Is bleeding a side effect of injectaplan?
What you need to know:
- You do not need any special way to control the bleeding since it is even mild but you need to go back to your family planning clinic for further advice and assistance.
Since starting to use injectaplan as a family planning method, I get on and off periods which are also very light. Is this because I have never used any family planning or do I have cancer? Marjorie
Dear Marjorie,
Depo Provera or injectaplan is a synthetic hormone progesterone injection given every three months as a contraceptive to prevent pregnancy.
The contraceptive, just as any drug, has side effects which require a woman to be counselled before being given the injection. The side effects include irregular or heavy and bleeding, among others. After a year of use, many women may stop having their periods altogether.
After the last injection of Depo Provera, it can take more than six months for the drug to leave the body. The irregular or no bleeding may, therefore, linger many months after stopping the injections.
Because cancer of the cervix may show itself through vaginal bleeding, it may be usual to do tests to rule out the cancer before giving the contraception or when you get vaginal bleeding after the injection is given.
Nowadays, girls aged between nine and 13 years are given a vaccine to reduce the likelihood of getting cancer of the cervix apart from routinely testing for the cancer every three to five years in adults.
You do not need any special way to control the bleeding since it is even mild, but you need to go back to your family planning clinic for further advice and assistance.
