Must-Know Facts About Starting and Stopping Depo-Provera (2023)

FAQs

What are the facts about stopping Depo-Provera? ›

If a woman wants to stop the Depo Provera she has to wait for it to wear off. In some women, periods can be slow to return after the injections are stopped – sometimes 6 to 12 months. However, more than half will fall pregnant within 12 months and over 90 percent within two years.

The reported withdrawal symptoms included: feeling of having a viral infection with fatigue, eye pain, visual disturbance, itching, restlessness, agitation, shaking, nausea and shortness of breath. The reporter refers to internet forums where other women report the same symptoms on stopping Depo-Provera.

Depo-Provera works for about 3 months at a time. To prevent pregnancy, you have to get 1 shot from your doctor 4 times a year, about 12 to 14 weeks apart. If you get it in the first 7 days of your cycle, it works right away. If you don't, you'll need to use another form of birth control for 1 week.

After stopping Depo Provera injections, women may not begin menstrual bleeding (periods) from 9 to 24 months. The majority of women usually resume within 12 months.

WARNING: LOSS OF 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.

Questions have been raised about the size effects of this drug, and it was banned in the U.S. in 1978 because the authorities were seriously concerned about the possible carcinogenic effects of the drug. In Britain, Depo-Provera is only permitted in exceptional cases and under strictly controlled conditions.

Once you stop taking birth control, you may notice that you drop a pound or two within a few weeks as fluid retention decreases, but it is unlikely that you will lose a substantial amount of weight, if any at all.

Disadvantages: your periods may change and become irregular, heavier, shorter, lighter or stop altogether – this can carry on for some months after you stop the injections. it does not protect you against STIs. there can be a delay of up to 1 year before your periods return to normal and you can become pregnant.

The use of Depo-Provera CI is contraindicated in the following conditions: Known or suspected pregnancy or as a diagnostic test for pregnancy. Active thrombophlebitis, or current or past history of thromboembolic disorders, or cerebral vascular disease [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2)].

What is the FDA warning for Depo-Provera? ›

Depo-Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate), injected I.M. once every 3 months for contraception, will now carry the FDA's strongest black-box warning. The label change is a response to findings that prolonged use of the drug can cause significant bone density loss.

Women who have or have had a history of breast cancer should not use hormonal contraceptives, including Depo-Provera CI, because breast cancer may be hormonally sensitive [see Contraindications (4)]. Women with a strong family history of breast cancer should be monitored with particular care.

There are three ways to know if your fertility has finally returned after stopping Depo-Provera: having a regular menstrual cycle again, getting positive results on an ovulation predictor test, and having ovulation detected on a basal body temperature chart.

Does the 'Depo' contraceptive injection affect fertility? The short answer: Contraceptive injections can have lingering contraceptive effects for up to 1.5 years but do not affect long-term future fertility.

Many Depo-Provera patients have already come forward and filed claims against Pfizer. These product liability lawsuits allege that the company was aware of the inherent risks of their products, but failed to adequately warn patients and healthcare providers.

The longer you are on Depo-Provera the more calcium you may lose. This increases the risk of your bones weakening if you use Depo-Provera continuously for a long time (for more than 2 years). The calcium may not return completely once you stop using Depo-Provera.

Depo-Provera is a very effective form of birth control, and people who use it don't have to remember to take a daily pill. Some people also experience very light or even absent periods while using Depo-Provera. Some of Depo-Provera's disadvantages include weight gain, irregular bleeding, and bone loss.

A possible explanation for weight gain among adolescent Depo-Provera users is that the hormone directly stimulates the brain's hunger centers, thus increasing appetite. The hormone also interferes with serotonin, which influences satiety and stabilizes moods.

Neither antibiotics nor antiseizure medicines reduce Depo-Provera's effectiveness. The only drug which reduces its effectiveness is aminoglutethimide (Cytadren), used to suppress adrenal function in some people with Cushing syndrome.

Nonetheless, doubts about its safety and concerns over misuse prompted the FDA to deny approval of Depo-Provera as a contraceptive in 1978 and 1983. The FDA approved its use only for treatment of endometrial or renal cancer.

Is Depo banned in the US? ›

PIP: FDA refused to license Depo-Provera for use as a contraceptive in the U.S. However, the ban has wider reaching effects since U.S. law prohibits the export of drugs not approved by FDA.

Depo-Provera (depot medroxyprogesterone acetate , or DMPA) is an effective and relatively easy form of birth control. It does appear to cause weight gain for many women, though. 1 Weight gain is often cited as the reason women stop using the shots. DMPA can change body composition and increase fat mass.

LW: Another common experience that disturbs women as they stop taking Depo-Provera is extremely sore breasts. What causes this? Ask Jerilynn: This is directly caused by the “estrogen overdrive” as the body tries to recover from the suppression caused by Depo.

Unfortunately, there are no birth control methods that actively cause weight loss. However, certain birth control options, such as the birth control pill called Yasmin, have diuretic properties, which may cause you to lose water weight (Apter, 2017).

The women who stopped using DMPA during the study had higher levels of depression immediately before or immediately after they discontinued DMPA than they had before starting DMPA. Levels of depression in this group dropped to those observed in non-DMPA users within several months of the discontinuation of DMPA.

Briefly, Depo-Provera suppresses a woman's own hormones to near menopause levels. Post-Depo, the body works hard to regain reproductive function by overproducing estrogen. Because hypothalamic incoordination delays the return to ovulation, progesterone is not produced to counteract estrogen.

This is a medication that is being taken off the market that affects gender, it's a gender-based decision. It doesn't impact anyone else except for women.” A spokesperson for Pfizer says clinicians should “reserve supplies” for “vulnerable populations” as production comes to a halt.

Although Depo-Provera has not been approved for use in the US, Upjohn manufactures the contraceptive in Belgium and France and estimates that more than a million women in 80 countries use the contraceptive. DMPA is still approved as adjunctive therapy for metastatic endometrial carcinoma and renal carcinoma.

The FDA approved Depo-Provera, an injectable contraceptive, in 1992 on the condition that its manufacturer conduct a post-approval study on the risk ofosteoporosis. Then in 2004, the agency revised the drug's labeling to include a boxed (i.e. Black Box) Warning on the risk ofosteoporosis.

Which hormones are affected by depo? ›

Depo-Provera is a well-known brand name for medroxyprogesterone acetate, a contraceptive injection that contains the hormone progestin. Depo-Provera is given as an injection every three months. Depo-Provera typically suppresses ovulation, keeping your ovaries from releasing an egg.

Depo-Provera does not contain estrogen. It prevents pregnancy by: Preventing ovulation (the release of eggs from the ovary) Thickening cervical mucus which prevents sperm from entering the uterus.

DMPA (Depo-Provera) works by suppressing ovulation and ovarian production of estrogen. This reduction of estrogen levels has been shown to reduce bone mass when used over the long term. In adult women, this bone mass loss can be recovered when women stop using DMPA and their estrogen levels are restored.

While birth control cleanses may not be necessary, there are ways to help ease the transition away from hormonal birth control. Diamond recommends eating a healthy diet, getting a good night's sleep and enough exercise, as well as managing stress and limiting alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes.

Chances of pregnancy are still great, even if it may take a little more time. Pregnancy rates at the one year mark after stopping depo are over 80%, and at the two year mark they're over 90% (which is the normal fertility rate).

Both state and federal laws allow people to sue companies if their birth control products fail to work as intended. Some of these cases are categorized as “wrongful birth” lawsuits.

Neither antibiotics nor antiseizure medicines reduce Depo-Provera's effectiveness. The only drug which reduces its effectiveness is aminoglutethimide (Cytadren), used to suppress adrenal function in some people with Cushing syndrome.

While the levels of Depo-Provera after 90 days may not be high enough to be considered effective for pregnancy prevention, they may still be too high to get pregnant. Within 10 months of the last injection, 50% of women who discontinue Depo-Provera will get pregnant.

While you can definitely get pregnant three to four months after a depo shot wears off, not everyone does. It can sometimes take up to ten months or more to ovulate again, and it can take up to 18 months for normal periods to restart.

Depo-Provera is given as an injection every three months. Depo-Provera typically suppresses ovulation, keeping your ovaries from releasing an egg. It also thickens cervical mucus to keep sperm from reaching the egg.

How long should you be off birth control before trying for a baby? ›

If you're taking a combination pill (those that have estrogen and progestin), most women's cycles return to normal within 1-3 months, making pregnancy possible quickly. Most women are able to get pregnant within a year of stopping the pill.