Were any of you on Depo Provera?

[Piglet]

I am hoping you can give me some words of encouragement... I was on Depo Provera after my son was born (July 2001), and we decided to try for #2. I had my last shot of Depo Feb 2003 and still haven't seen anything close to return to fertility. Like... no periods, no ovulation... nothing! I read that the average time to conception is 9 months with Depo, but was wondering if anyone was on it before they conceived and what kind of timeline I can expect -- I am thinking of going to the doctor to get something to kick-start my cycles.

Any suggestions? Any success stories?

BTW - it took us less than 1 month of trying to conceive DS, and that was after I had been on the pill for some time. We joked that we should teach sex ed., since I was such an example of why you need protection, LOL!

Thanks!
Marina

[MartiesMom2B]

Marina:

I'm not on Depo, but I did look into it as an option. Doesn't Depo last at least 3 months in the body? From what I was told it can take up to a year after being off Depo to conceive. I would talk to your GYN about it if you are concerned. I'm sure they can fill you in and even better, they probably have had patients who have conceived after Depo so they might be able to tell you how long it takes to get things back to normal.

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03

[todzwife]

Sonia, I heard the same thing (that it can take a year after Depo to conceive), and that was why I decided to to the tradional pill. Marina, I hope that things start looking up soon. Sorry I couldn't be any help!

[twins r fun]

I was on it for awhile and when I asked my ob/gyn about the package insert saying it can take up to 18 months to conceive he dismissed that as being very rare. But if you had your last shot in February, you wouldn't even stand a chance of ovulating until June so I would think that a few months wait might be necessary.

I was just talking to a friend who was on it and has been TTC, but hasn't gotten a period yet. She talked to her doctor after a few months and set up a date (I think it was about 6 months from when the depo stopped being effective)as the time when he would give her clomid to get her ovulating again. It might be worth talking to your doctor and setting up soemthing like that just for your peace of mind.

[colleenfs]

I opted to use Depo after Julia was born while we were breastfeeding. I was on it for just over a year, and this past April, I did not get my next scheduled shot. Instead I went back on the pill. I did this b/c I too had heard that the Depo can last in your system for up to a year, and I want to get pregnant with #2 next summer. I figured I'd give my body a chance to get back to normal and give it a few extra months as well.

I've now been back on the pill for 4 cycles, and I have yet to have a normal period. It's supposed to start on a Tuesday, but they've all been on Thursday or Friday. They're very light and don't last more than 2-3 days. I'm going to bring this up to my ob/gyn next month, but I do think it is normal. I mentioned this to the nurse and she said it sounds OK, but my dr may want to put me on a different pill. The Depo is probably still present, despite the pill's efforts. I'm not going to worry about it for a few more months, but I do hope that my fertility returns next year when we want to see some results.

Anyway, I hope this helps!
Colleen
Mama to Julia 1-10-02

[Tondi G]

There is a message board on ivillage on Parents Soup that is dedicated to ttc after Depo Provera!!! I'm sure the ladies over there would have some advise for you! Good Luck

~Tondi and Mason 7/8/01!

[daisymommy]

I had the Norplant device, which is the EXACT same medication as Depo, it is just released slowly day by day rather than getting the shot. It took me 1 year and 1 month to get pregnant with Josh :( Very frustrating. My OBGYN said this is very normal with Norplant and Depo. It took me awhile to ovulate again, and then once I did, my hormones were still screwed up so that once an egg was inseminated my period would start too soon before the lining of my uterus was thick enough for the egg to implant itself. This is called a short "luteal phase". I almost had to start taking Clomid and progesterone therapy, but one month after my infertility workup, I got pregnant, at long last.
I also got lots of very large ovarian cysts while on Norplant. I now have read lots of bad stories concerning these drugs, especially how hard it can be to conceive afterwards. I wish I was given straight forward information before I got the Norplant. I would have chosen someone else. I woudl definetly talk to your doctor before waiting too long and see if there is anything they can do to help, rather than making you wait it out.
Good Luck, and Take Care,

[phirey]

Sonia is right, Depo requires a shot every three months. But it does last in the body longer than that. Drug labeling must be exactly as the drug was taken/administered during FDA testing. Therefore, since most patients are trying to prevent pregnancy when on Depo, the shots are spaced so there's basically no room for error (conception in this case). What this translates to is a shot that probably lasts much longer than three months, but must be re-administered every three months to be "sure."

That said, if your last shot was Febrary, your next shot should not have been until May. It was probably effective as contraception until at least June. At most, you've missed two cycles. In our practice we tell patients not to expect their periods to return to "normal" for about six months. Most patients opt for an oral contraceptive pill to make life easier (read: predictable bleeding) for the first few months after going off Depo.

By the way, I've noticed I'm answering a lot of "work-related" quesions recently. I should probably add that the information in my posts is in no way intended as personalized medical advice and should not substitute for a trip to your own practitioner! I'm just hoping to inform...not prescribe!

HTH

[MKH76]

I do have a friend who got pregnant after 3 months being off Depo.

[jd11365]

It took a good year or so for my body to begin some normality...I was also on it for almost 5 years. I wouldn't take it again, though it was sooooo convenient that I'm always tempted... Keep the faith...I wasn't trying to get pregnant so it didn't matter at the time.

[Piglet]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I know it will take time, but I am a rather impatient person at the best of times, LOL! I do have a question to Phirey - when you said that I have missed maybe 2 cycles, and that 6 months should do the trick ("return to normal"), is that after the date of the injection, or after the date that I missed my next one? In other words - If I missed my shot in May, will I stand a chance of seeing something "normal" before November? Or do you mean that since I got my shot in February, that I could get things back to normal closer to August? I don't want to beat myself up for nothing, but I wish I had some sort of control. Would you recommend going on the pill (temporarily) even though we are TTC?

Thanks again!
Marina

[phirey]

Put me on the spot, why don't ya? ;-)

Not knowing your history, and how regular or irregular you are/were prior to going on Depo, this is a really impossible question to answer. As some have posted, they took nearly a year to return to "normal." Others were pregnant in three months (of course pregnant certainly does not mean cycles had returned to regularity!) When I originally posted that, I meant six months after your last shot, but that was just a ballpark. There are so many factors at play here--

Aside from checking with your own ob office, I might suggest learning to chart your basal body temperature, and checking your cervical mucus. One great site that helps you learn to do that is http://www.fertilityfriend.com/ That way, you can learn to tell if you're ovulating, and you and your practitioner can work together to decide what's best for you.

Sorry I can't offer more specific help.

[chrissyhowie]

Peggy (phirey) gave you some great info. I just wanted to provide you with some info about how Depo Provera works.

Depo Provera works mainly because it releases a steady level of progesterone (one of the hormones your body naturally produces). Because there is a steady level of hormone, your pituitary gland does not have its usual signals (rising and falling levels of estrogen and progesterone) to secrete the hormones (LH and FSH) which control ovulation. Without LH and FSH, no ovulation, no egg, no conception!

Basically everyone will differ in how long it will take their body to resume their own production of the hormones needed to ovulate. Sometimes, the longer one has been on Depo Provera, it can take a little longer than say someone who has only been on it for a couple cycles. Ovulation is a kind of fine balancing act between estrogen/progesterone production from your ovaries and LH/FSH production from your pituitary, so give your body some time to adjust and find its balance again!

Using the pill provides your body with estrogen and progesterone (which suppresses your own ovarian production), so using them can help with making your period more predictable. But of course, the pill is a great contraceptive because it also suppresses LH/FSH production, and therefore ovulation! So talk to your ob about taking the pill if getting your period back will give you that sense of "control" that you want. But bottom line, whether you start the pill again or not, it just depends on when your body will start its own hormonal production again AND gets to that balancing point.

I didn't mean to put you to sleep reading this ;), but for me I feel more control over situations when I have an idea WHY they might be happening. So, I hope this helps a little!