Trouble with sex, bleeding and the contraceptive injection.

I had the injection and had light bleeding for about 4 weeks, I have had big arguments with my husband snapping at my children, feel really depressed and doubt everything. Feel tired, cold but sweating trouble sleeping. And had a frozen shoulder at the same time I have stopped the injection as it is ruining my marriage and life in general as I'm always feed up so I'm back on Yasmin pill hope this helps if its making you cranky and not happy change it x

Embarrassed Girl,

You're so welcome. And you may be able just to talk to the nurse at your doctor's office and talk to her or him about this. Often a nurse practitioner or a physician's assistant is all you need to discuss a change in birth control.

To help in the meantime, try to cut out high carbs and processed foods and fats that aren't monounsaturated. You want as much whole food as possible -- lean protein, vegetables and fruit. For oil, use olive oil. Fish oil supplements may help. Also, if you have a health foods store near you, you can buy Evening Primrose Oil tablets, which may help you smooth out a bit. Try to eat organic dairy products or meat only -- you want to avoid meat or dairy that has been treated with antibiotics or growth hormones. And exercise -- it'll help those good chemicals keep flowing while you wait for the hormonal imbalance to settle down. And try to cut down on caffeine and/or sugar. Get about 10-15 minutes of sunlight a day, or consider taking a Vitamin D supplement.

This is a lot, I know, but just do as much as you can. Any of it will help!! And let us know what happens, OK?

Hi there thankyou for your help. i guess i got the short of the stick with the depo! i am trying to get in the doctor, but due to lack of money it is difficult. i will update though on the results that i will get from doctor. also i hate being hormonal, any chance of a way to help avoid this even just dull it down a bit just temporarily?

Embarrassed Girl,

Welcome to EmpowHer! And thank you for your question.

I'm so sorry you've had such difficulty over the last two months. Let's see what we can figure out.

By "the injection," do you mean Depo-Provera shots?

Unfortunately, one of the most common side effects with Depo-Provera is irregular bleeding. "For some there may be increased light spotting and breakthrough bleeding, whereas others may experience longer and heavier bleeding. For most women, after a year of use periods usually become fewer and lighter or may stop altogether." That's from the American Pregnancy Association site, which has pages on quite a few different methods of birth control:

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/preventingpregnancy/depoprovera.html

And here is the drugs.com page on Depo-Provera:

http://www.drugs.com/pro/depo-provera.html

You can scroll down to the "Adverse Reactions" and "Side Effects" section, and you'll find that about 5% of the women studied had abnormal bleeding on this drug. Here's part of what it says:

"Most women using Depo-Provera CI experience disruption of menstrual bleeding patterns. Altered menstrual bleeding patterns include irregular or unpredictable bleeding or spotting, or rarely, heavy or continuous bleeding. If abnormal bleeding persists or is severe, appropriate investigation should be instituted to rule out the possibility of organic pathology, and appropriate treatment should be instituted when necessary."

Have you tried other forms of birth control? There are many kinds and types of birth control pills that may have fewer side effects for you. As for stopping the effects of the hormones right now, you are probably going to have to put up with them until the second injection wears off. You and your partner have already been patient, so I know that's hard. But letting the hormones run their course is probably the best thing you can do.

And unfortunately, loss of libido or sex drive is also listed as a symptom of this medicine. That symptom was reported by between 1% and 5% of the women studied.

The good news, if you decide to keep trying with the injections, is that after a year most women did have lighter and more infrequent periods, and some stopped altogether. So if you're willing to keep trying a little longer, you may see some progress. But schedule an appointment with your doctor and ask whether there are better methods for you, now that you both know your reactions to this one.

Will you come back and update us?