Long-term risks of Depo-Provera drug ‘never mentioned’, patients claim – ABC News

More Australian women have come forward with concerns about serious side effects from the popular contraceptive Depo-Provera, with many claiming they were not made aware of the risks of the high-dose hormone.

Yesterday, the ABC reported on a possible class action looming over the increased risk of benign brain tumours caused by long-term use of the drug.

However, several women claim their health has been significantly impacted due to other serious side effects including osteoporosis — and their treating doctors never made them aware of the risks.

Depo-Provera is a high-dose injection of a specific synthetic progesterone known as medroxyprogesterone acetate, given to women every three months for contraception.

In Australia the official product information leaflet in the box for Depo-Provera does include the osteoporosis risk.

It also warns about vision disorders, headaches and thinning hair as well as a link to types of breast cancer.

However, many women, including Ms McLean said because the contraceptive is given as an injection administered by a doctor or practice nurse, they never saw this leaflet as it was thrown away by the surgery.

Many relied on their doctor or nurse to talk through the risks, but most said their GP or gynaecologist never mentioned the two-year recommendation.

he Depo-Provera injection has been prescribed more than 3.5 million times since 1992 but has been in use dating back to the seventies.

It’s an injection given at a doctor’s office and lasts for three months, meaning women return for shots four times a year.

Depo-Provera has long been mired in controversy with it being prescribed to drug users, the homeless, prisoners and those in psychiatric hospitals who struggled to take a daily pill.

It was also used to sterilise women with intellectual disability who found periods distressing.

In the nineties it was even touted as a therapy for paedophiles via chemical castration.

Calls for it to be banned date back to 1980 when the ABC reported women who were on it suffered long-term infertility long after injections had worn off — a claim still being made today.

Source: Long-term risks of Depo-Provera drug ‘never mentioned’, patients claim – ABC News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.