Depra Vera Shots for birth control?

Question

Was taken off shots after being told that new studies show 2yrs is long enough. I recived it for 3 and half years and was not instructed to take calcium supplements(standard practice now) I am being told that new studies have linked it to brittle bones. I still haven't had a cycle yet and its been 8mths. I already have degenerative arthritis and had a battle with osteomylitis from an old carwreck i was in yrs ago. Can anyone tell me anything about this form of birthcontrol. Veterans hospital isnt set up to deal with young female vets. Can you believe the doc had her NP give me this shot repeatedly without researching it or my medical history.Is there anything i can do to reverse any damage to my bones or health for that matter.

Answer 1

This shot is horrible - it has horrible side effects and more and more things are coming out about long term permanent side effects like fibromyalgia, etc. I used to take it and noticed that my whole body hurt, weight gain, my moods were awful and I just did not feel like myself. I know this post is long but this is very important - that you see the real side effects and what happened with animal testing - caused cancer in dogs and monkeys that it was tested on. Many women say - I like it and that it is so convenient but the years go by and then they feel all of these side effects too. It is no good - no matter what any of these other answers say. And - you don't have to take my word for it. Go to the site below where I copied the other info from or just search the internet about this - it is horrible and should be pulled off of the shelves. As you will read in the excerpt below, the bone loss studies have become so bad they now have to put a black box warning on the boxes because it gets worse the longer you are on it, last a long time after you stop the shots and may even be - and are thought to be totally irreversible. This shot is 99% making your other health problems much much worse and will most likely cause you many others ~

If I were you - I would get off of it ASAP!!! There are so many other types like the copper IUD, pills or patches that are now virtually side effect free. There was another question on here the other day about a guy's girlfriend that is on it and is like a different person and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia suddenly. So, I find it coincidental that you have these other probelms going on - perhaps they are not all from the car accident but - they will get worse with this shot. I stopped it and suddenly now a few years later, I may have fibromyalgia and I also developed some problems in my spine and body -- overnight and no doctor has yet been able to find a cause for this. Who knows? Maybe that was what caused it?? I am not some paranoid person who thinks like this either but this shot is only supposed to be used on people who can not take any other form of birth control and the longer you take it - the worse the side effects are. Plus - it is relatively new and they never find out the REAL long term effects until people have been on things for decades and decades and the longer this one has been out - the more horror stories there are all over the internet - just search for depo provera horror stories and you will see what I mean.

Get off of it - now!!

Here are all of the side effects and a new increased warning about bone loss the longer you take it - sorry to take up all this room but this is very important.

Disadvantages & side effects
Recent research has shown that Depo-Provera significantly decreases bone density in women, as compared with others in the same age group (see below). The manufacturer of Depo Provera does not advise prolonged use (longer than two years). This loss of BMD is of particular concern during adolescence and early adulthood, a critical period of bone accretion. It is unknown if use of Depo Provera by younger women will reduce peak bone mass and increase the risk for osteoporotic fracture in later life.

Depo Provera is associated with increased risk of breast cancer, particularly in women under 35, and current or recent users.[6]
For some women, Depo-Provera may have a number of potentially intolerable side effects, including loss of interest in sexual activity, infertility, severe headaches, constant bleeding (metrorrhagia), weight gain, panic attacks, muscle pain, heart palpitations, pain during sex, acne, irregular menstrual bleeding, abdominal cramps, dizziness, weakness or fatigue, leg cramps, nausea, vaginal discharge or irritation, breast swelling and tenderness, bloating, swelling of the hands or feet, backache, depression,insomnia, pelvic pain, no hair growth or excessive hair loss, rash, hot flashes,joint pain, convulsions, jaundice, urinary tract infections, allergic reactions, fainting, paralysis, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolus.

Return to fertility may be slow. Fifty percent of women may be able to conceive in about 10 months from the last injection, but fertility may be totally suppressed in some women for up to 18 months or more.

Depo is not immediately reversible. In the case of intolerable side effects, they must be endured for three months or more.
Depo Provera may enhance HIV transmission.

Infants born to women exposed to Depo during pregnancy in one study had an 80% greater chance of dying in the first year of life.

A study of 819 women in one city found an association between using Depo-Provera and higher incidence of chlamydia and gonorrhea.Depo Provera may simultaneously increase susceptibility to the herpesvirus and decrease immune response to the herpesvirus.

Most women using Depo Provera experience disruption of menstrual bleeding patterns, something which has been called "menstrual chaos." Altered menstrual bleeding patterns include irregular or unpredictable bleeding or spotting, or rarely, heavy or continuous bleeding. After continuous use, fewer experience irregular bleeding and more experience amenorrhea. By month 12 amenorrhea was reported by 55% of women, and by month 24 amenorrhea was reported by 68%. Some women may prefer amenorrhea. (But it is not a guaranteed effect of Depo.)

Depo Provera exacerbates glutamate excitotoxicity, which may render users more vulnerable to "neurodegenerative insult"--a greater likelihood of such diseases as fibromyalgia.
One reason for people not choosing this method of contraception is hypodermic needle phobia.

BLACK BOX WARNING:
While it has long been known that Depo-Provera causes bone loss, it has recently been discovered that the osteoporotic effects of the injection grow worse the longer Depo-Provera is administered, last long after the injections are stopped, and may be irreversible. For this reason, on November 17, 2004 the United States Food and Drug Administration and Pfizer agreed to put a "black box warning" on Depo-Provera's label.[14] However the WHO (World Health Organization)-- which provided Depo-Provera to developing countries when the US FDA refused to approve it for safety reasons pertaining to breast cancer--advises that the use of Depo Provera should not be restricted. One cohort study has shown that BMD loss may be reversible within 30 months of discontinuation of DMPA. At least one of the authors of the study, AZ Lacroix, is a consultant for Pfizer. The School of Public Health at the University of Washington, where the study was conducted, receives financial support from Pfizer. And Pfizer continues to advise in the Depo product insert that bone loss caused by Depo Provera may not be reversible.

It causes cancer in the animals it was tested on and there is much controversy over the fact that it was EVER approved at all.

There is a long, controversial history regarding the approval of Depo Provera by the FDA. The original manufacturer, Upjohn, applied repeatedly for approval--which was repeatedly denied. Points in the controversy include:

Animal testing for carcinogenicity. Depo Provera caused breast cancer tumors in dogs. Critics of the study claimed that dogs are more sensitive to artificial progesterone, and that the doses were too high to extrapolate to humans. The FDA pointed out that all substances carcinogenic to humans are carcinogenic to animals as well, and that if a substance is not carcinogenic it does not register as a carcinogen at high doses. Levels of Depo Provera which caused malignant mammary tumors in dogs were equivalent to 25 times the amount of the normal luteal phase progesterone level for dogs. (Which is lower than the pregnancy level of progesterone for dogs, and is species-specific.)[4]
Depo Provera caused endometrial cancer in monkeys--2 of 12 monkeys tested, the first ever recorded cases of endometrial cancer in rhesus monkeys.[19]
Speaking in comparative terms regarding animal studies of carcinogenicity for drugs, a member of the FDA's Bureau of Drugs testified at an agency Depo hearing, "...Animal data for this drug is more worrisome than any other drug we know of that is to be given to well people."
Bias of OB-GYN committee. The OB-GYN Committee, which advised the FDA to approve Depo on the two occaisons when it was not approved, was not capable of objectivity according to senior FDA officials/a former director of the FDA bureau of drugs, because members of the committee were in "the population control business."[19]
Cervical cancer in Upjohn/NCI studies. Cervical cancer was found to be increased as high as 9-fold in the first human studies recorded by the manufacturer and the National Cancer Institute.

Answer 2

I woulddefinately get another opinion from a different doctor. Anaemia doesn't have nayhting to do with it because I am anemic and pregnant. Also I was on Depo shot for 2 years got off and six months later I am pregnant. I did not have a period the entire time I was on the shot but about 2 months after I got off I started having a normal regular period. I am sure that the shot will effect different people in different ways, but something just doesn't sound right. Go and get a second opinion. Good Luck Honey!!!

Answer 3

I was on the shot and when I decided I wanted another baby I quit getting it and I didn't get my period for almost a year and also didn't get pregnant. When I went to the doctor I found out that I wasn't ovulating at all, so they put me on a low dose birth control pill for a couple of months to get my periods to come back. After I got off the pill I was able to get pregnant. Now I am 38 weeks pregnant and I will never use depo provera again

Answer 4

I don't know if you can reverse the damage done to your bones. I was on depo for 5 1/2 years when I came off of it from having heat flashes and perimenopausal symptoms. I have not had a regular period since and continue to try alternate methods of bc. Funny thing about this situation and yours? I went to the Navy Hospital for all the shots!

Answer 5

I have been on it for years, I am 33 and have bone density tests done and I seem to be fine, they do say damage done to your bones is irreversible. These studies are new in the last 8 months or so. I have known women on Depo Porvera who do not get periods for a year 14 months later.

http://www.depoprovera.com/index.asp
http://www.womenshealthmatters.ca/centres/sex/birthcontrol/depo.html

Answer 6

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Answer 7

my friend got real fat form that.