Questions in the Maternal and Child Health Forum have been answered by doctors from Henry Ford Health System.

Question Title: Depo provera

Forum: The Maternal and Child Health Forum
Topic: Pregnancy - Normal


I had my last shot in September of 1997 and am not yet ovulating.
I have been seeing a specialist who prescribed provera and clomiphene
which have done nothing. My periods are extremely irregular now (either not
having one or having one every 2 weeks). Should I be worried that I won't be able to conceive? I
never had any problems before the Depo Provera.

Dear Evie:
The average time to return ovulation and menses following DepoProvera is 5 months from the last injection.
A small number of women who cannot be recognized in advance of therapy experience a very long delay in return of menses: the longest I have personally seen is 3 years.
The mechanism is presumed to be stores of the drug that have not yet been cleared from the body and hence the contraceptive action continues.
Other causes for failure of have menses (abnormalities of thyroid, prolactin, FSH), scar within the uterus (Asherman's Syndrome), chronic illness, medications, weight gain/weight loss, exercise all need to be considered.
Clomiphene is the beginning therapy to stimulate return of menses and can be used in doses up to 200 mg (4 tablets) for 7 days. When this therapy fails, gonadotropin therapies can be considered.

Keywords: DepoProvera

This informaton is provided for education purposes and is not a medical consultation. If you have specific questions, please contact your physician.


 

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