The Depo Shot and Trying to Get Pregnant

What the Dr.s dont tell you when you get on the DEPO, is if you want to have a child right away after you get off of it it isnt gonna happen. I went on DEPO in 1997 and part of 1998, and I did not get my regular period back until 2001.

This happened to me too. I have 2 older children from a previous marriage so infertility was not an issue. I only took Depo for 6 months and after getting off of it hoped that I would get pregnant right away. It took 2 years for me to finally get pregant. I know that Depo works well for alot of women. For me, it was bad news. I was losing hair, irritable, put on 20-30 pounds, and then could not conceive. Hopefully this is what has happened for you also and you will be able to get pregnant again soon.

I'm having problems from Depo too (at least that is my opinion). I cannot lose weight and my hormones are whacked. I have my period most months and every now and then my body decides to make me think I'm pregnant (morning sickness, breast tenderness, fatigue, mood swings from hell). I'm not on BC BUT my husband has had a vasectomy (5-1/2 years ago) so there are some issues if I end up preggo.

I wish I never took Depo and if I had it to do again I would've gotten a no hormone BC, but hindsight is 20/20....

Someone else told me (she was not a doctor so I have no idea how truthful this is) that Depo stores in the fat cells of the body and when you loose weight it is released again and you get the side effects of a fresh dose of Depo all over again.

I'm trying to detoxify my system right now. I have quit smoking - so that is one step - and I want to cut preservatives out of our diet (but man is that pricey) and I'm trying to drink more water....we will see how this works...

I'm sorry I have no ideas for you.

Good luck!

Becca

I'm sorry to say but I had the same problem & really haven't heard any different from others who've taken it. Depo is great when you want it but when you don't, it haunts you for a long time. I know I don't sound very encouraging but when you are really trying, it's very discouraging. On a good note, I've never heard of it being a terminal condition. I wish you and your husband much luck in conceiving. :)

I encourage the same thing as the previous poster-- see an RE-- a reproductive endocryinolgist. Dr Laura Greenberg is good @ St. V's. There is a plethera of things that could be causing the problem-- get medical assistance asap, especially if you have been trying for 6 months or more on your own!

Best Wishes!
R.

I'm not sure what type of specialist you are being referred to, but I suggest that you see an endocrinologist. There are all kinds of hormones in your body and if one of them is abnormal it can make your periods stop. There is more to periods than just estrogen and progesterone. Good luck.

Try "Agnus Castus", also called "Vitex". Another name it goes by is the "Chaste Berry Tree". It comes in herbal pills by Natures Way and a few other manufacturers. You can also get it in teas. Traditional Medicinals makes a "Woman's Moon-Cycle" tea that has it in there (I think) or you can get it as a tea single. Try a health food store.

I have two children after depo had its way with me. I had depo at 17 and didn't get pregnant until I was 27 and was very irresponsible with birth control! I had been using the herb for 3 months when all of a sudden I was pregnant. I was so shocked. I thought I wasn't meant to have children. I started drinking the tea again to regulate my periods when my daughter was 15 months old, and blamo! Pregnant again. I highly recommend this stuff. Read up on it!

HI-

BOth of my sisters and one siter in law had the same problem after going off the depo. This is what there Dr.'s had them do (3 different DR).

They had them go on birth control (I know sounds weird) to try to get them to start having periods. After a few months of having periods while on the pill they went off. Recommend at least 3 months off the pill before trying to get pregnant. Or course ask your DR. or planned parenthood about it.

I went thru the exact same thing. I had been using depo for 5 plus years and after stopping still had not had a cycle for over a year. My Dr put me on a birthcontrol pill so I would have an actual cycle. I did this for 6 months then stopped the pill and my cycle went away again but did return (on a sporadic every two week schedule) 3 months later. My last depo shot was early in 2001 and I got pregnant the end of 2002 without having a "normal" cycle. My Dr said the longer you use the shot the longer it can take your body to return to a normal state. I definitely believe that it was the depo that screwed my cycles up so bad.
Best wishes getting pregnant
L.

I am a nurse practitioner at Planned Parenthood. Going 1 1/2 years without a period after taking depo is unusual. I would wonder if your menses have been regular in the past when you have not been on any hormonal birth control. Probably your doctor has tested you for high serum prolactin, hypothyroid and polycyctic ovary syndrome. Those are common causes of lack or menses, as is weight loss/low body weight and excessive exercise. Probably your doctor doesn't think it could be the depo because depo doesn't usually cause this. How long were you on it? Were you having regular periods when you went on it?
I'm not an herbal specialist, but I have seen women whose menses regulated with use of the chinese herb dom quoi. Good luck with this! It sounds distressing.

I was on Depo for almost 4 years. It took me around 18 months or so after my last shot to start having a period again. About 9 months after starting my period my husband and I got pregnant. We did have fertility problems conceiving our second child though. (Not sure if that had anything to do with Depo.)
Good Luck

I started taking depo in my late teens and took it for a couple of years before I stopped. My periods were never regular ever again. When I married at age 26 we started trying right away to get pregnant and nothing was working. We also went to a specialist and he told me that I was not ovulating regularly and put me on clomid. It got me ovulating regularly and my periods were regular as well but the side effects were terrible. It increased pms by times 10! Finally we had my husband tested as well and that same "specialist" told us that we would never be able to conceive a baby naturally because of the viability level in my husbands s.a.. We were told that if we wanted to have a baby we would have to undergo ICSI which is a very complicated and expensive type of invitro procedure. I was put on the pill per the "specialists" instructions so that I could keep my cycle regular before undergoing the procedure. We decided to try prayer instead and I went off the pill. We conceived my son 2 weeks later! So much for what the "specialists" tell you! I think that it was the depo that really messed me up and I would not recommend it to anyone ever.

Are you planning on quitting your job when the potential baby comes? I think you should wait until you're ready to do it right--till the struggle of creating a family when one child is gaining a new authority figure is smoothed out. Also wait until you can quit your job and stay home. Trying to meet the needs of your girl while juggling daycare for a new baby and two jobs between parents...it sounds overwhelming for a new marriage.
However, infertility is very common these days. Could have been the depo...could be a blood sugar regulation problem. I have heard of someone going into menopause at age 29 from Depo. If your doctor refuses to do hormone tests and other tests that may show a link to infertility, switch doctors! Doctors are highly opinionated.

I just want to tell you to keep trying because I once was on depo and both times i was on it for at least three years and every time It was time for me to get pregnant it would take me over a year and a half to get pregnant.more like around 1 yr and 8 to 10 months to get pregnant.Because like you I to have a daughter from another relationship then met my now husband and we tried to get pregnant and it didn't happen right away but now we are two boys later and after our first son i decided to try the IUD birthcontrol method and it works great for me because when we tried for our second it had only been removed a week and I was pregnant again so it is very recommended by me because you can get it w/out hormons and i think that has alot to do with being able to get pregnant with no problems. and I also wanted to say a friend of mine had the same problem w/ depo she thought she couldn't concieve because her and her husband were despertly trying and it wasn;t happening but after trying for about 1yr and 7 months they just found out their expecting in september. So I would definitly say I think that Depo really has something to do with you not being pregnant yet. Good luck and stick in ther and you'll be pregnant in no time . and the last time I said that to someone they were pregnant in two days ( my friend that I told you about) so don't worry.