Warning about Depo
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| Thu, 04-20-2006 - 1:59pm |
Hello everybody! I just wanted to share my depo story and what I have learned from others. I feel that it's important information considering how many women have concerns about their weight.
I started on depo a year ago. The idea of never having to worry about my birth control seemed great, sadly it came with bad side effects too. During that course of a year I gained 60lbs, was always hungry, irritable and for the first time in my life was told that I had high blood pressure (I'm only 19!...almost 20). I talked to my doctor and my family about it but all they told me was that I was stressed about my wedding and moving to a new city. Well, the wedding and the move came and went but my side effects didn't. Just yesterday I had enough and went into the clinic on campus to try to "fix" my problem. I found out from a very patient (I asked a lot of questions!) nurse that my side effects were because of the depo shot and that it is VERY COMMON for it to increase hunger (meaning I ate more so the hunger would go away). It makes me very sad to think of what it did to my body (the weight gain, moods, and higher blood pressure...not to mention who knows what else!) and the fact that I'm putting off having professional pictures taken with my DH because I want to loose all the weight first. I'm am so lucky to have a wonderful hubby who loves me and is helping me by teaching me tennis and eating "my foods" (stir fried veggies made with a bbq sauce instead of oil - yummy!). BTW, depo also warns ladies not to stay on the shot for more than two years. Please, if you can, try to find another method of bc. Depo, in my opinion, is not safe.

Hi mylittlediamondpony, welcome!
Jill
I've been on Depo, and I didn't gain any weight, although it is a common side effect. I did, however, suffer a whole host of other problems, which is why I got off it. Good luck losing the weight. From what I understand, losing weight after being on depo can be very difficult, and take longer than normal, especially with depo remaining in the system for a long time - it can take 18 months for your system to settle back down.
Good luck, and I hope you find a birth control method that works better for you.
Jan