Perimenopause and the depo shot
Posted , 8 users are following.
I'm new to the forum and have a question I'm hoping someone else can relate. I've been on the depo provera shot for years and started having bad anxiety flare up after my last shot and found out that I am in perimenopause stages and have been for a few years and would like to know if I should stop getting the shot? I don't know how I will know when I hit menopause if I'm on the shot as it causes me to have no period. I don't want to cause me more anxiety if I stop the shot but since it's the underlying cause of my anxiety I would like to know someone else's thoughts?? Anyone know what I should do? This anxiety is too much.
0 likes, 18 replies
mauiblue dawn0904
Posted
With depo its tricky.
I am not able to give doc advice but I do know that you have to weigh the benefits and if they outweigh the risks then you know to stay on it. If the risks outweigh the benefits then by all means discontinue it.
Havin said that, I personally could not manage strong anxiety such as you have. I have it, and I am doing what I can to relieve it, believe me.
I dont think I could manage the depo shot whilst in the throes of peri menopause. There is way too much going on with our endocrine system to have additional things added to it.
Listen to your body as well as you can.
Keep me posted,
xx
dawn0904 mauiblue
Posted
Thanks for your reply. I really want to stop getting the shot since this all began but I'm so scared of the anxiety and if it'll get worse. I honestly think it will help me get thru my transition a lot faster but I'm still afraid of the consequences. I'm taking Zoloft now for 5 wks now at 50 mg a day and it's helping with my anxiety a lot but I don't wanna be on medicine for the rest of my life either. Before this happened, I'm 44 now, soon to be 45 and I've never been on any medication my entire life and it scares the living hell out of me and what this shot has done to my quality of life. I guess just looking for reassurance that'll I'll get thru this nightmare that has been plaguing my life since April this year.
mauiblue dawn0904
Posted
Do you think that the depo will make it worse if you discontinue it?
What are your fears about not using it?
If you are taking the zoloft then maybe that in itself is enough.
I wouldnt worry about not doing the depo, it will only help your body deal with your changes more naturally.
I will write again when i return, have to go to work
hang i there, your not alone.
dawn0904 mauiblue
Posted
I know the depo is what caused my anxiety to start, cuz the day after I got my shot I got severe chest pain, thought I was having a heart attack and rushed to the er, had all tests done including cardiac cath and they came back that my heart was good and I'm glad of course, but then went to my follow up after my release and the doctor put me on buspar and it made everything 100 times worse and I've never gotten better since. They diagnosed me with myocarditis, inflammation around the heart. But clearly that wasn't the problem cuz here I am miserable, anxiety, insomnia since my episode in April. I want to stop the shot but now that my anxiety is somewhat under control I don't want it to start it all up again. I don't know what other symptoms my body might throw at me to make things even worse.
maxinecarla dawn0904
Posted
dawn0904 maxinecarla
Posted
Thanks for your reply. I want to come off the shot but scared it'll cause the anxiety to worsen. I know the shot is what brought the anxiety out in the first place and on top of it now have insomnia since it started in April. Just want things to calm down.
lelawreck dawn0904
Posted
I am sorry that I do not have any info on the shots but you are not alone and here are awesome ladies on the forum that I believe that will assist in sharing there opinions on the shots.
Anxiety is really the most nasty of peri - hang in there Dawn.
mauiblue lelawreck
Posted
Yes Dawn posters like Lela make us all feel better!
I wish I could just wake up tomorrow morning and this would all have been a bad dream.
I have to say though that i think depression is as bad or worse than anxiety...they are both a form of torture..
hang in there and possibly ditch the depo (my 2 cents)
XoX
dawn0904 lelawreck
Posted
dawn0904 mauiblue
Posted
I really think I'm going to ditch the depo but I'm so scared of more anxiety. I hate feeling like this.
maxinecarla dawn0904
Posted
dawn0904 maxinecarla
Posted
I hope so too. Thank you. My current doctor doesn't want me to go onto hormone therapy. She said they come with risks of cancer and other things. So idk if that will be an option for me. I may have to see my psychiatrist med doctor about that instead.
looloo43 dawn0904
Posted
Hi Dawn. I am 46, in peri for 1.5years + approx & like you was on depo shot for years. I really got on with depo - no periods, stable mood etc. until just over 2yrs ago started getting irreg, prolonged bleeding that got more & more painful as time went on. in agreement with my gp we tried watching & waiting, decreasing the interval between shots, nothing helped with the bleeding & pain. i got a transvaginal ultrasound in november 2016 which showed my womb lining to b abnormally thick at 11+mm. my gp then referred me to gynae at hosp & in the meantime we decided to try stopping the depo shot to see if that made any difference - it didnt. it was unusual that my womb lining was thickened since depo should keep it thin. my gp said that the fact she diagnosed me in peri early 2016 could be the overriding factor here, so the depo was not having its usual effect of stopping periods/keeping womb lining thin. this could well be the case with you that peri is overriding what depo should be effecting on your body. also because you have had depo for years & then suddenly you are suffering great anxiety to me points towards peri symptom - anxiety is a prime symptom of peri. i ended up on low dose bio identical hrt since last april (oestrogel applied nightly & utrogestan capsules for 12 days a month) & i this sorted out my peri symptoms of anxiety, dizzy spells, erratic mood, tearfulness within a couple of months. i still get flushes but i can cope with that now the "mental" symptoms are under control. i continued to get irregular & prolonged bleeding which progressively got more painful & about 6wks ago i eventually had a transcervical resection of the endometrium(a first generation ablation procedure) where they cut out all of the womb lining. i have now not bled since 2wks after op & pain is really just recovery twinges when i have over done physically a bit - soooooo much better than before op. maybe talk to your gp about having a transvaginal ultrasound to start with & have a discussion about low dose hrt/stopping depo for a 3mth trial period - just a suggestion, its upto you. the low dose hrt may indeed help your anxiety like it did me - to level you out & remove the need for anti depressants/anxiety meds. as i had the ablation it makes me far less likely to fall pregnant, i am not on any contraception now, my hubby & i are just "careful" now... .... hope this helps. xx
dawn0904 looloo43
Posted
Thank you for your response. I am calling my doctor today to discuss my options with this and discontinuing the depo. I feel it's time to move on from it. I don't feel I need it any longer especially since what happened with the last shot. I'm gonna look into the hrt but my current doctor is against the hormone replacements for some reason. Not sure why. Maybe from personal experience maybe. It's been a miserable year for me and I know from reading the forums here there are a lot more suffering and it's just awful that women have to go thru the misery all the time. We all need a healthy vacation.
dawn0904
Posted
Update on my peri symptoms. Went to the ob gyn today and I am coming off the depo officially the end of September. Have to wait a month and have my bloodwork done again to confirm things and go from there with my options. My doctor informed me today after all these years and not saying anything that the depo shot can cause all of the same symptoms as menopause. I was like why wasn't I informed of this for so long. I was so upset. I coulda stopped this along time ago. Anyways, to anyone out there that may be on the shot, take note that it's not gonna help you once menopause hits. It's gonna make everything ten times worse like it did me.