I'd be a liar if I said that my girlfriend was the same as she was before receiving her first Depo Provera injection but her health didn't appear to be any the worse. The only things I noticed were increased moodiness, some minor weight gain and lack of sexual desire - inconvenient but nothing particularly major. Now however her health appears to have taken a turn for the worse. She's since been diagnosed with fibromyalgia (near constant muscle and joint pain and fatigue), the weight gain has worsened to 35+ lbs. and she's barely able to sleep for any length of time despite being completely exhausted. I can't ignore this anymore, I need to do something if she won't. She's barely able to function during the course of a normal day and I fear things are only getting worse. If her body's rejecting the drug wouldn't these be the symptoms? The last time I confronted her with this the rift that formed nearly broke us apart for good, I don't know what to do. :-/
2006-09-01 16:03:23 · 13 answers · asked by Deleted 4 in Health ➔ Women's Health
Let me add that the symptoms have gotten worse since her 2nd injection. Also, I'm using other women's experiences to help me identify the scope of what's been happening.
http://htmlgear.tripod.com/guest/control.guest?u=shellyborsits&i=1&a=view
2006-09-01 16:12:29 · update #1
"Depo Provera exacerbates glutamate excitotoxicity, which may render users more vulnerable to "neurodegenerative insult"--a greater likelihood of such diseases as fibromyalgia."
wikipedia.org
Hey :o) I feel so bad for both of you. Take it from me - I was on this shot for over 3 years and I also was recently diagnosed with a severe spinal cord problem and most likely fibramyalgia or RA ( I see a specialist next week). My whole body changed overnight from my physical problems and my bf and I are suffering through this so I know how hard this is for you and I understand your frustrations. This answer is very long but but I really just wanted to let you know what I know and have been through in case any of it may help you guys. I have been through this first hand so I know how you are feeling from what my bf told me then. I also found sites that say fibro can be caused by depo. She has to stop.
I was on this shot and it was horrible. Exact same thing - weight gain, mood swings. Sometimes it felt like I was psychotic. I stopped it, lost weight, felt better - back to my normal (if they ever are :o) moods, etc. And that took a while to get back to me since there actually is withdrawl from that drug. At first, I was so excited about the Depo Shot and I realized after too long it was just a horrible thing. It was easy so I stayed on it so long but I didn't see how it was changing me. I was always kind of PMS moody but my body began to hurt and the moods got unbearable. I was crying all the time over nothing at all, getting jealous and questioning my bf which is so unlike me, depressed, tired - everything that may look enough like fibromyalgia that a doctor may diagnose it incorrectly actually. I am just going to talk about a few things first and then give you my advice as far as what I think you may be able to do to help her. You sound like such a nice man - so caring & sweet and I am sure you two can get through this. Not many guys would be so patient and understanding. :o)
There are so many birth control options so there is no reason for her to suffer from the nasty side effects of this one. I don't think the fibromyalgia would have been caused by this but you never know - it could have. Oddly enough I just was diagnosed with this sever damage to my spinal cord which literally happened overnight. No one has yet been able to find out a cause for this. No one really knows the long term side effects of these medications until it is too late. I did start to worry about the long term side effects and realized how it was changing me for the worse though so I got off of it. You never know.
Depo is very very high in hormones so I switched to the Yasmin pill which has a different hormone so the side effects were barely noticeable and some of them were a plus :short, light periods or no period at all, less mood swings, no cramps, no depression, no physical pain or joint/muscle pain etc. They also have a copper IUD now which has virtually no side effects and they make a patch also. There is also a new pill out that I think you take once every month or even less than that and you don't get your period for 6 months I think on this pill. You barely get it with the Yasmin either. All these newer BC options have less and less side effects and she needs to see this or hear it from you and her gynecologist.
Relationships are all about communication and if she is not listening to you that is a problem. You have a right to let her know how you feel, no matter how many time. Do it over again until she listens to you. I listen to my bf when he tells me how I am acting on new BC and I am very sensitve to them so I have to be careful. Like I said - I was so happy about the shot when I found out about it. It was so convenient and I didn't need to take pills every day - it was easy so I am sure that is why she likes it so much. But - the risks and side effects in NO way are worth the benefits considering all of the alternatives. I am sure she doesn't even realize that the shot may be and most likely is the source of all this new pain and that she is changing for the worse.
If this is in fact fibromyalgia, it is a very hard disease to live with - some sites say it isn't crippling but it can be so severe that little things are very hard to do now - her body does not need the additional stress from that shot . That shot causes muscle and joint pain and I am pretty sure that is what she is suffering from.
Even if all of this pain is not from the shot alone - some of it is, I know that for sure.
If she gets angry with you for bringing it up that is ok. Just don't confront her in an anfry way or confrontative tone. Tell her how you feel - focus on that alone. Ask her to let you finish what you are saying and then tell her she can speak. If she has no response or does not listen - you may have to give her some space and tell her that you love her & care about her very
much and that you want to be there for her but that she is pushing you away. She may need time to realize that a BC shot is destroying this relationship and come to her own decision if it is worth that when there are tons and tons of other options out there.
In fact, there is no real test for fibro.. - they diagnose it from koint pain, fatigue, tenderness, lack of sleep, etc. It comes mainly from a report of symptoms and the physical exam. I would not be suprised at all if she didn't even have it and all the symptoms that she is having are coming from this shot instead. And - she will never know that unless she gets off of it to see how she is then. I was fatiugued on Depo and I had severe aches and pains. Even if you look up fibro. at mayoclinic.com which is an excellent site for all health problems, it says that the symptoms can be mistaken for other things - The symptoms of fibro.. are pretty general meaning that they can come from tons of different things. She has to get off of this medication.
She should listen to you - you care about her and if she doesn't you need to find a way to reach her. I am been home for 5 months on disability cause of this recent spinal cord problem I developed overnight and I live with my bf and this is so hard on me - but it is so hard on him. Right now, I can' t do the things that I used to be able to do at all - I need help with everything. I know it hurts him to see me like this and I listen to him. When I saw my gyn she recommened not taking any birth control right now - no form since I have so many physical problems. She said that if I took one, it could make everything worse or cause more problems and that until they find out what is wrong with me to use condoms if needed.
I think that you should talk to her again - as many times as you can handle. Or - does she have a mother you can talk to about this and then her mom can also talk to her - or sister - even a father if that is possible?? You could also call a couples counselor and make an appointment and take her with you. Ask her if she will schedule an appt with her gynecologist and if you can go with her to discuss this with them. Write her a letter - so she can't interrupt you and has time to think about what you said before answering or defending herself needlessly. One thing I would not mention is weight gain - that will put her on the defense immediately - you know women. I would focus on how you read about it and how some side effects are joint &muscle pain, moodiness, depression, sleep problems, worse PMS and periods, on and on. Ask her - do you really need the stress that this shot is causing to your body with all this other stuff going on? What if you felt better off of it - wouldn't that be worth trying? Print out the list of BC options that I included at the bottom and show it to her - maybe she doesn't even know that all the new ones have lower hormones and less side effects or none at all. I recommend Yasmin(pill) or the copper IUD, a diaphragm maybe though I wouldn't use one, the patch, or the new pill you take once a month or something ( I am not sure). Do some research and bring the facts to her. It will show her you care - though it sounds like you already do a good job of that.
Sometimes when we are the ones going through things, we don't see it - we just feel it, we feel depressed, sluggish, moody, tired, achy but we don't think one thing could be the culprit - we don't see all the weight gain or bad effects. We only see that it is convenient and think somehow that all these bad things that are going on are not from that - it doesn't even cross our minds. Try again and if she doesn't listen to you - her shortness and the way she acts can probably also be attributed to that shot. But - she is still in there somewhere and I know she doesn't mean to hurt you. She is probably so overwhelmed and depressed and doesn't even have the energy to start a new BC - cause we always fear new ones.. the unknown and it can be a pain in the butt to come off of one and switch. She will have these side effects for months and months after she gets off of it though - just so you know that. Minimum of 12-14 weeks of them. I did. Cause it lasts in your system for a while - even women that want to have kids sometimes need to wait up to one year to have one. Once I got off of it, I realized how bad it was - how upset and crying I was all of the time for no reason.
Like I said, I wouldn't be the least bit suprised if she stopped it and then a few months later all of these problems went away or drastically decreased. If she could have back the quality of life that she had before, why wouldn't she listen to you. Depo can act like a poison to some people's bodies. They don't even know all of the long term side effects yet - it isn't worth it. It isn't worth living like this and feeling like this and it isn't worth losing you - tell her this. Tell her that pretty soon she will have to make a choice- you or the shot cause you can't watch her suffer - let alone choose to by getting this shot every 3 months. Let her know that it also causes bone loss - which is not good at all and will cause her more pain and early osteoporis which is very painful. It increases the risk of breast cancer too. Fibromyalgia can also be caused by problems with hormones (there is a link) and if her hormones are all crazy from it - it could be causing it. If it is causing depression and messing up her serotonin levels in her brain - problems with chemicals in the brain can also be a cause for fibro. You can see all of this at the mayoclinic.com link below. Show her this. Depression comes from a lack of serotonin and norepinephrine and this shot causes that and fibro can come from that. All of her problems are linked to this shot.
You really have shown patience and real love for this woman. I hope she will talk to you, go with you to a dr or counselor or listen to you now. She has to see that this is the cause of all of these problems in her body and relationship - most likely. And, like I said even if the shot did not cause it - it is making it much worse. O hope she gets better soon and that you bring back the woman you fell in love with. :o)
2006-09-01 17:57:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Tell her how you feel. I was on depo shot when I was 15 I have been trying to get pregnant for 3 years now get pregnant but no chance. Im 21 I have gained 60 pounds more than what Im suppose to be. I stopped the shot because I was having irregular bleeding. This shot is very harmful they have it where you can sue the company for what harmful side effects. I was on the shot for 2 years. I wished I never of been mentioned the shot. I dont have regular menses either. Here down at the bottom I have links of how harmful it is. She needs help. My sister got pregnant while on the depo shot. So be advised this is the wrong birth control that anyone should be on.
2006-09-01 16:13:55 · answer #2 · answered by girl176a1 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Depo is of the devil! You can use my little testimonial for back up if you want. My sister and I had the same reactions, weight gain, moodiness, no sex drive. I only had the shot once (made me psycho), but my sissie was on it for several years. She's usually very tiny, but she gained about 34 lbs. If you read the information about the shot, you will see that the average yearly weight gain is substantial, something like 16 lbs a year. Approach her with love and caring, maybe a romantic evening, to let her know how much you care about her health and your relationship (because it's obvious from what you've written). Good luck, you sound like a good guy.
2006-09-01 16:12:00 · answer #3 · answered by shycello 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go to her family, and ask her to go with her to the doctor.
The next course is going to be depression, etc... That's the path she is heading down.
She needs to start exercising, and while she can't remove the depo from the system at this point, she doesn't have to get another shot.
Her body isn't "rejectecting" the drug, she is just having the side effects from the drugs... She probably needs some other kind of birth control.....
If she doesn't want to help herself, especially after she has to know she's gained all this weight, then there isn't too much you can tell her to get her to open up her eyes.... you can be kind caring and considerate, but that will only get you down a path that isn't so great. Ask her to go to the doctor with her because you are worried about her sleeping pattern, and then ask the doc in front of her about the depol.
2006-09-01 16:09:42 · answer #4 · answered by PreviouslyChap 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I took the shot and my period started right away. After that, I literally had a period ranging from heavy to light for 8 months. It would stop for a day at the most and then start right back up again. My doctor fed me a lot of crap reasons why (ex. You're body is just ridding itself of toxins...). I never did figure out why it happened considering that you aren't even really supposed to have your period on the shot. I agree that more women should be informed about these kind of stories before making a decision.
2016-03-27 03:54:32 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First do your research. Depo has long term effects too. I can lead to major bone loss and osteoporosis.
Take your concerns and the reseach to her in a kind way, and offer to go to the doctor with her to help decide on a better option.
P.S. play down the weight gain thing. Could just make her mad.
2006-09-01 16:11:21 · answer #6 · answered by Tina K 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The doctor should have already been made aware of this. The Depo shot has lead to death for MANY women, by bleeding to death. It is a very serious and harmful way to (try)and prevent pregnancy. Its not worth all those side effects.
2006-09-01 16:10:49 · answer #7 · answered by rock 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I had alot of problems with the depo shot too. I don't recommend anyone taking it because of all the nasty side affects they don't seem to tell you about. I would talk to her and tell her how you feel and go online and do a little research and present her with what you found. Good Luck!!
2006-09-01 16:09:56 · answer #8 · answered by sillysammi2u 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
immediately talk to her family and ask for their opinions, advice, etc.
also talk to her doctor. and see if she is not taking any drugs, that u don't know about. i understand how u feel. this might cause a fight or even a break up. but if u do nothing, and her health significantly worsens, what will u do then?
please be responsible and do the right thing.
2006-09-01 16:10:02 · answer #9 · answered by TwoRedLove 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hold her hand, tell her you love her and then tell her what you just wrote. My cousin has fibromyalgia and it controls her and makes her life miserable with pain and fatigue. Seek a professional to make sure that it's not the birth control.
2006-09-01 16:11:13 · answer #10 · answered by b's wife 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can't just assume it is the Depo. Next time she's moody, try to get her to talk about what is bothering her. It could be a situation at work, school,etc.
2006-09-01 16:06:00 · answer #11 · answered by mollyneville 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋