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Getting off of Depo Provera after 11 years - need advice
I have been on depo for 11 years. I would be due for my next shot on 9/27 but my Doctor has advised that I stop having it. She has been treating me for migraines and depression with Imitrex (when needed) and a daily dosage of Prozac of 10mg. The Imitrex thankfully, works, and the migraines have also been lessened by the Prozac. However, I continue to have nasty "low" days when I can barely function and have also experienced symptoms of hypoglycemia and panic attacks and or crying jags for no reason.
I have been reading a lot about the Depo side effects some women have had and they mirror mine. I've had a thyroid test and it was fine, so I don't think that I'm diabetic.
I have been trying to eat well and clense with milk thistle to try to hasten the exit of the Depo.
At the beginning of this week,I developed a yeast infection and did the 1 day Monistat. It seemed to work after 3/4 of a day, but now the yeast infection is seeming like it's back. Ugh.
I'm wondering if there is more that I can do to get it out of me or something I should request of my Dr? I don't want to take more drugs for the panic/anxiety, but will if it's going to be a long haul to "detox" from this stuff. I'm assuming that the yeast infection may be due to the hormones trying to kick back in or the fact that I was working out in the hot sun all weekend and was definitely sweating (don't think I need to say more on that).
If anyone can shed some light, I'd appreciate it. I don't know why all of these nasty symptoms appeared over the last 2 years when I'd been on it so long.
TIA!
I have been reading a lot about the Depo side effects some women have had and they mirror mine. I've had a thyroid test and it was fine, so I don't think that I'm diabetic.
I have been trying to eat well and clense with milk thistle to try to hasten the exit of the Depo.
At the beginning of this week,I developed a yeast infection and did the 1 day Monistat. It seemed to work after 3/4 of a day, but now the yeast infection is seeming like it's back. Ugh.
I'm wondering if there is more that I can do to get it out of me or something I should request of my Dr? I don't want to take more drugs for the panic/anxiety, but will if it's going to be a long haul to "detox" from this stuff. I'm assuming that the yeast infection may be due to the hormones trying to kick back in or the fact that I was working out in the hot sun all weekend and was definitely sweating (don't think I need to say more on that).
If anyone can shed some light, I'd appreciate it. I don't know why all of these nasty symptoms appeared over the last 2 years when I'd been on it so long.
TIA!
I just found this blog and OMG! I never realized how bad the Depo was for you and that you weren't supposed to use for 15 years like it had been. At my last shot, the doctor told me that now than I am 40 I can't use any BC with estrogen or progestern and that I would no longer get the shots. So I didn't get my shot last month. Thought I should google Depo and see when I might get my period or pregnant and found this site. It's been one month w/o Depo and so far so good. No period, but no other weird stuff either. I'm terrified of getting pregnant, but unsure about what to do now. If I had health insurance I'd have more options, but I'd need a better job. Thanks for being here for those of us who needed the info. Good luck to all of us.
Hi, i'm 36 (37 in sept) and was on the depo for 13 years since the birth of my second daughter, separation, divorce, death in family, loosing the house, i'd had enough and came off it, 18ish months later, two very very heavy periods, (changing the pad every hour and it was a night time one) the doc put me on cerazette, non stop bleeding for 5 weeks until i can off it, since the nowt, nothing, nada, my new bf and i are trying to get pregnant, but i'm so scared that my time has run out.
Any advice? And thank you to all, i just wish i'd know this before xxx
Any advice? And thank you to all, i just wish i'd know this before xxx
OH my gosh!! I just found this site while trying to figure out whether or not I was losing my freaking mind!
I was a 10 year depo user. My mom (who is a NP) put me on it when I turned 13. I never knew it was BC until I was about 17, but I never had a period while on depo. My parents went through an awful divorce in 2006, and I have dealt with depression from what I thought was that! Clearly my depo had a LOT to do with my horrible moods!!!
My last depo shot was due Jan 6th of this year and I did not take it. I had 1 AF in April, but it would be on then off..on then off.. and that lasted for about a week total. Between Jan and April, my husband was almost ready to kill me - I was almost bipolar! My OB-GYN told me this was NOT normal (obviously he's clueless) and put me on Pristiq. Since having the Pristiq, I've been better hormonally, but in the last week the bipolar crazy woman has returned. I notice that I get SO angry over STUPID stuff - and it's like I'm watching someone else because I can't do anything to not be mad!!
My husband and I are TTC, and I should have ovulated within the last 2 weeks. For the past 3 days, I have been having random bleeding - it's dark in color, and if I use 1 tampon it's enough. At first I thought this might be because I was pregnant and the baby was implanting, but after reading these posts I'm not so sure!! The odd thing is, I don't actually bleed out onto my panties, so it's just hanging out inside my vagina. I also have this strange...pressure?... in my ovaries/uterus. It almost feels like someone is squeezing them, and it doesn't exactly hurt but it feels very odd. I am only 22, so I am hoping that we can conceive sometime soon. Since I'm young, maybe it won't take as long - but I can't imagine having to wait over a year!
Anyone with any updates PLEASE share!
I was a 10 year depo user. My mom (who is a NP) put me on it when I turned 13. I never knew it was BC until I was about 17, but I never had a period while on depo. My parents went through an awful divorce in 2006, and I have dealt with depression from what I thought was that! Clearly my depo had a LOT to do with my horrible moods!!!
My last depo shot was due Jan 6th of this year and I did not take it. I had 1 AF in April, but it would be on then off..on then off.. and that lasted for about a week total. Between Jan and April, my husband was almost ready to kill me - I was almost bipolar! My OB-GYN told me this was NOT normal (obviously he's clueless) and put me on Pristiq. Since having the Pristiq, I've been better hormonally, but in the last week the bipolar crazy woman has returned. I notice that I get SO angry over STUPID stuff - and it's like I'm watching someone else because I can't do anything to not be mad!!
My husband and I are TTC, and I should have ovulated within the last 2 weeks. For the past 3 days, I have been having random bleeding - it's dark in color, and if I use 1 tampon it's enough. At first I thought this might be because I was pregnant and the baby was implanting, but after reading these posts I'm not so sure!! The odd thing is, I don't actually bleed out onto my panties, so it's just hanging out inside my vagina. I also have this strange...pressure?... in my ovaries/uterus. It almost feels like someone is squeezing them, and it doesn't exactly hurt but it feels very odd. I am only 22, so I am hoping that we can conceive sometime soon. Since I'm young, maybe it won't take as long - but I can't imagine having to wait over a year!
Anyone with any updates PLEASE share!
Hi everyone!
First and foremost, I want to thank each and every one of you for keeping this board alive! I found you all last year, around January, and let me just say, it changed my life entirely. I was doing some research, just Googling around "depo support groups and advice,"
Let me introduce myself. My name is Brittany, I'm 22 and I'm an ex-depo survivor. I began it in September of 2008, and it's officially been out of my system, or to be blunt about it. I FINALLY GOT MY PERIOD AGAIN in May 2010. (Happy 1 year to me!)
I gained 40lbs during that time & DID NOT bleed once! And along with the rest of you, I experienced serious anxiety and depression issues. I began to see a therapist also, and they prescribed me, Gabapentin (aka Neurontin) AND Seroquel. I suffered a side effect called "tardive dyskinesia" from the Neurontin. It's the equivalent of having tourettes syndrome. (in fact, the two are difficult to diagnose as their symptoms are similar.)
It was so bad. I would just sit there and twitch. My head was out of control. My neck always hurt and I couldn't sleep still.. sometimes at all. Too afraid of not waking up. Afraid my brain would explode. I was a nutcase. My boyfriend, (who has loved me and has been there by my side through all of this) could tell you how bad it was. He doesn't like to admit to it, and I hate thinking about it but there would be times where he would just yell at me to stop twitching, and I'd cry because I couldn't. I'd lay there and just keep wondering when things would go back to normal. When would I feel normal again? Would I ever feel normal again? Maybe?
I was sort of forced off of the Neurontin, in December 09. I was visiting family in IN, and my therapist office informed me that my case had been canceled, and I was no longer a patient of theirs. (for missing 3 weeks, that I made sure to tell them I'd be missing.) They didn't say anything about my medicine, just tossed me off to the side.
So I figured.. "If I'm getting off of this stuff, I might try to get off of Depo, and try something else also"
And so I found you ladies. You're all so wonderful.
I remember showing Steven (boyfriend of 4 years<3) all the posts, and how much sense it made to us.
Everything just CLICKED. A light went off. A weight was lifted. A sigh of relief was taken.
I switched to Loestrin 24FE last April, and 1 month later, I was back to bleedin.
I don't mean to sound gross or weird when I say this but to me, it was a beautiful moment.
I was an early bloomer (10yo!) and I felt like my sense of self as a woman was straight up stolen from me.
I didn't feel sexy. Didn't really feel like I was 'normal'
So when I called my Dr to tell her I was bleeding and hear the excitement in her voice too, made it that much more of a happy moment for me.
(ain't it funny when a Dr. actually wants you to bleed! LOL)
And now.. It's been a whole year (time flies) that I've been taking the pill faithfully at 9:30pm.
I bleed like I'm supposed to.
I feel like I'm supposed to.
There's no more depression, or anxiousness.
No more awful head twitching.
I'm finally back to me.
Oh and by the way.... I cannot seem to shed 1 single pound either!! If anyone finds the cure, LET ME KNOW!
Thank you all very very much.
Brittany
First and foremost, I want to thank each and every one of you for keeping this board alive! I found you all last year, around January, and let me just say, it changed my life entirely. I was doing some research, just Googling around "depo support groups and advice,"
Let me introduce myself. My name is Brittany, I'm 22 and I'm an ex-depo survivor. I began it in September of 2008, and it's officially been out of my system, or to be blunt about it. I FINALLY GOT MY PERIOD AGAIN in May 2010. (Happy 1 year to me!)
I gained 40lbs during that time & DID NOT bleed once! And along with the rest of you, I experienced serious anxiety and depression issues. I began to see a therapist also, and they prescribed me, Gabapentin (aka Neurontin) AND Seroquel. I suffered a side effect called "tardive dyskinesia" from the Neurontin. It's the equivalent of having tourettes syndrome. (in fact, the two are difficult to diagnose as their symptoms are similar.)
It was so bad. I would just sit there and twitch. My head was out of control. My neck always hurt and I couldn't sleep still.. sometimes at all. Too afraid of not waking up. Afraid my brain would explode. I was a nutcase. My boyfriend, (who has loved me and has been there by my side through all of this) could tell you how bad it was. He doesn't like to admit to it, and I hate thinking about it but there would be times where he would just yell at me to stop twitching, and I'd cry because I couldn't. I'd lay there and just keep wondering when things would go back to normal. When would I feel normal again? Would I ever feel normal again? Maybe?
I was sort of forced off of the Neurontin, in December 09. I was visiting family in IN, and my therapist office informed me that my case had been canceled, and I was no longer a patient of theirs. (for missing 3 weeks, that I made sure to tell them I'd be missing.) They didn't say anything about my medicine, just tossed me off to the side.
So I figured.. "If I'm getting off of this stuff, I might try to get off of Depo, and try something else also"
And so I found you ladies. You're all so wonderful.
I remember showing Steven (boyfriend of 4 years<3) all the posts, and how much sense it made to us.
Everything just CLICKED. A light went off. A weight was lifted. A sigh of relief was taken.
I switched to Loestrin 24FE last April, and 1 month later, I was back to bleedin.
I don't mean to sound gross or weird when I say this but to me, it was a beautiful moment.
I was an early bloomer (10yo!) and I felt like my sense of self as a woman was straight up stolen from me.
I didn't feel sexy. Didn't really feel like I was 'normal'
So when I called my Dr to tell her I was bleeding and hear the excitement in her voice too, made it that much more of a happy moment for me.
(ain't it funny when a Dr. actually wants you to bleed! LOL)
And now.. It's been a whole year (time flies) that I've been taking the pill faithfully at 9:30pm.
I bleed like I'm supposed to.
I feel like I'm supposed to.
There's no more depression, or anxiousness.
No more awful head twitching.
I'm finally back to me.
Oh and by the way.... I cannot seem to shed 1 single pound either!! If anyone finds the cure, LET ME KNOW!
Thank you all very very much.
Brittany
I'm just getting off Depo after almost two years. In that time I have gained almost 40lbs, experienced the depression stage (went on Wellbutrin, Zoloft, and Trazadone). My sex drive went from 100 mph to a crawling 10 mph (lost my husband to several affairs too). Oh, not to mention diabetes and high blood pressure too (both hereditary, but aggrevated and elevated by the depo). I was experiencing shortness of breath, significant hair loss, always hungry and heart futtersm. I literally felt like I was dying at 33. I would diet and exercise and not lose a pound! My diabetes and mood swings were out of control so that's why I decided to stop the shot. I wanted my life and health back. I was due for my next shot April 2011, I didn't get it. For the past three weeks I've been dieting and exercising like crazy. Low carb dieting, an hour of taebo plus a 3 mile walk everyday, and I have not lost 1 pound! So frustrating! Not to mention cramps beyond belief with chocolate colored mucus spotting every now and then. I'm starting to have bouts of hot flashes and headaches (which I'm confused about maybe its my high blood pressure). I'm sorry I'd advised all women to stay away from this method of birth control!
I started taking Depo when I was 14 years old I am now 26. I was off of it for a couple years and was on the pill called seasonal because my Dr said it wasn't good to be on it for more that 2 years at a time, due to their studies showing it lowers bone density. I went back on it after being off of it for a couple years because my Dr said that they did more studies and apparently it was safe again. I took my last shot in October 2009, I didn't get a period until April 2010, then I got it again in May and started getting it every two weeks. I called my Dr because I hadn't had a period in so long I was not ready to deal with one every two weeks, she put me on the pill for 3 months to regulate my periods. I stopped the pill in September and since then I have been getting a period but they have been coming every 32-36 days. I have had horrible cramps, mood swings, breast tenderness and I don't like these side effects. My boyfriend & I have been trying to get pregnant it is now the middle of April 2011 and still no luck. I am very irritable and I have no idea why, I start crying for no reason. I put on about 85lbs while I was on Depo and I haven't been able to lose more than 15lbs, I'm sure part of it has to do with depression which has seemed to get better since being off of it. After reading all your posts I'm glad I found this site makes me feel like I'm not alone. I have had Drs tell me that it can take between 12-18 months to get pregnant after Depo but its getting quite frustrating after trying for so long and having no luck. The last week or so I have had some lower abdomen cramps that come & go and some weird lower and middle back pain, not sure if its stress or that maybe I'm finally pregnant. If I would have known it would be this hard getting pregnant after getting off of it I would have never taken it. And my dr still can't tell me if I'm ovulating regularly or not, they claim that as long as I'm getting a period every month i should be ovulating. I will check back in a few weeks and post again if I have any news. Thanks for all the info it has helped a lot!
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