review | depo provera
9:08 PM
i know for some people this may come across a little personal or just too much information overall. but i thought it would be beneficial to not just women, but couples who are sexually active and would like to learn more about pregnancy prevention and emergency contraceptives.
for most of 2013 my body went through a lot of changes. i began taking depo provera or depo for short as a birth control method. although it help prevent pregnancy, it did not help regulate my period (which is what i was hoping for) and made me feel really, really bad. here i wanted to share my experience.
my side effects:
❄ -- headaches: the shot did work, but i will never select this brand again because my body did not agree with it at all. i had a headache almost everyday, from the time i got my first shot until i got my last. my headaches were the most severe during the first two weeks after getting a shot (& this happened every shot). & i told my nurse that this was going on. it wasn't until it was time for me to get my PAP, that the new nurse seemed concerned. she said that having headaches daily was too much and could possibly cause me to have a stroke. she told me that i needed to get off the shot immediately.
❄ -- felt really tired: speaking of sleep, i was always tired! you know how before and during your period you nap like a newborn? well that's how i was most of the time on the shot. all of a sudden throughout my day i'd just get tired and then a headache would follow.
❄ -- bleeding: on the box it says you might experience some bleeding. well i sure as hell did. it was light, but i bled pretty much everyday. the day i got the shot & the day after is pretty much the only 2 days i didn't experience any bleeding. i also notified every nurse about this. all they kept suggesting was to switch to the birth control pill and that would stop the bleeding. my thing is, the pill you have to remember to take daily which i have tried that & that was hard to keep track of.
❄ -- sore bones: one of the most common side effects is low calcium. the nurses kept telling me to make sure i get lots of it & not just in the dairy form, but vitamins as well. well, i forgot. i was on the shot from may until december of 2013 and didn't start taking vitamins until october. prior to that i woke up every morning sore, especially my feet. i kept buying different sole supporters thinking that it was because i was on my feet too much. i tried sleeping in different positions & taking medicine for joint pain. none of that helped. it got so bad that i would have to count to 3 as i got out of the bed & slowly plant my feet on the ground. i would then limp to the bathroom. it wasn't until my october shot when a nurse asked me if i was taking vitamins that i remembered to finally do that! within a week of taking target's brand of vitamins i began to feel a lot better (i still take them daily now & my body feels great).
❄ -- annoyed: another common side effect is becoming emotional. from the first week i ever took the shot my body went through multiple emotions per day. i remember in the beginning i would cry about anything & i never cry! i would cry during certain scenes in a movie, i'd cry if i had been alone for too long throughout the week, i'd get angry quickly at others, i'd cry just to cry, i'd become annoyed at the slightest thing and didn't really have a reason. i'd wake up mad or in an i don't care type of mood. i felt like everything i did, i had to force myself to do. it wasn't that i was tired, it's just i didn't care to do it. my sarcasm shot through the roof! i worried more & i thought about giving up on projects because i felt exhausted.
❄ -- hair loss: i don't want to say that this was a side effect specifically, but i did notice a change in my hair. i felt like my hair shedded more than necessary while on the shot (at least compared to now). i keep my hair washed weekly & trimmed pretty often, but while on the shot when i would look down on the floor i saw more hair than i wanted to. it didn't come out in patches, but it did shed more than normal and didn't grow much either.
the shot will not work:
-- if you are already pregnant.
-- if you take it prior to having unprotected sex.
-- will not work as an abortion pill.
-- will not cure STDs.
if you are under the age of 17, i suggest you talk with not only your parents, but a nurse or doctor before selecting an emergency contraceptive to take. there may be ingredients within the medicine that may cause severe side effects. it's also really important that you talk with your parents and a doctor (possibly an OBGYN) about sex, ways to prevent pregnancy and any other questions that may arise about sex and your body.
disclaimer: i am not condoning unprotected sex. i suggest that if you have any questions about sex or any information within this post that you speak with a professional.
2 comments
wow this is very interesting I am on the pill I always have a reminder on my phone to take it
ReplyDeletei did the pill method before, but remembering to take it was too much with my busy schedule at the time.
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