[KMonte85]

Hi All,

I've made the decision after 8 years to stop using the Depo Provera shot. I've never had problems with it, but life changes are upon me and it is time. Depo can take something like upwards 2 years to leave the system before a woman a fully able to conceive, which was perfect for me. But now that I'm getting married, children are a reality in the 5 year plan, and when my (future)husband and I decide that it is time to start trying, I don't want to have to wait for 24 months before my body is ready.

So... here's the dilemma. I've only EVER used depo, and I don't know what I should be on now? I'm not even getting married for another year and a half, but during that time (and some time afterwards) I *DO* want to be on some form of BC. I'm not comfortable with condoms or the awe-naturale way of family planning (never been regular enough for that).

Are BC pills a good option? That might jump start my period to come back so my body gets used to being on a cycle again. There are about 45390854390904593 different kinds of pills - what's the difference? What's the best out there? Am I going to have to do trial/error until I find what's right for me?

I have an appointment with my doctor this week to discuss, but I really value the opinions of the ladies here and would like to get some feedback that I can bring to my appointment.

Thanks!

[LanaBear]

I had to do the trial and error thing with the pill. I ended up on a low dose one called Nordette that for me was by far the best pill. I'd suggest staying away from the 3 month pills like Seasonique or Seasonale too, they are pretty much like Depo in a pill form.

Good luck!

[KMonte85]

Thanks Lana... good call on the 3 month pills, I will definitely be telling my doc I don't want anything to do with those!

[Ashlee T.]

Hmmm. Well, everyone has their own experiences with depo, but due to my cousin (who was on it for 10 years and never had not even one negative side effect from it) who has been off of it for almost a year now and still no aunt flow, I definitely agree going off of it is best, sooner rather than later.

You already know I'm anti-pill (or at least I assume you probably know ) but I am aware that in some situations it's the best (or at least the perceived best) method. But here are my thoughts (for what they're worth) : You have not ovulated for 8 years. For 8 years your body has not produced fertile cervical fluid that would help sperm travel and join with an egg. At this point you don't know how long it's going to take for your body to recover from that. And at this point, you don't even really know how "regular" you truly are. If you immediately start on the pill, then you're replacing one with the other, and yes, you may have a "pill period" but you will not be ovulating, and you will not be producing fertile cervical fluid. In addition to that, you take a chance on being one of the many (like me) who had bad side effects from the pill but stuck with it because you're always told to "give it time to adjust" etc. And then 3 months later, more symptoms, change pills, start all over. Also consider the common symptom of loss of libido...which doesn't sound at all desirable for a new engagement and marriage.

So what do I think you should do? I think you should sit down and think realistically about how often you and your fella have intercourse. If you're the spontaneous high sex drive types who make wild passionate whoopie all through the house, that's one thing. But if you're a couple with a more moderate drive and have sex a couple times a week, pretty routinely at the same time (for example: at night when you go to bed), then I would not consider switching from one hormonal bc to another, as they all are unnatural. I would get fitted for a diaphragm (or suffer through for a while and use condoms) and in the meantime start charting my cycle once I was off the depo and began having a period. After 6 mths of charting you'll have a pretty accurate assessment of your cycle, when you're in pre-ovulation and post ovulation stages, therefore, when you are fertile and when you are not. Then you can continue use of your diaphragm and either abstain or use extra spermicide during your fertile days. And I will once again HIGHLY recommend "Taking Charge of Your Fertility - 10th Anniversary Edition" by Toni Weschler.

Then when you get ready to get pregnant, your body will be ready and won't have to rid itself of toxins and artificial hormones before conceiving. Does it take a little more work? Yeah...sure...doesn't anything that's healthy and good for you? But not only will you learn an incredible amt about your body, your body will be healthier and will do what it's supposed to do, and it will be much easier to plan a pregnancy as you'll know when your most fertile times are.

There's my .50!!

[KMonte85]

Is it weird that I think I might be starting to menstruate a smidge already? I've been off the depo for not even an entire month now and I'm spotting and have cramps...

I was able to push up my appt with my doctor because I was kind of worried about this so I met with her last night. I mean, I'm happy that it seems like my body still wants to do its bodily things, but after everything I've heard, I find it odd that after 3 1/2 weeks of being off depo I'm starting to cramp/spot.

The Dr. said every woman's body is different and will react differently to hormonal bc.. she asked if I ever had a problem being on depo and I told her no, which is the truth.. she mentioned that my lack of issues for so many years is a sign that maybe my body is just more tolerant to artificial hormones than some.. as some people have a nightmarish time with depo. She said it is definitely possible that my body would be trying to get back into the normal swing of things this early, not that it is the usual case, but it isn't abnormal.

Thank you for your input BD. I very much know how anti-pill you are! And with good reason given all the problems you had while on it! I am definitely going to look into the fertility book you've suggested. But I did decide to go on the pill... at least for a trial run. I feel like I at least have to give it a try, so I'm on Mircette starting on Sunday. I do realize that even the pill will cause a delay in conception at whatever point we would want to start trying, but I can handle waiting 1-6 months... only time will tell if this was the right move, but I felt like I really wanted to give this a try given the lack of problems I had with my depo...

[Ashlee T.]

Is it weird that I think I might be starting to menstruate a smidge already?

Nope, not weird. Some women don't take as long to start menstruating again as some others may. Like your doc said, every women handles things differently.

Go for it girl. I hope it works out great for you!!

[KMonte85]

Thanks! The little bit I've heard about Mircette is pretty much the same with any other pill- tenderness, moodiness, risk of clots, low libido, weight gain, etc.

But I was told all that for depo too and didn't have trouble, so I'm hoping my luck with the hormones keeps going! We'll see I guess....

[KMonte85]

Well, figured it was time for an update.

It's been 8ish months now on Mircette (Azurette) and I haven't had any trouble, other than a bit of moodiness for a couple weeks when I made the switch off of depo to the BCP. Nothing severe, just could tell I didn't "react" to situations as coolheaded as I typically did. That problem subsided after my first pack, so about a month. So far I really like the pill and I don't have any plans to change. Maybe I was lucky, or maybe like with the depo my body doesn't react negatively to the hormones like some women struggle with.

But in any case, so far so good!

As far as getting a period again.. since switching in January, I had occasional spotting during the "period week" of the pack, sometimes more, sometimes less, a lot of times none at all or so minimal it was pretty much nonexistant.

This last pack marks the first week that I had an honest to goodness menstruation like I used to before depo. My last shot in early October of 2010, so I was officially "off depo" late December/early January-ish, and it took until late September of 2011 to get my first real period, so 9-10 months. We'll see if it happens again next month or not... but it's good to know that my body is trying to get back to some sort of norm