I've been on Depo since march 06 and I've noticed that the closer I come to the end of the 3 months before my next shot I start to bleed. The gyno nurse said that this is normal. However, after the shot it stops pretty much immediately, except for this past shot. (my third one) I got my shot August 6th and about 3 weeks prior to it I was spotting and now almost 3 weeks later I am still spotting. Sex was also painful at first where it never was before. I thought that maybe it was from such frequent sexual activity but I went for about a week without having sex, and it still hurt. My boyfriend is now away for college so I haven't been having sex, so I'm not sure if it would still give me problems or not. (inserting small tampons for the spotting hasn't hurt) Please tell me what might be wrong or if this is normal?

Thanks so so much!
Cara

It is normal for birth control to cause irregular bleeding from time to time.

Painful sex is a side effect of Depo Provera and will not go away until you stop taking it for a while. There are many threads in our birth control thread pertaining to Depo and what a terrible drug it is. I suggest that you research all the side effects of Depo and listen to what other women have to say about it.

I took Depo for 5 years. Had painful sex, no sex drive, weight problems, migraine headaches, constant illness, and my hair started to fall out in clumps. It all stopped after I quit taking Depo.

I was put on depo and had the same problems but mine seemed to never go away. I suffered with headaches, moodiness, hair loss, weight gain, infertility, stomach problems, painful intercourse, bloating, clots, etc. I think it's because there are so many side effects & I was not only on depo but also on so many other anti-inflammatory meds that caused so many other problems that caused me to be on other meds for more problems. Last year I came across a natural organic product and was into the 2nd month of using it and was feeling amazingly well & had also lost 2 dress sizes in only 1 1/2 months. My gyno wanted to run a CA-125 and called to tell me that the results where very abnormal. She ran it again (just in case) and wanted to once again put me on depo injections & send me to see an endocrinologist but I was feeling so well and had was no longer having any of the symptoms I was constantly complaining about. Anyway, I made a decision to continue with this product & continue to feed my body with this organic nutriton. I waited (6 months) and got re-tested. I went back early this January & she ran it again & was amazed at the results. Everything was normal! Needless to say, she wanted to know if I brought her info on the product. She said I was not out of the woods yet but there was no denying what had happened. My ultrasound also looked good. I have my yearly exam again soon & look forward to more good news since I still don't have any of the symptoms I used to (except for an ocassionl headache now & then). If you would like information please send me a pm. In the meantime, I would highly recommend that you seriously consider all the side effects that this & most meds cause. You could end up with years of suffering like I did. I hope you will look into some natural & safe alternatives. Of course, I am no doctor (I'm just someone who doesn't want others to suffer the way I did) and this is just my story. I agree that sometimes we have no choice but to be put on meds & that there just may be no other alternative but I don't believe that we have to be put on meds for every little thing. I just now know that I will ask many questions & do research & find out just how much they know about nutrition. I don't ever recall having any of my doctors ever ask me what my diet was like. All I remember was being put on med after med after med. I wish you the best of health.

Blessings,

Rose

I don't have any of the symptoms that you two had other than the painful sex, and that was only through the month of july. As for the decision to stop taking depo, I really can't make that decision. I am still covered under my parents insurance and my mother won't let me use any other method. =( When i asked the nurse she said that the bleeding should get less and less the longer i'm on it. I do plan on switching methods after two years of using it because of the bone density side effect. (or whatever they call it) Other than that I have been pretty healthy since using depo, and for the time being I guess I'll just have to stick with it and see what happens.

Thanks for your replies and concerns,
Cara