? Men on Depo Provera ? Help ?

Nurses General Nursing

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I work in a small town hospital ,my unit is the designated pediatric unit. and we all have our PALS and our clearances and etc.

Our unit also takes a variety of other patients. Last week I got a male medical pt. in his 30's with no significant medical history other than an undisclosed psych history.

He was on multiple psych meds but also Depo Provera.

Other than for cancer my co workers and I could not come up with any other reason for a man to be on this med with the exception to chemical sterilization.

Point is we had 6 pediatric patients on the unit all post-op T & A's 4 of them young girls so we asked if there was A history of the Depo pt. being a sexual predator and we were told that it was not our concern that alarms me greatly.

What are your thoughts?

Peace .......... Billy:confused:

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Specializes in Telemetry, Case Management.

Several years ago when I worked in psych/LTC unit, men with inappropriate sexual behaviors were given injections of depo provera. This included men who made unwanted sexual advances to both staff and resident women, and those who masturbated on an extremely frequent basis. MD said it lowered their sex drive and kept them from acting out.

I would certainly keep a close eye on him and on any females around. Maybe even any young boys too.

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Depo is given to men as treatment for several medical conditions not just cancer and not just to reduce inappropriate sexual behavior.

In simple terms (the only way I know it) everyone makes testosterone and estrogen. Men make more testosterone, women more estrogen. Women with low testosterone frequently have diminished sex drive and lady partsl dryness. Men with low estrogen experience the effects of too much testosterone: agressive behavior and increased sex drive.

Hormone imbalance can be caused by several things including medication, some psych meds (don't remember which ones off hand) can do it.

If your patient is on his meds and they are controling his behaviors then he is not a reason for concern. It would be helpful to know his dx and how it manifests, the stress of being hospitalized could trigger some symptoms, caregivers should know if they should be monitoring for increased paranoia, hallucinations, etc. I think the guy bears watching for those reasons alone. Something else to keep in mind, while all pediphiles are "perverts" not all "perverts are pediphiles.

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For cancer treatment in men i.e prostate ca, they give lupron depot generally not depo provera.

Dave

(p.s. the cost of a 3 month lupron shot is approx 2100.00 bucks.) not cheap

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Specializes in NICU.

Is it used in the sex-change operation process?

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holy cow!!!! $2100!! I used to be on that for endometriosis.... the cost has increased! It was $300/injection then. Anyway... that's off topic. I am suspecting that the fact that you were told that his hx was not your concern, is reason enough to watch him like a hawk. I know that males where I work have been given estrogen, in many forms... and it's usually because of sexual acting out or assault. He bears close monitoring, which I am sure you and your staff are already doing. I also think that you NEED to know his hx and dx. Because you are professional, and are caring for him, for everyone's safety... you should be informed.

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I wold like to thank you all for your help in this matter. I went to the clinical supervisor today and asked that the Hx be presented and was inormed that since it was psych that we were not in need of that to care for this pt. on a medical level.

I understand that there may be nothing to this but I must say that it is difficult when you can not see the whole picture.

I went up the chain of comand till I got an answer.

The inal answer is, "You should forget this happened and it will not happen again."

I must say that the answer was put out there with great force.

My final response was that I gave two week notice.

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Depo Provera (Medroxyprogesterone Acetate) is used by men to reduce testosterone levels by roughly 90-95% for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. At present it is the preferred medicinal remedy due to its low cost and documented efficacy.

It is also the reagent used in criminal justice for so-called "chemical castration," for the same reason: sexual predators lose interest in their prey when testosterone is lowered enormously.

Pre-Op transexuals are often prescribed MPA in order to have a trial experience of life without testosterone, and it is also often used in conjunction with other female hormones to produce new secondary sexual characteristics.

N.B.: it also halts male pattern baldness, but in this instance many men consider the side effects (absolute loss of virility) to be excessive.

Dr. Rob :cool:

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Originally posted by obillyboy

I wold like to thank you all for your help in this matter. I went to the clinical supervisor today and asked that the Hx be presented and was inormed that since it was psych that we were not in need of that to care for this pt. on a medical level.

I'LL BET DOLLARS TO DONUTS THIS INDIVIDUAL IS INDEED A SEXUAL PREDATOR

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
Originally posted by obillyboy

I wold like to thank you all for your help in this matter. I went to the clinical supervisor today and asked that the Hx be presented and was inormed that since it was psych that we were not in need of that to care for this pt. on a medical level.

I understand that there may be nothing to this but I must say that it is difficult when you can not see the whole picture.

I went up the chain of comand till I got an answer.

The inal answer is, "You should forget this happened and it will not happen again."

I must say that the answer was put out there with great force.

My final response was that I gave two week notice.

Very interesting-I wonder what the parents of the young girls would say about the situation...
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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
Originally posted by obillyboy

I wold like to thank you all for your help in this matter. I went to the clinical supervisor today and asked that the Hx be presented and was inormed that since it was psych that we were not in need of that to care for this pt. on a medical level.

I understand that there may be nothing to this but I must say that it is difficult when you can not see the whole picture.

I went up the chain of comand till I got an answer.

The inal answer is, "You should forget this happened and it will not happen again."

I must say that the answer was put out there with great force.

My final response was that I gave two week notice.

The last time I checked, psychiatric illness is indeed a medical disorder and you are absolutely entitled to know this man's medical problems in order to take care of him properly, as well as protect yourself and others.

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:eek: Very scary indeed. I'm sorry it ended up with you turning in a resignation letter. Things really are bad for nurses now days, aren't they?
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