Is there anything I can take to stop the spotting/bleeding? It's ruining my relationship. I hate it.
Depo-Provera - I've been bleeding on the Depo shot for the past month, when will it end?
Question posted by Kasmellski93 on 11 July 2013
Last updated on 15 January 2020 by akdornan
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
37 Answers
akdornan
11 Feb 2019
I got the depo shot in november of 2018 after I had a miscarriage and did not want to get pregnant again until I was ready since i’m 18 and not quite ready yet. my doctor told me it was easy and would be amazing for me since I always forgot to take my pill. the first day I got on it I was unable to have sex. it felt like sandpaper and my boyfriend and I haven’t been able to have sex for 3 months now. it also made me extremely emotional, mean, and even suicidal. around christmas I got my period and it has now been 2 months of a full on period. I decided to switch to a copper iud about a month before my shot was “worn off.” I am terrified that It will take a very long time to be myself again. it has made me so depressed and anxious that I physically can’t hold down food anymore and I am now 90 pounds at 5’2. please never get on this shot, it has already ruined so many months of my life and there’s no telling how much longer it will effect me. if anybody finds a solution please let me know, I can’t deal with this much longer.
Azgal1971
21 Aug 2018
I’m sure the original poster has an answer but I just wanted to post for anyone else. I took the depo shot once in August of 2017. The follow month when I had my period, it didn’t stop for 9 freaking months. I tried the ibuprofen trick.. didn’t work until about month 6... and then only temporarily. I don’t have medical insurance so I wasn’t about to go injecting a bunch of other hormones in order to stop bleeding. The blood had a foul, iron smell and even changing a tampon or pad regularly I could smell the blood. I wouldn’t even let my boyfriend lie on my lap. It was the most godawful experience I’ve ever had. I wasn’t overly concerned that I would gain weight when I got the injection but I should have been! I’ve gained 25 pounds. Part of it was I didn’t care I was so miserable and the other part was the hormone.
I would go to the bathroom and see blood every single time and just want to cry. I’m lucky it didn’t ruin my relationship.
The bleeding will stop. But it could take up to a year, like I said it was nine months for me.
If anyone out there is considering the Depo shot, DONT DO IT!
Scairgle
11 Aug 2018
I've been dealing with this since July 25th. I got the shot and have not stopped bleeding since. It is now August 11th. I tried the red raspberry tea and the bleeding got heavier. I tried ibproufen nothing happened. I just had a baby on June 19tn so naturally I bled for about 4 weeks afterwards. Now I have to worry about non-stop bleeding and it doesn't look like it will stop anytime soon. My doctor won't prescribe me anything and I'm also breastfeeding so I'm limited on what I can take to stop the bleeding. Someone pleeeeeease give me some advice as this situation is making me depressed. I have never gotten a birth control until now me I fear that I have made the worst mistake of my life!
Charlie323
23 June 2018
I’ve been I Depo for 10 months now and start bleed about a month ago one min it’s yellow next red or brown can someone help as I’m going mad
Municy87
17 June 2018
Ion no because i got the same questions to ask im in da same boat but when you get the answer let me no please..e-mail me campbellkimberly447@Yahoo. Com
Alyssav
17 June 2018
To the poster above me that said Red Raspberry leaf tea, thank you!!! RED RASPBERRY LEAF TEA LADIES!!! I'll say it again... RED RASPBERRY LEAF TEA!!! I had my first (AND LAST) shot early April 2018. My period was supposed to come a couple weeks later and it didn't. But then about 3 weeks after taking the shot I started bleeding. Spotting at first then heavy heavy bleeding for about 10-14 days then it lightened to just a light flow. I bled for about 6 weeks straight before I saw the post about the tea. I started drinking 3-4 cups a day starting last Sunday. After 2 days the bleeding had almost stopped, it was very light. After a week the bleeding has all but completely stopped. Just a faint trace of blood here and there, but thank God it has stopped!!! I was scared it never would but this tea is a magical herb. So if you're still bleeding try the Red Raspberry Leaf tea, 3-4 cups a day. I got the Traditional Medicinals brand off Amazon. It cost $20 for 6 boxes which will last about a month. It's worth it!!
Municy87
17 June 2018
Thank you i will try it because i had a C section on April 30 2018 and got a depo shot before i let da hospital and my period have not going off yet and my baby about to be 2 months on da 30 of this months and my husband is going Crazy and im so scared that he might go out and get please by someone else and i dont want dat to happen so im go on and try dat do you think walmart sell it because i need something. A.S.A.P
Leci-Love
19 April 2018
So I just wanted to share my experience because I know that there are many unsuspecting women/young girls who will decide to take this form of birth control and at some point will need some sort of advice. I got my 1st and last Depo shot in October 2018. I waited for my period to end before I went & got the shot. 2 weeks later I began to bleed, heavy enough to be considered a period. I immediately scheduled an appointment with the clinic that gave me the shot and they gave me some estrogen pills to make the bleeding stop and it did, until the pills ran out in December and the bleeding started back up again. I scheduled yet another appointment for more pills and was then told by the attending Dr that the pills only prolong the bleeding & that I would most likely start to bleed again once I stopped taking the pills.
So I decided to naturally allow the Depo to leave my body and allow the bleeding to stop on its own since really there isn't much you can do (besides pills) to make it stop anyway. I then bled for the whole month of January up until the last week. I was due for my next shot December 25th to sometime in January but I had already decided that I was never putting Depo back into my body ever. I had lost close to 10lbs half of which was gained on the depo, and the bleeding paused(I'm not sure if the weight loss had something to do with that), until the 3rd week of February when it commenced once again up until the 2nd week of March. By then I was mostly spotting from the beginning of March. I did some research and came upon a holistic website that listed different herbs for a healthy reproductive system, a woman shared how she used Red Raspberry Leaf tea to strengthen her Uterine walls because she was trying to conceive & her uterine lining wasn't thick enough to support implantation. Depo-Provera weakens the lining of the uterus and thats basically what causes all the bleeding to begin with. I purchased 4oz of Red Raspberry tea leaves from a Holistic Health supermarket and begain drinking the tea and within 2 days the spotting stopped completely and I haven't been bleeding since. I just got my period April 13. I am now drinking the tea to help balance my period. Before the depo I was very regular, my period would come like clockwork and last for about 5 days max. Try the Red Raspberry Leaf tea, I don't know if it will stop your bleeding completely but it might just slow it down & help moderate it.
Embrya
22 March 2018
Hi, everyone. Let me just start off by saying if you were only spotting for a month or a week, please don’t freak out as much because I spotted for 9 months straight! Yes, 9 months straight of non-stop spotting while on the stupid birth control injection, called depo. I googled so many questions about it and google only made me freak out even more, saying I probably have cancer, I may be pregnant, I have an STD, or some other type of problem. I took a trip to the GYN and I told her my problem. She simply just checked me out down there, only to tell me that everything was perfect and that it was just the depo. She explained to me that I have a thin lining in the uterus and she told me to stop with the injection. She prescribed me the pills instead and after a few days of taking them, the spotting stopped completely! It’s like a miracle! So, if you guys are experiencing problems on the injection, simply just stop getting it and go for the pills instead.
BIG TIP: Take the pills daily at the same time and try not to miss a pill. Set a reminder cause if you miss a pill, you will start to spot again. ALSO, I discovered that if you are spotting and would rather it go away temporarily, drink some lemon water. It works for me. Lemon water all day. SQUEEZE the lemon juice in the water, shake it up, and drink it! Nothing else, just the lemon water. (Of course, you can eat whatever, but don’t drink anything else besides the lemon water)
SarahSazza
26 Dec 2017
Utovlan - I was on this for one month while on the Depo Vera and it did help but after a while wore off but if you want the bleeding to stop ASAP go use this it works wonders
Shannonlynn95
22 Dec 2017
My first round of depo was Jan 2013 and was on it for a year before stopping fall 2016 I fell pregnant and gave birth may 26 2017 July I began next plan on and had to have it removed three months later then in November I got another round of depo and for 22 days now I have been bleeding nonstop. I have problems with having my blood clot and I dunno if the shot is making me bleed or it's just a never ending story of bloody vagina
teiubsc2011
1 Aug 2017
I'm gonna tell you EVERYTHING girlies!
i got on the depo in April. It was my mistake. I had a period NON STOP from my next period in late April until literally two days ago (now its the 1st of august) Worst 3 months of daily periods ever.
I went to my gp and she put me on mefenamic acid pills 500mg and told me to take thee times a day with a meal. it did stop my period BUT i got these really bad cramps that i had to call an ambulance one time so i stopped taking those and decided to tolerate my period. i basically got so dizzy and felt short of breath a lot during that time. So much so that i messed up on of my uni presentations- still passed but i know it was because of this major change.
i eventually took it again --graphic alert-- but then my period starting coming out black because not it was old blood and when i stopped taking it , it would be soo heavy. i'm talking night nappy pads at night !
the smell... -graphic alert-- sometimes it would be like a yellow/ redish discharge that would just stink. i NEVER stink and it was not an STI . just the blood and discharge made down there stink. i was so ashamed. i tried spraying the hoo-ha with water, changing more often ... nothing. Doctor said there is no infections and it happens post period. i hated it. Who wants to have sex in those conditions? not me.
oh and as for emotions- I am usually very emotional, i am the type to cry over those touching Vietnamese/Japanese commercials about family (the ones with stories that lead to an overall message)
i noticed that i had stopped being so emotional . I stopped caring and with some things in terms of feelings- i just didnt care. it was good for a while however, i just got in a relationship and poor lad, i never loved him . i wasn't affectionate. Forget sex, we had it rarely . i tried to bring my feelings i did. i tried to force it but it was not happening(we broke up) . i knew this was not me at all.
No way was i going to allow myself to "adjust to this" i did not go back to another shot after the three month period. This birth control was just not for me.
The injection works for some but it not for me.
now its August 2017 and I DID NOT TOP UP THE INJECTION and my cookie smells fresh again and im free from a period every day. i feel liberated. im happy and back to normal . if you are like me after the 1st jab i would not recommend you take it again . seriously. The doctor is there to suggest but you know your body best when it reacts to stuff.
Asdl1998
23 July 2017
I had my first shot of depo on june 11, I started to bleed a few days after, i stopped bleeding for a week then started again, its been more than 3 weeks, I can't wear tampons just pads, and I go through like 3 packages. I am anemic and I thought it would help with a really heavy flow and the severe cramping and always feeling sick when I get my monthly
Cinlyn
24 July 2017
Talk to your doctor about iron supplements. I can feel the difference. I am not sure why tampons are not an option, but you might consider the diva cup. Much cheaper and works better than tampons. No need for pads, which I have a nasty allergic reaction to.
Cinlyn
27 June 2017
I am on my second Depo shot. I have been bleeding almost non stop for 5 months. For the most part it has been very light. I use a Diva Cup so I hardly notice. I have been married for decades, so my sex life is "been there, done that", but if I were younger, this would be a huge issue. It was either the shot or a hysterectomy, so I tried the shot. I was loosing so much blood during my period that I could not work. I passed a clot the size of my fist (final straw). Seriously- I did not think a uterus was that big? I guess after 4 kids... It was taking about a week to recover from each period. My doctor says it could take up to a year for all bleeding to stop. I guess I will give it a year and see how it goes. Definitely better than it was before. Works well to stop serious bleeding issues, but I would not use it for birth control if I was younger and wanted any kink of sex life.
Lizneth
14 June 2017
Ok so I got my Depo Shot on April 25 it is now June 14 and I now officially ended my period. Depo is ridiculously dangerous and terrible to be on. Continuous nonstop bleeding is the number one risk while being on this shot. I had to go to the hospital because it was too much blood. First off it is summer second off no sex!! That's terrible. The doctor had to put an IV because I was so pale. He recommended that I go back to the OB/GYN and find a solution asap. When I went back they recommended to mix depo shot with A Birth Control Pill called Lessina. After a week of usage I was done with my period. I will not take Depo Provera ever again. I can go to the beach now and live my life without feeling uncomfortable and going through a whole 2 boxes of pads!!! Warning I did not read the reviews before taking this shot but everyone should do their research before! I could be on my period for 3 month or more.
Day Inc
10 Jan 2017
What has helped me is incorporating a large amount of soy/flaxseed into my diet. I had continuous spotting for a month. Since I have high blood pressure, I cannot take the supplemental estrogen pills.
After a few days of the diet change, the spotting stopped. Flaxseed and soy have some of the highest amounts of plant estrogens.
The diet change hasn't affected my blood pressure at all. In fact, it's dropped a few points.
I'm certainly no healthcare professional, but this is what helped me.
Related topics
depo-provera, provera, relationship, bleeding
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