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Depo Provera and Hypothyroid Symptoms
I was on Depo Provera for BC for 8 years with no side effects but headaches, which were manageable. Also had no periods, which was great! However, I became ill when I stopped having the injections at age 45. I experienced fatigue, joint pain and swelling, and depression. I was tested for everything from Lyme disease and Lupus, to thyroid conditons - all negative. My Dr. finally gave up and diagnosed me with Chronic Fatigue syndrome. My OBGYN ran a bone scan and diagnosed me with osteopenia, and declared me menopausal, since my periods have also not resumed. Now nearly 4 years later I am still miserable - fatigue, depression, headaches, cold all the time, and I suspect hypothyroidism. I also have learned that Depo causes bone density loss so maybe I am not menopausal. I don't mean to sound whiny and pitiful, but I can hardly remember the energetic, optimistic person that I used to be. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired! I have been searching the net and find lots of women with lots of side effects from taking Depo Provera, but I am trying to find other women who have experienced problems after QUITTING the injections.
I was on depo for 10 years, I stopped using it 4 months ago, and I'm not feeling any better, my Doctor has ordered a panel of blood tests, including a complet hormone panel, and thyroid, but from what I'm reading, I am losing hope that I can be repaired. I am often irritated, moody , tired, sometimes just down right mean, I have gained sixty pounds in those ten years and having a struggle getting it off, even with followig the Atkins diet.My sex drive is completly gone, and I have lost a decent relationship because of my bad moods and anger. I have wondered many times if the depo is behind this, I don't want to be a monster, I just want to feel like a human again. I feel tired, anxious and my thinking is not sharp. There has to be something out there to repair this damage, I'm 45 but feel so old.
Looking for hope
Looking for hope
Thyroid issues are typically diagnosed by checking TSH. Many individuals that have Hashimoto's thyroiditis have a TSH in the normal range. You need to have the doctor check your Free T3, Free T4 and both types of thyroid antibodies. Your T3 should be in the upper 1/4 range. T4 midrange and TSH under 2. Some docs will say your are normal if your TSH is 5. The book, Stop the Thyroid Madness will educate you on many issues thyroid suffers face from clueless docs.
I was only given one shot and like others I wasn't truly informed about the side effects from my OBGYN and at 18 I actually trusted my Doctor. I was 125 before the shot and today I'm 183 and look about 5 months pregnant. My friend and I were talking about it Friday and she had the exact same thing happen....she walks a couple miles every day, eats healthy as can be, goes to the gym, etc etc..finally went to the Doctor bc of the weight and found out her Thyroid levels were incredibly low. (my mother also just found out she has low thyroid levels). As for me, I fo to the gym 2-3hrs a day...buring 800 calories (4x a week) and 1000 calories (once a week)....I don't eat snacks, ice cream, chips, etc. Two years ago I found out I have bleeding ulcers. Than now whenever I get full (which is alnost immediately after eating a salad or something small) if I try to eat anything else I'll get very sick. I don't know if its all related. I just wish I was informed better.
PS. the thing I most want to say is "thank you".
Reading your stories reassures me that going back on the thyroid hormone is not just the *only* thing to do, but is likely to be the *right* thing to do.
Reading your stories reassures me that going back on the thyroid hormone is not just the *only* thing to do, but is likely to be the *right* thing to do.
I found this thread after googling "Depo Provera thyroid". Why? Because I was starting to join some dots in my head and wondering if the conclusions I was drawing had merit. It seems they have some.
I have tears in my eyes reading so many stories above. God I know that frustration, judgement, self-flagellation, depression and desperation! I know what it feels like to be the "living dead".
As a child I battled with my weight, but flip-flopped between a really bad excessive eating habits and very strict "dieting" (also being *really bad* eating habits) from the age of 10. I was not at all an active child.
So, as a kid I was fat basically because I did all the wrong things. I don't think I did my metabolism any favours while I was at it!
From 16 to about 28 or 30 I ate sensibly and was much more active... and was a much healthier weight and much more energised. That's about the last time my body was "normal" without medical intervention.
Over the next few years I put on 35+kg, despite my level of activity and pretty "normal" eating habits.
I have been tested for hypothyroidism and the common, basic tests showed "normal". I was recommended to a doctor who specialises in hormonal medicine. He had a 13 page in-depth checklist of symptoms which I completed.
His diagnosis was hypothyroid despite the tests (I have heard false negatives mentioned a lot when researching this Depo/hypo topic!). He said my symptoms were way too clearly pointing at it.
I was put on NATURAL THYROID EXTRACT RATHER THAN SYNTHETIC and experienced incredible change once I reached my therapeutic dose (for me it was 3.0 grain).
> Lost 17kgs in 4 months
> Had energy to burn (and loved doing it!)
> Libido increased to what had previously been normal for me
> My skin was clear and fresh looking, my colour was good and I looked "vital"
> My depression dissipated
> My cravings for calorie-dense, nutritionally poor foods were replaced by a desire for fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, lean meat, nuts and high fibre grains/cereals. I ate what I wanted and I ate a healthy amount. It's just that what I wanted changed and I was able to stop when I was "satisfied" rather than needing to feel "full" (ie "over-stuffed") to be able to stop.
> I easily managed 7-8 hours of quality sleep every night and woke feeling refreshed.
> Migraines were a thing of the past
and so on....
The weight loss was not unnatural or excessive. It directly resulted from the shift to healthy eating and daily exercise. I had no "negative" hyperthyroid symptoms. My regular blood tests showed my hormones still within "normal" range - just a little more toward the upper end of the normal range.
My new job made it hard for me to see my specialist and I dropped treatment. The downward spiral began again.
In the meantime I had heard some people suggest treatment with thyroid hormone rather than TSH could make the thyroid "lazy" and cause it to shut down. So I had my doubts about returning to that treatment.
Then I quit work to study and there was no question of being able to afford the treatment.
3 years later, I'm back to square one and desperate. I found a new (much more affordable doctor) and now have a prescription to start again (started today).
The doctor is also an acupuncturist and believes that the underlying issues (thyroid, pituitary, pancreas and liver are all issues for me) can be cleared with a course of acupuncture treatment.
I'm willing to give that a go and will share my thoughts here as we progress
I'm seeing her tomorrow and I'm going to ask her about links between Depo and the endocrine issues I have... because the dramatic negative changes all began around the time I started on Depo.
I note many here noted the changes after stopping. I'm certain my dramatic downward spiral started WITH the Depo.
I switched from Depo to Implanon at the age of 38 (6.5 years ago, after a break of roughly 2 years from Depo) to allow myself the option to conceive sooner if I should choose to. My next line of enquiry is whether Implanon is also linked.
From age 17 my periods were unbearable and I was on the pill by 20 for treatment (not as a contraceptive). I progressed through various dosages as my periods got worse and then moved to Depo as the pill was no longer effectively managing my symptoms.
As the bad periods can be a symptom of hypothyroidism, I note a comment above says the BC can mask it during treatment rather than being the cause. But then, I had few related symptoms before Depo and a barrage of them once I commenced Depo.
Too many people have suffered. Doctors need to be more aware at both ends of this scenario (before prescribing Depo and before dismissing hypothyroidism).
As my next line of enquiry begins.... does anyone have any comment re Implanon?
I have tears in my eyes reading so many stories above. God I know that frustration, judgement, self-flagellation, depression and desperation! I know what it feels like to be the "living dead".
As a child I battled with my weight, but flip-flopped between a really bad excessive eating habits and very strict "dieting" (also being *really bad* eating habits) from the age of 10. I was not at all an active child.
So, as a kid I was fat basically because I did all the wrong things. I don't think I did my metabolism any favours while I was at it!
From 16 to about 28 or 30 I ate sensibly and was much more active... and was a much healthier weight and much more energised. That's about the last time my body was "normal" without medical intervention.
Over the next few years I put on 35+kg, despite my level of activity and pretty "normal" eating habits.
I have been tested for hypothyroidism and the common, basic tests showed "normal". I was recommended to a doctor who specialises in hormonal medicine. He had a 13 page in-depth checklist of symptoms which I completed.
His diagnosis was hypothyroid despite the tests (I have heard false negatives mentioned a lot when researching this Depo/hypo topic!). He said my symptoms were way too clearly pointing at it.
I was put on NATURAL THYROID EXTRACT RATHER THAN SYNTHETIC and experienced incredible change once I reached my therapeutic dose (for me it was 3.0 grain).
> Lost 17kgs in 4 months
> Had energy to burn (and loved doing it!)
> Libido increased to what had previously been normal for me
> My skin was clear and fresh looking, my colour was good and I looked "vital"
> My depression dissipated
> My cravings for calorie-dense, nutritionally poor foods were replaced by a desire for fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, lean meat, nuts and high fibre grains/cereals. I ate what I wanted and I ate a healthy amount. It's just that what I wanted changed and I was able to stop when I was "satisfied" rather than needing to feel "full" (ie "over-stuffed") to be able to stop.
> I easily managed 7-8 hours of quality sleep every night and woke feeling refreshed.
> Migraines were a thing of the past
and so on....
The weight loss was not unnatural or excessive. It directly resulted from the shift to healthy eating and daily exercise. I had no "negative" hyperthyroid symptoms. My regular blood tests showed my hormones still within "normal" range - just a little more toward the upper end of the normal range.
My new job made it hard for me to see my specialist and I dropped treatment. The downward spiral began again.
In the meantime I had heard some people suggest treatment with thyroid hormone rather than TSH could make the thyroid "lazy" and cause it to shut down. So I had my doubts about returning to that treatment.
Then I quit work to study and there was no question of being able to afford the treatment.
3 years later, I'm back to square one and desperate. I found a new (much more affordable doctor) and now have a prescription to start again (started today).
The doctor is also an acupuncturist and believes that the underlying issues (thyroid, pituitary, pancreas and liver are all issues for me) can be cleared with a course of acupuncture treatment.
I'm willing to give that a go and will share my thoughts here as we progress
I'm seeing her tomorrow and I'm going to ask her about links between Depo and the endocrine issues I have... because the dramatic negative changes all began around the time I started on Depo.
I note many here noted the changes after stopping. I'm certain my dramatic downward spiral started WITH the Depo.
I switched from Depo to Implanon at the age of 38 (6.5 years ago, after a break of roughly 2 years from Depo) to allow myself the option to conceive sooner if I should choose to. My next line of enquiry is whether Implanon is also linked.
From age 17 my periods were unbearable and I was on the pill by 20 for treatment (not as a contraceptive). I progressed through various dosages as my periods got worse and then moved to Depo as the pill was no longer effectively managing my symptoms.
As the bad periods can be a symptom of hypothyroidism, I note a comment above says the BC can mask it during treatment rather than being the cause. But then, I had few related symptoms before Depo and a barrage of them once I commenced Depo.
Too many people have suffered. Doctors need to be more aware at both ends of this scenario (before prescribing Depo and before dismissing hypothyroidism).
As my next line of enquiry begins.... does anyone have any comment re Implanon?
My story is somewhat similar (I will post it separately) but the dr that eventually DID treat me for hypothyroidism prescribed natural thyroid hormone, as has my new doctor.
Both doctors subscribe to the school of thought that believes natural thyroid extract (hormone) is much more effective than the synthetic kind because it is much more readily taken up by our bodies.
I have never had synthyroid, only ever the natural option.
I was placed on 1.0 grain (not "gram") initially and told to monitor symptoms. Every 3 weeks I was to increase by 0.5grain until symptoms went away.
My therapeutic dose turned out to be 3.0 grain. About 2 weeks after reaching that level, I began dropping weight and feeling more energised and "vital" than I had in at least a dozen years. My tests were done again and my hormones were still in the normal range - yet I was absolutely a new person.
I lost 17kg in the first 4 months and it was not hard. I wasn't eating any stupidly strict diet or denying myself anything that I really felt like.
The best way I can describe it was that my body seemed finally to be able to use the nutrients I consumed. I craved what my body really needed instead of craving calorie dense and nutritionally poor food. I had oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, lots of meals of fish/lean meat and salads, with fruit salad for dessert, raw nuts or fruit or hommus with vegies or crackers for snacks. And I didn't have to drag myself out of bed or to exercise.
I would wake after 7-8 hours of quality sleep and be ready for my day.
This was nothing crazy. This is how my body had behaved from the age of 16-27 when I led a pretty "normal" life (also pre-Depo).
I would say to anyone who is on synthetic thyroid hormone and is *not* feeling a genuine "lift" in energy and mood, that it's worth talking to your doctor about trying natural thyroid hormone and seeing if you get a better result.
Both doctors subscribe to the school of thought that believes natural thyroid extract (hormone) is much more effective than the synthetic kind because it is much more readily taken up by our bodies.
I have never had synthyroid, only ever the natural option.
I was placed on 1.0 grain (not "gram") initially and told to monitor symptoms. Every 3 weeks I was to increase by 0.5grain until symptoms went away.
My therapeutic dose turned out to be 3.0 grain. About 2 weeks after reaching that level, I began dropping weight and feeling more energised and "vital" than I had in at least a dozen years. My tests were done again and my hormones were still in the normal range - yet I was absolutely a new person.
I lost 17kg in the first 4 months and it was not hard. I wasn't eating any stupidly strict diet or denying myself anything that I really felt like.
The best way I can describe it was that my body seemed finally to be able to use the nutrients I consumed. I craved what my body really needed instead of craving calorie dense and nutritionally poor food. I had oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, lots of meals of fish/lean meat and salads, with fruit salad for dessert, raw nuts or fruit or hommus with vegies or crackers for snacks. And I didn't have to drag myself out of bed or to exercise.
I would wake after 7-8 hours of quality sleep and be ready for my day.
This was nothing crazy. This is how my body had behaved from the age of 16-27 when I led a pretty "normal" life (also pre-Depo).
I would say to anyone who is on synthetic thyroid hormone and is *not* feeling a genuine "lift" in energy and mood, that it's worth talking to your doctor about trying natural thyroid hormone and seeing if you get a better result.
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