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Posted 7/7/2009 8:38 PM (GMT 0)
Okay this is somewhat off topic but there is no endometriosis forum and I know a lot of fibro ladies also have endo.

I have endometriosis and have been on Depo Provera for years to keep it at bay, with no problems.

Suddenly I am having a light period and mild cramping.  It just started today.  My reminder card says I'm not due for another depo injection until the 16th.  

In all this time I've never had this happen. Is something wrong? I do NOT want to have to start dealing with endo again!

Anyone else have this happen?

 

Posted 7/7/2009 10:48 PM (GMT 0)
For years and years I had uterine fibroids as well as endometriosis. I know exactly the pain and discomfort you are going through as well as the dread. I never took Depo Provera, but I wanted to see if you have fibroids as well as endometriosis? If so, they could well cause the breakthrough bleeding. If not, I would go see your gyno without delay. Ask her for a uterine ultrasound done vaginally, as well as abdominally, if you haven't had one before.
Posted 7/7/2009 10:51 PM (GMT 0)

Donna,

My name is Cyndi and I am a nurse. I work with a lot of patients on Depo and this can be a very common side effect even if this has never happened before. I have patients that have been on Depo for years(like you) and sometimes will start to spot out of the blue. I wouldn't worry too much about it,  but you may want to mention it @ your next visit. Of course, if the bleeding becomes prolonged and extremely heavy, you may need to be seen before your shot is due. Hope this helps:) Have a great evening.

Cyndi O

Posted 7/7/2009 11:09 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your replies.

Littleneck, I've never been dx'd with fibroids. I did have ovarian cysts 20-some years ago, which is when the endometriosis was dx'd.

Cyndi O, thank you. I sort of expected that to be the case, but was concerned because it is so unusual for me. Will just have to see how it goes, I guess. So far it is very light.

I have emailed my GYN with the info. I expect her to reply with pretty much what Cyndi has already said. :-)

This sort of caught me off guard this morning and triggered some awful flashbacks of the agony I endured before Depo. I SO do NOT want to go back there!!! "Dread". Yep, that's the word for it. "NOUN: Terror or apprehension as to something in the future; great fear." The anxiety of knowing it was coming every month, and would probably be even worse than the month before. Ugh.

I feel okay right now so I'm sure it's nothing. Thanks again.
Posted 7/7/2009 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
I am going to the doctor tomorrow because I was in the ER in the very early hours of the morning Monday and was told that I needed to have an ultrasound done to look for cysts. I am on the Depo shot, and have been for about a year and a half now. My mom gets cysts a lot, and I think I have had minor ones before. But I have never been severely ill with one before. Could I have endometriosis?
Posted 7/8/2009 1:25 PM (GMT 0)
Donna, I have endo and I think if I saw break through bleeding I would jump off a roof! lol Thanks to the pill I havent had to deal with that or endo really for over a year. Hopefully this will just pass for you.

Take care,
Posted 7/8/2009 10:22 PM (GMT 0)
Well my GYN agreed that it's nothing at all. And today it's half what it was yesterday, which wasn't much. So I guess I'll live.

:-)
Posted 7/9/2009 1:14 AM (GMT 0)

I was Dx with Endo a few weeks ago and I go in this friday for an internal and tummy ultrasound to measure the size of a cyst. I started Depo after the birth of my daughter in 2002 and loved it when I first got on it ( since I didn't have periods smilewinkgrin ) but after a year I had gotten off because I had a lot of spotting in between which I hated cause I never knew when it was going to happen. Sooo I started the pill back in 2003 and was on it since 2007 I had gotten off of it because I wasn't active and didn't want to be taking a pill I didn't need to take. And in 2008 my periods started becoming very irrigular ( late ) anywhere from 4 to 15 days late.. which was an incovience since it always came like clockwork every 28 days and started having VERY VERY painful cramps right before I  would start & lasting a few days after but by December 2008 I started noticing a dull pain on my lower left side but ignored it till about a month ago when I couldnt any take the pain anymore. So after a pelvic exam I was told the cyst seemed quite large and may need to be surgicaly removed shakehead and that I had Endo... it has been very hard the last week as having more children is EXTREMELY important to me and I was encouraged to try to in a timely manner as Endo only gets worse. BUT my question to all of you would be... If the main line of control is birth control what the heck do I do if I want to have more children?... I can't stand the pain and was very scared last night thinking the cyst had ruptured ( I have had a rupture before ) and I was in some of the most pain in my life last night every month seems to get worse.. but doing a little better today. What do you think ladies?? all of your reply's are much appreciated!!  rolleyes  

OH and I just wanted to say that I am glad that there are some of you on here with Endo and who understand. I wrote Admin the other day about starting an Endo forum. I got a reply within about 20 minutes saying that he would keep it in mind. I think it might help if as many of you as possible request it also blush

~HUGS~

Lissa

Posted 7/9/2009 4:33 AM (GMT 0)
UnHappy -

I've never been able to conceive. But when I was still trying, they cleaned up as much of the lesions as they could through laparoscopy, and put me on depo Lupron for 6 months, which induces pseudo-menopause, so you don't cycle and don't grow new lesions. (Mine were strangling my bladder and left ovary.) They said my best chance of getting pregnant was within the first month or two after coming off the Lupron. After that the endo would spread again and reduce my chances. After several months, an unplanned cross-country move for my husband's job, and still no pregnancy, the pain was again getting worse and worse. My new doc said apparently pregnancy would never happen so I should just give up and treat the endo. So I did another three months of Lupron and then started the Provera, which I've now been on for, oh, I think 7 or 8 years.

Now I was dx'd years ago when endometrisis was not well understood (sorta like fibro!). I had to travel 2 hours to a specialist who actually had a clue. There may be better options now. But what I know is that getting pregnant is all about timing with endo. The good news is getting pregnant will also prevent the endo from returning - at least until you start having periods again.

Endometriosis does not equal infertility for most women. I know someone else who had endo, couldn't conceive, adopted two children... then voila! Baby!! In fact she's had 3 of her own since adopting the first 2.

The laparscopic surgery to remove my cyst and clean up the endo was really not bad. I've actually had two of those. They were outpatient, and I was able to go back to work in a day or two. You get bad pain in your shoulder the next day from the pressure of the gas they pump into your abdomen to expand it like a balloon so they can see around in there. LOL Maybe that's changed these days too. Geez I'm getting old.

Anyway, I hope everything works out for you.
{{hugs}}
Posted 7/9/2009 4:56 AM (GMT 0)
Nope Donna, you still get the pain in the shoulder. I'm having surgery to remove more endo in a few weeks, hopefully I'll end up relatively pain free for for another 6 years. I can't take hormones so I rely on surgery to minimize my pain.

I've had endo pain all of my adult life. I also had two children that were conceived without a problem. When I finally had surgery for endo, the doc was amazed that I was able to conceive normally. Many women with endo do conceive naturally.

Lissa, you need to see an actual endo specialist, not someone that just thinks they are. You can go to the Endometriosis Research Center's website and find a doctor in your area. The ladies there have a lot of really great information, especially about how to retain your fertility. You should learn as much as you can about endo so you can choose the treatment that is best for you.
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