Quote:
Originally posted by Latino
well like i said....the chances are REALLY REALLY low...its mainly for people that have a high tendency to become depressed. Thats also just one type of injection, theres a heap of them
actually, believe it or not, the chances of experiencing depression nearly /double/ for women taking the pill.
a research team from monash university (australia, i think) conducted a study of women over 18, not pregnant, with no history of depression, and anti-depressant-free for 12 months. conclusions? the average woman on the pill rated her overall sense of depression at around 18, whereas the average control-group woman (not on the pill) rated her depression around 10. (however, of the seventy percent who stopped taking contraceptives because of the side effects, only two-thirds experienced any recovery -- which probably indicates a pre-existing condition.)
for anyone that's interested, this all makes a lot of sense (even though a lot of doctors deny it, considering the relative deficiency of clinical evidence): progestin, the synthetic form of the hormone progesterone, is combined with estrogen in most pills and has been shown to lower serotonin levels in the brain by increasing the amount of a serotonin-reducing enzyme. (serotonin is a neurotransmitter that contributes to depression; the clinically depressed have low levels of brain serotonin, and are often treated with drugs that keep serotonin around longer.)
and women opting for the injection are actually subjecting themselves to an even /greater/ risk, as contraceptive injections are entirely progestin. so far, the research has only shown that women already diagnosed with depression experience a worsening of their condition while using progestin; it doesn't seem to me like it's particularly unreasonable to think the decrease in serotonin in a healthy brain may even /cause/ depression itself (and i know i'm not the only one with this theory).
at end of the day, though, i think the questions are whether or not having you partner wear a jimmy-hat is such an inconvenience you're willing to sacrifice your mental health, and whether or not having a child would depress you more or make your life more difficult than just staying on the pill. me? i think there are way too many children born before their parents can reliably support them, and that's good for no one. but i'm also not depressed, and i don't have to take the pill, so it isn't really fair for me to say.