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Written By: Robert King, Esq.
Legal Review By: Ashleigh Raso, Esq.
The Depo-Provera Lawsuit Is An Active Lawsuit
See If You Qualify!

Depo-Provera is a popular hormonal birth control that’s been around since 1959, and multiple studies show it has numerous long-term side effects. The long-term side effects of Depo-Provera—also called depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate or DMPA— include blood clots, vision problems, menstrual irregularities, an increased risk of breast cancer, and bone mineral density loss. Recently, a strong link between getting Depo-Provera injections and developing an intracranial meningioma, a type of brain tumor, has been discovered. Because of where these tumors form in the brain, people experience symptoms like seizures, migraines, vertigo, vision problems, and even death. 

Use of Depo-Provera can also cause severe depression and changes in liver function. Additionally, after women stop Depo-Provera injections, it may take up to 1 year before they are fertile again. Because of the many long-term side effects of Depo-Provera use, the current recommendation is that women use drugs containing depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate for 2 years or less. However, many women did not receive this warning when they took the drug and continued use for years or even decades. 

This infographic describes Depo-Provera's uses and what the long term side effects of using Depo-Provera are. Graphic of a Depo-Provera vial bottle.

About Depo-Provera Long-Term Side Effects:

Why Women Take Depo-Provera

As the National Library of Medicine discusses, women take Depo-Provera for many reasons, such as to help prevent an unwanted pregnancy and to treat pain associated with endometriosis. Additionally, women use Depo-Provera to help regulate their menstrual cycles in cases of hormone imbalance. Other uses of Depo-Provera include treating hot flashes and helping to prevent endometrial hyperplasia in postmenopausal women.

Why Women Experience Long-Term Side Effects From The Birth-Control Shot

Despite its popularity, Depo-Provera is known to cause severe long-term and, in some cases, irreversible side effects such as bone mineral density loss, blood clots, delayed fertility, and vision problems. Depo-Provera prevents pregnancy by slowing down or stopping ovulation. The medication does this by dampening the release of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Less GnRH in the woman’s system means her follicles are less likely to release an egg.

Depo-Provera also increases the amount of mucus covering her cervix. Additionally, it increases the thickness of the mucus, making it harder for sperm to travel into the cervix and fertilize an egg.

About Depo Provera’s Long-Term Side Effects

In the United States, Depo-Provera has been in use since 1959 as a treatment for menstrual issues and since 1992 as a contraceptive. As it increases in popularity and is in circulation for longer, doctors and consumers learn more about its long-term effects. As reported on the U.S. drug warning label, studies show a link between GnRH-inhibiting birth control methods (like Depo-Provera) and the development of blood clots, vision problems, and severe depression. This injectable contraceptive is also correlated to an increased risk of breast and cervical cancers and a decrease in bone density.

Warning labels in circulation in the United Kingdom and European Union give more accurate information about these side effects, including meningiomas, enabling women in those regions to make more informed decisions about their healthcare. In the United States, however, warning labels tend to leave much of this information out.

Because of the many long-term side effects of Depo-Provera, the FDA’s current recommendation is that women use the drug for 2 years or less.

Intracranial Meningiomas

A growing body of research links the use of Depo-Provera with the development of intracranial meningiomas— a rare type of brain tumor. For example, a 2022 study published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention shows that a sample of Indonesian women who used progesterone injections had a significantly higher chance of developing meningiomas in the spheno-orbital region (SOM). Likewise, research published in The BMJ in 2024 confirms that using medroxyprogesterone acetate for more than 1 year correlated to an increased risk of intracranial meningiomas in a sample of over 18,000 women.

SOM meningiomas are tumors that develop where the orbit  (the space behind the eye) and the sphenoid bone meet. The meninges are membranes that protect cerebral and spinal structures. Because of where these masses are, the National Library of Medicine indicates that it can be challenging for doctors to operate on these types of tumors. The location of these tumors can also cause significant vision impairments or even vision loss, in addition to seizures, vertigo, and debilitating headaches.

This infographic explains what meningiomas are, their associated health issues, and how Depo-Provera may cause meningiomas. Image of a human medical model showcasing the skull and human brain.

Bone Density Loss 

Using Depo Provera can cause significant bone density loss. As the Food and Drug Administration cautions in its 2024 warning label for physicians, medroxyprogesterone acetate decreases the amount of estrogen in the woman’s blood. 

As a result, the woman’s body metabolizes bone at a higher rate than normal to account for this imbalance. Because of this, the woman’s bone mineral density can decrease, and this loss isn’t always reversible. This means the woman may not regain bone mineral density once she stops taking this progesterone contraceptive. Younger women who take medroxyprogesterone acetate are at an increased risk of bone density loss that will affect them later in life.

Delayed Return to Fertility

When women take birth control, they expect to be able to become fertile again within a reasonable amount of time after they stop the contraceptive. Unfortunately, as explored in a 2023 article published in the National Library of Medicine, women who stopped taking Depo-Provera experienced a significant delay in returning to fertility compared to other types of hormonal birth control. 

According to this survey, the median time it took for women to get pregnant after they stopped Depo-Provera was nine months. In contrast, two months was the median amount of time it took for women to return to fertility after stopping an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) birth control.

Menstrual Irregularities

One of the most common side effects of taking medroxyprogesterone acetate is irregular menstrual cycles. According to the Cleveland Clinic, about half of the women who take Depo-Provera for at least a year will stop having periods at all

This hormonal contraceptive can also cause a woman to have unusually light or heavy bleeding. The timing for this may or may not be regular — i.e., it may not match up with the woman’s regular cycles.

Blood Clots

A 2010 study in the National Library of Medicine found that taking the injectable form of depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate increased the survey participants’ risk of developing deep venous thrombosis (DVT) by 3.6 compared to those who didn’t use hormonal birth control. 

With deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot may form in a deep vein, such as in the leg or pelvis. Deep vein thrombosis is part of a large category of blood clot disorders that is the third leading cause of death from cardiovascular or respiratory events.

Depression and Mood Changes

Depo-Provera’s drug information label states that medroxyprogesterone acetate use can lead to nervousness, depression, and insomnia. This means that for some patients, Depo-Provera use can lead to changes in mood or worsening symptoms of depression.

Liver Function Changes

Depo-Provera—a synthetic progestin—can damage a woman’s liver, according to the National Library of Medicine, causing jaundice and acute liver injury. This outcome may be related to the dosage the doctor gives the woman or whether she takes it alongside estrogen. In some cases, the liver injury resolves after the woman stops taking this form of birth control and her body readjusts.

Increased Risk of Certain Cancers

A body of research shows the link between medroxyprogesterone use and an increased risk of developing breast or cervical cancer. The reason for this is unclear; however, as it relates to breast cancer, some researchers believe it relates to how recently the woman started taking this long-acting birth control. Additionally, the age at which the woman started taking Depo-Provera appears to play a role in her increased risk of breast cancer. The drug’s warning label carries multiple warnings for cervical and breast cancer monitoring.

Vision Problems

Taking depot-medroxyprogesterone can also cause serious damage to your vision, including blindness. The reason for this is Depo-Provera increases your risk of developing blood clots, and these thromboses can travel through your bloodstream and get lodged in the vein that leads to and connects with your retina. Doctors may be able to treat and begin to reverse this condition if you catch it early; however, the damage may come on suddenly and cause irreversible damage.

Does Depo-Provera Cause Brain Cancer?

Multiple studies show that Depo-Provera significantly increases a woman’s risk of developing intracranial meningiomas. These growths are usually non-cancerous tumors; however, they can cause vision problems, seizures, migraines, and other symptoms. Using medroxyprogesterone acetate for one year or longer appears to bring about the most risk of later brain tumor development.

Intracranial meningiomas tend to arise in a space behind the woman’s eye. The location can cause a range of symptoms because it may be pushing on other structures and cerebral tissue. Additionally, it can be challenging for doctors to operate on these because of how close they are to the woman’s ocular nerve, fragile tissue, and spinal nerve.

This infographic separates the side effects of Depo-Provera into common, uncommon, and long-term side effects.

United Kingdom and European Drug Labels Warn About Brain Tumors From Depo-Provera

In the United Kingdom and other places in Europe, drug companies have to include a warning that the woman may develop brain tumors if she uses Depo-Provera. The 2023 edition of the UK warning label is much more transparent about the potential risks and long-term side effects of medroxyprogesterone acetate. Because of this, European women may make informed decisions about their reproductive and physical health in a way that those in the United States may not.

The manufacturers of Depo-Provera create and distribute both of these labels with approval from the appropriate government agencies. This means they’re aware of the risks but didn’t disclose them to women in the United States. Women across the globe should have access to the same warnings so they can do what they think is best for their bodies.

Intracranial meningiomas are serious tumors that can have wide-ranging impacts on a woman’s life, potentially causing her to suffer from seizures or vision loss and have to undergo invasive brain surgery. Because women in the United States receive a warning label that doesn’t include this risk, they are not aware of this potentially serious side effect.

This infographic showcases the differences between the Depo-Provera label and patient information between the United States and Europe.

Do Generic Versions of Depo-Provera Have the Same Side Effects?

The long-term side effects of Depo-Provera are largely the same regardless of whether the woman is taking the brand or generic version of medroxyprogesterone acetate. Pfizer and its subsidiaries, Prasco and Greenstone, manufacture and sell the generic and brand versions of this drug. Amazon Pharmacy, Teva, Mylan, and other pharmaceutical companies also have permission to make and sell generics of this long-acting birth control product. Other names for this medication include Depo-Provera, Depo-Subq Provera 104, medroxyprogesterone, medroxyprogesterone acetate, MPA, DMPA, and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate.

Length of Depo-Provera Use and Long-Term Side Effects

Studies suggest that some long-term side effects of taking Depo-Provera can develop within a short time frame—e.g., a year or less—after you start taking it. Other side effects may not arise until you take Depo-Provera for a year or more. 

For example, your chance of developing intracranial meningiomas appears to substantially increase once you’ve been taking Depo-Provera for at least 1 year. Likewise, using depot medroxyprogesterone acetate for 1 to 2 years or more can cause long-term and sometimes irreversible drops in your bone mineral density. 

Your risk of developing other side effects—like depression or vision problems—however, may rise even after receiving just a couple of doses of this medication. Additionally, studies suggest that the chances of you developing dangerous blot clots are highest within the first year of use.

Depo-Provera Side Effects After the Drug Is Stopped

The side effects that people can experience after taking Depo-Provera may persist long after they stop taking the

The side effects that people can experience after taking Depo-Provera may persist long after they stop taking the drug. For example, sharp declines in someone’s bone mineral density may be long-lasting and irreversible. As a result, the woman may also be at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis and suffering from osteoporotic fractures. 

DMPA may also cause permanent visual disturbances and blindness that don’t resolve after the woman doesn’t take this drug anymore. Likewise, it may take many months before a woman’s fertility level returns to what it was before she first took depot-medroxyprogesterone. 

Additionally, a woman may develop intracranial meningiomas years or even decades after she starts taking Depo-Provera. 

Most importantly, each person’s body is different and may react in unique ways to hormonal changes induced by medication. For some, side effects may linger for months or years after they are no longer taking medroxyprogesterone acetate. If you are currently taking or have taken Depo-Provera and you’re concerned about how it impacted or may impact your body, talk to your doctor. 

Contact a Depo-Provera Side Effects Lawyer

People affected by severe side effects, like meningiomas, after taking Depo-Provera are encouraged to contact a lawyer experienced in pharmaceutical drug litigation. Our attorneys at King Law have the experience needed to strategically pursue the compensation clients deserve. We are committed to advocating for those affected by Depo-Provera and ensuring that each case is handled with expertise and care.

Contact our office today to schedule a free initial consultation. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How long do side effects last after I stop taking Depo-Provera?
Some side effects may persist long after you stop taking Depo-Provera. For example, your body may not return to fertility for months. Likewise, impacts on your bone mineral density may be long-lasting or permanent.
How long do you have to take Depo-Provera to experience long-term side effects?
Some long-term side effects—like bone mineral density decreases, fertility issues, and blood clots—can develop within the first year that you take Depro-Provera. Others—like intracranial meningiomas, which is a type of brain tumor—may not show up until you’ve been taking the drug for a year or more.
What are the long-term side effects of the birth control shot?
Long-term side effects of the birth control shot include delays in returning to fertility, menstrual cycle irregularities, bone mineral density issues, vision problems and loss, and blood clots. These may develop right after you begin taking this form of hormonal birth control, or they may arise after you’ve been taking it for a year or more.
Does Depo-Provera cause brain tumors?
Yes. Studies show that Depo-Provera greatly increases a woman’s risk of developing intracranial meningiomas, which are a type of brain tumor.
Does Depo-Provera cause brain cancer?
Depo-Provera can significantly increase your risk of developing a brain tumor called an intracranial meningioma. In most cases, these growths are non-cancerous; however, the location and size of these tumors may cause severe symptoms to develop, like seizures, migraines, visual disturbances, vertigo, or even death.
Is Depo-Provera dangerous?
Depo-Provera can cause serious and sometimes long-term side effects, like bone mineral density loss, brain tumors, and blood clots. It’s up to each person and their medical team to decide if taking this form of hormonal birth control is a good fit for them, given their medical history, preferences, and the possible risks of taking this drug.