Just for the girls - What side effects have you experienced from the Depo shot?
491944
I had this after my oldest daughter, for about 9 months to a year. It was the most awful thing I ever had and wouldnt recommend it to anyone. \n\nI bled every day EVERY DAY for almost a year\nI got pregnant and miscarried\nDecreased sex drive (kind of goes with teh constant bleeding/spotting)\nMoody, like PMS that never truly goes away\n\nI've talked to other women who didnt have the side effects I did, so I guess this doesnt happen to everyone. But this is what it did to me.
1034777
Depo will make you have mood swings, after all, it is hormones you're taking.  I took the shot back in the day and it did the same thing to me, but severely.  I had to get off them.  Talk to your doctor, maybe she can give you some advise or even get you on some other kind of birth controll.  In the mean time, let your bf know you are going to be a real b**ch for the next few days and that is due to your birth controll.  If he is as smart as he sounds he will steer a wide path when you go on a tirade.  Your body will eventually adjust to the swarm of hormones and you will be back to normal.  Write him a letter and leave it where he can find it, telling him you love him and not to take anything you say or do personally for the next few days to weeks.
790409
WELL...do I have a lot to say about this!\nWhen I got to college, I decided to get on birth control because I was sexually active.  I originally started on Depo Provera.  I went through three shots, then stopped them because I was concerned about the severe cramping and spotting I was having.  When I stopped taking them, I had a period for a straight month and then very irregular menstruation for a year thereafter.  :(  \n\nThen, a year later, when I was on serious boyfriend #2, I decided to go on the pill.  I kept forgetting them at inconvenient times - rushed trips across the state because of a relative in the hospital, etc.  This was not effective at all.  Plus, I had the worst loss of libido ever.  I was pretty moody.  My boyfriend said that it was how the BC worked...he couldn't get any!!   And I was rather disappointed about how the Pill *didn't* clear up my monthly acne breakouts.\n\nThen, I decided to go on the Ortho Evra patch.  I loved it...until I had a blood clot.  I had throbbing pain in my right arm one night for hours, then my whole right side went numb for a couple of days.  It passed, but I was advised not to go on hormonal BC for another year. \n\nI was recently cleared to take the progesterone-only pills (like Depo, but no shot), but my now-husband and I decided it wasn't worth the risk to my health.  Now, we always use condoms and we're very careful close to my fertile time...\n\nI think that only your doctor and you can really go through the pros and cons of hormonal BC.  Sometimes a woman's body chemistry handles the hormones differently.  Monitor your symptoms after going on the BC and then keep in touch with your MD.
518262
Jennifer is soooo right. I took the pill and I used to always forget to take it so I thought switching to the Depo-Provera shot would be easier. I strongly believe all birth control methods effect your body for the worst so it may be possible that it did make you angry but please don't ever get the shot if you are considering it look at the link Jennifer left I went through everything this site talks about and I'm only 18 and still recovering.
14628
I was on depo before and there is a good reason why I am not anymore.\nI got alot of side effects: weight gain, facial blemishes, always feeling tired.\nThe only pro to it all is that you didn't get your period- frankly I'd rather get my period than have all that continue to happen.\nAlthough depo is one of the most effective birth controls out there for some people it's not for them.\nIf you have any doubts- go see a doctor.
912630
I work in family planning and have seen horror show after horror show with Depo.  For some folks, their period goes back to normal right away.  For others, particularly if she's been on the shot for a while, it can take...ready for this?...up to a year.  Getting on a dual hormone method (progetin/estrogen...aka the pill, ring, etc.) may help to get your hormones back on track.  Your doctor might even be able to prescribe a little bit of estrogen.  But really, the best advice is *unfortunately* to wait. :-(
1062530
my wife became pregnant after a depo shot - a few months after. The Doctor had us see him more frequently to check for abnormalities. \n\nThis baby is now 3 years old and in good health. THe only thing is that her bones occasionally creek. I don't know if this is a side affect, but she has never had a broken bone and her walking was on schedule (maybe a bit early).\n\nSee your OBGYN frequeltly and tell him or her your concerns.
760229
You could try to get her to go on the depo shot. It's birth control that you get (a shot) every 3 months. In most women they stop having periods all together. I'm on the depo shot and I love it! No side effects what so ever...except that in the weeks right before needing another shot I tend to be more horny and no very horny the week of and after the shot.
287102
check out side effects \nprobably heartburn
807052
This stupid shot should be outlawed.\n\nDo a search online for Depo Horror Stories. There are dozens of websites that exist for the sole purpose of women telling about what happened to them as a result of taking it.\n\nI agree - get off the shot immediately!!!
377126
There are some side effects of getting off of the depo shot, but I am not sure what all they are.  If I were you, I would do some internet research, and get a pregnancy test.
56107
According to the cited website below, I would say that NO, Depo-provera is NOT good for you.  Especially considering there are many safer alternatives.\n\nWhen used in excess of 2 years, it has been proven that Depo shots cause a loss in bone density, and increased risk of fractures and osteoporosis.\n\nIf you are taking a pill that is to affect your REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM, and it affects your SKELETAL SYSTEM after prolonged use, I would wonder about it.\n\nResearch!  Research!  Research!  Be armed with information when you make your contraceptive choice.  *Some* doctors are quick to prescribe, and slow to inform of all the risks...after all, so many people use birth control pills and shots.  (But remember that..."If a crowd jumped off a bridge, would you follow?" lesson)\n\nA pill or shot is not just a quick fix, it is an intensive outside change to the normal functions of your body.  Make an informed choice!
1003238
Depo-Provera\nHow it works:\nEvery three months, your doctor gives you and injection of progestin, a synthetic hormone that suppresses ovulation and interferes with implantation.  \nIt is 97% effective. You only have to think about birth control 4 times a year.  It contains no estrogen, so you don't have to worry about blood clots, and other risks associated with birth control pills.  There is a new version called Depo-SubQ Provera104 that contains one-third less progestin than the original Depo, so side effects have been drastically reduced.  \nYou may have irregular periods during the first three to six months of use, and it takes an average of 10 months for your periods to return after your last shot, so this method is not ideal if you want to become pregnant within a year or so after discontinuing use.  \nWeight gain:\nWomen put on an average of 5.5 pounds during the first year of use.  (Which does not calculate to "massive  weight gain")\nThe shot is also associated with bone loss because it shuts down ovulation, resulting in low levels of estrogen, a hormone that protects bone.  As a result, the FDA has restricted the use of Depo to no more than two years at a time.
200100
You're lucky, I turned into a raging bleeding psychopath the whole time I was on Depo, and heard from aquaintances later that most of them had bad results. I used to take the pill, and it was wonderous -crampwise, moodwise, and anti-pregnancy wise until I started getting bad reactions to it. Have you tried the pill? I am considering trying the patch next, but suspect due to the whole hormonal thing that it won't work out. I'm starting to become suspect of any product that prevents pregnancy by interfereing with your body's chemical systems, and am leaning towards physical interference - like surgery. But that's not really an option if you do eventually want to have kids. Talk to your doctor before going off the shot because if it IS working for you, it's too bad you have to change... sometimes you hear stuff like the 2 year rule and it just isn't true.
1050225
Everybody's body is different. I start spotting/period a few weeks before it's time for my shot and within a few days of the shot it stops.  The weight thing, it took them a while to put weight on me I didn't gain right away.  I think I weighed in around 112 and I finally reached 120 in about 1 1/2 now I down to 117 usually.  I did bleed once non stop for about a week it was really scary but that hasn't happened in a while (knock on wood).  Good luck and take care of yourself.
930303
You are injecting artificial  hormones into your body and any sort of hormonal inbalancing or consequences can happen.  Hormone "imbalances" can cause sore, swolen, or leaking breaks (like it would if you were pregnant).  This may be just the beginning for you, so please watch carefully for other side affects.  \n\nDepo Provera is akin to forcing your body into an early menopause state.  If you ever heard what women say about their personalities while "going through the change".  Depo can produce the same thing!\n\nI've been off the Depo Provera since 2000 and my hair and my eyebrows still haven't grown all the way back. I lost about a 1/4 inch along most of my front hair line. The rest of my hair came back and is thick and strong, but the hairline is not the same compared to what it was. In addition to the severe hair loss, I gained over 40 pounds, 20 while taking Depo and 20 after coming off. I never had a migraine before Depo and during use and for the first year after being off it, I had severe migraines at least once a week. My skin itched like I wanted to rip it off and I was hot all the time. I would get extreme vertigo with no warning. Just try staggering at work or while in the pharmacy and not look like you had a drinking problem! My bones also ached a lot. Depo has been proven to cause osteoporosis. Over a year after coming off the Depo Provera, I developed two serious blood clots one after the other. The cause was never completely determined because I had not been on birth control of any kind for over a year and my blood tests were normal. I finally had a rib removed and the clots stopped, but I will contend to this day the Depo had at least a little something to do with it. About the same time as the blood clots, I started having severe cramping and a year into it, my doctor found pretty severe endometriosis. With the resulting depression and the lack of sex from Depo you may not have to worry about getting pregnant because you won't want to have sex anyway. I know some people do just fine with this birth control, but it's not worth the chance. It takes upwards of 6 to 8 months for the effects to wear off and sometimes longer. My hair has never grown completely back along the hairline and I am having a hair transplant at a tune of $5,000.00 to fix it.  I had to have my eyebrows tattooed because they will not fill back in!   I am only 35! I can't wait until Depo is researched more deeply and to someday find out what else this drug did to screw up my system. \n\nI got the (copper) IUD (since I can't use hormones anymore due to future clotting risks). My insurance paid for it. You still get your period, but it's worth it.\n\nOur bodies are made to have periods unless we are pregnant. If you force your body into an unnatural state, it WILL fight back!\n\nPlease be careful and watch for other side affects.   I would hate to see you have dire consequences for trying to make your body do something it should not.  Remember, people do die from the changes that hormones cause their bodies.
1041881
I've been on it for about a year and a half. The first three months were kind of rough with break-through bleeding and the like. After that it's been smooth sailing. I admit I did gain a little weight when I started on it. I have also noticed the PMS symptoms when I take the white filler pills are pretty harsh and I bleed a lot more than I did when I was not on Seasonale. There are both positives and negatives and I'm sure everyone is different. For me, the three months sans period is worth the couple days of discomfort and the minimal weight gain.