Why Does Everyone Say Bad Things About DEPO?

because the side effects (for those who have them, and they are many) are awful, and you can't get rid of it once you get the shot.
not so mysterious.
khairete
S.

I have to agree, if it is working for you, GREAT. I was on it for 3 years, and I truly believe it was part of the downfall of my first marriage. I had all the side effects. I was miserable on it and really didn't realize it until my ex left and I quit getting the shot. I gained 40 pounds, I was severely depressed and moody (this was all within the first two shots). I had NO sex drive. I could care less if he touched me at all. I lashed out at him and at my kids.

I am a pharmacy technician and I ask people all the time, how they are doing on it. I always get nothing but good answers. I don't think it is horrible, I just think for some people it is.

I hope you have been informed that Depo is now black labeled and one shouldn't be on it more than two years. The reason being is even those without the usual bad side effects suffer from bone density loss thanks to Depo. It took a couple of years to discover but women who have been on Depo were losing bone density and winding up with bones like old women.

For me sadly I got the worse side effect of all from only being on Depo for 6 months. I went on it after the birth of my first son in 1996. July 22nd was my first shot. My last shot was Oct 22,1996. Yes those dates are forever on my mind. Those dates are the dates I screwed up my fertility because I took those two shots. I gained over 50lbs in that short 6 months. My husband said I had horrible mood swings the first two weeks after each shot. I had blinding and vomit inducing migraines during that time. The most painful part is accepting the fact that I have to deal with infertility thanks to that shot. It took over 3 and half yrs to get pregnant with my second son. Even then I had to have help. That son is now 10 yrs and no birth control has been used since his birth.
Over the years I have seen a variety of doctors to try and get pregnant again. Most see that little blimp on my charts that I was on depo for 6 months. Without fail the comments are: You aren't the first we have seen thanks to Depo and you wont be the last we see either.
Over the years I have found many other women in the same boat.
I can't wait for the day they remove it so other women wont have to deal with the issues that Depo can induce. More and more is being learned every day of the horrible effects Depo can have on women.

I don't know anyone that liked it but if you liked it then that's great.

A big part of the "anti-evil-depo" is that originally (or at least early on) there was no "short term" option. The shot lasted a year. So if you were one who would bleed every day... you did that for a whole year. If you were one who gained weight uncontrollably (many thousands of women would gain over 100lbs in that one year), there was no way to stop the process. If it caused violent mood swings, or depression, or rage, or personality changes... again... you were stuck with it the whole durn year. If you are prone to cervical cancer from hormones (but most don't know that until they get pregnant), bang... super fast acting cancer ... when it's typically a SLOW acting cancer.

Depo was like signing up for the military... once injected... no way out but to serve your time. Regardless of the side effects.

Now they have shorter acting versions where a person can try it and only run the risk of side effects for 1-3 months... but even that is a long time. A pill can be stopped day of, an IUD removed, but DEPO LASTS. A year of possible side effects is horrifying, and even the 1-3 months is still very scary.

I would say you are the exception. Almost everyone I know have had awful side effects from it.

You're the first I've ever heard of being OK on it. It was a horrible experience for me. I had profuse sweating, weight gain. Imagine 3 months of BCP shot into you system at once. Maybe you have some sort of special fat that absorbs and releases the hormones differently than other women. I would never do it again...it took me months to feel normal.

Well, if it works for you, then that's a good thing! I tried it (for about a year) and had horrible side effects. It just didn't work so well for me. I think some women are better able to deal with a heavy dose of hormones than others - you are lucky!

I have never tried it but I think part of the issue is that it is on your body for a set amount of time. You can't just stop taking it like you can with a pill that doesn't agree with you.

I wish to read all of this before I started. My doctor mention only this side effect: you could gain ~5lb. And he did not recommend to use it more then for 2 years (It effects bone density). I did 3 shots since last November. I have spotting for 6 months. My last shot was on June and after that I did not have periods. Instead I have horrible mood swings, headaches and I totally exhausted.I gained ~ 5 lb in 6 month, but I started exercise just after my 2nd shot.I still could not get rid of my extra pounds. And as somebody else already told, no sex drive. Hope I will be better soon.
You are lucky that you did not have any problem. It means it just for you. Keep in mind that people with good experience post it much rare. Just because all of us so different we have so many option with birth control. They works differ for us. You lucky you found that works good for you.I am not sure is it OK to be on Depo for too long.

Every person is different with it. I was on it because my parents didn't trust me. I was the good kid I was afraid to have sex and didn't lose my virginity til I was 18 and almost out of high school. But my parents put me on it when I was 14, I gained over 30lbs, had bad acne, and the doctors said it was a good chance I was sterile after that. I was only on it for 2 years before I moved in with my grandfather in FL. I had no period for 2 years and after I was off it took another 2 before I was regular again. My grandpa was a medic in the army and did a lot of studying in the medical field. He said it was very bad for me not to have a period because a period is the bodies way of cleansing the uterus. The depo shot is supposed to mimic pregnancy from what my doctor told me.
I was so upset when they told me I may never be able to have kids. I proved it wrong in 2008 when I got pregnant with my ex's kid. I unfortunately did not keep it due to money issues and instability of the ex. (please no bad input for that commit. I know some ppl don't like abortion but I had no choice.)
Then I met my husband at the end of 2008 and we married in 2009. I became pregnant in July of 2009 and we have a beautiful son who is 7 months old now. I am now currently pregnant with my second.
The depo shot is good for some and bad for others, it does a lot of bad things to the body but some people like you are very lucky. Wish I could have been like that. :)

I am glad you are having a good experience with it.

I tried it 14 years ago, ended up having real bad cystic acne brought on by this shot. (too much testosterone for my body) Dr had asked me if I was ready for the second shot and I told him that if he came near me with the needle it would not be me receiving the injection.

I am still dealing with the cystic acne today but lucky for me the size of the acne cysts have decreased. They were the size of a fifty cent piece on my face. Dr's tried to puncture and add steriods to shrink them but the moment the needle came out it resealed itself.

I hope you and others continue to have good experiences.

You are rare- my sister gained about 40 lbs in less than a year (10 lbs with each shot) and she was 5'7" and 108 lbs to start. Her metabolism has been messed up ever since. Her friend lost her hair and had to overexercise and diet like crazy to combat the weight gain....everyone reacts differently and for most, it is just not worth the risk of those kinds of side effects.

I don't know who says bad things about it. The only people I know that have used it have been very happy with it. No complaints whatsoever.
I never used it because I had fertility issues to begin with and an early hysterectomy. Birth control was never an issue for me, but my married friends who wanted no more kids have been very happy. And healthy.

I also have had nothing but good experiences with depo. I was off and on (mainly on) depo for 12 years. No weight gain than can be expected, no menstrual issues, and I also tell everyone about how great it is :)

It is so easy to say bad things about the Depo stuff because so many have had severe reactions to it. I am glad it has worked for you, as far as I know you are the only person I have heard from that has used it and had no issues.

If you ever decide to stop using it investigate the Essure procedure. My friend always used the Nuva Ring for regular birth control and when they were done having kids she got the Essure done and has loved it ever since.

That's the age-old question. Some birth control pills react differently in each woman because in a sense we are all "different" in some ways. I personally couldn't take the depo shot because for one it made me a royal Witch if you know what I mean. Second it made my depression worse. Lastly after being on it for some time I started having this pain every single time my husband and I would have sex. It got to the point where he had to go in at a certain angle for it not to hurt-I can't even really describe the pain-it was odd. I went to see the doctor for it to see if it was another issue such as a yeast infection or something but he found nothing and I talked to him at length about it possibly being linked to the shot-needless to say I think he thought maybe I was crazy but I decided to go off the shot that day. After the shot had completely got out of my system the issue with sex completely went away....now explain that one then. Anyways there was more than one reason I had to go off of it so I did. I realize though that for some women it is just fine for but for me personally no thanks!