My Experience with Depo-Provera

There are a lot of birth controls flooding the market, there's a pill, an injection, vaginal rings, even a small injection that goes into your bicep and lasts up to four years. There's a lot of information out there, but not as many candid reviews of what that product could actually do to a woman's body.

My Experience with Depo-Provera

I had a very uncertain schedule, so taking the pill at the same time day after day had become a slight challenge. At the Woman's Clinic, a nurse had told me about Depo-Provera, a shot injected in the hip/top of the buttocks every three months and would take away my periods after prolonged use. I had it for a year, and while my experience wasn't as devastating as some women's, it was still inconvenient and I do not recommend it to anyone.

I got my first injection in March of 2008 and in May I had the first symptoms of the drug when my period went on for almost three weeks. It was light, but still, an almost month-long period was a lot to deal with. I returned to the clinic to ask for advice and was told to take four or five ibuprofens every four hours to stop the bleeding. It didn't work. They gave me a second shot of Depo-Provera which stopped my period. Soon after, I started getting chronic rashes.

I looked like I had eczema. It began in the spot where the injection was, then spread all over my body onto my face. I was prescribed topical cream and had to control future breakouts with benadryl cream and Claritin. I actually did not connect the shot with the eczema at first because I was in a new climate, however, when I returned to my native California and the problems persisted, I began to blame the Depo. I used to work out, a lot, but when the rashes became so persistent, particularly when I would sweat, I even retreated from that.

Since then I have had light bleeding, sometimes last 2 or 3 weeks. I have gained some weight, 5 pounds over the last year. It also seemed like my immune system was in shambles, I got sick all the time and suffered chronic head aches and back aches. I have been off of Depo for almost a month and the five pounds I had gained are already shedding off. The rashes have cleared without the help of anti-histamines and without the inconvenient spotting; I've been less self-conscious when I go out.

I'm back on the good old-fashioned pill. As nice as it would be not to have any periods, I think that some of the newer birth controls do so much more harm than good. I would suggest that anyone considering birth control not resort to Depo unless it is the only option. There were just too many side effects and there were so many women who have had negative experiences.

To me, it wasn't worth it.