We Deserve Better

Originally posted on DANGERS OF DEPO FACEBOOK PAGE 12.30.20

So many of us here took the Depo shot and weathered storms that we weren’t prepared for. Many of us still struggle years later.

Some of us experienced ill effects after the first shot, others after subsequent shots. For some, the problems started only when they stopped the shot. Many of us have been riddled with health problems that we didn’t have prior to using the shot.

We’ve experienced everything from a weakened immune system to pain so bad that we feel three times our age. Bones and joints are frequently impacted, why are we ignoring that black box warning anyway? We’ve experienced cancer, infections of all kinds. Even HIV. We’ve experienced bleeding for months at a time. Clots the size of your palm. We’ve been suicidal. We’ve felt everything with intensity. Anxiety, deep depression. We’ve struggled with infertility. We’ve lost our fertility. We’ve lost babies with miscarriage. We’ve experienced hormone imbalances. We’ve had the worst headaches and feel so dizzy. We’ve lost clumps of hair. We’ve lost our uteruses. And our teeth. We’ve lost relationships. Jobs. Careers. Who we were. We’ve cried ourselves to sleep so many nights. So many of us have never been the same since.

Many of us struggled without the help of our doctors and often times without real understanding from those around us. It’s just birth control right? Oh how alone we’ve felt. We’ve looked online and found both validation and comfort in others’ stories. There are so many of us out there hurt in one way or another, sometimes temporarily, sometimes indefinitely. Either way, we all have a story to tell about what Depo’s done.

Informed consent is a common problem with Depo. Women are routinely told very little about it and when they develop health problems, Depo is never to blame. But our stories are so similar. And there’s so many of us. Everyday women join our community, send emails, direct messages and ask questions. By now there are over 4,100 of us here, sadly that number is always climbing. Let’s face it, you’re not following this page unless you’ve been affected by Depo in some way or another.

We deserve better.