Flushing depo provera out of system

[surfgirl26]

I searched the forum and couldn't find anything specific to my question. 

 

I had my first and only depo-provera shot at the beginning of March this year after my Dr. told me it was safe if my husband and I were planning on starting a family in the fall this year. After getting home and researching the drug, I realized I had made a huge mistake as it takes about 9 months to get out of your system before you can get pregnant.

 

I am hoping that Whole30 will help flush the drug out of my system so that I can get pregnant when we were planning too (September time). I am currently on Day 10, and had my first spotting right before I started the diet, and now 2 weeks later. Has anyone had any luck with getting this drug out of their systems and successfully getting pregnant within months of getting off the shot?

 

Thanks!

[Munkers]

Depo is designed to be effective for about three months and after that it can't be relied on for contraceptive. Some people will begin to ovulate almost immediately and others will not. The 9 month figure that you mention is a median figure meaning that 50% of folks will get pregnant faster than that and the other 50% will take longer. Whole 30 will set you up for the best possible outcome for ovulation and conception, but the bigger picture is this:

 

Despite all the hype around accidental and unintended pregnancies, women aren't necessarily as fertile as they've been led to believe. (Fine print: I am by NO means suggesting that anyone not desiring pregnancy should stop using or not use contraceptives. If you don't want to be pregnant, use a contraceptive. Full stop.) Many, many women won't conceive during that first month (or even the first few months) after they stop hormonal birth control and there's nothing wrong with them. Even folks who only used barrier methods may take a few months to conceive once they start trying. It's a game of chance for the sperm and egg to meet up, for the egg to implant, and then for that egg to have everything it needs to grow into a baby.

 

The biggest question is whether or not you're ovulating. If you're not ovulating then you can't get pregnant and there may be issues in your health history that impact this and have nothing at all to do with the depo. I would strongly suggest doing some reading and research on FAM (Fertility Awareness Method). I'm personally a fan of the sympto-thermal method, but there are other options out there like the Billings Ovulation Method. Each method looks for specific signs that will tell you what's going on with your menstrual cycle. (I like the sympto-thermal approach because it can also shed light on other body systems like your thyroid.) Toni Weschler's Taking Charge of Your Fertility is phenomenally informative, but other authors and books exist. Read it and start charting. If you are ovulating then you'll know how to time intercourse to maximize your chances at conception. But still remember that these things can take time and that up to a year of trying on your own is considered normal. I guess you can consider it as practice for never, ever being on your own time-table again. Kiddos do everything in their own time.

[surfgirl26]

Thanks for the response. I have read Taking Charge of Your Fertility and it was super informative and I had started tracking everything pre-depo. I'm hoping that my body will start returning to normal since I haven't had the depo shot since March and I'll definitely start tracking and paying attention once they do. 

 

Thanks!