Quick question...

[teri-lynn.livejournal.com]

My sister is in a shelter(long story, ask me later.) and the doctors said she needed to be on birth control. So they put her on Depo. Her BMI is 41, and she's 15. She's also had a looong history of suicide attempts and depression. I think they shouldn't have put her on it, and that she's not safe on it. My mom is going to call her gyno to get her opinion, but does anyone here have any advice?

Comments

[robinhoodvandal.livejournal.com]

Depo does have a history of cause problems in people with a history of depression especially complicated and hard to treat depression. I know several people who have had horrible experiences with depo and depression or other mental illnesses, but I also know people with serious depression issues who do very well on it.
I would watch her very closely adn note any signs of a change in her moods, the way she talks about the future, if she is indulging in more suicidal ideology than usual (geez that made it sound like a tub of ben and jerry's heh).
I'm bipolar and for me, depo played a part in sending me into one hell of a depressive/mixed episode. It wasn't the only factor however as I was also recovering from mono and about to graduate from college. I ende dup in the hospital after a suicide atempt and ended up talking about the effect of depo with several other women. One other person thought it played a role in her moods worsening, but two others thought it actually helped stabilize them. ANyway, my point is just that it really depends on the person.
I would make very sure that all of your sister's doctors know that she is on depo and that there is the potential for it to cause depression, so that they can be alert for it. You might also try and help her eliminate as many other stressors as possible (though I realize that is way easier said than done).
I'm not sure what your sisters situation is but if she has unipolar depression (not bipolar) and is on meds, an increse in meds may be sufficient to counter any depressive side effects if they occur. If she is bipolar, however, a change in meds may be a lot more sticky of a situation.
I wouldn't expect anything really aweful though. MOst people on depo have few side effects and I actually lost weight. I think my experience was due to a combination of things of which depo was apart but certianly not the entire cause.
Being aware that depression is a potential side effect already puts you and her ahead of the game.

anyway, long story short: if she hasn't actually had the shot yet, I reeeeeeaaaally wouldn't risk it. But if she has already had it, it's not garanteed to cause depression and if it does it is somethign that should be able to be managed if you approach it carefully.
DOes she have a therapist? Maybe she and her therapist (and perhaps you could have some joint sessions as a family or something) could come up with ways of dealing with problems that may arise before they actually become problems. Being prepared can really go a long way toward making things seem managable when depression is really bad. It would definitly help for you all to at least be on the same page as a family in terms of how to deal with this situation...
wow this ended up being a really long, rambling, often off topic, and not very helpful reply... I'm sorry about that...