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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if the depo injection might be the cause of this?

35 replies

GodThisHurts · 05/10/2014 12:38

And if it is, will it calm down soon and get better?

I honestly have no idea if this is normal or not because I've never actually used hormonal contraception before so I'm posting here for traffic. I am also aware that this is going to make me look like a crybaby and might be told to suck it up but oh well.

I had my first depo injection about four weeks ago. I wasn't actually that keen to get it but I need contraception and after careful reviews by my GP and a CASH nurse it was decided because of health issues I have this is really the only contraceptive that would be safe for me.

The first week was fine however on my second week I came on my period. It was really heavy and quite painful (and my periods have always been light and not very painful) but I just expected it to last a couple of days as I was told my period would most likely stop while on it. However that hasn't happened. Three weeks after I came on my period I am still bleeding. So I have had a heavy period non-stop since then.

Also since then I have had really bad headaches pretty much non-stop and painkillers won't touch it. This is going to sound whingey but they really do hurt and they last for days at a time. Then it goes away for about a day but then comes back the next day. The pain has been so bad that I have even been a sick a couple of times. I have had a headache the last couple of days and it doesn't feel as bad this morning however I'm scared in case it comes back tomorrow.

Over the last two weeks or so I have also been feeling very emotional and weepy and have been bursting into tears at the drop of a hat and believe me I am not a cryer. The things I've been bursting into tears about are all silly unimportant things like the shop running out of milk. I feel like a tit afterwards but it's like I can't help it, I just feel so low and vulnurable.

I have an appointment at my GP on Wednesday (earliest I can get) but I really hope it's not linked and is just a coincidence because I really need this to work, I don't have a choice!

Anyone else experienced this?

OP posts:
swooosh · 05/10/2014 12:44

I had no periods with the depo but know some people who just bled constantly, they switched contraception.

ProbablyMe · 05/10/2014 12:48

That happened to me initially but gradually stopped over time - for me about 9 months. The non-stop period was awful after the first couple of injections and my GP gave me a prescription for Norethisterone which stopped them. I eventually had the Nexplanon implant instead and didn't get the same symptoms with that.

chipsandpeas · 05/10/2014 12:49

i also had no periods on depo but had horrible mood swings and gained lots of weight, came off it as soon as i could

PiperIsOrange · 05/10/2014 12:49

I'm like that with any hormone based contraception.

Thank god DH has had the snip.

PiperIsOrange · 05/10/2014 12:49

I'm like that with any hormone based contraception.

Thank god DH has had the snip.

HungryHorace · 05/10/2014 12:52

I've never had periods on depo, until this time. But because I had it post-birth, I wasn't having my period at the time, and think I had it post-OV meaning that my period was always going to arrive.

I'm hoping that once it finishes, that'll be it, but it's been going on for about 6 days now when they're only normally 4, so I'm not hopeful. Thankfully it's not as heavy as yours.

I hope that yours stops soon.

Original poster
GodThisHurts · 05/10/2014 12:57

ProbablyMe 9 months?!! Shock I'm hoping that I won't even be on it for that long and want off it as soon as possible anyway...the thought of this lasting 9 months is just horrible to me.

OP posts:
Mrsjayy · 05/10/2014 13:05

Before I was sterilised (16 yrs ago) I was on depo for a couple of years I had bleeds periodically some women dont at all. I also had terrible headaches low mood and no libido as time went on the headaches stopped but the rest remained It can have different affects on different women iyswim like and hormonal contraception I suppose. Speak to your gp again.

redexpat · 05/10/2014 14:18

Ginger ale will take the edge off the headache. Hope you feel better soon.

BakerStreetSaxRift · 05/10/2014 14:39

I had no periods on the depo and they didn't come back for a year after my last injection (I had 3 injections, on it for 9 months or so).

I don't think I got the headaches, but I did get the horrendous emotional wreck-all-the-time thing. It was awful.

I think it's related OP. Maybe this just isn't the right contraceptive option for you.

Flowers
Bulbasaur · 05/10/2014 15:17

Depo is not a long term birth control, please don't use it as one. It will irreversibly ruin your bone density. If you react well to the hormones in the depo shot, the nexplanon implant might be for you.

I got no periods on the depo though. But I would assume any abnormal bleeding or lack of bleeding is because of the shot. I did gain a lot of weight on it, and was constantly craving sugar, salt, and everything else that's bad for you.

ilovepowerhoop · 05/10/2014 15:23

I bled all the time and put on hundreds of weight with depo so would not recommend it at all.

It also can affect fertility afterwards and it can be 1 year or longer before you ovulate again after the last jab. It also affects bone density.

Nomama · 05/10/2014 15:30

Depo not long term? Pah! I have just come off it after about 25 years, seriously. I had no periods, bone density is fine, I am as overweight now as as I was when I began it. I had no side effects except for a total lack of menstruation - which is why I went on it in the first place.

It really doesn't matter what anyone here has experienced, it will have different effects on many people. Go and ask your GP. But bleeding is not unusual, headaches could be anything, including a reaction to the hormones in depo.

My depo has just run out... I should have had it about 3 weeks ago. I am vaguely horrified... what will happen? Will the implant work how I want it to??

We shall see.

futureponyclubmum · 05/10/2014 15:33

This happened to me! Almost constant period and even when not got bleeding after sex. I felt drained and tired, had mood swings regularly felt irrationality angry for no reason, no sex drive. I seriously thought I was going mad. Stupidly after first 3 months I believed the witch of a nurse who cheerfully told me my body just needed to adjust and another jab would sort me out, thus signing me up to 6 months of hell! Angry might work for some women but never never ever again. Sad

Darkesteyes · 05/10/2014 15:38

I was on depo for five years from my early to mid thirties. I lost weight on it initially as i was doing SW like i am now. then i started to steadily gain it. I came off depo in 2008

In the last 14 months ive lost 3 stone. The FP clinic didnt recommend the depo at all. They gave me a POP called Zelleta. They said i would struggle to continue to lose weight on the depo. And the affects on bone density was another reason . They were very helpful.

TooMuchCantBreath · 05/10/2014 15:42

Nomama, how do you know your bone density is fine? If you've been on it 25 years (has it really been around that long? ) I'd strongly recommend a dexascan asap. Both my mother and aunt found they had osteoperinia (sp?) and are battling to turn the tide before it becomes osteoporosis - a massive undertaking with only a glimmer of hope for success. Neither of them had any symptoms of problems with bone density.

I bled constantly on depo, I never used it again. Apparently though I'm not great with anything hormonal. Speak to your gp, they may have some ideas. If this is your only real contraception option you need support to get it working for you.

paddleduck · 05/10/2014 15:44

If you are yet to have children please please get off the depo asap. It has caused me no end of heartache :(

Lilithmoon · 05/10/2014 15:45

Bulbasaur please can you link to the evidence that depo will irreversibly ruin your bone density? Thanks.

ilovepowerhoop · 05/10/2014 15:59

there is info on the netdoctor link that talks about the effect on bone density

ilovepowerhoop · 05/10/2014 16:02

www.nos.org.uk/NetCommunity/Document.doc?id=390 - a fact sheet about it

tipp2chicago · 05/10/2014 16:02

Drop is evil imo. Horrific weight gain, constant bleeding, killed my libido, mood swings, constantly exhausted. I think I did three cycles, the third one was the killer. Never again.

Bulbasaur · 05/10/2014 16:05

Lilithmoon It's right in the warning:

"Women who use Depo-Provera Contraceptive Injection may lose significant bone mineral density. Bone loss is greater with increasing duration of use and may not be completely reversible. It is unknown if use of Depo-Provera Contraceptive Injection during adolescence or early adulthood, a critical period of bone accretion, will reduce peak bone mass and increase the risk for osteoporotic fracture in later life. Depo-Provera Contraceptive Injection should be used as a long-term birth control method (e.g. longer than 2 years) only if other birth control methods are inadequate."

Small bone loss over a short period on the depo is reversible, generally. But long term it becomes less likely to come back, which is why you're at a higher risk for Osteoporosis (which is pretty permanent to my knowledge).

Nomama · 05/10/2014 16:46

I do indeed know my bone density is fine. I have had my hip density measured due to another condition I have.

I was very active, an aerobics instructor, for about 15 of those years - yes it really has been around that long.

Any osteopenia I may have experienced over the last couple of years due to inactivity, is being dealt with now, as I increase my weight bearing activity, upper and lower body, not forgetting the spine (that was my specialist subject at Uni - health and physical activity).

For me depo was the best choice. It may well be the most evil choice for others.

TooMuchCantBreath · 05/10/2014 19:27

Hmm so your lifestyle may have countered any effects of the depo? In what world does that bring anyone to "pah" when someone points out possible side effects to someone else? In fact, given the oh so informed position you're in perhaps your "pah" is a bit irresponsible. The majority of people aren't aerobics instructors and don't know anything at all about osteoperinia or the level of work it takes to contract it.

I thought you sounded a bit foolish before, now I realise it was just arrogance. Nice.