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  • Nine0fSpades
    Junior Member
    • Mar 2008
    • 4

    Another depo horror story?

    I've got some questions, and thought I'd get some feedback from the internet before I talk to a doctor.
    In my experience with the medical system, you have to be very direct and specific in what your asking for or about, especially when you're uninsured and using low-cost clinics and such...

    Let's see..
    I was on depo for nearly 2 and a half years.
    -My period stopped immediately, and I did not have another one for the entire duration of my time on depo, although I experienced occassional cramps with a lack of bleeding.
    -My sex drive was completely nonexistent after a year.
    -Depression, an ever present issue for me, spiked in severity.
    -I gained about 20lbs, which wasn't such a big deal since I was technically a little underweight before starting depo.

    The funny thing about not having a sex drive (at least for me) is that once it's gone, you just don't really see what all the fuss is about anymore. I had no desire for sex, or much of any interest in re obtaining my sex drive since I was in a bad relationship at the time, anyway.
    Once the bad relationship was out of the picture, I began to reflect heavily upon prior times in my life in which I not only had, but greatly enjoyed a sex drive. instead of getting my next scheduled depo, I talked to my doctor and they gave me "Ortho-cept" (desogestrel/ethinyl estradiol). My period returned immediately, but I notice that I don't seem to be having any mood swings, or even "cravings" for sweet or salty foods like I used to. Cramping is minimal, but turns into sharp stabbing pain a few times a day that requires me to sit down and ride it out for about 2 minutes; I can't recall ever having such severe pain in the past. I am now through my second month of taking the medication.
    No sex drive yet.
    It's absence is becoming increasingly worrisome to me, I think this might be kind of like how a man feels when his equipment isn't in working order.. I feel ineffective, or defective. I'm only 23; it's utterly absurd for me to have such low libido.
    I've mentioned my concerns over this several times to different doctors and the concern is met with general dismissal.
    I know it's probably a little early to really start freaking out, but with all of the new information I've read about depo over the last year, I can't help but worry that I may have some sort of permanent damage, or need treatment to rectify whatever it's done to me. I can't believe they ever recommended and prescribed the stuff!

    Should I just wait out the next 2-6 months and hope for the best?
    Go to the doctor and demand a blood test?

    Like I said earlier- the doctor's do not seem at all concerned about the fact that my sex drive is dead. I feel like I need to tell them exactly what I want, but I'm not sure what I should ask for..

    Basic health info if necessary:
    Age: 23
    Height: 5'6
    Weight: ~130lbs
    Not depressed or experiencing emotional problems at this time.
  • LanaBear
    Veteran Member
    • Jul 2009
    • 8373

    Hormonal BC is general, not just depo, has a severe effect on a woman's sex drive. Have you considered maybe a non hormonal method, like a copper IUD?

    There are a ton of threads about this. I'll see if I can dig up some of the most recent ones or someone else can drop them in.

    Comment

    • sallyskellington
      Veteran Member
      • Mar 2009
      • 829

      Depo made me psycho, I chased my husband with a box cutter wanting to cut his throat. That was like ten years ago. Since then I don't touch any form of birth control.
      Dead animals don't equal fashion it equals cruelty

      Comment

      • LanaBear
        Veteran Member
        • Jul 2009
        • 8373

        Here is one of the more recent threads.

        Comment

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