Depo Shot

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.

Even though I have never had the depo, I am totally against it. You gain weight, you have moods swings, not for me. Try the Mirena IUD, like the other responder, it hurt like hell putting it in but in the long run, it has been a blessing. No periods, no taking pills or switching patches. The mirena lasts up to 5 years before having to be removed.

Good luck with your choice and keep us informed.

Wow you have your hands full. I took it about 10 years ago and you get it every 3 months. I had a bad experience with it, I had my period the whole 3 months I was on it. Needless to say I went back to the pill.

I was on depo for 5 years & loved it. Although I did gain some weight, it was nothing that wasn't managable. I never got a period which I understand really bothers some women, but I looked at it as an added bonus. About a year & a half ago I switched to Implanon (it's an implant on the inside of your upper arm that stays in for 3 years & is time-released) because it is actually cheaper & less involved than getting a shot every 3 months. Our insurance covered Implanon entirely so I only paid my regular co-pay for the Dr.'s visit to have it inserted. Might be worth the time spent on research if you are looking for something easy & relatively long-term.

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.

I was on the Depo for almost 2 yrs. I had no problems with it. I recently stoppped b/c we are going to try for #3. My weight pretty much stayed the same, though I have taken steps to change that, before I become PG with our 3rd. I had no periods, which was great. I tried the IUD but had complications with it, my body just didn't like it. You should talk to your doctor about what is right for you. I read the other responses and their are alot of horror stories, but everybody is different. My doc did recommend taking calcium tablets too, while I was on it. To each thier own. Again talk to your doctor and see what is right for you.

I took the shot 10 years ago after I had my first boy. I was MISERABLE for the next 4 months. I felt like I was having the worst trimester of any pregnancy ever recorded!! It was HORRIBLE!! I was bloated, sore, bitchy,stomach pains. I felt like I was going to throw-up all the time.

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.

I was on depo for a year after I had my first and I hated it. I gained soooo much weight, and I wasn't eating or exercising any differently than before, but I still gained. That is the biggest thing I hear about from other depo users, the weight gain. Aside from all of the other usual hormonal side effects that is. I'd look into a copper IUD if I were you. I have one now and love love love it. No hormones and it's good for 10 years.

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I'm editing my response because I saw that another poster had said to get the Mirena IUD instead of copper because the copper causes heavy bleeding. I'd like to respond to that by saying that the first period I had with my copper IUD was 10 days long and very heavy, but since then they have been progressively getting better, and now they aren't any worse than before. My body simply needed 4-5 months to adjust, plus I expected a long one the first time, since I had been breastfeeding and my son was 9 months old by the time I got my period back. My IUD had already been in place for 7 months at that point. I would also like to point out that heavy periods are a much better side effect than blood clots, strokes, mood swings, heart disease and all of the other risks that come with hormonal birth control (Mirena is hormonal). And the IUD doesn't really hurt much going in. I'm not sure what everyone else's pain threshold is, but it didn't really bother me too much. I think stubbing my toe hurts worse than the IUD insertion did.

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.

A B,
I was using the deop shot was I got married 8 yrs ago and I found that it killed my sex drive and made me gain weight. On the positive side I did not have my period each month.

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

G. T.

I was on it for 3 1/2 years and am on it again since having my son. I've never had any complication or side-effect from it.

I refuse to consider an IUD because of the possibilit of L.-term damage to my uterus and increased chance of ectopic pregnancy. We aren't sure if we want to have any more children, but I don't want to get something that is going to run the risk of destroying our possibility.

Another thing to consider is that a lot of insurances won't cover the IUD.

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.

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.

I gained a lot of weight with Depo, and it also killed my sex drive...within a month of stopping it I lost almost all of the weight I had gained, so there is almost no question as to the cause! Have you tried the Ring? It's really easy to use and doesn't have many side effects.

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.

I say stay away from the depo the side effects are horriable. It's been about 10yrs since i've had my troubles with depo. First off i lost a lot of hair, severe leg cramps, horrible mood swings, border line depression last but not least i gain over 50lbs and i'm not a big eater. When i recieved my first shot i was 125lbs when i stopped i was 178lbs. Oh i almost forgot my menstrual was on for 2mths off 4 1wk then back on 4 3mths this went on for a year. Then i didn't have one for a year.

if you are done having kids

have you thought about convincing the man in your life to get the snip, if your are desperate to have more he can get it reversed.

rather than screw up our hormones any more than they already are.

for me the depo shot was not as effective

LOVED IT! No periods, BUT I did gain 20lbs. It was worth it to me back then. Good luck!

I was on Depo for years. I am completely against getting Depo shots. It is 3 months of birth control in a few seconds that goes coursing through your body. It really screwed up my body. The major side effect that I saw was weight gain (5-10 lbs. a year). I didn't have a period per se, but I spotted for 3-4 months at a time. I also had terrible mood swings after the shot (basically really, really bad PMS concentrated into a few days just after the shot). Ultimately, it is your decision so I wish you luck with it.

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.

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

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.

I used to get the Depo shot, liked it a lot. Super Easy. Now I have an IUD- even better!! It will last for 5 years. It hurt going in but I havent had period related symptoms since and only light bleeding every so often and the bleeding is supposed to stop altogether. I think its an economical choice as well considering I dont have to pay for any sort of birth control now for the next 5 years. My insurance covered everything for the IUD. Its lovely!

I took depo for about 3 yrs. Really liked it. You don't have to worry about taking a pill daily. I never spotted or had a menstrual cycle which was nice too. I transitioned to the pill a few months before trying to concieve, and then two months off the pill was pregnant, so that wasn't a problem either. I did gain weight while on depo, but who nows if that is the reason because I was not exercising or trying to maintain my weight.

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!