I went to the doctor this am to get back on the depo shot which is my preferred form of birth control. I have been off and on it since I was 19. When I first got on it I asked about side effects and one of them was weight gain. I asked the doctor about this and she said it was nothing to be concerned about and if I were to gain anything it would be a couple pounds at most. A couple pounds is nothing compared to all the weight I would gain from a pregnancy so I was fine with it. I have been off it for 3 months so I decided to go back in and get back on it. You are supposed to have the shot every 3 months so 4 shots in a year, but since it stays in your system for up to a year I was told that I could just do 3 shots a year and i'd be ok and save some money. So I go to the doctor today and say i'm here to get my depo and the nurse tells me that she has to let me know that it causes SIGNIFICANT weight gain in MOST women. Not a little iddy biddy bit like the gyno had originally told me. They had a woman complain to them that it had made her gain 38 pounds from the one shot. 38 freaking pounds!! She threatened to sue because just like with me nobody told her that significant weight gain happens. Nothing about her day to day activity had changed. She still ate like normal and worked out like normal and was as active as normal so she knew it was because of the shot. She was under the impression that it was a very very small amount of weight gain if any because that's what they have told us. I'm pretty mad though cause I started gaining weight when I was 19, the same time I started taking depo. I have been working my butt off at the gym 6 days a week and have had no results at all and have not lost a single pound, and the drug is still in my system!! I'm not saying that depo made me gain all the weight i've gained but i'm sure it has made me gain at least some of it, probably a lot!! and the woman at the doctors office said that is probably why I am not seeing any results at all with losing weight because it is still in my system. She explained what it does but I did not understand any of it. I was a little bit too shocked. She went through my records and saw all my weight gain (since I get weighed at every appointment) and told me that I have probably gained a very large amount of my weight because of the shot. I am pretty upset that nobody told me about this. If I had known that it causes so much weight gain then I wouldn't have ever started taking it. The doctor who worked there who handled the depo shots and explaining all of the side effects and what not has been let go to avoid any legal action from the one woman. She isn't suing now as long as they explain to women that it does make you gain so she isn't just out for the money. I just couldn't believe this. If you are thinking of getting on this form of birth control be very very careful and go into it with caution.

Oh no! ****hugs**** I am so sorry to hear! I decided after depo to go with an IUD (Mirena). FI and I are not planning on having children, so it works well for us

I was on the Depo shot and LOST weight. I didn't eat as much and felt wonderful. After I came off the shot I've gained 20 pounds but all my clothes still fit, but I eat ALL the time now. No, I'm not prego, I've tested SEVERAL times. Each woman is different and the only bc I could use effectively would be the shot. Love it! I'm sorry that your experience was not a good one.

Hmmm......Don't they give you the medical information thing that comes in the box with the shot?  I thought that they were required to by law?  Anyway, if you read it it says the "average" woman would gain about 5-8 lbs a year eachyear she was on Depo.  I got my last Depo shot in June of this year (we're kinda trying to TTC) and I weighed about 20 lbs more than I did when I started it 8 years ago. 

I think other side effects- the chance of Osteoporosis, the length of time it can stay in your system, how long it can take to get preggers after you come off it are way worse than a couple of lbs.  =)

I've benn on Depo for 6 years now. It HAS caused me to gain a lot of weight. The other side effect is Osteoporosis just in case you didn't know.

I have Osteoporosis myself. Mine was caused by prolonged use of a Asthma steriod Prednisone.

I personally will keep using the Depo as long as I can, but I will say that my doctors have advised me to go off of it and try something new.

Tigergirl nope I never received any information at all. Like I said above they told me that some weight gain might happen and when I asked about it they said it wouldn't be more then a couple pounds here or there. That's it. I never even saw the box. The nurse/doctor just came in with the syringe and that was that. And yes those other side effects are way worse then a couple of pounds BUT I am not talking about the other side effects and I am not talking about just a couple pounds. 40 pounds in one dose is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more then just a couple pounds. It is a serious issue and I am still pissed off that I wasn't fully informed and was LIED to about this. I am hoping that it is fully out of my system soon and I will never ever ever get on depo again since I am not the "average" woman who only gains a few pounds from it. It's some straight up BS that I was not fully informed when I asked the right questions so I should have been. Damn it this is turning into another vent. I shall stop writing now. lol

Depo was only my friend when it came to avoiding my period. Otherwise after 2-2.5 yrs of use, I was left with a 50lb weight gain. I had the craziest symptoms while on Depo. Eating crazy crap, every month I thought I was pregnant because of my eating habits and boobies. I would not recommend it, because I like the option of knowing whenever I stop bc, that I can stop and not have to wait a year for my periods to go back to normal; especially if you are ttc.

Just out of curosity - to you women that gained A LOT of weight, were you taking the calcium and doing the weight bearing exercises that they recommend?

No, I was never notified about taking calcium or weight bearing exercise. Pretty much went in the the md office every 3months, received my injection and was out the door. I was a walker back then when I was on depo, but I was still gaining weight.

It makes me sad that you guys weren't properly informed about Depo (probably because it worked wonderfully for me) Here's a link to the Patient Information Leaflet that they are supposed to give you EACH time you get a shot.  I was just getting mine at the local Health Department, and they made sure each time that I was getting enough calcium (2000mg/day) and doing weight bearing exercise - important to prevent osteoporsis, as well as getting the leaflet.