Depo Shot

I was on Depo for six years after my son was born. Then my doctor advised I get off of it because if you take it more than a couple of years it causes bone loss. I never had any problems taking it, though. (I take extra calcium now just in case). After going off Depo I switched to the Mirena IUD. It hurt like heck when they put it in but after that no problems. Good luck on your decision!

It's definitely a birth control method with a lot of convenience but with just as much, if not more, complications - as previously mentioned. I actually LOST weight (???) on Depo BUT I bled heavily for 3 solid months during my last shot and my iron was so depleted I had to be on iron therapy for months afterwards. I was so exhausted and dizzy I felt like a couch potato for months. Also, my GYN now says they do not recommend it because it steals calcium from your bones. It also took me over 9 months to conceive our first child.

If you're breastfeeding, talk to your doctor about it because it may not be a good idea. I've been on the depo shot for a long while and although I have the normal loss of libido and I'm a little moody at times, I really like the shot. I also get tired easily and I've got low iron, but doing Tae Kwon Do and staying active helps combat these side effects. I also drink a weight watchers smoothie to help with iron and other vitamins. I don't have problems with weight gain or loss which is another side effect that many struggle with. Hope this helps. God Bless

I used the Depo shot for 3 months. In that 3 months I gained 40 pounds despite exercise every day. I also lost a lot of my hair. I had never heard of that side effect before, but I would wake up with hair all over my pillow. I know some people can use it with no side effects, but it didn't work that way for me.

While I enjoyed the ease of this birth control I hated being on it. It made me ravenous for food and I gained ALOT of weight. I don't seem to have that side effect on the pill. Best of luck on your choice.

HATED it! I bled for 6 months straight and gained 10 lbs. even though I worked out every day. Leg cramps and spider veins...it was terrible.

My daughter had depo shots and had a horrid time with them. Similar experience to the previous post.

With fine children unless you want some more perhaps having your tubes tied would be a better solution. At least a healthier one.That is what I did, it took all the worry out of birth control. I wouldn't recommend Depo after my daughters experience. She had her tubes tied as she didn't want to go through that again.

Hope you find a solution. Good luck.

My sister experienced unusual odor and emotional highs and lows to the point she won't do a Depo again.

Good Luck to you.

Take Care,
N. :) SAHM homeschooling 3 boys and married to my Mr. Wonderful for 15yrs. I love helping other moms reach their goals.

Not a good idea if you are breastfeeding. It can affect milk supply.

G. T.

I was on the Depo shot sometime ago, and I liked the convenience of it but I didn't like the weight gain. It seemed that I blew up over night. I ate all the time, if I saw food I wanted to eat and I didn't particularly have to be hungry. The side effects really vary from individual to individual. I elected to go back to the pill.

I agree with many of the other repsonses. The weight gain is a major side effect. I was on it for 4 years and gained a lot of weight from it. I would try other options for birth control before using Depo.

Granted I had the shot 10 yrs ago, but I bled heavily the entire 9 months I was on it, with the exception of the 2 months I was on the pill in addition to the shot to control the bleeding. At that point I gained 15 pounds and went off the pill and the bleeding resumed. I ended up stopping the shot and going on the pill. Now that I have kids, I can't remember the pill, so I have a IUD. Get the mirena and not the copper if you go this route (the copper also caused heavy bleeding). good luck.