I was also diagnosed with PCOS after trying to get pregnant for 5 years. My periods began when I was 12, but I only had them every 3 to 4 months. They eventually slacked off to one every 6 months and then nothing at all. At first, I thought, Hey I'm the lucky one and then I realized I was not lucky at all. After trying all those years, we adopted a baby girl and a year later, I was pregnant! God works in mysterious ways, doesn't he. Anyway, my doc never gave me any options as to treatment for the PCOS. She said the only way to control it is with BC. After my son was born, she immediately started me on the Depo-Provera shots for BC. I had actually lost 10 pounds during my pregnancy and another 20 when the baby was born. I felt better after having him then I did before I was pregnant. However, after I started taking the Depo shots, my weight climbed right back to where it had started. I've heard a few people say that Depo shots make it hard to lose weight. I was just wandering if anyone could share their experiences with it?

Hi rugary,
I did the depo shot off & on when I was a teen, then again for a couple months after my daughter was born. Everything I have always heard is that depo makes you gain weight. After dd was born & I got back on the shot, I gained about 20 #'s. After I stopped, I lost some, but the pill is almost as detremental. I have read stories about women who have actually lost weight while taking depo - I guess some women react differently.
I am very suprised, considering your history that your obgyn choose depo - the other main side effect of depo is that it actually STOPS menstration. For many women trying to concieve they have to use provera to get their periods to start again. It is def. not a bc used for regulating cycles.
If you are trying to regulate your cycles, I would consider talking to another obgyn just to make sure depo is right for you.

Good luck,
Beth

My doctor is against Depo for PCOS cases. Something about a hormone it has in it can make it worse. I don't know the specifics just that she doesn't allow me to have depo or any pill with the same makeup.

i would be really careful about taking depo. i was on it for a year and i believe it triggered my pcos symptoms to the point where i finally went to an endo for a diagnosis, as well as aggravating those symptoms. while on depo weight loss was pretty much impossible, i gained some weight, my hair started falling out a *lot*, i started growing hair where i should have any, and i felt like i was going through menopause. so finally i got off depo, got on metformin and yasmin (to fix my hormonal levels that were all screwy from the depo) and am doing atkins. i've noticed a big improvement already and it hasn't even been that long. i'd highly recommend looking into something else, like a pill.

I took it for a year. It was a nightmare going off it. My endocrynologist calls it 'DePoison' and is completely against it, period.

I know one woman who had weight loss surgery and only lost 30 pounds of the 140 she had to lose because Depo was causing her to gain. Not good.

Traci

PCOS is a condition where the ovaries are prone to making cysts. They also don't ovulate regularly, or sometimes they don't ovulate at all. BC pills control PCOS because they prevent the cysts from being formed, thus putting the ovaries in better shape than they would be previously. Many women with PCOS will get pg immediately after going off the pill because their ovaries are in better shape those few months after taking the pill than they were normally-- and they will ovulate on their own for a month or two after going off the pill, thus enabling conception to occur. In fact, one of the recommended ways for women with PCOS who are trying to conceive to first try to get pregnant is to take the BC pill for 3 months and then go off and immediately try to become pregnant.

Because many women with PCOS are insulin resistant (they are researching a link between PCOS and insulin resistance/diabetes), PCOS will often respond to low-carb diets, which control blood insulin levels. Another way to control PCOS that will work with some (but not all) women is the drug metformin. Some women will begin ovulating on their own with careful low carb eating--others may need some other reproductive help (metformin, bc pills).

If you are considering trying to conceive at any point, then you should know that the Depro Provera shot is not recommended for any woman who wants to try to get pregnant withint 18 months after the shot. I haven't heard of giving a DP shot as a treatment for PCOS. It just doesn't make sense to give a women who is in her child bearing years and having trouble ovulating on her own a shot that will severely limit any chance of pregnancy should she decide she wants to get pregnant, especially when the chances of ovulation are already small with PCOS.

Also, with the DP shot, there is the chance that the woman may bleed continuously instead of stopping her period. This is one of the possible adverse side effects of the shot.

There are some great PCOS websites if you will do a search. If you are interested in getting pregnant again, then please consult with a reproductive endocrinologist (R.E.) for reproductive advice. PCOS can be treated with proper nutrition and possibly medication.