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Most women get pregnant within a year after stopping the shot. That's the stat most quoted in my doctor's office. I'd def give PP a shot, as they're very no-nonsense and friendly.
Also the thing I like is there's none of those walls of pictures, the ones containing snapshots of other people's kids-- I just find that obnoxious and offensive for those of us going in to a GYN office for birth control! 
Plus, it's cheep. I pay $48 for my depo shot, and that's only once every 3 months! 
~nelly~
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A bone density test is a scan, i think?
~nelly~
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I wasn't disputing your diagnosis -- I was just curious if you'd ever thought that your endo was making the IBS worse. But, I guess if you don't know you'll get any benefit from it, I can see why you'd want to avoid surgery if you know you have a long recovery time.
Personally, I really wish I would have read up more on endo and laparoscopy before I did it. I did read up on the lap, of course, but the stuff I read about it and the recovery were more based on procedures where nothing was really done. I wish my subconscious hadn't been so sure they wouldn't find anything!!!  I am still glad I did it, though. At least right now. We'll see in another couple weeks how glad I still am.
Hopefully Depo keeps working for you forever!!
--------------------
jen
"It's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle -- to get one's head cut off." -- LC
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I just wanted to add my voice to the positive views of Depo.
I've been on it almost 7 years. I guess I have gained a few pounds. (But that was actually a good thing for me. I'd like to gain yet a few more.) And no, I have not lost any hair.
Yes, I had a lot of (sometimes heavy) irregular bleeding in the first year. But after that, it was smooth sailing with no periods.
I also get my Depo from Planned Parenthood. They're very convenient for me -- they have an office just 3 blocks from where I work, which makes it easy to get the shots. (For a few months, my company's office was actually in the same building, which was a little too close for comfort.  )
Even Planned Parenthood is concerned about bones, though. Last time I was up to renew my yearly prescription, they wanted me to either switch methods or get a bone scan before they would give me the next shot.
I didn't get the bone scan -- I figured they were probably right that my bones might be better off with a different method. So, a couple months ago, when I was due for my shot, I tried switching to NuvaRing. (With NuvaRing, like the patch and some of the pills, you can also keep yourself from having a period by skipping the week off, which is definitely what I was planning to do.)
Unfortunately, while I was on it for about 1.5 months, my IBS got worse. Now, I have always had my ups-and-downs with the IBS, so obviously the two may not be related in any way. But the possibility was enough to make me want to go back to Depo, and was enough that Planned Parenthood went ahead and let me go back without a bone scan. (Also, I didn't like the ring, because it was slipping for me. It didn't fall out or anything... I'd just start feeling it at random times and need to go push it back up a bit. Which wasn't an absolute deal-breaker, but was pretty annoying.)
Anyhow, even though I take my calcium supplement, I am a bit worried about my bones. (I guess I should get that bone scan after all.) But I do truly love the Depo outside of that.
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I know I don't post often, but I just had to throw my two cents into this Depo-lovefest. I'm over one hundred percent positive that Depo exacerbated (and possibly even caused) my IBS to such a horrendous extent that I've never truly recovered from it. It's been about nine years since I had that first fateful Depo shot. I only had three shots. I didn't get my period for almost two years. This was not the blessing I'd hoped for. Instead, I felt like I had the worst PMS I'd ever had in my life every single day during this entire time. Tender breasts, bloating, irritability, mysterious abdominal pains and serious weight gain (this was probably the most devastating aspect for me b/c I'd been the same size and weight for years and I was not eating more and was exercising the same amount). They touted Depot as being 99.9% effective. After my second shot, I became pregnant. On top of all the negative symptoms I was already experiencing, I then had to deal with nausea, fatigue and distended organs. I contacted every expert I could find and researched the potential effects of Depo on fetuses to no satisfactory avail. Granted this was a long time ago, so maybe there's a lot more research that's been done, now, but I know that back then nobody could give me any answers regarding Depo's long-term effects. I'm sure the stress and worry was also a contributor to the onset of my IBS. My body has never been the same since. I can trace my IBS symptoms back before the Depot, but they were pretty mild compared to what happened once I started that evil Depo. I'm all for advances in women's medicine and I know that Depo has been a godsend for many, but I just wanted to share my negative experiences with the hopes that if any of you go on Depo and have any negative stuff going on, you'll know right away that it might not be right for you and stop the shots. Of course, being that they're shots and already in your system, you may still experience negative, unwanted symptoms for quite some time. At any rate, if you do try it, I hope you have much better luck than I did.
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And 99.9% effective does mean that 0.1% of the people taking it don't find it effective! That's only 1 in 1000. But that's still better odds than alot of alternatives.
Sorry you had such a bad time!
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On the pill I bled every day of the month and got these splitting migraine headaches. I actually tried all the orthos and others, including the mini-pill, and it turnes out they all did me in! I can't take estrogen! How awful! But I know some people, like you it seems have the same problem with not being able to take progestrone.
I'd never take estrogen again!! My IBS was so bad, I had pain, cramps, endo plus with the bleeding all the time D all the time too! I was like, "hey, is that supposed ot be birth control? There's no way I'd let any penis touch me in THIS condition!" LOL!
What Linz said, there's no one solution that works for everyone! I'm so glad I found my solution, though!
~nelly~
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I get bad enough migraines as it is and they used to be even more of a problem. Now that was back in the days when I'd had the same docs for 17 years and they actually knew something about me!
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Hi Jen,
I`m currently having probs with my bowels (D), periods and pain when I have sex.I`m seeing two specialists and they are just elimating things at the mo. I just wanted to know how you are now and how you coped whilst you were waiting for answers. There is always a minimum of 4 months between my appointments and it just means I have loads of waiting. And its soooooo anyoing.
Anyway hope u can help and hope you are feeling better to how u felt when u wrote this.
Hugs
Joxx
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http://www.myspace.com/jo_elsmere
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Hi
I had endo, had it for years and years, I think forever as my periods from day one were absolutely debilitating and the pain unreal..I became addicted to codeine, as I lived on the stuff to manage the pain...enough was enough...I had a hysterectomy 2 1/2 years ago...hallalujah...they didnt want to do it as I was 36 at the time, but I had just had it...periods coming every two weekly, lasting at least 10 days at a time, crawling along the ground as my body wouldnt unbend itself because the pain keep me doubled over...anyway the ibs was at its absolute worst, losing lots of blood, heavy bleeding and huge bloodclots and chronic diarrohea, was enough to make me pass out on two occassions....anyway the hysterectomy halved the ibs symptoms...instead of 9 - 11 times a day, I can now claim fame to diarrohea averaging 3 - 5 times a day....yahoo!! anyway the hysterectomy was totally worth it, I highly recommend it, I kept my (polycystic) ovaries, so menopause will come when it is meant to....there definitely is a connection to this disease, I think endo possibly caused the ibs...everything was such a mess, my gyno...said my bowel was inflamed and distended quite severely, and she had to push it back down and hold it there, while they sewed me back together...
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