depo provera and depression/anxiety
 

hi, chicks - for those of you who struggle with depression, have any of you used depo provera?

i have a SIGNIFICANT history - meaning, decades - of problems with depression and anxiety. a couple of months ago, I had a laparoscopy and (no surprise) learned i have a lot of endometriosis.

the ob/gyn told me that more surgery to remove the endo wasn't an option unless i had a total hysterectomy because my large intestine is fused to my uterus with lots of adhesions.

the option she recommended was depo provera to slow the progress of the endometriosis. i tried one shot a couple of months ago, and since then i've been feeling hyper-irritable and anxious most of the time, at other times just really depressed. i've been constantly binge-eating the past few weeks -- i think i've been trying to self-medicate myself with sugar to counteract the anxiety.

i'm supposed to go see the ob/gyn again soon -- and don't want to continue the depo shots. quite frankly, i don't think it should have been offered as a viable option to me anyway because of my history. in googling it, i find study after study and story after story of it causing depression and anxiety.

maybe it's partly end-of-winter seasonal affective disorder exacerbating things. maybe not. some drugs i seem to be hypersensitive to - while others I need massive doses of. i think the depo is one of the former.

has anyone else tried depo, and what was your experience? thanks, chicks.

Shihtzu,
I'm really sorry to hear about all you're going through. I was on several different birth control pills before I stopped in order to get pregnant with my oldest son. I have also had a lengthy history of depression. Although that was a really long time ago (15 years) I still remember that none of the pills I took played well with my hormones. Yes, they have changed a lot since then but I tend to think that if maybe the pills just don't play well with the hormones of us that have other issues. I never did go back on he pills after my son was born. I still had problems with depression and still do, but I don't have that to deal with too. Again, I'm sorry for what you're going through and hope that you can find a better alternative.

thanks, mom!