Depo and side effects - Birth Control Message Board

Andrea824 · 07-27-2005, 07:53 AM

My daughter is 16 and had 3 shots of the depo provera shot. This has been gradual but this last shot, I have noticed changes in her behavior. She has mood swings, lost confidence in herself, cannot control her temper, anxiety attacks, afraid to drive the car.... just very bizarre and extreme symtoms. I am thoroughly convinced all this is the shot. She tells me she feels crazy. She will not take anymore of these shots. Her mental health is more important. She has had problems with depression before she was put on the shot. I am shocked her doctor did not realize that this was not a good choice for her. And as a mother I should have been more informed. I could kick myself for this.

daddysgirl86 · 07-27-2005, 03:24 PM

i dont know the side effects for the depot either. you are right though, her doctor should have given you more information on the depot and also other types of BC. it is so not your fault

i was using the patch but my mom told me that she looked it up on the net and found that that actually causes really bad mood swings and she said that there have been women who have felt like they were going crazy on the patch as well, so i am not taking it anymore, i would not recommend it to anyone. also i had a nurse tell me she has seen a lot of women get pregnant while on the patch. i think your safest bet is the pill. hope you find something better.

jenn1v · 07-27-2005, 04:21 PM

Hi

The depo does have mood side effects as well as other bc. I was on it for 1 year and a few months and towards the 3 shot i had i was feeling sick and miserable all the time. It's deff. a good idea to have your daughter stop the shot. There's also a FDA warning placed on depo for bone desity loss. Unfornaturely it will take a long time for the depo to be out of her system. I have been off of it for 4 months and finanlly starting to feel normal again. I would suggest when she is due for her next shot to have her take a multi vitiam, drink pently of water, get a good amount of sleep, and excrise. I think doing that has helped me a lot. Good luck and let us know on how everything goes.

rekiamarie · 07-28-2005, 06:21 PM

I was on Depo for about 2 1/2 years. Mood swings and off and on depression were common. Along with these side affects came fatigue, bone density loss and intermittent spotting. I was informed after a year of the shot I should see no more menstrual cycles (my reason for choosing the shot, since I have very painful cycles). After spotting off and on about 2-3 times a week for 2 1/2 years I gave up.

Daisies4monkeys · 07-28-2005, 10:57 PM

With any hormonal birth control, changes in mood are possible. The problem with depo is that since it's give once every three months, it stays around in the body for that entire time, so that once a shot is given, nothing can really be done to stop the side effects -- only time can do that.

I am sorry your daughter is having such a tough time -- was her doctor aware of her previous depression? The best thing to do might be just wait and see how your daughter feels after the effects of depo wear off -- if they disappear totally, you know it was the depo, and can look into perhaps a birth control pill with a different formulation to see if she does any better on that. However, as I said previously, ANY hormonal birth control pill could potentially cause changes in mood.

If your daughter's symptoms do not disappear with the discontinuation of the depo, then other causes should be investigated.