Post baby wife and depo provera

[bigfatbellylover92]

My wife is 1.5 months post baby number 2. She's still up 20ish pounds from pre-pregancy (which is 20ish up from pre-first).  She's sitting around 145 and is 5'4". 

She's starting depo provera tomorrow after not being on any birth control since 2015.  It really seems like the best fit for our family at the moment as we can't afford a surprise at the moment. A positive side effect (from my perspective) is the seemingly common and possibly substantial weight gain. I've been reading a bunch of old message boards online about it, but I'm looking to see if anyone on this board has any experience.

If you took it please let me know your experience. Did you or SO gain? If yes, how much, how quickly, and how soon after starting? Where did the weight seem to concentrate? And if you or SO is no longer on it did the weight go away or stick around?

[scissortooth]

I have no firsthand experience but since my wife had endocrine and fertility issues I used to read heavily into the topic. Depo is, as far as I have understood it, a progestagen of the kind used in one-component BC pills. As such, it tends to mimic progesterone, so while it might stimulate appetite and slow down metabolism, it will probably also have little no impact on weight concentration - that's more of an estrogen thing. I recall reading that in some cases there was some more pronounced belly gain, but not of the best kind, since it was visceral rather than subcutaneous fat.

Also, be warned that depo may have a negative impact on your lady's mood and libido. While my wife in an angel on natural progesterone, most artificial progestagens tend to hurt her libido and make her moody and irritable. This is something that I also found when researching the subject back then - many women on message boards reported such problems (mood and libido issues).

Obviously, reactions differ and she might end up only getting, say, increased appetite without all the mood issues, but keep the above in mind in case you notice any change patterns.

 

[Voluptuouslover]

I knew a girl a long while back that was on it.  She probably gained 30-40 lbs. in several months. 

[BindsThatTie]

Keep in mind a lot of it is water weight. That's why girls typically go up a cup size, too – water retention. Maybe your wife will be different but depo provera eviscerated my wife's libido. It causes massive spike in SHBG which binds to testosterone and removes it from the blood causing a huge drop in testosterone levels which we know is a critical component in female libido. 

[bigfatbellylover92]

Well the ideal is the weight gain with the libido uneffected of course.  To the point about the water weight depo is the one birth control proven to have a weight gain that isn't water but actual fat. And she has all the "risk factors" of early gainers. Studies show more likely to caise substantial weight gain to women who start who have already had kids, starting bmi of less than 30, and gain 5% of starting body weight in 6 months. So 2 out of 3 at the start and the 5% is only 7 pounds she would need to gain in 6 months. I think I can encourage that.

[Fataficionado]

My wife had two course of the contraceptive injection which started after the birth of our second child. In both pregnancies she didn’t gain that much weight, in fact the first I don’t believe she gained any!.

 

I haven’t read up on the side affects of the injection but I thought they’d be similar to the pill which she was on previously , as terms as weight gain goes, little to none at all. 

 

However since being on it she’s gained a decent amount of weight. She was probably around 122 at the most before & now currently at 140 ish! The weight seems to have located mostly on her belly but in all an even spread. She has decided not to continue with the injection though but for the past few months she hasn’t lost any weight, If anything I’d say there’s been a slight gain.

[Guest MX8XV93]

Yes.  Get ready for your wife to blow up big time.  Depo is the most infamous BC for raw numeric weight gain.

 

Some great examples in this forum:

https://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/birth-control-related-weight-gain/

One person gained 40 pounds over a year and a half while on Depo:

"I’ve gained 40 pounds since going on BC (the Depo shot) a year and a half ago... For four months I’ve been almost constantly hungry as a result of being more careful, watch my portions, watch what I eat, cut out desserts, no wine during the week, have gotten back into the habit of working out five days a week, etc. Nada. No weight loss. I may even have gained a few pounds judging by the fit of my jeans..."

Another gained 30 pounds in six months while on it:

"I got on the depo shot, put on 30 pounds in 6 months which is alot for my 5’2 frame. I was active, ate fairly decent, etc. I switched to the regular pill and didn’t gain anymore weight, but its not easy losing what I put on, seeing I don’t have THAT much that I can cut out... I’m still trying to lose the weight- eating lots of protein, veggies, fruit, water and excercise. I’ve also cut out majority of my flour carbs."

Another gained 30 pounds (time period not specified):

"Went on Depo, gained thirty pounds, went off of it and lost 15 of it."

 

I also personally know someone who gained at least 75 pounds (from about 150 to about 225ish) over the course of a year or two on Depo.

 

And it seems to be impossible to stop the gain or lose weight while on it (see some of the posts above) and still very difficult to lose after going off of it.

So yes; it seems that your wife just took the first step down the road to being irreversibly enormous.

 

However, as other posters suggested, there are other problems with Depo and with bc in general (low libido, moodiness, depression, etc.), many of which could lead to some serious issues, especially if you're trying to raise a family.  So despite all of the upside above, I can't say that I'd recommend it overall.

[bigfatbellylover92]

So far everything has been going pretty well. Libido not really an issue at this point as the baby sleeps next to our bed so not like we're doing anything for the near future anyway. It may be wishful thinking but I do think it's having the desired effect. She still wears her maternity pants most of the time which has shapewear included, but when she takes it off her lovehandles seem more pronounced and there is a new level of softeness when I grab around her waist. I have no numbers to confirm the scales were put away before she started so to let things run their course.

[Guest MX8XV93]

How's your wife's three-month weight gain marathon coming along?  I'm looking forward to an update on this one, if you have any.

[bigfatbellylover92]

It's been almost a month since the first shot. I made sure to put away the scales before this started so if there was any significant weight gain she wouldn't really be aware and decide to stop early. So I sadly don't have any numbers to back up at this point. But I can speak to what it appears to visibly be doing and what I can feel. Liked I mentioned before in my last post she's still mostly wearing maternity pants with the shapewear built in; but even with them on it seems her hips and waist have begun to widen. She's looking as though there are a few new rolls on her sides and her belly definitely is protruding much more noticably. Her arms, legs and even her chin are starting to look softer as well. 

The other day when we were fooling around she felt heavier on me too. Her lovehandles sure felt bigger and softer too when I grabbed hold of them. But things moved fast when I grabbed her belly. There is a noticable softness and squish that I can't remember being there before. 

All in all it seems to be promising. Without actual numbers I can't be sure this isn't me seeing what I want to see, but I'm hopeful. And if I am seeing what I think I am I can't seperate what's from the shot, what's from her lower activity level, and what's from my "encouraging." I think I'll have a more solid idea if the shot is all it's hyped to be by the end of the first 3 month period. 

I'm still very interested in personal experience especially from some of the women on the board since you might have actual first hand knowledge.

[bigfatbellylover92]

So just giving a bit of an update.  I still don't have weight since the scales are away. But we did do some measurements so she would know what size coat to ask for Christmas for. 

Bust -34 inches

Belly - 33 inches

Hips - 38 inches

Butt - 41 inches 

She wondered why I was getting the butt measurement. I just said because it's fun.