Has anyone had personal experience with depo-provera?

[jnette]

As some of you may have read in a previous thread, my daughter is having some serious ob/gyn issues. The new doc we went to see suspects it may still be endo (or one of the many other)"metriosises"... along with being prone to forming kidney stones. The latter I can deal with on my own, as I work in dialysis, and will have our nephrologist take a look at her and go from there. But the ob/gyn doc want s to start her on depo... simply does not want to do a hysterectomy at her young age. At first she said she' rather do that (the hyst.) than live with this constant pain, but now is having second thoughts....

So what I need to know is PERSONAL experience with the depo... I've looked up all the side effects, and several disturb me......1. the headaches. She already suffers horrible headaches which at times turn to full blown migraines. 2. Depression. She was raped at 20, and has been on Zoloft ever since... doesn't need the depression as a side effect, either.

If anyone has had these injections or knows anyone who has, any advice would be GREATLY appreciated ! She is to start in 2 weeks... thought I'd get some input before we do this...don't know if it's the thing to do or not... ??? Doesn't look like we have a whole lot of options other than the hyst., and though everyone has said that ended ALL their pain (headaches included), I'm hesitant, too. Afterall, at 25, her life is just beginnig....

Thanx everyone. Appreciate you guys!

[jnette, ASN, EMT-I]

Hey thanx, CardioTrans !!!

That looks like a really good site to get some much needed info to work this through. Must get to bed now, but will mull it over tomorrow after work, and send it on to her as well. Thanx again !:)

[ruca]

i have been on depo-provera for the past 2 years and i love it! i got on due to being an extremely heavy bleeder and having very bad cramps. my period was hell and i was missing lots of school because of it. ever since that first shot was given, i have had absolutely no problems!! no periods for the last year and a half (a little spotting for the first 5 or 6 months is normal). it is great, and i would recommend it to anyone. i have heard many horror stories online ( there are some web pages solely created to talk against depo-provera), yet personally, i have not had a single problem and do not know anyone who has disliked it.

[jnette, ASN, EMT-I]

hmmm..m..guess every one's just different in how they take to it, eh? Appreciate the input Ruca ! Guess it's worth a try, anyway ! I sure would like a granbaby or 2 someday ! Don't want to do the hyst unless ABSOLUTELY necc'y...we'll see.......

[CardioTrans, BSN, RN]

You are very welcome. That site helped me before and after my surgery. You can read the boards, post the questions and know that you will get alot of great advice from some wonderful women........ kinda like here hehehe....... They also have a live chat room to help also......... type in what you want...... and it will find a posting about it. I still go back to the site and still ask questions even though Im 4 months post op........ and at times I even find questions that I can actually answer........lol

[OBNURSEHEATHER]

Sorry jnette, I wasn't getting Depo as treatment for anything (other than fertility)

So I can't attest to relief of symptoms.

Heather

[nursenoelle]

I had 1 depo shot... for no other reason than BC, about two years ago. My periods come and go as they please, sometimes 2x in a month. I spotted constantly for 4 mos. after the first shot. The only other side affects that I had were ovarian cysts ( and lots of em) , and those suckers hurt. Every body is different , some of my girlfriends love it. I have personal issues with it. Not much help huh? Anyway, good luck with whatever is decided.

-Noelle

[KaroSnowQueen, RN]

Two of my friends took depo, had little or no periods at all. One gained a little weight, but probably ice cream and cheeseburgers contributed! Both were able to get pregnant within six months of stopping the depo with no problems.

Effexor and Imitrex are two things I know of that have helped them with their headaches, the effexor helping with stress induced headaches and with hormonally induced ones also.

[Babygirlmlb]

I TRIED DEPO THREE DIFFERENT TIMES. EACH TIME I GAINED WEIGHT,HAD SEVERE HEADACHES AND BLED ALL THE TIME. I ALSO HAVE ENDOMETRIOSIS. ORTHOEVERA (THE PATCH) HAS WORKED WELL FOR ME

[RNConnieF]

My daughter also has endometriososis and one of the options we considered was depo but her psych doesn't recommend it for her because of her depression/bipolar disorder. The shift in hormone levels can cause problems with depression. Ask the shrink for input too. Good Luck.

[whipping girl in 07, RN]

I just had to weigh in on this. I took Depo-Provera for about six months before I was diagnosed with endometriosis and for another nine months afterward. I'm sure the two are not related, but it seemed like it made the pain WORSE for me. My periods and occasional pelvic pain were tolerable until I started taking that stuff, and when it got worse and I went to the doctor, I found out I had endometriosis. The doctors told me that Depo-Provera should not make it worse, but for me it did.

Now I'm taking Aygestin 2.5 mg qd and it seems to be just enough to keep me from bleeding and having very much pain. It seems to me that if the doctor wants her to take a progesterone, something short acting (a daily pill) would be better than something long acting (a shot every three months).

I used to be on an endometriosis support mailing list, and a lot of the ladies on the list had taken Depo Provera and had problems with it. Of course, lists such as that tend to attract the people who have problems, so it may be that many women have taken it for endometriosis and not had any problems with it.

It seems to me your daughter needs a diagnosis before the doctor starts throwing different drugs at her. I guess I was lucky in that when I had my laparoscopy it was very obvious that I had endometriosis, so at least the doctor knew what he was working with (although, according to him, since I'd had it lasered off, I was cured and I shouldn't ever have any problems again!) and could prescribe drugs accordingly.

Depo Provera is not the first line drug for endometriosis. Most doctors are using Lupron Depot or Synneral, which are GnRH agonists that deplete the body's GnRH and cause the ovaries to stop making the female hormones (estrogen and progesterone), putting the body into a pseudo-menopause.

Try to find a reproductive endocrinologist for your daughter. A RE deals with many causes of infertility (including endometriosis) on a regular basis and may be more likely to know what to do to help your daughter. Even if she's not interested in having kids now, she needs to preserve her fertility for the future.

I do wish you luck in whatever you decide to do and I will keep you in my prayers. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[christianRN]

I've been on depo for over 4 years now, and I absolutely love it. No period, no wt gain, no headaches, no depression. No pregnancy!!! :) As you can see, everyone has a different response to different meds, but my experience with depo has been nothing but good. Hope she finds an answer to relieve her pain.

[jnette, ASN, EMT-I]

Thanx everybody for all your responses !

Now that we've gone through all the Depo, I hear from my daughter and she tells me the doc has decided to go with the Lupron Depot..Konni, as you mentioned in your post. So now I get to start from scratch... anyone had any experience with IT ? Similar side effects? Better? Worse?

I don't believe I'll be able to find a Reproductive Endocrinologist anywhere around here.. God knows how far I'd have to travel to find one. Raleigh-Durham might have one.. could check into that. That's only 3- 4 hours from here... anyway, the doc said since her lap was negative and all the other tests looks fine as well as the physical exams, this would be one reasonably sure method of making that diagnosis.. suggested she try that before doing anything more invasive. Worth a shot or a waste of time? Headaches with this one?

Any help is appreciated !

Thanx again....