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Re: Side Effects of Depo ProveraFrom: anonymous@obgyn.netSun Feb 22 07:40:38 2004
Hi Rachel! I had the unfortunate experience of having a depo shot about four years ago. I chose to try the depo method after getting headaches from every possible type of birth control pill there was. After NINE months, that awful shot was FINALLY out of my system. My doctor highly recommended the shot. He lauded it as a great method of birth control if for nothing else than because I only had to worry with it once every three months. I researched it (I thought) and read about the possible weight gain (familiar with this from birth control pills). I also read that there was a stunningly great side effect for many women from that shot and that was a complete loss of periods! Hey! I thought this is the thing for me! Within a week, I started bleeding. And bleeding. And bleeding. It kept on and on and on. My husband started thinking that I was crazy and just making this up so that I wouldn't have to worry with my "wifely" duties. One month went by. Then two. Then three. Still bleeding. Naturally at this point, I am adamant that I NOT get this shot again. I spoke to my doctor about it. He said that it was odd that I was having this problem. He was a family practice guy (MY mistake) and wasn't too familiar with ALL the effects of it. He told me to stick it out and surely it would quit eventually. So I waited. And kept on bleeding. And bleeding. And bleeding. Another month. Then two more. Then three more. By now, I was very tired. I was so tired, in fact, I was sure that I had become anemic. So, I return to my doctor. He happened to be away and I was treated to a lovely visit to an intern who obviously needed work on his bedside manner. When I explained to him that I had been bleeding EVERY day for six months and felt that I was anemic, he merely sighed and grudgingly allowed me a hematocrit. As it turned out, I was only one point below what is considered the bottom end of normal so he brushed me off and told me that that was no cause for my tiredness. Then he asked, "Are you depressed?" Well, I have to tell you, I am generally a very nice and easy-going person. But that question hit me like a brick in the face. I very rudely told this not so pleasant doctor that when he grew boobs and bled for six months straight, then he could talk to me about depression. He looked a little sheepish and then suggested it could be a thyroid problem. HA! It wasn't, of course. So, I went back home and waiting another month. Still bleeding. At the end of that month, I gave up and scheduled an appointment with my previous OB/Gyn in Atlanta who had delivered my first baby and got me through a most difficult pregnancy. I got up at 3am to drive from Savannah to Atlanta to make my appointment. As I was sitting in the waiting room, I picked up a magazine that, interestingly enough, had an article about different methods of birth control. Lo and behold, there is the depo-provera shot. Again, it was lauded for its ease of use and comparable side effects to the pill. Then my name was called to go back. Jeannette Queen, a godsend of a CNP, told me that what I was experiencing was relatively normal. She said that had I continued on with the shot, my symptoms probably would have gone away. Then she prescribed me Premarin and more birth control pills. After two more months, the bleeding finally stopped. I have since read articles about the shot that now talk about how some women will have more problems that what all the ads state. Its just the luck of the draw how you will react. I do find it terribly interesting that I always seem to find out too little too late about some side effects or contraindications on some of these birth control methods. After I got pregnant with my first child while I was on Ortho-tricyclen, I learned that antacids can counteract birth control pills. Oopsie.
So in the end, I suppose my own nurse would say continue on with the
shot - that it will eventually right itself. However, I know how long
that nine months was and how awful I felt all the time. I would not
recommend that crazy thing to anybody. Good luck!!!
At Sat, 21 Feb 2004, Rachel wrote:
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