Depo provera effectiveness

[Amanda B]

Hi 55,

I'll echo Sam's point from earlier in the thread that deliberate, intense pressure massage soon after the injection is what they advise against. A brush against a towel 5-6 days after the shot should not disrupt its effectiveness.

[55]

Thanks! I guess what I’m confused about is why it matters immediately after injection but not a few days later? Because my understanding is the injection stays in your muscle the whole 12 weeks. So if you were to properly massage the area a few days later would that still not matter? Thanks

[Sam W]

The reason it matters right after but not a few days later is that massage or intense pressure right after the injection can mess with how it initially disperses into the body. But it doesn't take that long for it to fully disperse, at which point the timing of the disbursement is no longer a concern. That's why something that happens a few days later can't have the same effect.

[55]

Okay that makes sense. I guess I was just confused about the fact it sits in the muscle for the whole 12 weeks so didn’t see what difference on the day vs a few days later would make, seeing as it’s sitting there the whole time. Do you mean it disperses into the muscle so like it’s still in the muscle but it’s spread out and not just a blob?

Online it said ‘do not massage after injection’, which seemed a bit vague because after could mean any length of time. Didn’t specify a specific amount of time.

I find understanding the facts makes it easier for me to deal with my anxiety. Thanks so much for your patience!

[Sam W]

So, the hormones in the shot don't stay in one place. The shot is the way of getting them into your system. So they're not just hanging around the injection site for the whole 12 weeks.

[55]

Hi Sam, that’s where I’ve been quite confused because my doctor told me the injection does sit in the one muscle for the whole time. The doctor sounded very confident that it stays in the muscle the whole time, but they also seemed to think the massaging didn’t matter after the first day. So the two things to me are confusing . Thanks

[Nicole]

Hi 55,

I hope it's okay that I'm jumping in here! Similar to what Sam said, the shot sends hormones into your bloodstream, so its contents do not stay in one place. I am not a professional though, so I think you might want to contact your doctor for some clarification!

[55]

Thanks. My understanding is it’s slowly released from the muscle (which is like a ‘depot’) into the blood stream until the store of medication is used up across 12 weeks. I’m pretty sure that’s the case but that’s why I can’t figure out why a massage wouldn’t be a problem for the whole 12 weeks. Thanks

[Sam W]

Basically, it's an issue of timing: when the shot is first done, it's all hanging out in the area it was injected into. If you rubbed or massaged that area soon after, it could cause the liquid vaccine to back-up into the subcutaneous tissue, which could reduce it's overall effectiveness. But after that first little while, the vaccine is fully in your system, not hanging around the injection site, which is why massage the rest of the time doesn't pose an issue.

[55]

Ah so like before its hanging out before it fully settles into the muscle? Okay that makes sense. How do you know all this stuff? Thanks so much!

[55]

Hi, I fell over yesterday and hit my injection site really hard on the corner of a hard, wooden bench. It’s really sore today and bruised. I’m worried that this may hve affected my depo injection, as I hit it so hard directly where I had my injection done a few weeks ago. Thanks

[Latha]

Hi 55,

You don't have to worry. The concern about massaging the injection site is only for some time after the injection, as Sam mentioned. There is definitely no risk a few weeks later.

[55]

Even for a very hard bang to the area?

[Sam W]

Hi 55,

I'm going to go ahead and close this thread because we've now explained multiple times why massaging the injection site is only a concern under very specific circumstances, and continuing to seek reassurance about that is just keeping you an anxious loop.

If you want to make a new thread later on to ask other questions, including about whether Depo is the right method for you given your anxiety about this, that's absolutely something we can do. But I'm going to ask that you do not ask us any more questions about the massage/shot effectiveness dynamic.