Depo Provera: A Collection of Commentary
Depo-Provera is a form of hormonal contraceptive. Also called “the shot” or Depo, using it requires an injection from a health care provider once every 3 months. Depo contains the hormone progestin and is very effective at preventing pregnancy. The shot is a popular form of birth control because it doesn’t require a daily pill or preparation in advance of having penis-in-vagina sex.
Some people have negative side effects while using, or after stopping, Depo-Provera. These can include heavy and/or ongoing bleeding, nausea, weight gain, and mood changes.
The three posts linked below were originally published on Our Bodies, Our Blog (the former blog of Our Bodies Ourselves). Each post explores the lack of research about continuing side effects after stopping. Health care providers do not always believe the experiences reported by Depo users.
While we published the posts back in 2009-2016, Our Bodies Ourselves has chosen to keep them active to hold a space for the posts’ 5,000+ commenters (and counting), who continue to share their own experiences, and respond to other commenters’ concerns.
To read these posts and the comments, see:
"I Wouldn’t Recommend It to Anyone": What We Can Learn from Women who have had Bad Experiences with Depo-Provera
2016—This third and final blog post on the side effects of Depo-Provera explores what can be learned from the thousands of readers who shared their experiences.
Questions Remain about Effects of Stopping Depo-Provera
2012—In this second blog post on the side effects of Depo-Provera, Our Bodies, Our Blog bemoans the lack of scientific evidence on the topic, and readers discuss questions they wish researchers would address.
Side Effects of Stopping Depo-Provera
2009—The first in a series of blog entries on the side effects of the injectable birth control method Depo-Provera. In the comments, Our Bodies, Our Blog readers share their own experiences with the shot.
