An injection every three months: The contraception you probably haven't heard of.

When I first told my friends I was going on contraception, I was flooded with popular chatter about the Pill. All I heard was Pill, Pill, Pill, over and over, as if it were the only contraceptive available on the planet.

So I guess it only makes sense that when I blurted out I was going on the “Depo shot” (slang for Depo Provera,) I got some funny side-ways glances and raised eyebrows.

“You’re going on what?” One friend asked.

“Depo – what?” Another said. Not one of them knew what it was.

Depo Provera is a contraceptive injection given every 12 weeks that is made from a hormone called progestogen.

According to Family Planning Victoria, it stops the body from releasing an egg each month and it makes the mucus around the cervix (the entrance to your womb) thicker, preventing sperm from getting through. When used correctly, it is 99.7 per cent effective.

Despite its high level of effectiveness, my friends were still rambling on about the Pill.

But Professor Steve Robson, Vice President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, says we need to change this conversation.

“Depo Provera is a very effective contraceptive, more so than the oral contraceptive pill,” Professor Robson said.

Although I must admit, my experience with Depo has been a bit of a love-hate relationship. And while the arrangement works well now, we got off to a rocky start.

In the first month, I bled every day. It was like "have your period for a whole month" kind of side-effect and it was not fun. And as the bathroom bin filled higher and higher, packed with a month’s worth of pads and tampons, my frustration also grew.

Apparently, those on Depo have a 50 per cent chance of not experiencing any periods. And if you do, it's said that they'll be less painful.

When you initially decide to get contraception, you are given a long list of possible side effects. From a scale of definite to impossible, how possible are these?

According to Professor Robson, it is very probable for recipients of Depo Provera to experience changes to their menstrual cycle.

“There is usually a change in the menstrual cycle during treatment, with either infrequent bleeding or the periods stopping all together, but sometimes with troublesome and irregular bleeding, especially in the first few months of use,” he says.

So I guess you could say, I copped the "troublesome" case (bloody hell!) But only initially. The real dilemma though, was because my girl friends were all Pill experts, I had no one to turn to with my "is this normal?" and "Will this bleeding go away?" questions.

Of course, doctors were able to provide me with factual advice. Professor Robson suggests: "A brief course of oestrogen" given by your doctor, to help ease the bleeding.

But after a month, like the flick of a switch, the bleeding stopped. Depo Provera started working really well for me, I would get the injection once every three months and I was free from worry.

The contraceptive didn't interfere with any other medications and I didn't have to remember to take a pill a certain time of day, every day and I was free from the freak outs which were caused from forgetting.

"Women who are looking for a 'set and forget' contraceptive might find it attractive, since there is no requirement to take a pill every day. However, it does need to be given as an injection every three months," Robson says.

Now, after being on the Depo shot for two years, I do need to ensure I'm getting enough calcium to reduce the risk of bone density loss which is another possible side-effect.

"There is no evidence for serious long-term complications of treatment, although controversy remains about a small risk of increase in the rate of bone loss in some women with long-term use," Robson explains.

"The bone density loss is probably reversed after the Depo Provera is discontinued in adolescents and older women... Alternative methods of contraception should be considered in women at particular risk of osteoporosis."

And does the needle hurt? If you're needle-squeamish, like me, you needn't worry. You feel a prick and it's over before you can even count to three.

But after all the troublesome bleeding, the bathroom bin overflowing, the needle nightmares and dairy binging, I guess you could say Depo and I, surprisingly, made it through. And now we wouldn't trade each other for anything, except maybe a baby in future.