Where Do I Get The Shot
You can get a prescription for the shot from a doctor or OB-GYN or at a health clinic, like Planned Parenthood.
Some pharmacies offer on-site birth control consultations, so you may also be able to get the shot at your local pharmacy.
Birth control websites, like Nurx, also offer birth control consultations and prescriptions for the shot online. Of course, if you get a prescription for the shot online, youd need to inject it yourself.
Can You Get Pregnant Without Having A Period
Rachel Gurevich is a fertility advocate, author, and recipient of The Hope Award for Achievement, from Resolve: The National Infertility Association. She is a professional member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and has been writing about womens health since 2001. Rachel uses her own experiences with infertility to write compassionate, practical, and supportive articles.
Brian Levine, MD, MS, is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology as well as in reproductive endocrinology and infertility.
Can you get pregnant without having a period in months? Yes, its possible, but its not likely. If youre not getting your periods, this is a good reason to see your gynecologist. There are some normaland some not-so-normalreasons this can occur. What could cause you not to get your periods? Could you be pregnant and not know it?
What do your periods have to do with getting pregnant? And, if you want to get pregnant, how can your doctor help you conceive if youre not menstruating?
How Hormonal Birth Control Works
Depo-Provera is an injectable form of hormonal birth control that involves getting a shot in your arm or buttocks every three months. It works similarly to birth control pills.
It starts to work as contraception immediately if you get your first shot within five days of beginning your period.
Depo-Provera suppresses a womans own hormones, preventing the ovaries from releasing eggs into the fallopian tubes. The synthetic progesterone hormone will reduce sperm fertilization by increasing the thickening of the cervical mucus and reducing motility in the fallopian tubes, so the sperm has difficulty traveling in the female reproductive tract.
The cervical mucus thickens and the uterine lining changes so that it’s harder for sperm to enter or survive in the uterus. All of these changes prevent fertilisation.
When a woman stops using Depo, her body tries to restore hormonal balance and regain reproductive function by restoring normal production of estrogen by the ovaries in preparation for ovulation.
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If You’re Under 16 Years Old
Contraception services are free and confidential, including for people under the age of 16.
If you’re under 16 and want contraception, the doctor, nurse or pharmacist won’t tell your parents as long as they believe you fully understand the information you’re given, and the decisions you’re making.
Doctors and nurses work under strict guidelines when dealing with people under 16. They’ll encourage you to consider telling your parents, but they will not make you.
The only time a professional might want to tell someone else is if they believe you’re at risk of harm, such as abuse.
The risk would need to be serious, and they would usually discuss this with you first.
Page last reviewed: 7 February 2018 Next review due: 7 February 2021
Using Birth Control While On Testosterone
If you are taking testosterone and have not had a hysterectomy or oophorectomy , then you need to use contraceptives if you are having penis-in-vagina sex.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that trans men who have the potential to become pregnant should be offered all forms of contraception, just the same as cisgender women . This means that trans men can take hormonal birth control, even if they are taking testosterone at the same time. There are no known interactions or contraindications .
According to ACOG, many transmasculine patients chose to use progestin-only contraceptive methods, like the hormonal IUD, the contraceptive injection, or the contraceptive implant . Periods can be a source of gender dysphoria for some people, and testosterone does not always cause menstruation to stop immediately. Copper IUDs can also be an option for trans people on testosterone who want to avoid additional hormones, but it’s only recommended for people whose periods have stopped .
In a 2016 US survey of trans men, 3 in 5 reported using contraception either currently or in the past, with condoms being the most popular form of birth control, followed by the contraceptive pill in second place . The idea that testosterone is a contraceptive is common, with 16% of trans men in the study reporting that they used testosterone as a contraceptive, and 5.5% them were recommended testosterone as a contraceptive by their healthcare provider .
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What Are Common Side Effects After Going Off Depo Injections
- Spotting and irregular periods.
- Loss of bone mineral density, which can make osteoporosis more likely. This risk is greater if you have used Depo-Provera for longer than two years.
- Difficulty conceiving. Some women become pregnant as soon as 3 to 4 months after receiving their last injection. But it takes some women up to a year or two to conceive after they stop using this type of birth control.
- Some women find that, after going off of Depo, symptoms that they had while using the injections get worse. These side effects include heavy bleeding, extreme breast tenderness, weight gain, headaches, nausea, mood swings, depression, and hair loss.
What To Know Before Starting Testosterone Therapy
Transitioning is a big and exciting decision which will affect the rest of your life. Before choosing to hormonally or surgically transition, you may want to consider fertility-preservation options, such as egg and embryo freezing . If you want the option to have genetically-linked children in the future, but are unsure about carrying them, talk with your healthcare provider about your fertility options.
If you already started using testosterone and want to preserve your fertility freezing eggs or embryos may be an option. A Swedish study on a small group of trans men who underwent fertility preservation therapy to harvest and freeze their gametes demonstrated that this is possible . Seven of the men were on testosterone before they started their fertility preservation therapy. They had to stop taking testosterone, wait for their period to restart, and begin additional hormonal treatments . While this fertility preservation therapy was capable of retrieving and freezing eggs, the changes were distressing for some of the participants who found the restoration of menstruation, gynecological exams, and being naked particularly difficult and stressful .
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I Haven’t Started Using Depo Yet What Can I Do To Avoid Bad Side Effects
“Physicians can educate women on what to expect, so they’re not surprised,” says Dr. Nicole Swiner, a family physician at Durham Family Medicine in Durham, North Caroline, “or start them immediately on a different treatment to help continue regularity.”
As stated earlier, women with a history of mood disorders should take care before starting Depo-Provera as these women are more likely to experience heightened anxiety while on the medication.
Testosterone And Conception: Things We Dont Know
Itâs important here to pause and think about the people who were not included in this questionnaireâsuch as trans men on testosterone who wanted and tried to become pregnant, but could not. The previous study only focuses on people who actually conceived. We donât know what percentage of people were unable to conceive after stopping testosterone therapy, or if this differs from infertility rates among the cisgender female population. Some researchers warn that some people may not be able to resume ovulation after stopping testosterone use, and this may depend on their age and how long they’ve been using testosterone . More research is needed.
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Can I Get Pregnant While I’m Using Depo Provera Birth Control
Yes, but the chances are low. The failure rate for Depo Provera is estimated at 0.3%, which means that three women out of a thousand get pregnant while using it.
Even though the Depo Provera shot is meant to prevent pregnancy, there still is a chance you could become pregnant while on the shot. Here are some of the possible ways that the Depo shot may fail:
- The first shot was not given within the first 5 days of a normal period and you have had intercourse before the shot .
- You had unprotected intercourse within the first month of the shot before it was absolutely effective in your body.
- You did not get the next shot within 12 weeks.
For reasons unknown, a few women each year get pregnant while on the shot, even after being on the shot for longer than the first three months and getting it at the recommended times.
Just remember: the only 100% birth control method is no intercourse at all. All other forms are 99% or lower. If you want to prevent pregnancy while on the shot, use a backup method like a condom or spermicide.
If you do become pregnant on the shot, stop taking the shot immediately and contact your healthcare provider. There is little or no increased risk of birth defects, yet in some countries, it is reported that babies conceived while their mothers were on the shot may have a lower birth rate.
What Is The Depo Shot
Are you considering the Depo Provera injections as a form of birth control? Are you already on Depo Provera or have stopped it and wondering what it is doing to your body?
If you were to conduct an online search on the birth control option Depo Provera, what would you find? People asking about side effects? How about the thousands of women searching for answers concerning pregnancy during or after getting the shot?
I am one of those women. I had only one Depo shot, and I was searching for answers I did not have after stopping the shot. I am going to share my research about the Depo shot and how it affects getting pregnant in the future.
The synthetic progesterone in Depo Provera, or DMPA, works by keeping the progesterone levels in the body at a higher level, essentially making the body think it’s pregnant and preventing ovulation. The longer Depo Provera is used, the longer it will take your body to restore normal menstrual cycles.
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Can I Get Pregnant Even If My Period Hasn’t Resumed Yet
Yes, about 70% or women will conceive within 12 months after the last injection even if normal menses has not returned. As long as normal ovulation has returned, pregnancy may occur. Ovulation occurs first, then your period, so theoretically you can conceive without your first period after discontinuing Depo shots. Once your menstrual cycles resume, you should have no increased difficulty conceiving particularly if your periods were regular prior to using Depo Provera.
If a Depo injection is given without two negative pregnancy tests and more than five days after your period, there is a chance you could get pregnant.
How Much Does It Cost
The cost of the shot depends on where you get it and if you have insurance.
At Planned Parenthood, you might pay up to $150 for the shot itself, and up to $250 if your clinician recommends an exam first. But thats if you dont have insurance.
Health insurance or Medicaid might completely cover the cost of the shot, so you could pay nothing at all.
Planned Parenthood also offers sliding scale fees. If you dont have insurance, you may be able to get lower cost birth control services, depending on your income.
If youre ordering the shot online to inject it yourself, youll pay $15 for a medical consult and $75 for each dose. Again, thats if you dont have insurance. Many insurance plans completely cover the cost of birth control.
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How Do I Use Depo
If the shot sounds like a good fit for you, reach out to your doctors office, OB-GYN, or local health clinic to make an appointment.
At your appointment, the clinician will go over your health history to make sure its safe for you to receive the shot. They may ask questions about:
- other types of birth control youve used in the past
- any side effects you experienced
- your last period
- the possibility of pregnancy
If theres any chance you could be pregnant, youll typically need to take a pregnancy test before you can get the shot.
Some healthcare professionals may also recommend getting the shot:
- during the first 5 days of your period
- within 5 days after giving birth, or by the 6th week postpartum if you nurse exclusively
- within a week of having a miscarriage or abortion
If theres no possibility of pregnancy, you can get the shot at any time.
If you doget the shot within 5 days of starting your period or within 5 days of giving birth, youre protected from pregnancy immediately. The shot will have time to take effect before you ovulate, in other words. Otherwise, youll want to use a backup birth control method for 7 days to avoid an unplanned pregnancy.
As for the injection itself, it can go into your upper arm or buttocks. You can choose where youd like to get the shot.
Remember: Youll need to return to a doctors office or clinic every 11 to 14 weeks to get your next shot, so it might help to schedule your next appointment before you leave.
I Am Miserable After Stopping Depo Is Their Online Support
Yes. Women who experience extreme discomfort after stopping Depo-Provera are not alone. This discussion of women’s experiences coming off Depo may help. It includes an interview with an endocrinologist who has studied how hormonal birth control affects women’s health.
I hope that you’ve learned something new from my experience and that this has been helpful for you!
This content is accurate and true to the best of the authors knowledge and does not substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, and/or dietary advice from a licensed health professional. Drugs, supplements, and natural remedies may have dangerous side effects. If pregnant or nursing, consult with a qualified provider on an individual basis. Seek immediate help if you are experiencing a medical emergency.
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