I am considering changing from the pill to the Depo-Provera shot. I’m pretty happy with the pill, just looking for a little more certainty.
I am primarily concerned with spotting and weight gain. For the Depo users, what were/are your experiences with spotting or weight gain? Does it make a difference if you’re already on hormone based contraception?
For me, it’s the best BC ever.
I don’t think being already on hormonal based bc makes a difference, per se, but it is sorta like a free clue that you’ll probably adjust to the Depo easily. Completely anecdotal, of course, but every girl I know that’s had trouble with Depo, had trouble adjusting to pills, too.
I had no real issues adapting to either, but remembering to take the pill on time every day was a bit rough. Depo handily solved that for me, and since my health insurance doesn’t pay for either, it was actually a bit cheaper too.
I’ve been on it twice, 3 years the first round, then 2 the second. Both times I had weird spotting type 2-3 week adjustment periods, then nada. The first round took two cycles to stop menstruating, the second time I was clear in a month. No noticable weight gain, but it’s not as if I were dieting and really looking for a difference either time.
I did notice shedding a lot more hair on Depo, not like I went bald or anything extreme, just always have some extra thinning when I’m on it. I’ve pretty thick hair to begin with, so this really wasn’t an issue, YMMV.
I cannot emphasize the benefits of not menstruating enough, no more Midol, no more 2 a.m. manic trips to 7-11 because I forgot to lay in chocolate supplies, no cramping, no bloating, no tenderness, 'twas nearly as good as being male except keeping all the fun parts.
Depo is wonderful. I have endometriosis, and my periods used to be excrutiatingly painful. I haven’t had a period, or any carmping, since I started taking The Shot. (Nor do I get PMS.)
No weight gain, or hair loss for me.
Another happy Depo chick here. No problems whatsoever, though in my case I’d gladly trade the medical problems I’m using it to control for some weight gain and a little spotting. I do know some people who tried switching from the pill and didn’t like it, but there seems to be no way to predict who will react well to it and who will not.
I’m curious whether anyone else on these boards is using hormonal birth control to treat an autoimmune condition?
I used it and enjoyed the fringe bennies. But regardless of what Queen Tonya said, you should always have some chocolate on hand anyway. 
[hijack]
Sonyadora, I also have an autoimmune disorder, but probably not the same one you do. Just out of curiosity from a fellow sufferer, and if I’m not being too intrusive, what do you have? I’ve never heard of hormones being used for treating what I have (Sjogren’s syndrome).
[/hijack]
Behcet’s Syndrome. I’ve never heard of anyone being treated with hormones for it or any other autoimmune disease, but it’s worked for me so far. I know I’m not the only Behcet’s sufferer to notice symptoms that get worse during their period though, so I always tell new doctors but they never seem to find it interesting that I’m being treated with Depo.
I just want to say that I love depo. Pregnancy prevention as good as surgical sterilization, complete lack of periods, no PMS or period-related depression, etc, etc. I’ve never had any spotting, and not noticed a weight gain trend, but there are a host of other factors involved in that for me.
Unfortunately my experience on Depo hasn’t been as great. I don’t have cramps, but I do have month-long spotting. When I asked the nurse about this, she said that the hormones are slowing down my period instead of completely stopping it. IOW, now my period is spread out over a month instead of a week. Not fun!!
Weight gain is another possible side effect of Depo. I haven’t gained any weight, and the nurse also said that women whose periods completely stop are more likely to gain weight. Is that true for anyone?
I love my depo.
Weight gain: If I gained weight, I was gaining some anyway. I’ve been fairly successful in losing whatever weight I gained for whatever reason, though. And I could not have possibly gained much.
Spotting: For the first year or so, I’d spot for maybe a week once every three months, about two weeks before I was due to get my shot again. Lately, that hasn’t happened at all. No period, no spotting, nothing.
No weight gain. Some intermittent spotting, though fairly rare.
I had extremely painful and debilitating periods, so getting rid of them is much more important to me even than the very good birth control. Fifteen years of vomiting, diarrhea, migraine, bloating, and cramps every month is plenty. (Not to mention being told by numerous doctors that it was “all in my head.”)
Julie
For those who have come off of it, how soon did things return to normal?
After we have this baby, I was considering Depo, but am very cautious of any type of BC following a horrible experience on the Pill… see world’s longest period thread…
I’ve heard many good things about Depo, BTW.
I was on Depo several years ago, and it did not work for me. I tried it for about 6 months before giving up. I put on about 40 pounds, and I spotted the entire time. And it was not light spotting… I had to wear a pad all the time because a panty liner couldn’t handle it (even for an hour!)
I have considered going back to it to see if I would have a different result, but I have since been diagnosed with high blood pressure, and I don’t know if it would be an option for me anymore. I decided to go with an IUD instead.
i had a little bit of a weight gain, but i had weight gain with the pill too. i think i had spotting the first month, after that nothing. for me, that was great, no cramps! the only trouble i had, was, i had a hard time remembering what day i was due back in for a shot – even one day late and they made me take a pregnancy test just to be sure. that was my own fault tho, i am terrible about keeping track of that stuff, like when they ask you, what was the first day of your last period. i stand there like a dork going um, well…
when i went off it, i had no troubles at all either, i think it took a while to get my period again, but then it was back to business as usual.
all in all, i would say i had a good experience with it, and would recommend it.
I had a little weight gain (5 - 10 pounds), but it was the three-month-long period that made me decide to not get the next shot. I specifically went on it to reduce my periods, but it turned out to do the opposite for me. <shrug>
I was on depo for a year. No thanks, never again. I went on it right after I had my daughter, and while I didn’t have any probs w/ weight gain… I couldn’t LOSE weight to save my life!
I didn’t have too many problems with spotting. I noticed that I would have a lot of probs sleeping right after a shot.
One GOOD thing I noticed was that my leg hair and such thinned a lot.
I went off of it a year ago, and it took almost another year before I started having my periods again. Since I’ve started having my periods again, I’ve been losing my “baby weight” gradually.
I liked dep. No spotting (no period at all–nice). No weight gain.
I had the choice of getting the shot in the but or in the arm. Having done both, don’t get the shot in your arm. It hurts!
My experience with depo has been great. I have been one the shot for five years with two breaks - a one month break and a six month break. I have not gained any substantial weight, maybe 10 pounds in five years, but that can be chalked up to my eating habits as much as anything. I love not having my period, not having cramps, not having period related depression, and not having to remember to take a pill everyday.
I know that I spotted over the first month or two, but I haven’t spotted or had a period since then, not even when I was on a break from the shot.
I also recommend getting the shot in your hip (butt). I am phobic of needles, but I can do this shot with no problem.
Just remember that nothing is absolutely foolproof. I have a friend whose beautiful baby girl was concieved not long after her first shot. Yes, she was that one in a thousand…
I’ve thought about it, but if I reacted badly, I don’t want to wait months for it to get out of my system. Though the idea of not having periods is pretty good.
Depo was, for me anyway, the contraception from hell.
I gained twenty pounds, developed terrible acne (I usually have excellent skin with only a blemish now and again), and bloated up like a balloon from retaining water. I had never had any problems wih the pill, but depo made me absolutely miserable. Never again. I have only just recently gotten back to my pre depo weight, and I stopped depo almost a year ago. My spots took six months to go away as well.
No spotting, but thank goodness for that. It was the only flower in a field of shit.
That’s exactly what kept me from going the Depo route. While it lessens period-related problems for some women, it massively intensifies them for others. My mood swings and depression around that time of the month were bad enough on their own, thank you very much, and I was afraid if they got much worse I wouldn’t be able to function. Three or more months of that kind of roller coaster with no way off just wasn’t an option.
Instead, I got a Mirena, which has essentially the same hormone as Depo but can be removed at any point if I have trouble. So far, I’ve done pretty well on the progesterone-only hormone doses. No weight gain that can’t be explained by my eating habits, no cramping past the first few days, and only a little spotting the first month, followed by a very short, light period. I’ve had no spotting at all this month, and I’m not at all sure I’ll even have a period this time.
If you’re hesitant about how you’ll react to the progesterone-only switch, try the mini-pills for a few months. If you don’t have problems with them, odds are pretty decent you’ll do all right with Depo. There is, of course, the occasional case of women doing wonderfully on the mini-pills and having all sorts of problems with Depo, but they’re pretty rare.