What are your experiences of depo provera?

[Flier]

I finally went for my smear this week, and when I told the nurse about my heavy painful periods which are coming every 3 weeks, she suggested depo provera, but I wasn't very good on the pill, my pmt got worse, so wonder how i'd be on this.

Just wondered how anyone else "gets on" with ths.

Hi I had my second depo on monday and thought I was fine and that all the above symtoms I had been feeling were my pnd but think I will now go back to doctors, would rather periods than feeling this crap.

Attilathemeerkat, thanks for your advice.

I'm 35. The nurse told me that heavy, more painful and more frequent periods are down to my age

Its part of the reason why I thought I'd best at least get my smear done, and I'll take it from there.

spots and hair growth. horrible

Worst. Mistake. Ever.

Depo fucked me up BAD. I had just two courses and it took 3 years for my body to even partially recover. It's poison, STAY AWAY!

I had; crippling depression, intense migraines triggered by as little as a five minute exposure to fluorescent lighting or tv screens/monitors, huge weight gain (approx 3 stone), massive exacerbation of my asthma, no sex drive... These are just the major symptoms I can remember. There were plenty of others that I have forgotten in the trauma of it all.

It took until the second injection for all these symptoms to appear but it took a very long time for them to go. Still haven't lost the weight, and migraines are still far more frequent than before .A year after my periods had stopped due to depo they began again and for another year I had actutely painful periods every two weeks that lasted about two weeks. Eventually they became more like my usual periods and finallu (with the help of some high dosage evening primrose oil) things beacame normal again and I conceived. Pregnancy helped a bit too, but certainly didn't help with the weight gain!

You may be one of the lucky few who have relatively few side effects, but from the sounds of it you're not. My advice is don't risk it- stop getting your Depo injections, and take at least 2000mg evening primrose oil a day until you feel things are back to normal. Go to a herbalist and talk about Agnus Castus too, it can help balance out messed up hormones.

Good Luck!

if you have had hormonal depression like PND, AVOID DEPO LIKE THE PLAGUE!

i worked in a women's clinic in the US, and depo was only administered to women who had completed their families.

Flier, I'm shocked by the advice that the periods are worse because of your age. How old is the nurse? Just in terms of likelihood, Attila's suggestion seems more likely - that there's something wrong. My periods haven't changed as I've got older, am now 38 and had a baby a couple of months before my last birthday, was pushed into giving up bf though continued with some expressing but periods much as they were (not that heavy).

Depo provera was actually banned in a number of countries years and years ago, and I've been surprised to learn that it's still in such wide use here.

"The nurse told me that heavy, more painful and more frequent periods are down to my age"

Ignorance of such matters is widespread.
I wonder what she would have said to me. Having had very painful periods since 14 (and now an endo diagnosis finally from a gynae), its not always down to age.

I would also therefore say to that - I would look into obtaining a gynae referral from your GP. See your GP rather than this practice nurse; she's given you duff advice in my view.

You need a diagnosis first and foremost rather than just Depo which can cause yet more problems for you. You need to know what is actually causing the period heaviness and pains to begin with.

Thank you all so so much for posting your advice, its posts like these that give mumsnet the excellent name it deserves.

hope that made sense!
v.v grateful

I've been on Depo for about 5 months now, after meeting a new man last year. And, yes, my sex drive has gone completely. Having started this relationship feeling excited and all butterflies every time I saw my man, I now would just rather be tucked up on my own with a bottle of red wine. It does seem to be a common theme, but I still wonder whether I'm just cooling off him. Or is it my age (43). Help!

do you want any more children? if so I would be careful - I couldn't conceive for 4 years after I went on it - it took that long for my periods to come back. I also had dreadful depression with it too. Have you thought about other causes for the periods? It could be something like a fibroid.

Mirena coil is the way to go imho. No periods (for me), no hassle and no side effects. And if you really really hate it you can have it taken out very quickly. As part of the run up to having your coil you'll get swabs and an internal and a full history and if anything isn't as it should be they will refer you for a scan. That might help to identify any problems.

I had it at 17! Had the injection for 9 months, when I came off it, no period for 18 months! Cheaper in sanitary products, but was worried my body wasn't working properly, not had normal periods since (every 6-8 weeks!) I wouldn't take it again as it appeared to f* up my hormones, actually put me off all hormonal contraception. There must be some positive stories though?

DON'T TAKE DEPO PROVERA!!!!

I took this - it was really, really bad for me.

I got very high blood pressure (for the first time in my life) which lasted the duration I was on the drug - and a good 18 months following.

It says it's progesterone only - and cannot do this - but I'm telling you it did.

I also got really bad water retention - so my wedding ring which is normally loose was to tight to get off, and my socks were leaving huge marks on my ankles!

When I tried to come off the depo - it stayed in my system a heck of a lot longer than the packaging/info that came with it suggested.

Infact, I needed to attend fertility clinic to conceive my next baby.

AFTER this - my dr's said they "don't normally give depo to women who have not yet completed their family"....I guess they forgot to mention that - or assumed as I had 3 kids I was "done"!

Also - for the first 9 months on Depo I had bleeding every single day! after that my periods stopped. It took a long time for them to return after I came off depo (18 months) and even then - my fertility had not returned - I was not ovulating.

I also felt depressed while on Depo (but couldn't tell at the time, only realised afterwards....) and had a very short temper.

I have be so put off by my experience I just could not recommend this drug to anyone.

It IS an effective contraceptive - there's no doubt about that - but the side effects can be devastating and once it's in your system - it might take much more than just the 3 months to "wear off". It binds itself to fatty tissues in your body and can remain in your system for 3 years!!!

It gave me awful mood swings and destroyed my sex drive!

AMBI - it has also put me off using hormonal contracetpives altogether too!

I now realise how much they affect us - our moods, as well as our physical health and the initial effects can be subtle and go unnoticed.

The biggest issue I have with altering my natural hormonal state - is that hormones affect the BRAIN - I actually value my brain - I like it the way it was made - and don't want to "upset" or "alter" my hormones for fear of my brain functioning in a different way than nature intended.

It can take a LONG time to realise how your thoughts an emotions are subtly being altered by the hormone changes.

Some people can accept this, but it's not a point that is made or discussed when women choose to use hormonal contraceptives...

They are of course asked "are they feeling depressed"..... while it's actually happening to you - this can be difficult to spot. Some people become obviously depressed - others my be suffering from more "anxiety" or "worries" than normal - and not consider these symptoms to be depression. They might not realise they are more quick tempered than usual (if they are)and put it down to circumstances rather than their change in hormones due to contraceptive.

I had the injection once, was protected for three months, but bled heavily for six, no more than two days withut bleeding.
Hated it.

I was on it for 5 years and gained 3 stone and it has stuffed my periods up permanently. I thought they were painful and heavy before, nothing compares to the agony I go through since coming off it (2.5 years ago). I got depressed but I thought that was due to the weight gain.

Single hormone pill would have been better in hindsight.

DONT DO IT PLEASE DONT.
i was on it for 5 years and never had so many probs since. it was great whilst i was on it, no periods etc felt fine, no weight gain... but coming off no periods when they did arrive they were horrendous.

I was on the depo provera for about 7 years and it worked great for me, no periods and only slight weight gain. I came off it to try for a baby and unfortunately had miscarriage as i did not leave it long enough for my body to get back to normal, only took me 5 months to get pregnant but only had 2 periods which is not enough.
After another 10 months i fell pregnant anc i now have a 3 month old baby.
I am trying to go back onto the depo provera but having bad heavy bleeding and clots, im hoping after the next injection it will start working.
The injection works differently for everyone

Why why why do people dig up threads that are over ten years old and then reply as if it was current? It baffles me completely .

Hartnett did you search for threads about depo provera, or were you browsing deep in the MN archive and decided to reply to this particular one? Hopefully I don't sound goady, am genuinely curious.

And for what it's worth I also would never recommend depo provera because I took it for a year when young and my reproductive system never recovered.

I used it for seven years and was excellent however I had to switch due to risks for osteoporosis.