Posted by Larry Hoover on January 2, 2005, at 10:10:46
In reply to depo injection, posted by alexandra_k on January 1, 2005, at 18:44:21
> I had an injection maybe August... They are supposed to last 3 months. In that time I have gone up a solid size in my weight, and pretty much lost most of my desire for sex. Is that how it is supposed to work? Birth control that works by making you not want to have sex? Ha!
>
> Anyways, I had decided not to have another one. But my period still hasn't really come back. Just two days of brown smudge (in total since I had the injection). Not that I am complaining about that (no no no) - but I am wondering whether the return of the period will be the begin of the weight loss. Anyone been here before?You mean depo-provera?
There was just a warning in the paper yesterday about this stuff. Health Canada issued a warning that it can cause permanent bone loss.
Anyway, towards your questions. The loss of libido is considered to be a fairly common side effect. It could be another two full cycles before you get anything that resembles a normal period. Your pituitary has been tricked into suppressing both FSH and LH production, and it will take a bit of time before the depo substances completely leach out of your muscle tissue. These are uncontrolled variables. Just so you know what the depo part of the drug name means....the active substances are mixed with solvents in which they are very poorly soluble. Because the oily stuff is put into muscle, where blood flow is only by capillary, there is not enough transfer between this viscous solvent and the blood for the drug to move quickly. It gradually seeps out, which gives the long-term effects. To say a shot will last for three months is really a general statement. Its effects could last significantly longer than that, but just gradually reducing over time.
The weight issue could be water weight. If it is, you're lucky. It will gradually fall away. It might not be water weight, though. You may have to deal with it the old-fashioned way.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:436490
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20041005/msgs/436743.html