Dr Girl/Dr Dejour Q&A
Hi Dr Dejour,
I was just wondering if you could tell me what is better, the Pill or Depo Provera Injection, for a Contraceptive? And what is best medically, as I do get headaches occasionally, and I would prefer not to get worse headaches, by any one of these.
Signed Pill-popper.
Dear Miss Popper,
In short 'depot' should not contribute to headaches and the loss of a cycle can be expected to help or remove pre-menstrual headaches.
Depot Provera injections are given every three months and are the most effective reversible contraceptive available with a less than 1% pregnancy rate. The benefits include not having to remember to take a pill every day (or worry about forgetting) and not having a menstrual cycle. If your headaches are worse premenstrual, then the steady hormonal state with depot could be wonderful for you. After three injections (9 months) we expect you not to have a period at all. On the other hand, until your period stops you can have unpredictable bleeding that is usually light but this is a nuisance to some people (relative to the nuisance value of your existing period). A significant side effect of depot is depression. This is uncommon and unpredictable and unfortunately if you are the one, you may be miserable for the 3 months while it wears off. After your last injection it can take up to 18 months for your fertility rate to return back to normal.
There are many types of oral contraceptives and varied brands are different with respect to the side effect profile of an individual person. If your headaches are cyclical you may find them worse on the pill but if so, it's easy to stop and change types or run three packets together and so have only four periods a year. If your headaches are not related to your cycle then I would not expect any change on the pill. Severe migraines of a particular type are sometimes reason not to choose the pill and you should see your doctor if this is the case.
Will Miss Popper become Miss Pricked?
Regards,
Dr Dejour
I was just wondering if you could tell me what is better, the Pill or Depo Provera Injection, for a Contraceptive? And what is best medically, as I do get headaches occasionally, and I would prefer not to get worse headaches, by any one of these.
Signed Pill-popper.
Dear Miss Popper,
In short 'depot' should not contribute to headaches and the loss of a cycle can be expected to help or remove pre-menstrual headaches.
Depot Provera injections are given every three months and are the most effective reversible contraceptive available with a less than 1% pregnancy rate. The benefits include not having to remember to take a pill every day (or worry about forgetting) and not having a menstrual cycle. If your headaches are worse premenstrual, then the steady hormonal state with depot could be wonderful for you. After three injections (9 months) we expect you not to have a period at all. On the other hand, until your period stops you can have unpredictable bleeding that is usually light but this is a nuisance to some people (relative to the nuisance value of your existing period). A significant side effect of depot is depression. This is uncommon and unpredictable and unfortunately if you are the one, you may be miserable for the 3 months while it wears off. After your last injection it can take up to 18 months for your fertility rate to return back to normal.
There are many types of oral contraceptives and varied brands are different with respect to the side effect profile of an individual person. If your headaches are cyclical you may find them worse on the pill but if so, it's easy to stop and change types or run three packets together and so have only four periods a year. If your headaches are not related to your cycle then I would not expect any change on the pill. Severe migraines of a particular type are sometimes reason not to choose the pill and you should see your doctor if this is the case.
Will Miss Popper become Miss Pricked?
Regards,
Dr Dejour
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