food for thought about depo

[itsnowmyturn]

I was watching a program tonight about a hospital/prison for the mentally disturbed, like serious psychopaths. And they were talking about chemical castration. My medical curiosity took over and I read up on it.

Yes you can see where this is going.....depo is used to chemically castrate men!!!! I couldn't believe it. That is what I had pumped into my body for a year!! It says its generally reversible but can sometimes leave some side effects. The more I read about medication, the less and less I ever want to be on any again.

 

[MummyJade]

Really... Wow, that is quite shocking... You think the doctor tells you everything about it... x

 

[itsnowmyturn]

They were my exact words. I was like how can they not tell u this so u can decide what u want in ur body. I was 16 when I started depo so very naive particularly about medication etc so it would have been nice to have had the facts. I only went on it through laziness of not waning to take pill every night.....worst decision I ever made

 

[Jaxvipe]

I had one shot of depo and it took my body 2 years to get back to "normal". I had 3 early miscarriages before finally being put on progesterone and was able to have my daughter. I have talked with so many women who also have had alot of trouble conceiving after depo. Depo is the reason I refuse to go on birth control now because I do not want to risk it.

Not to scare anyone just my experience with it. I have known a couple women who also got pregnant right away after the shot wore off.

 

[girlnboots]

That's really not all that surprising. Depo would change the hormone production in the men just the same as it would for women.

 

[HoneyBee144]

The more I read about the depo the more I regret going on it. Before having LO I would only use condoms as I didn't want to mess my body up, wish I'd just stuck to this.

If anyone has any positive stories about the depo at all it would be lovely to hear...!

 

[Emiloo]

If anyone has any positive stories about the depo at all it would be lovely to hear...!

Lol we may be here a while waiting for that to happen!


I was recommended depo by my doctor after forgetting my pill alot and having a pregnancy scare (more of a scare for OH) Stupidly, I only researched it deeper after having the shot! I was very worried about it affecting my fertility and it gave me mega pregnancy symptoms!

 

[lozzy21]

Depo is the form of injection not what's in the injection. What is in the depo for contraception is not the same stuff given to those with mental illness.

 

[loeylo]

Yes it is actually. I agree that depo is the form of injection, but they give depo provera to sex offenders:
"Chemical castration involves the administration of anti-androgen drugs, such as cyproterone acetate or the birth-control drug Depo-Provera, which is given as an injection every three months, making compliance easier to track. The antipsychotic agent Benperidol is also indicated for this purpose, and can also be given by depot injection as a means of increasing compliance"
From: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_castration

Ps. I am aware Wikipedia isn't the most reliable source, I am on my phone and internet isn't great for journals etc. My mum is a pharmacist and backed this up for me (and told me never to use it again!)

 

[libbymarks198]

Why don't they offer it to men who want to protect themselves from having a baby with someone? Like we go on the pill etc not to get pregnant why can't boys use this stuff? If it runs out after the 3 months also

 

[wombat1]

Why don't they offer it to men who want to protect themselves from having a baby with someone? Like we go on the pill etc not to get pregnant why can't boys use this stuff? If it runs out after the 3 months also

Because in general people on birth control want to have sex that doesn't result in a baby, not have no sex, which is the aim of chemical castration.

Also just reading the wiki page for depo-provera it can apparently cause bone loss in long term users and "The average return to fertility is 9 to 10 months after the last injection". Well that's a long time! I don't remember hearing about this stuff before but I never really paid attention to the injection as I alway just went on the pill. It sounds freaky.

 

[ILoveShoes]

It took us 2 years to conceive after depo. I was on it for 6 years.
xx

 

[girlnboots]

Birth control for men doesn't react the exact same as it does for women. They basically supply us with more progesterone and less estrogen (or vice versa, I don't remember). Doing that long term for a man can cause serious issues for his endocrine system. Which is why they use it for chemical castration instead of just temporary stopping sperm production.

Also, female eggs are already made by birth while sperm is fresh, so messing with their hormones is a lot more delicate as it can permanently damage sperm production. I'm sure they're finding ways to make male birth control, but depo is probably not the way to do it. They'd have to make a special male formula specific to their own hormones.

 

[loeylo]

... But also, would you trust your boyfriend/husband etc to take it every day? Mines is a scatterbrain, lol!

 

[Inoue]

I had one shot of depo and it took my body 2 years to get back to "normal". I had 3 early miscarriages before finally being put on progesterone and was able to have my daughter. I have talked with so many women who also have had alot of trouble conceiving after depo. Depo is the reason I refuse to go on birth control now because I do not want to risk it.

Not to scare anyone just my experience with it. I have known a couple women who also got pregnant right away after the shot wore off.

I was the same as you in regards to having to wait 2 years to get my body back to normal, then I lost 2 pregnancies thereafter - horrid stuff . I was on it for quite a few years (3) but heard just one shot can be enough to mess you up. Never go on it again x