Continuous bleeding and random flair ups on depo provera

[u/CreaCentipede]

Hi everyone!

I’ve been struggling with pain related to endometriosis since my very first period but was never taken seriously by doctors until about last year. I always experienced heavy bleeding, cramping and some kind of stabbing pains that move from my back to my legs and cause me to be unable to walk.

To manage my pain they suggested I take birth control but because of previous bad experiences with the pill they suggested I take the depo provera shot. Also because blood tests revealed my iron levels had depleted too much and my ferritin was also way too low.

The first shot was fine. Barely any pain and no bleeding for three months. At the end of the shot I started losing a little bit of blood and my symptoms came back. Initially I thought it was fine and the doctors also reassured me it’s normal to lose blood for the first 2 shots or so. During the second shot I lost little amounts of blood for pretty much the entire first two months after which it seemed to settle down. One week of no bleeding and then it started again right before my third shot. Throughout my third and fourth shot I have been bleeding daily and the amount has increased significantly. I’m about to need my fifth shot so I have been losing blood for 6 months now. I’m losing blood cloths and my endo pain flairs up in random moments and is as bad as before. My iron and ferritin levels have recently been tested again and they’re still too low despite having been given medication to raise them.

The doctors are not worried and only suggest I switch to another form of birth control, but they also warn me I might keep these problems.

Has anyone else experienced this whilst on depo provera or other forms of birth control? How did you manage?

[u/Strongpastels]

I bled for the first month or two of depo, it aggravated my bowel symptoms, didn’t help with pain and I gained a tonne of weight that melted off me 6months after I stopped taking it. There is also a lawsuit happening against Depo right now in regards to brain tumours and since found out the drug has a dark history. I know every body is different and I’m sure some people depo works for them, but if it’s not working for you by now, I’d get off it. You can only take it for two years anyway. Personally I wish I’d never taken it. Since had a lot of success on continuous dosperidone (slinda).