[bnoelle]

So, I've been having some issues with the pill and have been curious about possibly trying another method of birth control. I've tried Implanon but got it taken out after a year because it gave me horrible cystic acne all over my body. I've been considering doing the Depo shot but the only thing stopping me is the horror stories I've heard about women gaining an immense amount of weight.

Is the weight gain only caused by an increased appetite? Or is the weight gain caused by the birth control itself?

Anybody who has information or any personal outcomes of this method please give me some insight! I want to know all of the facts before following through with the shot, and the woman I spoke with at planned parenthood about the Depo shot was pretty vague and unwilling to answer my questions.

Thanks!

[mmichael]

I've been on depo for nearly 5 years now and I have only gained 10lbs in the past year so I do not think this is due to the shot itself. I delivers a large dose of hormones that can increase your appetite. 20%-30% of women using it gain a significant amount of weight. It's different for everybody. It works very well as a form of birth control and my periods stopped after being on it for the first month. I have not had a period for 5 years haha, talk about amazing. I originally went on it to treat heavy bleeding with my period, but now I'm thinking of switching to an IUD bc it's a lower dose of hormone delivered directly to the uterus (which is where you need it) so it does not effect the body systemically. Some doctors can be wary on prescribing depo bc it does have a black box warning about decreasing bone density and I've been told that the usual amount of time recommended staying on depo is no more than 2 years. I've not had any problems yet, but like I said, I am thinking about switching bc renewing my birth control every 3 years instead of 3 months sounds much better to me

[TheKitten]

This is my first injection of the depo shot and, honestly, I couldn't be happier. I'm NOT as hungry as I used to be and I have to actually force myself to eat because I know I have to. I have actually been losing weight because I don't pig out on everything I see. It really depends on the person and their body. Some of my friends gained weight while some stayed the way they were.