I’ve had so much going on lately and so much to do that I don’t think I mentioned that I went to see my family doctor last week.
As many of you know I have Crohn’s Disease and it’s been so bad that I’ve been off work, on medical leave, for more than two years. Well, about two years ago I also found out that I have Endometriosis as well. This isn’t a good combination because the Endo can spread throughout the abdomen and there might be some on my bowels, thus causing even more pain for me to go through.
Chris and I have been trying to have a baby for years – I don’t think the Crohn’s is helping on that front for a variety of reasons, so as a result of our efforts to get pregnant I hadn’t pursued any of the medical options to lessen my Endometriosis other than having a laparoscopy two and a half years ago to burn away some of the endo tissue.
Well .. I’ve finally had enough pain. My endo has gotten worse and worse over the last few months. Either that or something else is going on! So I saw my family doctor a few weeks ago and she suggested I try going on Depro Provera for a while, perhaps a year. It’s a form of birth control that’s administered by injection every 10 to 14 weeks. Other than preventing pregnancy it’s also been found to be quite helpful to those that suffer from Endometriosis.
So that’s what I saw my family doc about last week. I picked up the medication at a pharmacy and then made an appointment with my doctor to get the injection.
I probably won’t know if it’s helping until my next period or possibly the one after that. Unfortunately that’s when I have the most pain and of course the medications that I take at that time usually get my Crohn’s going so the week after is horrible due to my Crohns.
My abdomen was much more sore than usual over the past week. That might be a side effect of the Depro Provera. It seems to be easing off a bit now though. I hope it is anyway! Hopefully I don’t get any other side effects from the medication like maybe a severe acne outbreak or something like that. LOL I’m already on enough meds … I don’t need to add acne treatments to the daily routine too!
Are any of you using Depro Provera as a form of birth control or to relieve symptoms of Endometriosis? Any strange side effects? If you’re using it for Endo has it helped and if so, how long did it take before you noticed a decrease in your pain or other symptoms?
I’m so sorry to hear about the problems you’ve been having.
My mother had severe endometriosis, I’ll ask her about the Depro Provera.
Being on birth control is obviously going to stop you having kids. What are you going to do about that?
I wish you a speedy and complete recovery.
It’s been years, but my very good friend had a lot of problems with the depo shot. She had the shots for i think only half a year…. and then went three years without a period! On top of having problems with increased cysts and fibroids and things.
So sorry you are going through all these things with the treatments. I know how frustrating it is to have female problems going on, then add other medical stuff on top of it and sometimes it’s just such a roller coaster ride.
I asked my mom about it. And she hasn’t taken depo and doesn’t know anything about it. 😐
I’m curious to know those with endo, have you ever had tests to see if this awful disease is growing higher up in your body?
Like near the ribs, and intestines.
I’ve had many many tests, and have a feeling despite lack of evidence
if has managed to grow in this particular area.
Would be very interested to hear what test have been performed..
Life is awful being unwell……..
Hey, sorry to hear about your situation. I was going through a similar situation sometime back with fibroids. My biggest problem was pregnancy problems due to large fibroids. Anyway I managed to get rid of fibroids.
I have written an article about fibroids
and pregnancy problems. It may help you to get some useful information.
for those who suffer from endometriosis, using Depo Provera may actually help reduce pain related symptoms as well as cause significant changes to the lining and tissue growth in the uterus.
i got this from wikipedia which might be helpful at some point.
Depo-Provera has several advantages:
* Highly effective at preventing pregnancy.
* Injected every 12 weeks. The only continuing action is to book subsequent follow-up injections every twelve weeks, and to monitor side effects to ensure that they do not require medical attention.
* No estrogen. No increased risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), stroke, or myocardial infarction.
* Minimal drug interactions (compared to other hormonal contraceptives).
* Decreased risk of endometrial cancer. Depo-Provera reduces the risk of endometrial cancer by 80%. The reduced risk of endometrial cancer in Depo-Provera users is thought to be due to both the direct anti-proliferative effect of progestogen on the endometrium and the indirect reduction of estrogen levels by suppression of ovarian follicular development.
* Decreased risk of iron deficiency anemia, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy, and uterine fibroids.
* Decreased symptoms of endometriosis.
* Decreased incidence of primary dysmenorrhea, ovulation pain, and functional ovarian cysts.
* Decreased incidence of seizures in women with epilepsy. Additionally, unlike most other hormonal contraceptives, Depo-Provera’s contraceptive effectiveness is not affected by enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs.
* Decreased incidence and severity of sickle cell crises in women with sickle-cell disease.
so i think using this drug will actually help you in some way. hope i was able to help. ill include you in my prayers, hope you get better the soonest.
Ugh….I feel your pain. I have Crohn’s too and it has affected my life in so many ways that I can’t even lead a normal life. It’s not fun.
I'm sorry also to hear about your situation. I'm more of a holistic person and I was actually doing research on uterine fibroid and endometriosis and I came upon a natural holistic approach that shrinks fibroids of the uterine in as little as 8 weeks.