Demo-provera and terrible side effects - why do doctors still advise to get it?

[MerlinScot]

Hello everybody,

Did anyone else get the terrible side effects of this contraceptive injection? Browsing the web, I found out that several women experienced a long list of side effects, many of them similar to mine.

I had switched to it after being advised by my old GP doctor that I would have had less splitting headaches than with the combined pill. In conclusion, we found out that the headaches were solely due to the stress I was under at that time (I had gone through an abusive relationship with my ex and I had reported him for a long list of abuses) and the contraceptive injection caused a series of side effects that I've no idea when they will end. My new GP doctor says between 5 and 10 months.... eeek!!

I gained something like 8 kg in 6 weeks, from the blood test it came out that the hormones had made the thyroid go crazy (never had a problem in all my life with it), now I've no period anymore and I've no idea when it'll come back, so no chance to know if I'll be able to have babies either in the future (I'm already 40). New GP doctor also said my period couldn't come back at all, given that in my family nearly all women lost their periods before 40.

As a result of the excessive weight (I shouldn't weigh over a certain weight after a car accident ruined my vertebraes in the back), one of my hip joints started to terribly hurt, I also got a plantar fasciatiis out of the unbalanced way of walking due to the pain.

Plus... I'm without any contraception either atm because I can't get the pill together with the tablets for the thyroid.

Question: why do doctors prescribe a contraceptive method that can serisouly damage the rest of the body? Shouldn't they advise their patients to do some tests before prescribing the injection?

What do you think about it?

Different things suit different people. I took depot provera for years, I quite liked not having to remember to take a tablet.

Well given how many tablets I'm supposed to take because of the side effects of the injection (4, including calcium, herbs for the water retention, etc), I honestly don't mind to take a pill at night instead of trying to repair the unhealthy mess that ruined my life.

How did you cope with the loss of the period?

There have been some studies done looking at the return to fertility after depot - I cant remember the reference off hand, but I think that it said that fertility had returned in 2 years, even in people who had been on the depot for a while.

Sorry, cross post - the loss of period didnt bother me, to be honest I thought that was one of the benefits of it.

2 years? eek...

Well... it's probably advisable for women, like you, that they don't think to have babies in a short time or they're not bothered to lose their periods. But if someone wants to stay unfertile for two years, maybe it'd better to advise an implant anyway.

It works for some and not others, just like all contraception. For me it was excellent. Took a year for periods to return but then concieved 4 times without any difficulties. However that isn't any help to you I know!

Well I also read horrible stories all over the place.

When my new GP doctor told me the list of damages I had after only one injection... well I think it's criminal to advise women to take it!!

Even if my fertility will come back, I'm a size 12 instead of 8, my thryoid is messed up until the effects disappear and I've to go under xrays and other scans to see what happened to my skeleton.

They absolutely SHOULDN'T prescribe it to people with bone issues. I think some doctors and nurses underestimate the number of people having side effects after taking it.