advice on coming off depo injection

moneysavingfamilycomp

hi i was wondering if anyone could share personal experiences as info is very vague.:rolleyes:
i have been on depo pill injection for 7 years but i am considering coming off so that we can start to try for a baby next year. i had a borderline changes smear in the summer so im waiting for results of followup smear before making final decission hence why im not posting on the trying to concieve thread.
anyway im 34 and the information i can find says fertility can take anything from immediately to 18 mnths to return:eek: so my questions are
how long did it take for periods to return
how long did it take to get pregnant
were you advised to take any suppliments ( calcium etc)
im hoping someone can give me some idea of what to expect as nurse is useless and google is sooo confusing. thanks

pinkpig08

Hi, I came off depo about 18 months ago. It took about 1 year for my periods to return and get back to normal, then around 4-5 months to conceive. The times are different for everyone though. It takes some longer than others. I was on it for 5 years.

cazscoob

i fell pregnant on the depo and im sure my sister fell within a month of coming off it? everyone is different though! good luck x

MrsTinks

I was on it twice and second time round it took my system a lot of time to adjust - it really is different for everyone. I started having periods every 2 weeks, so basically one week on and one week off... it took several different types of pills before we found one that could bring me back into a normal cycle. Before the Depo I was so regular you could have set a clock by it
My advice is to come off it now - the sooner the better!
You can start on a "normal" pill and it will give your system to recover a little. Actually I am surprised you were on it that long - I didn't know they allowed that but everyone is different I guess

jacksons_mum

i came off it about 3 months ago, after a couple of weeks i had a normal (5 days ish) period, then a few weeks later came on again and it hasnt stopped, it feels like i have been on forever and reminds me why i started having the depo in the first place! am obviously not pregnant yet as i cant do any baby making!

sarymclary

jacksons_mum wrote: »

i came off it about 3 months ago, after a couple of weeks i had a normal (5 days ish) period, then a few weeks later came on again and it hasnt stopped, it feels like i have been on forever and reminds me why i started having the depo in the first place! am obviously not pregnant yet as i cant do any baby making!

I had this, and it was awful. I went 10 weeks before the bleeding became so heavy I couldn't leave the house for even an hour for fear of 'flooding'. I went to the Dr. and he gave me some tablets that were a coagullant (sp?), or blood clotting agent. The bleeding stopped within 2 days. This is very common apparently with Depo. My Dr. then refused to let me have the injection again, and I went onto the mini-pill. The bleeding was so bad that my BF decided that he'd have a vasectomy so that I never had to go through something like that again. I have 4 children, so don't want any more.

After stopping my Depo, and after the horrible bleeding incident, my periods have never truly settled, although they were almost immediately 'monthly'. It's just that they ranged from 32 days, but have decreased to sometimes only 21. I tend to be about every 26 days now. I have to say my periods are heavier than they were before my Depo, but I have wondered if that can also be to do with getting older, as I'm now in my early 40's.

What I will say is that being artificial hormone free is wonderful, and I am so grateful to not having to take them ever again.

I think Drs. generally advise it can take up to 2 years for your body to settle down after taking any kind of contraception that controls your cycle. That said, I was pregnant within 2 weeks of coming off the pill when I was 24, and got pregnant while taking the mini-pill (if a bit unreliably) aged 31.:o

Emmylou_2

I was on depot for nearly 8 years, having my last injection in March. I decided then to come off so I didn't have the injection due in June.

Had my first period at the beginning of September and another at the end, spotted on and off all through October with a normal period at the end, and am now having the World's Worst Period. I've been on since Friday and have been So Heavy (sorry if tmi). I use a mooncup (very mse - and fabulous!) and have been filling it in a couple of hours :eek: ...oh well, at least I'm not paying for all those tampons. Hopefully it's just a one off (and will slow a bit soon - although I'm not holding out much hope, things are still, well, bright red ) and not the state of things to come.

I'm not TTC (am single at the moment) so can't comment on that side of things but I'm sure a multi-vit can't help. I take one anyway - and at the moment am considering a spinach and liver sandwich, I feel that washed out :rotfl:

Spendless

about 5 months after being on depo for 18 months and they have never returned to normal over 3 years later despite being every 28 days before. I can be anywhere 5 - 8 weeks apart, but once had a period 10 days after the last finished. I am also in early 40's and have wondered if it's to do with my age but I did get an earl menopause ruled out by my gp's. I'd finished my family before having the injection which I feel in my case is just as well considering how irregular I've become since.

jennyred

just thought that I would share my experience of the depo injection.

I was on it for 4 years and was advised by the sexual health clinic to come off it as it has a risk of osteoporosis. I got on really well with it so was reluctant to come off it - also was in a new relationship so didnt want any little ones just yet! I was advised by a superb doctor to transfer on to the Cerezette pill. its a progesterone only pill and works in a simular way as the depo injection. The GP then said I could come off it when your ready to start a family and its quicker to get back to normal.
its a pill that you take everyday and i have had no problems at all - no periods, no PMS, no bloatedness.
Now i have had 2 friends who were on the depo - one came off after being on it for 5 years - took 18 months for her periods to come back and then 6 months to get pregnant (and they were trying lots!! ) the other swapped to the Cerezette pill after being on the depo for about 3 tears I think, was on Cerezette for 1 year, came off, had her first period after 3 months and caught on the month after!
I know it is not the same for everyone but for those who are worried by the long term effects of the depo injection I would strongly recommend the Cerezette pill!

jenny

MrsTinks

I'd just recommend coming off the Depo and speaking to your doctor about what pill suits you to come on to afterwards
I'm glad that it wasn't just me having period problems after coming off the depo though! And emmylou I'd advise that you see your GP as soon as possible... I needed help to stop mine as they were so heavy and long and frequent I was getting aenemic (sp?) - the sooner you get them to give you some pills to help regulate things the better

Millie's_Mum

I was on Depo for about 3 years, I came off it in the Feb, my periods returned in the June and were fairly normal, not quite as regular as before but still 'monthly' and lighter (although that might have been cos I started using a mooncup)

I got pregnant the following June (although I'm not sure how hard we were trying at first iyswim)