Were you on Depo before?

Jessaka · 07-01-2008, 12:46 AM

Hello everyone.
Maybe this is just my desperate attempt at linking the PCOS to something, but prior to taking Depo for BC I NEVER had any of the issues related to PCOS.
After, I had excess hair growth, low libido no AF for 14 months, heavy AF and most importantly anxiety attacks.

Anyone else?

Jessica

bethanykf · 07-02-2008, 02:51 AM

My first form of birth control was depo provera. I'm not sure about the connections for me, but I didn't have a period for a very long time while on it (years).

Camisado · 07-02-2008, 04:45 AM

In my opnion, in the opinion of others and even DOCTORS - Depo Provera is the number one cause of hormonal imbalance.

Don't believe them when they tell you the anxiety isn't related to your hormones - it is.

When I was talking to my GYN about what BCPs I had vbeen on in the past and told him which ones made me psycho (lol) he always commented on the estrogen-to-progestin ratio. It seems that most BCPs with more progestin than estrogen seem to cause more emotional issues....and Depo Provera is just one big dose of synthetic Progesterone, so yeah.

My mother was a mess for a few years after Depo Provera. Luckily, her menopause kicked in and she improved.

novachick · 07-02-2008, 10:54 AM

No. Not on any birth control before being diagnosed, so that's DEFINITELY not the cause in my case.

In other news, my roomie was happily on Depo for a while. She had no problems with it, and misses it now. She doesn't have PCOS.

Asking questions like this will only get you responses from people who DO believe Depo caused their PCOS. That's the biggest drawback on here, when speculating---who will bother to come into the thread.

I just wanted to give the other side.

sgordon · 07-02-2008, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by novachick

No. Not on any birth control before being diagnosed, so that's DEFINITELY not the cause in my case.

In other news, my roomie was happily on Depo for a while. She had no problems with it, and misses it now. She doesn't have PCOS.

Asking questions like this will only get you responses from people who DO believe Depo caused their PCOS. That's the biggest drawback on here, when speculating---who will bother to come into the thread.

I just wanted to give the other side.

There are also people out there who believe global warming is a load of crap simply because we happened to have a particularly cold winter...

Doesn't mean it's not happening!

novachick · 07-02-2008, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgordon

There are also people out there who believe global warming is a load of crap simply because we happened to have a particularly cold winter...

Doesn't mean it's not happening!

I'm not sure which way you meant this comment (as it could be taken to support my point OR go against it), but if you were trying to say that Depo could cause PCOS, then we don't disagree. No one knows what causes PCOS.

I just came in to say that asking "Who's had Depo AND developed PCOS?" will get you a bunch of answers ONLY from women who have those two factors. Most people would see the title and say, "Oh, not me." and not post in the thread. So it's an easy way to FEEL like a lot of women might have gotten their PCOS from Depo, when in fact, it's a self-selecting question.

Depo may be an aggravating factor, it may not be. But like anything else with our lovely syndrome, it's not a sure bet, and I wanted to post to that effect. That's all.

RoaryKennedy · 07-02-2008, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bethanykf

My first form of birth control was depo provera. I'm not sure about the connections for me, but I didn't have a period for a very long time while on it (years).

Me, too. I used it from the ages of 17-18, and I didn't get an AF that whole time, and still didn't for a year after I discontinued it. And that was only with Provera that was used to induce AF so I could start BCP.

Did it cause or aggravate my PCOS? That I don't know. I feel certain that I had undiagnosed PCOS before I ever started Depo, and wasn't diagnosed until I was 27 and had TTC issues.

Jessaka · 07-02-2008, 04:47 PM

Hey everyone,
Thanks for all your replies. I guess I'm not trying to really link Depo to PCOS but after reading your responses found some comfort from others in my situation.
I guess at that moment I was on a Depo rage (why not, i'm comvinced it caused some of my issues no matter what anyone says) and wanted others to agree with me... what's the harm in that?
So, thanks to ALL of you who helped me!
Jessica

bkimes1977 · 07-03-2008, 08:22 PM

I was on the Depo shot for 7 years and before the Depo shots I did not have any problems. When I got off the shot to start TTC, my cycles were irregular and started having all kinds of issues. Per some labwork and a laparoscopy I was diagnosed with PCOS. I read another post about can PCOS be dormant and then something triggers it. Maybe the Depo shot triggered the PCOS to become active. Who knows??? I wish I knew why I cannot get pregnant as easy some people!!

Brandi

Camisado · 07-04-2008, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by novachick

I'm not sure which way you meant this comment (as it could be taken to support my point OR go against it), but if you were trying to say that Depo could cause PCOS, then we don't disagree. No one knows what causes PCOS.

I just came in to say that asking "Who's had Depo AND developed PCOS?" will get you a bunch of answers ONLY from women who have those two factors. Most people would see the title and say, "Oh, not me." and not post in the thread. So it's an easy way to FEEL like a lot of women might have gotten their PCOS from Depo, when in fact, it's a self-selecting question.

Depo may be an aggravating factor, it may not be. But like anything else with our lovely syndrome, it's not a sure bet, and I wanted to post to that effect. That's all.

Odd. I believe Depo ranks among the highest causitive agents of hormonal imbalance (not necessarily PCOS) and I was never on Depo. Megace caused my PCOS.

Obviously if Depo caused every woman to develop PCOS, it wouldn't be on the market.

But I got a 20 dollar bill that says it'll screw your hormones one way or another.

novachick · 07-04-2008, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camisado

Megace caused my PCOS........Obviously if Depo caused every woman to develop PCOS, it wouldn't be on the market...........But I got a 20 dollar bill that says it'll screw your hormones one way or another.

Please explain. Scientific studies would be useful, or perhaps the part of your personal medical record where your doctor said your PCOS was caused by Megace.

Because I was unaware that ANY causes of PCOS had been definitively discovered. I'm also confused because in your other thread only two days ago, you said your doc DOESN'T think you have PCOS at all, and YOU said you were hoping you don't have it. How could Megace cause your PCOS when you don't know, and your doc doesn't think, that you even HAVE it?

Your experience may in fact have been caused by Megace, and other women's may have something to do with Depo. I'm not arguing that. But you're not saying "may"---you're saying YOU know it, which is more than all of the studies and doctors I've ever heard of are willing to say. So some more proof is gonna be needed here, please. I'm honestly not being a jerk----if you know something we don't, please PLEASE help the rest of us out! Knowledge is power.

Nikisix · 07-04-2008, 05:20 PM

I'm taking Depo for the first time AFTER I was diagnosed w/PCOS and had a baby. My OB seemed to think it was the best form of birth control because I still have high blood pressure after giving birth. I can tell you one thing...I don't like it at all. I am so hormonal and dried up down there and I don't think it has anything to do w/hormones after giving birth to a baby.

I've talked to a family practioner and she said that she couldn't figure out why my OB would put me on Depo. She says it eventually will cause Osteoperosis (sp). Great!

Camisado · 07-05-2008, 03:19 AM

As far as my medical knowledge goes, I was an aspiring LPN before I got on disability over this $#%^ing condition. I really don't think that's relevant, and I believe I began my sentence with "I believe."

Whilst in college I did a number of research papers and I have learned that a scientific fact is formed when you perform one experiement more than two times with the same outcome each time.

And I know more than two women, personally, who've had cessation of periods after stopping the depo. I also know a few women who've had cessation of periods after depo but their hormones straightened out within a year.

And to the best of MY knowledge, and in the opinion of my RE, "Depo OFTEN causes hormonal imbalances," were his exact words-----and to the best of my knowledge, PCOS is a hormonal imbalance of the hypo-thalamic pituitary axis.

As far as Megace "causing" my "PCOS" I really meant to go into detail but decided to dumb it down because I believe a lot of people just speed-read, overlooking any relevent information.

If you want me to explain myself, I will, but I really think it's unnecessary.

But I will: I BELIEVE my HORMONAL IMBALANCE is not of the POLCYSTIC OVARY or INSULIN-RESISTENT variety, however, PCOS is a HORMONAL IMBALANCE that is poorly understood and SO FAR the only diagnosis I HAVE received is PCOS. I just don't believe it. I feel that I was misdiagnosed.

I'm really sorry for coming off as a *****, but I've already been sarcastically attacked by a few other members on this site, and I'm incredibly bitter, because there are some women who just want a child, and much as I'd love to be a mother, I'd rip out my damn uterus to just stop the pain this HORMONAL IMBALANCE has caused me. Oh yeah, and my "dear boyfriend" ran off to the Caribbean on a cruise and apparently he can afford that but he can't afford a phone call. See? Now we're into my personal life---I really apologize, obviously I'm lashing out and I'll admit it. I might even be in denial.

It would be immature of me to not apologize, so I'm really sorry that my statements were unclear and possibly even false. Who knows? If doctors don't understand the disease, I guess the only thing you can do is go with common sense....don't you agree?

Jai · 07-05-2008, 05:38 AM

I had no PCOS symptoms before having 2 shots of Depo - then put on 15 kgs in a month and began 12 months + of no period, no libido, loss of perfect eye sight, insulin resistance etc etc

novachick · 07-05-2008, 02:23 PM

Camisado: I wasn't trying to attack you. I think you need some help with the situation, maybe more than we can give you, but please calm down and let us try. To answer your final question first, no: Common sense does NOT replace science for me, when we're talking about my health. "Assuming things" is not a replacement for proven explanations for me. Just because some women you know have reacted in certain ways does not work for me as proof that your beliefs are correct---I could cite just as many women who have NOT reacted those ways.

Your response post was still filled with many, many inaccuracies. Scientific "fact" is certainly not what you say it is. As for an HPA axis disorder, no one knows for sure WHAT PCOS is, although it does affect the HPOA axis (you have to add Ovarian in there in our disorder). However, there is a lot of research out there looking at whether insulin resistance is the actual issue for many of us, and HPOA distubance is only a symptom. A better term might be a reproductive-metabolic endocrine disorder. Who knows? Finally, why on earth would you assume most people here "skim" your posts? Don't worry, we're reading--why else would we bother to post on a board like this?

Again, my post to you had only one real purpose: to try to help you understand that posting that you KNOW something as true, when you have no actual proof of it, does every woman on here a disservice. You should not make claims you can't back up with more of a reason than "well, it's common sense, isn't it"---someone may act based on your "certain" information, and since you don't actually KNOW, you'd be leading them down a dangerous path.

I've seen the posts you're complaining about from others---I think you're misreading their tone. You seem to have a lot of anger about PCOS, and in your personal life, and you HAVE been lashing out on here quite a bit. Assuming everyone is being intentionally nasty is no way to go through life!

So stop worrying, you're wrong on that count---we're here to help you learn about PCOS, sympathize with you over its effects, and celebrate with you when you get a handle on it. SC is a community of women trying to help each other---my advice would be to take a deep breath, stop thinking we're "sarcastically attacking" you, and realize that EVERY woman on here has good intentions. We'll help you, if you let us.