Depo Shot

[leedlekay.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm 16, and my boyfriend and I have just recently started having sex. We've been together for about 5 months now and since we plan on staying together for quite a while, I decided I wanted to go on birth control if we're having sex. We went to the Planned Parenthood clinic and I got the Depo Provera shot within an hour of being there. It was fast and easy and I am really happy I did it. The only problem is, I'm a Bipolar type 2, I have severe depression and am recovering from Anorexia Nervosa. I am currently taking Trileptal to help stabilize my moods, Klonopin for anxiety, and Trazodone to help me sleep. The lady at PP told me that I would have mood swings with the shot, but I am wondering if they will be unbearable. Does anyone have any experiences with the shot? I just need some reassurance that I'll be okay. Any other side effects that any of you have had would be appreciated as well.

Comments

[moonlight0806.livejournal.com]

I was on depo for a little over a year (15 months in total). I was one of the people to get all of the negative effects with no real positive. For 2 weeks after each shot I would become horribly depressed with mood swings, it was so bad that i had to avoid everyone so that i wouldn't over react over everything. The rest of the time i had heightened anxiety and only slightly less depression than the immediate weeks following the shots. My period never stopped, in fact i bled nonstop for the entire time (yes quite literally the entire 15 months) they tested me for anemia because i started bruising badly and became very tired. It wasn't a full on period the whole time, but more than break through bleeding. On top of all the psychological side effects i very uncharacteristically gained weight. I suppose the one positive side effect was that i didn't get pregnant, but that is more attributable to the fact that i didn't have sex the entire time because i was either bleeding (personally not fond of period sex)or was in such a horrible mood that i wouldn't let anyone close enough to me to get pregnant.

You may wonder why i continued to get the shots. I was young (early twenties) and didn't know how to stand up for myself at the doctors office. They never let me talk to my actual doctor, they were just TOO busy, so i only got to talk to her assistant nurse, even when i went in to get the shots i never saw the actual doctor. The nurse would always blow me off by telling me that it was normal and not that bad, and it would go away in a few months. After a year and three months i put my foot down. Thats also when i stopped going to that doctor. It has been a few years and i still can't find a obgyn in my area that actually listens or doesn't change offices every few months. I go to a new one at the end of the month that a friend of mine recommended. The experience taught me that I know my body best and that you sometimes have to make a little noise when you are being ignored by the people you are paying to care for you. So it wasn't a total loss.