Great to hear - I hope it doesn't sneak up on you like it did for me
I forgot about the rash. It arrived just in time for summer (first shot in July) and was itchy and all around my waist, mainly on my sides. It was an acne type of rash and highly attractive on my by-then expanded waist line and slowly disappeared when I stopped the injections. For ages I thought it was fabric softener, type of laundry wash, something I was eating...until I mentioned it to another GP who asked if I was on medication and I said no, just the Depo. That's when he informed me of all the side-effects I'd been having, so I just kept nodding as he listed them and he felt bad that the other GP hadn't informed me of it all.
So, add itchy, acneic rash to the list of possible side-effects. I stopped bleeding all together, which was the only upside to the whole thing and I decided that I would take bleeding over total loss of control over my body for the duration of the hormones in my body.
I probably didn't give a good timeline of effects. First shot in July, weight gain begins slowly in September, just in time for my 2nd shot. Keep putting on weight, DP getting bit sad that I no longer care whether I have sex or not and no matter what I do, there is no O. Have 3rd shot in November. By Christmas I've gone from regular, reliable size 8-10 to a size 14. Mind you, my sister had already bought bridesmaid dresses before the real ballooning and the weight kept coming on, no matter how many times I walked to work from home or walked the dog in the park! By February, my sister's wedding, I'm the absolute biggest I've ever been and not at all comfortable in my own skin. By now I fit into NONE of my old wardrobe adn the things I was trying to squeeze into until November have irreparable stretch damage to the stitching - it really did sneak up on me, rather than just ballooning in a couple of months from the start.
So, I was a bit naive to have these symptoms and never attribute them to the depo - I could have stopped the cycle months sooner had I copped on.
What I hope is, Hollye, that now you've asked the question, you can be right on top of any symptoms and if anything strange starts happening, point your finger at depo first, before looking at other possible causes - cos it's likely to be the depo and you won't have to wonder for months like a dummy (i.e. me!) what you've done wrong and why you can't fix it!
In hindsight, the symptoms were so obvious in origin, but to me depo was supposed to be the liberating wonder contraception that the GP willingly gave me when I asked about it...now, even for the simplest prescription or over the counter, I look at the side-effects list...lesson learned.
So, fingers crossed it stays stable for you!!