Depo-Provera® Hormonal Injections

depo-provera

Depo-provera hormonal injection

Depo-Provera® is a female person hormonal method of birth control. It's very effective in preventing pregnancy. Depo-Provera® contains a synthetic (man-made) form of the hormone progesterone, called depo medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA). The Depo-Provera® injection gives 3 months' protection against pregnancy. Yous should go one injection every 3 months (thirteen weeks) to get the best protection against pregnancy. It's rubber to get your injection upwards to three weeks earlier if yous tin can't become your next injection in exactly 13 weeks.

When practice Depo-Provera® hormonal injections showtime to work?

Most girls get their first Depo-Provera® injection during the first v-vii days of a normal menstrual period. Yous are and so protected from pregnancy right subsequently you get the injection. Another style to start Depo-Provera® is "Quick start" – you get the get-go injection when you haven't had sex for 2 weeks (or used a safety 100% of the fourth dimension) or have a negative pregnancy exam. You then need to use condoms for at least seven days after the injection for additional protection.

How does Depo-Provera® prevent pregnancy?

The injected DMPA suppresses your pituitary gland which stops your ovaries from releasing eggs. Without these eggs, pregnancy can't happen. The injections too modify the lining of your uterus and the mucus in your cervix. By changing your cervical fungus, the hormones make it more than hard for sperm to reach the egg.

How constructive are Depo-Provera® injections?

If women go Depo-Provera® injections at the same verbal time every iii months, this method is more than 99% constructive. This means that if 100 women get Depo-Provera® injections at the right time, less than 1 adult female will become meaning in a year.

Information technology's important to mention that life doesn't always go every bit planned and we can't always control that. Information technology is OK if y'all are several days to a week tardily for your injection. So if y'all're late on your injection (by several days to a week) it volition only be 94% effective in the prevention of pregnancy. This ways that if 100 women receives a Depo-Provera® injection late, and so 6 of them volition go significant each year. The longer you wait to go your adjacent Depo shot, the less effective it becomes. In the meantime, use a bulwark method such as an internal (male) or external (female) condom, until you lot are able to become your side by side shot. Depo-Provera® injections practise not protect confronting sexually transmitted infections. So you need to utilise a condom to lower the chance of getting STIs.

Are there other benefits of Depo-Provera® injections besides the prevention of pregnancy?

Yeah. Depo-Provera® injections can cause a decrease in menstrual cramps, lighter menstrual periods (or no periods, which many young women call back is a proficient thing), and less chance of anemia.

Where can I get Depo-Provera® injections?

Your wellness care provider can give you Depo-Provera® injections. He/she volition first desire to exercise a concrete exam and ask you about your medical history and your family's medical history. This way, your health intendance provider can find out if Depo-Provera® injections are a good blazon of contraception for you lot. The starting time Depo-Provera® injection is usually given during the outset five-vii days later on a normal menstrual menstruum begins. When you lot begin Depo-Provera® injections, you lot'll likely need an test with the injection, the cost may range from $0-$250, and most insurance plans comprehend the cost. After your initial visit and injection, cost will range between $0-$150 for the injection, and again most insurance plans cover the cost.

Are there side furnishings from Depo-Provera® injections?

There are possible side effects from Depo-Provera® injections. They can be dissimilar for each woman. They include:

  • Irregular menstrual periods – longer or shorter menstrual periods, heavier or lighter periods
  • Loss of menstrual periods (the longer you lot get Depo-Provera® injections, the greater chance you lot volition accept no menstrual periods at all)
  • Weight proceeds (women proceeds about 5 pounds each year for the kickoff three years). You can help maintain your weight by eating a salubrious diet and getting regular exercise. Young women who are already overweight are more probable to gain weight while taking Depo-Provera®.
  • Headaches
  • Dizziness
  • Mood changes, worsening depressive symptoms
  • Bloating
  • Intestinal pain/discomfort

If you go any of these side furnishings, talk with your health care provider. It'south important for you to know that well-nigh women will have very irregular periods, especially during the first 6 months you are on Depo-Provera®.

Should I be worried about my bones while I am on Depo-Provera®?

Researchers take found that teens are more likely to lose bone density while taking Depo-Provera®; however, bone density fortunately improves in about women after they stop Depo-Provera®. It is unclear if this loss in bone density results in an increased risk of fractures. Girls also lose bone mass during pregnancy so each immature woman needs to think virtually the risks of pregnancy compared to the benefit of effective birth control with Depo-Provera®. Your teen years, particularly the years you are going through puberty (11 to 15 years), are particularly important for yous toproceeds bone density. So until we know more than, the best advice is to apply Depo-Provera® at to the lowest degree 2 years subsequently y'all kickoff your menstrual periods, have in 1300 mg of calcium in your diet, take a multivitamin or 400 to 800 units of vitamin D each 24-hour interval, get lots of weight-begetting exercise, and maintain a healthy weight (don't be too thin). Talk to your health care provider almost all options for nascence control, especially after yous have been on Depo-Provera® for two years or you have a strong family history of low bone mass (osteoporosis). Patients at take chances for osteoporosis should consider using an alternative course of contraception. If you lot are 18 years old or older, there is less concern nearly Depo-Provera® only you should still take in calcium and vitamin D and get enough of exercise. No matter how onetime you are, make sure not to fume while taking medicine that contains hormones.

Should I be worried if I stop getting my menstrual period while I am on Depo-Provera®?

No. Many women stop having their menstrual periods after about 6-12 months of getting Depo-Provera® injections. This is no reason to worry. It's not a medical problem and it does not mean you lot are significant. It just means that your ovaries are resting, and the lining of your uterus does not abound. So in that location is no menstrual haemorrhage. You will get your menstrual menstruation back within half-dozen-18 months after you lot finish taking the Depo-Provera® injections.

Can any woman get Depo-Provera® injections?

No. Depo-Provera® injections cannot be used by women who:

  • Are meaning
  • Take unexplained vaginal bleeding
  • Take a serious liver disease
  • Have breast cancer

But the practiced news is that women who can't utilise estrogen tin can still use Depo-Provera®. Depo-Provera® may also benefit patients with sickle cell disease past decreasing sickle cell attacks. Depo-Provera® may likewise lessen the number of seizures in women with epilepsy.

What if I desire to become pregnant? Should I use Depo-Provera®?

If y'all want to get significant in the adjacent year, y'all should not utilise Depo-Provera®, since it tin can prevent pregnancy for 6-x months later on the terminal injection. However, if timing is non an issue and you don't want to get meaning for a couple of years, and so you tin use Depo-Provera® (if it'due south right for you) until upwardly to ane year before you lot want to become pregnant.

If I decide to terminate getting Depo-Provera® injections, when should I outset using another type of contraception?

If you want to stop getting Depo-Provera® injections, all you need to do is only cease. Fifty-fifty though, the progesterone in the Depo-Provera® injection actually protects confronting pregnancy for more than 3 months,information technology'due south very important to play it safe and start using another type of contraception  3 months or sooner subsequently your concluding injection.

Depo-Provera® injections are a long-acting effective method of nativity control as long as you lot render for follow-upward injections every thirteen weeks/or 3 months. Irregular bleeding and/or spotting is expected during the the first few months of use; yet, spotting/bleeding typically lessens after that and in some cases menstrual flow stops all together.