of developing anemia. There is no need to run tests until I have reached the one year mark.

In other news, I fucking hate Depo and I hate that I didn't have enough common sense to research the drug before I signed up for injections. I would have never signed up for this if I knew the side effects. I just wanted a low maintenance birth control for the months surrounding my wedding/honeymoon.

lebradford · July 2014

I was on Depo from roughly 2003-2010. I never got my period while I was on it. Around 2010 I got off Depo and wasn't on any birth control and my period never returned. Then I started the NuvaRing, and I started having a withdrawal bleed each month, and I assumed my period was finally regulating from Depo. Then I went off NuvaRing to TTC and my period stopped and never returned. I was diagnosed with high prolactin levels, which explains the lack of periods. I doubt all those things are related, but I can't help but think that if I wasn't on a BC that stops your periods for months at a time I might have caught my hyperprolactinemia sooner. Overall, I loved Depo when I was on it, but I've hated it ever since I've been off.

DaBearsFansWife · July 2014

lebradford said:

I was on Depo from roughly 2003-2010. I never got my period while I was on it. Around 2010 I got off Depo and wasn't on any birth control and my period never returned. Then I started the NuvaRing, and I started having a withdrawal bleed each month, and I assumed my period was finally regulating from Depo. Then I went off NuvaRing to TTC and my period stopped and never returned. I was diagnosed with high prolactin levels, which explains the lack of periods. I doubt all those things are related, but I can't help but think that if I wasn't on a BC that stops your periods for months at a time I might have caught my hyperprolactinemia sooner. Overall, I loved Depo when I was on it, but I've hated it ever since I've been off.

That pretty much sums up my feels on it. I really don't think that the side effects were worth the convenience now, though. I would never, ever do it again.

DaBearsFansWife · July 2014

PearlsBefore said:

Trickyjedi said:
I do know that things have definitely improved for me since I got off the Depo; my sex drive came back and I stopped putting on so much weight,

Ditto to the bolded...

That's interesting. I definitely had more sex after Depo but I always chalked it up to H and I finally getting our own place (we had roommates in college). I stopped Depo like a month before we moved. I wonder if ditching Depo had anything to do with my sex drive? (I'm a skeptic since I only had two injections but crazier things have happened)

DaBearsFansWife · July 2014

starscream said:

When was your last Depo injection and how long had you been on it? My last shot was 6 weeks pp, but I had been on and off of it for at least 7 years.

What symptoms/side effects did you have after stopping Depo? none

What did your cycles look like after stopping? (How long til AF returned, how long til you started ovulating again, etc). I would do two year stints and after going off of the shot, it would take at least 6 months before my period would return. I wasn't TTC during that time so I wasn't worried about not ovulating/not getting a period.

Have you seen a doctor about anything post-Depo related? What was your problem and what did they say? I realized that being on that shot that I was STARVING most of the time and I had gained at least 20lbs. I mentioned that to the doctor and he said a side of the shot was that hungry feeling.

I had been on some form of birth control since I was 16 solely because I wanted to stop my period from coming. I loved the shot because I could go three months at a time without one and I never had any break through bleeding or spotting. I got on the ring when I met DH and I of course continued my no period crusade. When we did start TTC, I wasn't getting a period and but I would not blame the depo for that.

edit because I hit enter too soon.

My OB wanted to put me on scheduled Provera to help regulate my periods. (Something like take 50mg every day for 10 days once a month.) She said it was either that or go on the pill. Did Provera also help you ovulate or were your cycles still annovulatory?

Melissabride09 · July 2014

When was your last Depo injection and how long had you been on it?

My last injection was some time in 2009, I only had 3 or 4

What symptoms/side effects did you have after stopping Depo?

My symptoms after stopping were that all the weight I gained on it fell off, my sex drive returned and my skin cleared back up.

What did your cycles look like after stopping? (How long til AF returned, how long til you started ovulating again, etc)

After I stopped I only had a period every couple of months, nothing regular til almost exactly a year after I stopped.

Have you seen a doctor about anything post-Depo related? What was your problem and what did they say?

At a well woman exam probably six months after I stopped my doc told me that depo hormones can hang out in your fatty tissue. so after I started losing the weight I had gained while on the shot she said it's possible more hormones kind of released into my body and kept my cycle from returning. At least that's how I understood what she was saying. I tell anyone who asks though that I would never go back on it.

DaBearsFansWife · July 2014

Melissabride09 said:

When was your last Depo injection and how long had you been on it? My last injection was some time in 2009, I only had 3 or 4 What symptoms/side effects did you have after stopping Depo? My symptoms after stopping were that all the weight I gained on it fell off, my sex drive returned and my skin cleared back up. What did your cycles look like after stopping? (How long til AF returned, how long til you started ovulating again, etc) After I stopped I only had a period every couple of months, nothing regular til almost exactly a year after I stopped. Have you seen a doctor about anything post-Depo related? What was your problem and what did they say? At a well woman exam probably six months after I stopped my doc told me that depo hormones can hang out in your fatty tissue. so after I started losing the weight I had gained while on the shot she said it's possible more hormones kind of released into my body and kept my cycle from returning. At least that's how I understood what she was saying. I tell anyone who asks though that I would never go back on it.

This is what's killing me right now. I didn't gain weight while on Depo, I gained it all immediately after I stopped taking Depo. My doctor says that the hormones would probably be stored in my fat cells so I was advised to do everything in my power to lose weight. I did. I dieted, I worked out every single day, I made significant life changes. No matter what I changed I still gained more weight. So I just stopped everything all together. I haven't lost weight but I stopped gaining for the time being.

DenaMaree · July 2014

I was on the depo from Nov 2004 to Nov 2011! I did not get a period for the full time I was on the depo shot and did not get a period through Nov 2012. Saw my OB for annual Nov 2012 and she put me on metformin. Got my first cycle Jan 2013 and every two weeks until July 2013 when I went back to OB who put me on a cycle of estrogen in August 2012 by a cycle of progestrone in September 2012! Starting in October 2012 I was finally on a consistent 31 day cycle. Went for annual with OB in Sept 2013 and got a referral to RE. Learned via ultrasound with RE i wasn't ovulating and started clomid Nov, Dec, Jan 2014 with BFP 1/2014!

amyvw89 · July 2014

Hi I have been on the depo for about 4yrs I was meant to go back on the 31st dec 13 but we decided to try for a baby. I still haven't had a period or any spotting and I'm getting myself all worried about it although I know it can take a yr for things to return to normal. I had normal cycle before with no period pain and I haven bled on the depo the whole time I have been on it. I have put on weight and find it hard to loose it, I have had a decrease in my sex drive and suffered with headaches. X

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