When my gynecologist reccomended depo-provera, I thought to myself "great, a discreet birth control method that I only have to think about every three months! How convenient!" I'm sure that other women felt the same way. After the first three or four months, I was experiencing painful sex (overall vaginal tenderness, actually.), breast tenderness (ouch!), and loss of sex drive. I read in the brochures that only a few women complain about these things but I decided to do some research anyway. About 80 percent of women who are on depo-provera suffer the same side-effects as I do (and yes, all at the same time.) This node is not meant to be a personal story but simply a warning. If you are thinking about using depo-provera, I strongly discourage it. I suggest taking the pill instead. It may seem inconvenient to remember to take a tablet every day, but the birth-control pill has been around for decades and has been proven the safest non-condom method of contraception in terms of side-effects.