Depo Provera Has Ruined My Life By Taking My Hair From Me

by Sussycat
(Windsor, Ontario, Canada)

I had three injections of Depo during 2003-2004, when I was 23, from the doctors at my university while I was in school.

After the first, I didn't notice any side effects aside from missing my period completely. After the second shot, I noticed mild melancholic mood swings (which is very uncharacteristic for me...), and as the date approached for my third shot, I noticed some slight weight gain - about 5 lbs.

After my third shot, however, my weight gain spiked drastically and dangerously - I gained 60 pounds in about four months, despite no changes to my diet, lifestyle, or exercise regimen (I played co-ed competitive basketball 2 nights a week, and took Tae Kwon Doe lessons at the blue belt level two nights a week, and on Saturdays, and my classes were very manageable and not at all a worry for me). I'm a strong student and a very active, athletic person, and there was no other reason for such a huge gain - I had stretch marks for the first time, ever, and none of my clothing fit at all anymore, because it seemed to happen overnight. I also noticed that my hair began falling out more than usual.

In six years, it hasn't stopped falling out at all, and has actually accelerated. I have stopped dyeing it or using any heat treatments on it, I brush it only when I have to (which I have come to dread) and have gone from daily washes to a couple of times a week, to help preserve what I still have. A bald patch is developing on the crown of my head, and my scalp is clearly visible along my part in a two inch wide strip. I am young, and there is absolutely no baldness or thinning hair on either side of my family - it is quite the opposite, and even my 60+ year old aunts and uncles boast the same thick, lush hair that I once had, both paternal and maternal. My grandparents all have gorgeous hair, too.

I went to my family doctor, who told me that there were no problems with my thyroid, my blood test results were the best he has ever seen in a girl my age, and said to keep doing whatever it is I am doing, nutritionally. He sent me to a dermatologist, who started telling me that it could be female alopecia, until I said that I had been on depo, to which he said "Ohhhhh." Basically, there is nothing that can be done for me.

I am only 29 years old, and have to decide whether to wear a wig on my wedding day someday, since extensions show through my thinned top hair, or to have my natural hair styled to hide the bald spots as best as possible, which will be near to impossible after the dramatic loss that I have sustained. I have asked my boyfriend not to propose to me twice (8 years into our relationship) because I just don't want to think about that, yet. I can't even pull it back to hide what is happening anymore, because I have lost too much - my scalp shows through in stripes.


I now have horrible self esteem issues, as I am still battling those last 35 pounds or so that I gained, too, and my hair looks so bad. I was the prom queen in high school, and now when old friends see me, they are horrified to the point where they can't hide it from me very well. They stare in shock for a few seconds, before realizing they have their W-T-F faces on, and then "smoothly" try to talk about something else - they don't ask how I am much, because I think it makes them uncomfortable, or they are trying to be polite.

Because I am tired of people looking at me like I am a leper now, I avoid nearly all social functions that don't involve my immediate family, and will not allow photos of me to be taken. I don't really want to have a wedding at all anymore, and I am scared to have children because I have heard that sometimes being pregnant causes hair loss, too. I hope that doesn't sound too superficial of me, but honestly, our society is obsessed with looks, and people treat you differently - for a female, hair is so important for our self esteem and for our identity as "feminine."

To start going bald in your early twenties is horribly traumatic, and I am having a really hard time getting past that and progressing in my life. Even job interviews are traumatizing, because you want to look your best, and I am unable to hide my hair - all I can think about is that this potential employer must be wondering what the heck is wrong with me - drugs? Mental health issues? Why else would a perfectly healthy young woman lose her hair? This is ruining my life.

If you are considering Depo Provera for yourself at all, I strongly caution you not to do it - it is NOT worth rolling the chemical dice to see how your particular body will react. I have heard depo stories that are far worse than mine - it is a horrible product, and I do not know how it managed to pass testing and scrutiny to reach the market.

I have heard far too many similar stories to chalk it up to "some users MAY experience some side effects;" everyone I know who has tried it had experienced negative side effects to some degree. Its just such a bad risk to take for simple convenience. I wish someone had talked me out of it, or that I had done more research on this product, first. Taking it was the stupidest thing I have ever done, and now I have irreversible side effects. Don't do this to yourself!!!!!!!