Depo Provera Question

May 10, 2006 6:55 AM

After long term use...

I recently went off of depo-provera after being on it for over 12 years. (The doctor said this was not a problem, BTW) Just wondering how long after the first missed injection things will "start up" again (periods, spotting, etc.) Also wondering what to expect...how the cramps are and how heavy the bleeding is when things do actually do start back up.

posted by Mrs. Smith to health & fitness (6 comments total)

I was on it for over 5 years. When I went off it took 3 months for things to "start up". The cramps seems really bad but I had not had a period of almost 5 years. It just might have seemed worse than it really was. The bleeding took just a month or 2 to get back to normal. It was really light to start with. YMMV.

You might look at LiveJournal. They have a Depo group. I cannot get to it at work. Some questions are silly but most are pretty good.
posted by nimsey lou at 7:31 AM on May 10, 2006

No personal experience, but I have heard many times that when coming off pretty much any birth control, it'll take a few months for your body to get back on track, so what seems like excessive cramping or bleeding is likely to even out over time. I think a lot of women rush to get back on BC because the first period off it is so bad, without necessarily realizing it'll probably get better.
posted by occhiblu at 8:41 AM on May 10, 2006

I don't have much nursing experience with Depo-Provera patients per se, but I have had experience with women who have not had periods in a long time due to similar hormonal contraception medications, and the principle is pretty much the same.

Your period should return soon, as soon as three weeks after you were due for your next DP injection. Spotting may begin within days. You will probably find your initial cramps to be more severe than the ones you experienced prior to taking the injections, and that may persist or it may diminish with time. The NSAIDs with prostaglandin inhibitors, like ibuprofen and especially naproxen, work best for cramps (assuming you have no conditions that contraindicate the use of NSAIDs).

You've been suppressing the natural process of making the lining of the uterus, so there's not much blood and tissue in the uterus while you're on the meds. Once your hormone levels start return to normal and the process resumes, your bleeding will likely be heavier at first and again may stay that way for a short time.

Be absolutely certain that you are using an alternate form of contraception for at least the first 90 days after discontinuing the medication, meaning 90 days after your Depo-Provera injection was due. You risk birth defects and a high-risk pregnancy if you don't. In this instance, having a period doesn't mean your body is ready to carry a pregnancy to term.
posted by lambchop1 at 9:02 AM on May 10, 2006

I have been on depo for almost a decade, I was off for 6 mths and got one period.
posted by stormygrey at 11:08 AM on May 10, 2006

I was on depo for 5 years. After I stopped, it took 6 months to get a period and that was because I got an IUD. I'm sure my cramps were affected by the IUD, but they were quite bad for a day or two.
posted by disaster77 at 11:39 AM on May 10, 2006

I was only on it for a year and it never worked right (i basically bled constantly for a year- yeah, it sucked), but things... well actually, I continued to have daily bleeding for three months, then I stopped bleeding for a few weeks, then i got my period. Two weeks later I got it again, then a week after... Suffice to say, my entire experience with Depo Provera was awful, including going off it.
posted by MadamM at 7:10 PM on May 10, 2006