[Kira H]

I received one shot of Depo Provera and it's been 6 years since that shot. Is the Depo Privera shot related in anyway to PCOS? I only get maybe 2 periods a year. I am getting a lot of facial hair, hard time losing weight, tired, depressed, and very moody. Is this and area of concern?:confused:

[ChihuahuaMomma]

What is PCOS?

One shot really should affect you this much. I know the MAIN side effect of the depo shot is weight gain. But honey, I'm here to tell you having a hard time losing weight is everyone's battle. It's not an easy thing to do. It's called working out for a reason. It's hard work.

[2008chrissy]

Hirutism link - Hirsutism (Excess Hair) -- familydoctor.org

I don't think one shot of Depo 6 years ago would throw you into polycystic. When did you start showing symptoms? Recently or when you received that first shot?

[ChihuahuaMomma]

I'm not unsure what the condition is. I was unsure what the intials stood for. I gave her advice and my knowledge of the medication.

[ChihuahuaMomma]

Chrissy... How was my post INACCURATE?

[2008chrissy]

One Depo-Provera shot 6 years prior is the not the cause of the current weight gain, facial hair, moodiness she is experiencing. So discussing the medication as the cause is inaccurate. Her PCOS is the cause of her symptoms.

QUOTE[It's not an easy thing to do. It's called working out for a reason.]

I thought this was rude and insensitive to the poster. PCOS patients have problems with weight gain because it is a disorder, not because they don't work hard.

There is not just one main side effect of Depo-Provera, and also symptoms differ from woman to women:

In the largest clinical trial with DEPO-PROVERA CI, over 3,900 women, who were treated for up to 7 years, reported the following adverse reactions, which may or may not be related to the use of DEPO-PROVERA CI.

The following adverse reactions were reported by more than 5% of subjects: Menstrual irregularities (bleeding or amenorrhea, or both)

Abdominal pain or discomfort
Weight changes
Dizziness Headache
Asthenia (weakness or fatigue)
Nervousness

Adverse reactions reported by 1% to 5% of subjects using DEPO-PROVERA Contraceptive Injection were:

Decreased libido or anorgasmia
Pelvic pain
Backache
Breast pain
Leg cramps
No hair growth or alopecia
Depression
Bloating
Nausea
Rash
Insomnia
Edema
Leukorrhea
Hot flashes
Acne
Arthralgia
Vaginitis

[J_9]

I'm not unsure what the condition is. I was unsure what the intials stood for. I gave her advice and my knowledge of the medication.

Sweetie, if you are unsure of what the condition is, please do not answer the question. PCOS is polycystic ovary syndrome.

The OPs symptoms can be caused by a number of disorders that only her doctor can diagnose and treat properly.

One shot 6 years ago will not cause these symptoms. There is obviously something hormonal going on that should be investigated by your physician.

[N0help4u]

Yep facial hair combined with the other symptoms usually is a hormonal imbalance.
The trick is finding the problem insulin resistance is one of seven things that will cause hormonal imbalance.

This is just a small part of what one of them is like
PCOS Messages for May, 2000: Re: SOUND advice to hair loss, facial hair and fatigue problem
Insulin resistance, and yes, he does mention this topic: "But the hormones themselves are just part of the picture. It takes very specific combinations of vitamins, minerals and enzymes to cause the transformation of one hormone into another and then help the cell carry out the hormone's message. If you are deficient in one of the important hormone-transforming substances such as vitamin B6 or magnesium, that too can throw your hormones out of balance. Thyroid and insulin problems, toxins, bad food and environmental factors, medication and liver function affect nutrient and hormone balance." He talks about the fact that sugar affects hormones too. Hormonal imbalance can cause the cravings for carbs and sugar which causes weight gain which affects insulin, etc. everything affects everything. He mentioned too that hormonal imbalance can cause all kinds of symptoms, like hypothyroid, The thing I didn't understand for myself was if I have low testosterone, then why do I have facial hair? Here's an excerpt that is especially interesting to PCOS: From his premenopause book, pg. 344-345: "Testosterone decreases with age...as the ovaries wind down, women show signs of becoming more androgen (male hormone) dominant rather than estrogen dominant, and testosterone will only exaggerate that process. Facial hair and male-type pattern baldness are indicative of this shift...this can happen in premenopausal, estrogen-dominant women as well, because testosterone clearance from the body is partly controlled by the balance between estrogen and progesterone. Excess estrogen decreases testosterone clearance and natural progesterone enhances it. In estrogen-dominant women, testosterone hangs around in the body for a longer time, and the end result is as though more testosterone were being made. This is why progesterone cream tends to reverse the androgenic changes mentioned above." Here's something related to weight gain and hair loss. Even though it talks about men, I think it must apply to women, too: "As men age, progesterone levels fall, testosterone becomes converted to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and estradiol levels rise. The effect of this is weight gain, some breast enlargement an enlarged prostate gland, etc..THE CONVERSION OF TESTOSTERONE TO DHT IS PROMOTED BY THE ENZYME 5 REDUCTASE (My note: I have read this enzyme causes the hair loss). "The action of this enzyme is inhibited by progesterone. Inhibits conversion to DHT... " Oh yeah, one thing I just learned too is that some natural progesterone creams have DHEA in them, so be sure to pick one that doesn't if the facial hair is a problem. Here's some of the symptoms of estrogen dominance he mentions: Allergies, headaches, autoimmune disorders, breast cancer, cold hands and feet, depression, dry eyes, endometrial cancer, fat gain, especially around the abdomen, hips and thighs, fatigue, foggy thinking, chronic fatigue, hair loss, gallbladder disease, hypoglycemia, irritability, insomnia, magnesium deficiency, osteoporosis, polycystic ovaries and fibroids, water retention, zinc deficiency, pms, mood swings, etc

[Natalie82]

Hi there

I asked the same question a few months back and got some really good responses.

See

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/womens...os-166695.html

Natalie :)

[Gigi H]

Kira -

In doing research about my current thyroid issues, I came across your post. I received a single Depo shot back in the mid 90's. I expereienced such crazy symptoms that I never went back for any more shots. In some of my research, I came across information on how Depo can cause thyroid damage. A lot of your symptoms sound like hypothyroidism, where the thyroid no longer is producing enough hormone.

I would highly suggest seeing your primary care physician at least and getting a full blood test so that your thyroid hormone levels can be checked. Also, you can see a endocrinologist, who specializes in thyroid issues.

It has been over 10 years since that single shot and I am still finding out things about my health that could have been damaged by that shot.

[april k]

I received one shot of Depo Provera and it's been 6 years since that shot. Is the Depo Privera shot related in anyway to PCOS? I only get maybe 2 periods a year. I am getting alot of facial hair, hard time losing weight, tired, depressed, and very moody. Is this and area of concern?:confused:

Did you have any problems before you had the shot? Sometimes, things happen that look like they're related, but it's only coincidence, or maybe you were leaning toward PCOS and the shot somehow set it off.

Regardless, you can deal with this, it doesn't really matter where it started! There are a lot of different ways to deal with PCOS, and one of the root causes that have been identified for causing it is Insulin Resistance (IR). IR can eventually lead to diabetes, hypertension and other issues, so you might as well deal with it, huh? Changing your diet to one that leans toward protein and low carb is important, as is exercise!

There are a few websites that I really like for providing information about PCOS and everything else about it, they are: www.pcosupport.com by the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Association and www.pcos.insulitelabs.com.

You can turn this around!

Dr April

[JenJenAllen]

I have a theory on this. I know 6 women now who have developed symptoms of PCOS after getting the depo shot along with myself. I believe that this is an alarming pattern, and people want to brush it under the table, but with more and more women making the claim, it is getting harder to deny that there is a link.

I believe that not all women develop PCOS from getting the depo shot, but that there are certain women that are possible more susceptible to PCOS due to prior problems with insulin resistance. When you mess with your hormones, especially with a shot that is to last 6 months in your body, it is like playing russian roulette with your hormones.

I believe that as this problem becomes more and more apparent with women, this will cause the medical community to start studying the possibility of this as a possible side effect, like every other medication or method, they don't know for sure every single symptom or side effect when it is released to the general public.

Just because most of the people on this message board shoot down your question doesn't mean there aren't many other women out there who ask that question and who are in your shoes.

[gina101]

I was on depo shot and I got side effects from hot flushes dizzyness where my tongue tingled and body/facial hair I don't know what's going on but I wish I knew before the shot I never had any of this stuff at all I'm literally going crazy from it my hormones are talking for me!

[debsydoodles]

I have been on the depo-provera injection for 9 months now and my doctor has decided that I should come off it. I have pcos, which I was diagnosed with in 2005. Since having the injection I have experienced weight gain... not just a few pounds but a couple of stones. I have been moody, anxious and have had increased facial hair growth. I have lost a lot of my confidence because of these things. Even though I had pcos before I had learned to control the symptoms and I was a healthy weight of 9st 3lb. I exercised regularly and ate healthily which I still do but it seems to make very little difference to my weight. No matter what I do I cannot seem to shift it! Anyway, my doctor said that another patient had a similar problem and that when he got in touch with the consultant he told him that it was quite dangerous for a woman with pcos to have the depo injection. So next week I am going back on the oral pill. I'm hoping it will make a huge difference to how I feel.

[J_9]

3 year old thread closed.