Questions about Depo Provera

[Lee]

I'm looking into starting on Depo Provera as a possibility for stopping bleeding.  I remember reading on another thread that a couple of guys here were on it, and I'd appreciate opinions.  I was wondering if completely stopped bleeding for you and if so how long it took.  Also were there any feminizing effects or other negative side effects involved?  I'm also wondering if doctors were willing to prescribe it specifically to stop the bleeding.

Thanks

[Darth_Taco]

It can go both ways. I had my period for 4 weeks on it @_@ (I've seen it as bad as 6 months straight on others). I had to switch to estrogen based birth control to stop the bleeding ;_;. I also gained a crazy amount of weight and my breasts grew larger (and have yet to shrink after 2 years ;_;!). How your body reacts to Depo Provera is very unpredictable, and so not worth the risk considering what the possible consequences are! D:

[nogoodnik]

It can go both ways. I had my period for 4 weeks on it @_@ (I've seen it as bad as 6 months straight on others). I had to switch to estrogen based birth control to stop the bleeding ;_;. I also gained a crazy amount of weight and my breasts grew larger (and have yet to shrink after 2 years ;_;!). How your body reacts to Depo Provera is very unpredictable, and so not worth the risk considering what the possible consequences are! D:

Yeah, a couple of women I've known have had ~3 month long periods on depo, which is enough to frighten me off trying it... even though I know statistically many more people don't have anything like that happen.

[Wesley_33]

I used this while in military overseas. Not the thing to deal with anyways but deff not over there. Mine stopped the same month and as long as I kept up on shots they were gone. No side effects for me. I was told by the nurse that some gain a bit of weight but I never did. I say its well worth it to do it.

[JetBlackAndJealous]

I ended up bleeding for almost a year straight after Depo, and had to have surgery to correct it. It is not something I suggest to anyone. I ended up becoming really sick. -dislike-

[Nygeel]

One big warning I have against deposit is that if you have negative side effects you have to wait it out. I would suggest taking a progesterone based birth control in pill form first. You can skip the placebo pills so you wont bleed, or shouldn't bleed.

[JetBlackAndJealous]

One big warning I have against deposit is that if you have negative side effects you have to wait it out. I would suggest taking a progesterone based birth control in pill form first. You can skip the placebo pills so you wont bleed, or shouldn't bleed.

It was beyond waiting it out for me. I can not have children anymore, because of that garbage.

[JohnAlex]

One big warning I have against deposit is that if you have negative side effects you have to wait it out. I would suggest taking a progesterone based birth control in pill form first. You can skip the placebo pills so you wont bleed, or shouldn't bleed.

This is what I did by the advice of my doctor.  Except, she told me to take the empty pills every third month.  meaning I would only have 4 periods a year.  I was having problems with period pain, which is why she advised me to do this, but it actually just made the pain worse, so I had to go back.
But she told me that even though there are no known negative side effects of making yourself have no period at all, doctors usually don't want to do that because they don't want to defy what your body naturally wants to do if they can help it.  That's just what she told me.
Also, the pills made me gain a lot of weight.

[JetBlackAndJealous]

This is what I did by the advice of my doctor.  Except, she told me to take the empty pills every third month.  meaning I would only have 4 periods a year.  I was having problems with period pain, which is why she advised me to do this, but it actually just made the pain worse, so I had to go back.
But she told me that even though there are no known negative side effects of making yourself have no period at all, doctors usually don't want to do that because they don't want to defy what your body naturally wants to do if they can help it.  That's just what she told me.
Also, the pills made me gain a lot of weight.

Me as well, re: weight gain, and she told me the same thing. I switched to ANYTHING else to try to make it stop, but it didn't work. Not to mention, I gained 1/3 of my body weight at this time, and now I hate myself.

[Lee11]

Not a smart drug choice in my opinion

[Felix]

I was on depo provera for a year or so. Periods stopped immediately, and didn't come back until I'd been off it a few months.

I went off of it because I didn't like the side effects I got from it. When I got a shot, I'd be hungry and really moody for a few days, and after that I still didn't exactly feel like myself. I did gain weight, but in my case that's a good thing. I can't remember if there were any other problems, but I remember being unhappy with it enough that I was willing to keep having periods rather than deal with it.

I wouldn't approach an obgyn with any requests specifically to stop bleeding. That tends to get dismissed or treated with suspicion. Just tell the doctor you need more effective birth control, and that you've heard good things about Depo Provera.

Also, I had no feminizing effects from it. I think it's worth trying. I very much loved not having periods, and not everyone has trouble with the drug like I did.