Questions About Side Effects of Stopping Contraceptive Injections
ABC News has an interesting article up on the withdrawal symptoms some women are reporting after stopping Depo-Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate), an quarterly injectable progesterone-only contraceptive method.
An internet search on Depo withdrawal turns up multiple online postings, suggesting that some women are concerned about or report experiencing a number of symptoms, including nausea, breast tenderness and fatigue.
As the piece indicates, there is not currently a lot of understanding of these withdrawal symptoms; a quick search of the medical literature doesn’t turn up much on the topic. One woman in the article reported that her physicians “shrugged their shoulders” in response to her complaints, and there is uncertainty as to whether cessation of the drug itself causes the symptoms in some women, or if perhaps the drug had been masking some symptoms that return once the injections are stopped.
A physician interviewed for the article used one of my least favorite analogies – comparing women’s bodies to a car to be worked on. Dr. Louis Weinstein, head of obstetrics and gynecology at Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, said: “It’s like you don’t know why your car won’t start. Most of [the symptoms] have nothing to do with Depo-Provera. There may be a lot of other things going and to blame that on Depo-Provera is just not fair. We don’t know.”
While existing labeling for the drug does not address potential withdrawal symptoms, it does include (in addition to other side effects) a boxed warning on potential adverse effects on bone mineral density:
Women who use Depo-Provera Contraceptive Injection may lose significant bone mineral density. Bone loss is greater with increasing duration of use and may not be completely reversible. It is unknown if use of Depo-Provera Contraceptive Injection during adolescence or early adulthood, a critical period of bone accretion, will reduce peak bone mass and increase the risk for osteoporotic fracture in later life. Depo-Provera Contraceptive Injection should be used as a long-term birth control method (e.g. longer than 2 years) only if other birth control methods are inadequate.
Have you taken Depo and then stopped? If you have, please let us know your experience in the comments.
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November 3, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Withdrawal symptoms can be bad from this.
November 3, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Thinking back to when I stopped having the injections, I did feel a little jittery, but I cannot remember any other withdrawal-like symptoms.
November 4, 2009 at 9:45 pm
I had a good friend who stopped and she complained about nausea and jitters (like Jasmine).
November 17, 2009 at 3:28 pm
i have a fiend that has been using the injection for about 6 years. just stopped using it in june 2009 but since then she has been having lots of pain in both breast.
November 24, 2009 at 8:57 am
I stopped the Depo injection 9 weeks ago (after 3 years) and have been suffering from nausea for about a week now. I was also on the injection for 8 years previously and stopped to have a baby. I conceived almost immediately, but suffered from terrible morning sickness. I am beginning to wonder if that sickness was a result of stopping the injection as opposed to being pregnant.
November 30, 2009 at 10:00 am
i was on the depo provera for almost 4 years and got off and since than i have been experincing migraines really bad and breast tenderness and i have been off of it for 2 months.
December 31, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I recently stopped taking the Depo injection after seven years. I am a very happy person, however I have been feeling depressed and tired. I am wondering if anyone else has had this experience. When I first started the shot, my periods immediately stopped. I was due for a shot four weeks ago and have already had a period! I am not upset about this – I am glad to have a period, but the feeling of being emotionally and physically depressed is difficult to deal with. I hope that it passes soon.
January 2, 2010 at 12:52 am
I’m a teenager; I was on the shot for about two years, and I stopped about 4 months ago. Since then I have had awful anger flare-ups and mood swings to the point where my symptoms seem to resemble bi-polar disorder. My family and I have noticed that I never acted like that until I was no longer taking the shot. We came to the idea that with taking, and then stopping, the shot, hormones are completely out of whack, and it could cause serious changes in moods; including what I have been experiencing.
January 4, 2010 at 12:30 pm
I used Depo-Provera for almost three years. For months after my last injection I experienced SEVERE side effects including extreme breast tenderness and swelling, migraine headaches, weight gain of 20 lbs, constant neck and low back aches, moodiness, nausea, and a general feeling of not recognizing my own body. My period did not return until almost seven months after my last injection. I had no idea that these side effects had anything to do with my discontinued use of Depo until I found forums online with women experiencing many of the same symptoms. I am only just now, almost 8 months later feeling any kind of relief.
January 27, 2010 at 7:03 pm
I was on the Depo shot for only 6 months. I experienced a severe loss in my sex drive and just felt really blah. Whats the point of being on birthcontrol if your not having sex??? I decided to stop taking the injections and for the past 2 1/2 months I have had a peroid for 2 weeks then off for 2 weeks. I’m starting to get some of my sex drive back but cant wait til i am “normal” again!
February 2, 2010 at 7:25 pm
i’ve been on the depo for 5 yrs and came off for about 5 months now and me and my hubby would like to have a baby but no period has returned yet,any one has suggestions on how to jump start my period again pls post.thanks
February 7, 2010 at 8:47 pm
I was on the depo shot for a little over a year and have been off of it for a month. I have been experiencing extreme breast tenderness including my nipples and lately iv been really nauseous. Not only that but I feel very moody as well, anything can make me angry to the point where i want to cry. I feel llike i have no control over my body. I took a pregnancy test yesterday and it said negative, but i am still concerned. Doctors should notify us of these possible after effects. They are horrible.