Achieving Pregnancy following Depo
Question
Hello, I have recently stopped taking the depo shot after having been on it for a little less than two years. My husband and I are now trying to become pregnant but my cycles have always been irregular, occurring only a few times a year, and I was wondering if you know about how long it could take since I am so irregular? Is it possible to become pregnant anytime soon if I don’t have a cycle for another year or so?Thank you.
Answer
Last Updated: July 3, 2013
Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company, claims that of those who discontinue Depo to become pregnant, almost half will be pregnant by 10 months, and 2/3 by 12 months. They also claim that of those who become pregnant following depo, 83% do so in 15 months, and 93% in 18 months.
As you can see, it is not at all unusual to not be able to achieve a pregnancy if you only recently discontinued depo, and in my experience with those clients I have worked with coming off depo and desiring a pregnancy, it was even longer than the statistics I just cited (perhaps they were just in the 7% that will take longer than 18 months to conceive).
The length of time one took the depo does not seem to relevant to the ability to conceive afterward.
You mentioned that you only had cycles once or twice a year, even before taking depo, and this IS relevant. If you ovulate, unless you conceive, the ovulation will be followed by a menstruation in about 2 weeks. So if you only have two menstruations a year, you are only ovulating twice a year, if even that (it is possible to bleed without it being preceded by an ovulation).
Normally, if you only recently discontinued depo, I would advise patience while your body struggles to resume it’s normal reproductive cycle, as depo has a powerful effect and that can take awhile. Your situation is complicated by the fact that you were not having normal ovarian dysfunction before taking the depo.
I recommend you begin by learning to chart the details of your cycle, so that your fertility can be evaluated by someone trained to do that. You can consult one of the professionals on our website, at www.canfp.org. Once you have compiled a few months of charting, your NFP teacher can refer you to a physician who can utilize this detailed information about your cycles, along with your history, to provide a thorough evaluation and diagnosis as to the cause of your infrequent menstruation.
As you can see, it is not at all unusual to not be able to achieve a pregnancy if you only recently discontinued depo, and in my experience with those clients I have worked with coming off depo and desiring a pregnancy, it was even longer than the statistics I just cited (perhaps they were just in the 7% that will take longer than 18 months to conceive).
The length of time one took the depo does not seem to relevant to the ability to conceive afterward.
You mentioned that you only had cycles once or twice a year, even before taking depo, and this IS relevant. If you ovulate, unless you conceive, the ovulation will be followed by a menstruation in about 2 weeks. So if you only have two menstruations a year, you are only ovulating twice a year, if even that (it is possible to bleed without it being preceded by an ovulation).
Normally, if you only recently discontinued depo, I would advise patience while your body struggles to resume it’s normal reproductive cycle, as depo has a powerful effect and that can take awhile. Your situation is complicated by the fact that you were not having normal ovarian dysfunction before taking the depo.
I recommend you begin by learning to chart the details of your cycle, so that your fertility can be evaluated by someone trained to do that. You can consult one of the professionals on our website, at www.canfp.org. Once you have compiled a few months of charting, your NFP teacher can refer you to a physician who can utilize this detailed information about your cycles, along with your history, to provide a thorough evaluation and diagnosis as to the cause of your infrequent menstruation.
Answered By:
CANFP
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