does stopping depo help?

[MrsBee1996]

Hi ladies,

I have been diagnosed with endo since september of last year.

I am on the depo injection and myself and my partner think i should ask my GP if I could come off the depo for a while to see what happens.

any thoughts?

[Chicken37]

I went on it as a treatment for endo and I really didn’t have a great time on it and ended up in an induced menopause. I wish I’d kept to the mini pill but instead my GP just put me on a combined pill unfortunately. I’d say try it but it takes a while for the depo to fully get out your system. For me it took about 4 months to feel the effects of depo leave, so keep that in mind. Worst case you can always go back on depo if you truly don’t like any other way and you can learn how your body reacts.

[MrsBee1996 in reply to Chicken37]

hi lovely,

has it effected if you can have children? was that 4 months for you to start bleeding again?

i am sorry if i offended you x

[Chicken37 in reply to MrsBee1996]

No not at offended at all.. I don’t know about children, it’s not high on my list currently in life. I do know however from talking to people they struggled to conceive when they first came off depo due to it lasting long in the system. I think it’s as usual everyone is different. So with depo I bled through most the time anyway it stopped on the last round I had and then it took 4 months to get a rhythm again for bleeding as my bleeding between then from stopping was sporadic heavy bleeding.

[MrsBee1996 in reply to Chicken37]

thank you lovely for letting me know. so would you suggest I come off it?

[Chicken37 in reply to MrsBee1996]

I’m in no position to say unfortunately, I would say discuss with your GP and make a plan. And if you come off it make a back up plan such as leave it x amount of months and then go back to depo or another choice.

[MrsBee1996 in reply to Chicken37]

thanks lovely x

[Reethi19]

Hello, this is really an individual choice, if the depo hasn’t helped and you feel you’ve given it enough time then speak to your GP about another option or are you under an endo specialist? They may be able to better advise? Depo has been a life saver for me personally. It completely stopped my bleeding and pain for years. I came it off it for a brief time due to supplies running out, I also tried the implant and these were bad times. I was recommended something else recently as my symptoms have increased however I’ve decided to have the depo every 10 weeks rather than every 12 weeks rather than try something else. We are all different though and so it’s hard to give advice, can only share experiences here. Hope whatever you decide works for you x

[LucyAM]

Hi, I was on the depo for a couple of years but came off it because I didn’t like some of the side effects and wanted another child too. I started bleeding after about 3 months but my cycles didn’t get back to normal for another 5 months after that. I then conceived 2 months later. So 10 months for me to get pregnant after coming off it. I’ve known some people only take 3 months and others take 2 years. It really does depend on the individual. I found my Endo pain was quite bad when I first came off it and annoyingly I suffered quite a few false pregnancy systems in the first few months too - but apparently this can be normal. I haven’t gone back on it yet and my daughter is 20 months. I think the pregnancy and breast feeding has helped the Endo a bit, especially as she is my 3rd. But each month I am suffering more and more again and soon may not have a choice. I’ve tried other options like the pill etc and they were worse for me xx

[JOSANDY40]

Are you intending to try to get pregnant straight away, cos if you're not your symptoms will return straight away or within 3mths.I feel from my experience the rest to heal Endo and being on the drug allows you to be fitter to achieve more things in life.

[Cambk]

Hi

Like everyone else has said, everyone is different, I was on depo for a long long time and believe it masked my endo almost completely for years. I came off because I thought it was affecting my mood too much in late 2019 and by March 2020 I was in excruciating pain. I had my lap in summer 2021 confirming endo.

I haven’t found anything to be as effective since, even going back on the depo, as after a while I found it would wear off and I’d be in bad pain again for 3-4 weeks.

You could try an IUS hormonal coil, I currently have one and have found that (for now at least) to be the best for me, although the insertion had me in a flare up for a few weeks.

Hope you find something that works for you.