Stomach Pain

I also took the depo shot after my 1st pregnancy 8 years ago, after I come off the shot it took me almost a year to get pregnant with 2nd child. I never resumed my periods though, they had to give me medicine to make me have a period. It sounds to me like you may have a cyst. Don't give up it will eventually happen, I now have an 8 year old girl, 5 year old girl, and 4 mo old boy.

Even though you've had several periods, you may not have ovulated yet. If this is your first ovulation after coming off the depo shot, it may be painful, especially since you are not used to the sensation anymore. It could also be ovarian cysts, which usually go away on their own. If the pain/nausea/dizziness lasts (or lasted) more than 48 hours, I would go ahead and make an appointment at the health clinic. Have you had a pap since coming off the depo?

When I came off the depo shot years ago, It was about 6 months before I had my first period, but it was another 2 months before I ovulated. My first ovulation was very painful and lasted about a day. Each month the ovulation pain became less and less until it just became a twinge (or sometimes several twinges) in the middle of my cycle.

Here are a couple of links to check out so that you can evaluate your own symptoms to decide what you need to do.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mittelschmerz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovarian_cyst
(I love Wikipedia because it summarizes everything on one page. I have found the same or similar information on other sites as well.)

Good luck!

hey L.

i too have been on the depo shot and had periods similar to yours - mine were every 2 weeks thru first month or so. However i did not have any pain. I agree with another writer that this sounds like an ovarian cyst. I had one of those and it hurt so bad i thought it was an apendecitis. However it could be something more serious like an ectopic pregnancy (or it really good be appendicitis, is it on one side more than the other?). I have never heard that serious pain or cramps are a side effect of the depo and i have been on and off for 6 years. if it keeps up i'd definitly go to a dr.

If I were you, I wouldn't wait any longer (A female's body will give off signs of something wrong before anything will happen, but a lot of women today won't listen to their bodies so that they can prevent hospital stay in their future). Since you're having dizziness and nausea along with your pain, you really need to see a doctor. You're body is trying to tell you that something is wrong and that you need to get it taken care of very soon!

My cousin had stomach pains and she ignored them for a couple of weeks. One day when she went out to eat, her pain got worse and eventually passed out - her gall bladder had exploded. Well, to make things short, she went into surgery and was able to get all the "gunk" out of her system before it poisoned her and could have died.

I'm trying to say that you really don't need to wait this out if you have been experiencing this for a couple of days now. You really need to visit an income-based clinic to see what's going on. Also, several clinics within Nashville will let you make payments if you pay a percentage upfront (around 33% or so).

Are you sure you're not pregnant? I was on depo before becoming pregnant with my son. I never had the stomach pain but I did suffer nerve damage. Be sure to keep an eye on your back/nerves/bones. It can take 3 months for the depo to leave your system so you may be feeling things because of that. I never realized how much it was messing with my body till I got off of it. I wouldn't get back on it if I were you. There are clinics in TN that go by income if you don't have insurance. I think there's one in Nashville. The health dept might know. I hope this helps some.

Two of my friends have had pain like you are describing; one had gall bladder stones and the other had kidney stones. If it happens again, or won't go away, go to the doctor. I think they can just run a simple blood test to confirm kidney stones; not sure about gall stones.

If you think there's a chance you may be pregnant, you should go see your doctor (or a clinic). My friend had an ectopic pregnancy, and she had pain like you are describing. It can be a very serious situation, so I wouldn't take any chances.

If it is in the area of your ovaries, then it could be an ovarian cyst that ruptured. I get them off and on. They can really hurt and take a few days to go away. Also, if you are thinking of having a baby, I would suggest getting some health insurance because it can be very costly even if you have a perfect pregnancy and delivery.

since no one has mentioned this yet, i will. I haven't ever been on depo but I just came off the pill four months ago to TTC. And once my periods started, I had terrible pains that came in the middle of my 2 periods. The pains come back every month and would sometimes last a few hours or up to 2-3 days. My doctor said they were ovulation pains. (I'm sure you know all about ovulation since you are also ttc.) Though most women never have them some women feel a slight twinge but the pain from mine kept me from even standing up straight.