How is the birth control injection given?

[Perfectly Precious]

I have a question about the birth control injection that lasts 3 months.........
Where is it given?
My hubby insists its given in the rear end :brow:

[Melinda]

Oh dear not sure on that one i am sure someone will know....

[Cherie]

In your lower back. But it has to be in exactly the right spot..:blink: So I was told.
http://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/SpinalAnaesthesia_about.htm

[Perfectly Precious]

In your lower back. But it has to be in exactly the right spot..:blink: So I was told.

I hate needles so thankfully not for me.......that would be worse :hehe:

What is wrong with your arm

[Cherie]

What is wrong with your arm Who are you talking to PP??

[Perfectly Precious]

LMAO just a ramblings of thoughts hon don't mind me......I was thinking exactly that 'What is wrong with poking the needle into your arm like other injections?

[Cherie]

Oh yeah oopsy.
I think the lower spine area is like closer to the point..I think I had one with my first baby..It could have been snowing in hell and I wouldn't have known.

[Naomi]

LMAO just a ramblings of thoughts hon don't mind me......I was thinking exactly that 'What is wrong with poking the needle into your arm like other injections?

It's a (relatively) long way away from your reproductive system.

[Perfectly Precious]

Oh hang on....just looked at the link you put up Cherie.....I'm talking about the I dont want to fall pregnant injection not an injection to assist during birth LOL
Or am I just daft and you knew what I was on about????????

BTW on that topic I din't have pain relief with any of my pregnancies.......yay for me

[Cherie]

Oh Ok put that down to bad eyesight.. hang on I will look it up.


Injection: Using a syringe and needle to push fluids or drugs into the body; often called a "shot". The needle is positioned into the tissue under the skin (subcutaneous), into a vein (intravenous), or into a muscle (intramuscular).
Guess that can be anywhere, but the arm would be the place I reckon.

[Leigh]

Are you talking about Depo Provera? I had this and it was give in the arm just like a regular injection.

[Stormy]

Generally the greater the quantity, the more likely it has to go in your thigh. The deltoid (upper arm) can usually only hold about 0.5-1.0mL - any more and the pressure builds up and it leaks, defeating the purpose. Not to mention any more than that and it will hurt the muscle and make the injection more painful. Last time I gave it, it was only 1mL so unless they've changed the drug preparation since, you can have it in your arm but the drug company did say you could administer in the right upper quadrants of the buttocks as well. So it comes down to personal choice. :dk:

[2catscan]

Actually they inject it directly into your fanny so it is so sore you can't have sex - hence the birth control....LOL!!!!

[Gin please!]

I've never had that one as I used to have the implant...which was great.

[Binx]

Hahahah 2catscan!

[mel76]

yes in youe arm i was on it but fell pregnant with our 3rd child.....
Cat: You made my hubby laugh so much

[Perfectly Precious]

Actually they inject it directly into your fanny so it is so sore you can't have sex - hence the birth control....LOL!!!!

LMAO :P


I've never had that one as I used to have the implant...which was great.

I've had the implant 'implanon' for the past year and a half but it resulted in constant rags :blink: with usually only a few days between each cycle which is damn horrible..........
I wont have to worry bout birth control soon as we are going to be conceiving our 5th baby near november :yes:

[Kjoy]

I have been on depo non stop since the early 90s. The injection goes in the highest part of your bum cheek and its best to alternate the sides every 3 months as it can result in cellulitis so you dont want it all gathered in the one bum cheek!.

Its done with a very long fine needle and has to go in at an angle and then in a zig zag move into the muscle. Most doctors can do it in a totally pain free move but I have had some over the years that were useless at it!

[mel76]

i had that injection but had it in my arm

[Rachel]

My sister has it in her arm too and has longer periods and regular spotting..

[Gin please!]

yes in youe arm i was on it but fell pregnant with our 3rd child.....


I fell prgnant 10 days after having the implant removed from my arm.

[2catscan]

I have been on depo non stop since the early 90s. The injection goes in the highest part of your bum cheek and its best to alternate the sides every 3 months as it can result in cellulitis so you dont want it all gathered in the one bum cheek!.

Its done with a very long fine needle and has to go in at an angle and then in a zig zag move into the muscle. Most doctors can do it in a totally pain free move but I have had some over the years that were useless at it!

Just as well I am not in danger of pregnancy as my bum cheeks no longer have a highest part....:brow:

[miss kiki]

some of the injections sound like they hurt! and i wonder how well they work..the ones that are supposed to last months or years. :dk:

i don't need BC, but what happens if you decide you want to start having kids and get it done?!

[Kjoy]

lol 2cats! My bum no longer has a "highest part" either!

Kiki - depo is not an ideal product for those who eventually want kids as its biggest side effect is sterility. For me that was perfect and exactly what I wanted - along with no periods (for the past 18 years) and no PMS and no food cravings. I would only recommend it to women who were not wanting kids in the future.
I have been a test bunny with this product since it was released into regular usage in Australia. My goal is to stay on it until menopause starts or finishes to see how it affects it. My doctors theory is that I could just some day slide straight thru meno without noticing it.

My injection is every 12 weeks and I can definitely attest to it working extremely well. Prior to me going on the injection I use to fall pregnant if the postman stayed too long at my mail box! I was that fertile. Having actively tested depo for its 100% guarantee - I can definitely say that 18 years down the track it is still working perfectly for me.

To those who said they are having or have had the injection in their arms - can I suggest that you ask your doctors to actually read the very detailed medical literature regarding the location of injection sites. Its an intramuscular injection not a bloodstream injection. Your arm is a bloody long way from your ovaries and probably explains why you are still getting periods!

[Stormy]

Actually, the literature from the company which manufactures the drug indicates that either arm or buttocks is an option because both contain muscle. It is injected into the deltoid muscle in the arm, not as an intravenous injection. Just because an injection is given in the arm, doesn't mean it is intravenous. There is subcutaneous tissue in the arm as well as muscle tissue.

Depo Provera does not act the same for every woman it's given to, what works for one woman, does not work for another. The side effects are unfortunately quite variable - some women will have complete absence of menstruation, others will have irregular periods and others just spotting. It has nothing to do with which muscle the medication is injected into. This is indicated in manufacturer's product information leaflet (http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcmed.nsf/pages/pfcdepoi/$File/pfcdepoi.pdf).

As far as the sterility goes, most women will find return to fertility can take 12-18 months which is why they recommend a gap of that long before consulting an IVF specialist if you fail to fall pregnant coming off Depo Provera.

[miss kiki]

gotcha kjoy. thanks for clearing that up for me. :)

[Kjoy]

Depo Provera does not act the same for every woman it's given to, what works for one woman, does not work for another. The side effects are unfortunately quite variable - some women will have complete absence of menstruation, others will have irregular periods and others just spotting.

I totally agree - over the 18 years that I have been on the injection many of my friends have given it a try and all have had completely different results to me and to each other. On the plus tho - none have fallen pregnant so its actual birth control usefullness rates well.

In my first 3 years I had weight gain - I was expecting it but was still surprised at how quickly the weight went on. I had to buy new bra's 4 months in a row. But then it settled and I have been the same size ever since.
I also got increased acne - especially in the final 2 weeks of each 3 month cycle.

But those two side effects were weighed up against the positives which for me were no periods for the rest of my life, no pregnancies, no PMS, and no food cravings.

But even while its been a great success for me - I have always been extremely careful about recommending the product to others. I always get them to read the literature etc and google it as there are many forums out there filled with women who have had really bad side effects.

Like any birth control there are positives and negatives (no pun intended) and what works for one wont work for the other. I fell pregnant 3 times while on the pill so it clearly wasnt working for me. In my early 20s I was begging to have my uterus and ovaries removed but no one would do it. Only one doctor back then came up with Depo and for me it has been a lifesaver (literally) in so many ways.

[Sunny]

Wow, Platinum Panties OMG going for #5 - arent you only in your mid 20's? how do you manage????? (to stay sane i mean not get knocked up coz obviously i know how you manage that mehehehe)

Kjoy have you had any problems from being on it so long and not having your periods? I had alot of problems with birth control pills and have come to feel like 'well thats what you get for messing with your body'. I can imagine how great it would be to not get preggers and not have your periods but does it affect your mood and stuff, i know how delicate hormones can be and how they play such a big part in that have you had any probs from anxiety depression fatigue or even hair changes etc from being on it so long, it all just sounds too good to be true?

[Binx]

Sorry, I have to say it.
It's been begging since I first saw the thread in Quicklinks.


..... "With a needle... "


phew - got that out of my system

[Perfectly Precious]

LMAO maliss

[Kjoy]

Kjoy have you had any problems from being on it so long and not having your periods? I had alot of problems with birth control pills and have come to feel like 'well thats what you get for messing with your body'. I can imagine how great it would be to not get preggers and not have your periods but does it affect your mood and stuff, i know how delicate hormones can be and how they play such a big part in that have you had any probs from anxiety depression fatigue or even hair changes etc from being on it so long, it all just sounds too good to be true?

Over the 18 years I have had varying health issues but all have been attributed to other things. Of the kinds of things you mentioned ....

I had massive hair loss and nail loss - but it turned out to be a damaged liver from a botched gall bladder surgery.

For the past year I have suffered anxiety - but I am dealing with some major bullying issues at work - so I dont consider it to be connected with the depo when I havent had any anxiety issues for the first 17 years.

Depression nope - but one of my friends who went on depo for just 6 months went immediately into full blown depression so its definitely a known side effect.

Moods: hard to say - I have always been moody - and lord knows my family remember my extremely violent teen PMS (so we were glad that went when the injection came along). In the final week before the next injection I do find myself a bit short tempered and easily irritated - but hey - I work with morons and eventually I have to explode !!! Seriously tho - that final week I do notice a pattern of short tempered-ness, along with acne breakout.

Most issues or complaints I have existed long before the depo.

When the media started a story on the depo causing osteoperosis - a lot of people immediately jumped on the band wagon and said that has to have been what caused all my teeth to die. But the fact was - all my dads family lost their teeth in their 20s and there was a genetic deficiency in the enamel. So there was no connection to calcium loss from the depo.

A lot of my friends said they would never have tolerated the weight gain side effect (I joked that that was the actual birth control bit !!!). For me it was weighing up the pro's and cons.

Did I want to spend my life wondering if periods would happen in 6 days or 6 months.

Did I want to spend my life wondering if the periods, when they arrived, would last a week, or a month - resulting in hospitalisation each and every time.

Did I want to spend my life with the worry of accidental pregnancies - when no other methods were working.

Did I want the people around me to suffer the PMS - because it was them that suffered - my brother still has scars from the scissors.

So for me - the weight gain and acne were really minor payoffs for the sheer bliss of 18 years of peace. (That and all the money I have saved not having to buy anything from THAT aisle in the supermarket!).

I am extremely thankful for the depo working for me. I always knew there was a high risk that it wouldnt.

[miss kiki]

platinum panties is pretty good! :yes:
my aunt had 6 kids all in her 20's and 30's. she's amazing and all her kids are very well behaved. :yes:

[Sunny]

Thanks Kjoy for answering that i can imagine it would have been really difficult to go through those menstrual problems, and i hope your anxiety and work situation improves soon.

[Kjoy]

Thanks Kjoy for answering that i can imagine it would have been really difficult to go through those menstrual problems, and i hope your anxiety and work situation improves soon.

Thanks :) My teens and early 20s were awful due to the problems and back then doctors just told you to "suck it up - all women have to endure it" - funnily none of my friends or their mums were being admitted to hospital ? I remember at some point telling a Gyno that I would kill myself if I was forced to endure it for another 40 years.

Currently working on getting the work situation sorted. Life can go back to normal I hope!!

[Tonenails]

The one I had after my second child it was implanted in my arm. Didn't react well with me I turned into dragon lady OMG mood swings. I had it taken out, then found out I had a throid problem which is underactive. Not sure if the implant caused the thyroid condition but I was fine before I had it.

[Sunny]

Thats a bugger Tonenails! I dont have any experience with the implant one but i had such a shitty time and so many problems on bcp so i know the damage they can do, i hope you get on top of our thyroid and can get back to normal :comfort: If you look up the instructions and side effects info that goes with the implant it may say something about the thyroid, i know that what i was on was contraindicated for any thyroid conditions so it can obviusly play havock with that. Also theres a huge medical drug guide thats in the reference section of your library, it might be worth having a look to see exactly what damage is referenced from that implant and what effects it been registered as having.

[Di Nana]

lol 2cats! My goal is to stay on it until menopause starts or finishes to see how it affects it. My doctors theory is that I could just some day slide straight thru meno without noticing it.

I find this hard to get my head round, As my doctor called me in a few months back to talk about contraception as I was of the age that I should be hitting menopause
He told me that any form of hormone contraceptive injection included would delay menopause so how can you stay on it as far as I understood meno just wont start till you are off those hormones and how can your Dr have a theory that you may just breeze through meno didn't think anybody could predict how it would effect you and if it was a breeze being on this injection why aren't all those poor suffering menopausal women offered it for a form of treatment

[Kjoy]

I find this hard to get my head round, As my doctor called me in a few months back to talk about contraception as I was of the age that I should be hitting menopause
He told me that any form of hormone contraceptive injection included would delay menopause so how can you stay on it as far as I understood meno just wont start till you are off those hormones and how can your Dr have a theory that you may just breeze through meno didn't think anybody could predict how it would effect you and if it was a breeze being on this injection why aren't all those poor suffering menopausal women offered it for a form of treatment

I dont pretend to be an expert in this bit - as I said - I have been the ginnea pig for 18 years on this injection so I have to accept that some bits may not go as planned. The doctors in Australia (and also the UK) dont have another subject who has been on the injection for the same period of time without a break in a similar age group.

The last time I asked my doctor about menopause he raised it at a conference and this was the suggestion he came back with after conferring with the many doctors at the conference.

So yes at this stage its still only based on their theory's - part of being the ginnea (why cant I spell that!) pig is that I have to rely on their theories for the sake of other women in the future.

For now - if I base it on my mum and grandmother - they started meno around 55. So I have 14 or 15 years before I need to really start contemplating it more. And hopefully in the meantime the doctors will have attended even more conferences and developed even more theories.

Fingers crossed !