Depo Provera

[danaeris]

So, I've been on Depo Provera the last year.

Depo Provera causes both weight gain and depression in some women.

I am struggling with weight loss and depression.

I don't really think either were caused by the Depo -- I was already up to about 180 when I went on it, and now I'm around 190, and I'd been steadily gaining over the last 6 or so years. Likewise, I can look back over my entire life and see the effects of depression throughout.

I'm due for another Depo shot in a few weeks, and I can't help but wonder if not doing it would improve things somehow. I could go back to birth control pills. Or I could try going off birth control entirely for the first time since I was 16 and see what happens. I'm not very sexually active right now, so it might be the best time to do it. Of course, as a person with no insurance, the check-ups I get when I go in for birth control are nearly the only ones I get. Except when I go in for STD testing.

I'm not asking for opinions but I'm also not not asking for opinions. How's that for a double negative? Let me try that again... "but I also don't mind hearing your opinions."

...

In other topics, my doctor messed up and ok'd a renewal of my old 20 mg prescription AND gave me a month of 30 mg. So now, if this happens again, I have spare meds. yay!

Comments

[aaangyl.livejournal.com]

I'm not on hormonal birth control, and I'm 95% Very Happy about it, so much so that I'd probably not go back on it. I think it might be very much an individual personal preference tho. However, I'm also not on any other sort of birth control either, and while I've never gotten pregnant or even had a legitimite scare, I'm basically more paranoid about it than I'd like to be, and MUCH MUCH moreso than when I was on birth control. It's not really THAT big a deal to me since I'm too busy to have much sex, but whenever I start getting less busy, I think I'm going to check into getting spayed.

For the record, tho, I got off depo and on to the Pill again for similar reasons to what you're listing, and I lost like 30 pounds with no other changes. A year or two later I went off the Pill and Ritalin and also gave up most OTC medications and went mostly herbal, and between that and major changes in my diet and exercise patterns lost another 50, but I'm not sure how much was thanks to what or if they all tied together. But getting off depo was a pretty isolated event and my lifestyle didn't really change at all during the initial weight loss. So no recommendations in any direction, it's totally individual, but there's my story. :D

[leggylady.livejournal.com]

I've been on Depo twice. first time was wonderful and not a problem.
Second time was a depression nightmare-constant suicidal feelings, social phobias like crazy, and more panic attacks than before. I learned then that it *CAN* make depression worse, and I was already having some issues when I started. *I* was better getting off it. YMMV. I also had a doc that I could level with and he really understood- patient feelings and the drugs/their side effects.
I just wanted to share that I understand. I would be very honest w/ your doc and let them help you make the best decision for *you*.

possible side effects...

[kijeren.livejournal.com]

You've been on the pill, or depo, consistantly since age 16?

Just to share my story: I was on the pill consistantly from 14 to 21. In the first six months after I stopped, I grew an inch taller, almost a full cup size, two inches around the hips and a shoe size.

I've heard anecdotes that I'm not alone in this.. taking the pill or depo during puberty can slow or pause your physical development. So if you do choose to go off, be aware of a possible growth effect. :-)

[elf]

I was on the pill from 17 to 24. Then I stopped, had a baby (deliberately), and haven't been back on hormonal birth control except for a couple of weeks when I tried the "mini-pill" before I gave up on it.
(Daily pills were bad enough. Being told "you must take this at the same time every day, and no skipped days at all," was too much. I averaged 1 missed day/month for that 8 years.)

I went through changes after I stopped. Of course, it's hard to pin down exactly which ones were caused by stopping the pill, since I got pregnant two months afterward.

Bits I've heard: The pill, in using estrogen/progesterone, sets your hormone balance to "early pregnancy," that's how it convinces your body not to get pregnant again. This has the side effect of making you want to bond emotionally to people who are "like you;" in pregnancy, you seek out genetically similar people as part of the nest/family/bonding process.

In non-pregnancy, you seek out *different* people.

I don't know how true that is. I do know that I met Chris when I was 18, we flirted & dated for years, moved in together when I was ~22, lived together for two years, I went off pill, had baby, and when she was less than 2 years old, I couldn't stand living with him anymore. It would fit the pattern of "the pregnancy hormones wore off and I didn't want to be around him anymore."

I have a copper-T IUD now. I'm very happy not to be using hormonal birth control. You may not be eligible for an IUD; aside from cost issues (many insurances don't cover it), many doctors won't give them to
(1)women who've never been pregnant (they're statistically more likely to be painfully uncomfortable), or
(2)women who aren't monogamously attached (a minor vaginal infection can become PID-get-a-hystorectomy in the space of a couple of weeks with an IUD).

More anecdotal evidence: Had a friend who was on Norplant (before Depo was available); she got it removed, and her sex drive tripled. Hadn't realized how much the hormones were depressing her sex drive.

You could consider getting fitted for a diaphragm, or trying some of the OTC birth control methods. (Or, hey, you could get this Depo shot as scheduled, and do some research for the next three months & try to make a decision.)

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

in pregnancy, you seek out genetically similar people as part of the nest/family/bonding process. In non-pregnancy, you seek out *different* people. I don't know how true that is.

when I went on the pill I heard this and was scared of it... but I did not stop being attracted to the boy I was in a relationship with. So, just another anecdote.

My experience with a diaphragm was that it was a pretty big pain in the ass. My first one wasn't fitted properly and that was a big pain other places... literally.

[aaangyl.livejournal.com]

I found myself attracted to completely different people on and off birth control as well, I forgot to mention that, good point. There are also (I believe) studies backing up the change in attraction on/off hormones.

[aaangyl.livejournal.com]

Also, on IUD's.. of the few people I know who have gotten them, I've heard like 75% horror stories about getting them put in and especially the dialation process. How was your experience of getting it put in?

[greeklady.livejournal.com]

Man I would love to not have to think about taking a pill ever again. I am one of those wacky women who do not produce enough estrogene on my own (histerical considering my boob size). I haven't taken the depo shot just because I am a big wennie when it comes to shots. I have heard bad and worse stories about it. This is the first time I have heard good things.

If you have no reason to take it, why do it? I take mine for the ovarian cysts and migraines. (well that is why I take the seasonale now, no cycle for 3 months and no migraine for 3 months. Well worth it I think.)

I am all for progress but at the same time I have to wonder why we take these pills? I know there is some effect on our brain chemestry, otherwise why would women become a raving lunatic, or a crying mess on one brand vs another?

My two cents.