Birth control and weight gain/loss

[alibaba]

For those taking birth control pills - do you think they caused you to gain weight in the first place, or are making it more difficult for you to lose? Sometimes I think about going off the pill for a while to see what happens, but if they really don't seem to make much difference I think DH would be much happier if I keep taking them!

[ms_tonna]

Don't have an answer for you, but I was just thinking about posting the same thing. I really want to choose a proper bc method by the time I get married in Sept, but I'm scared of weight gain too.

Answers Anyone??

[Banshee5]

I was on loEstrin for 30 years. I have been off it 2 months. It's just as hard for me to loose as it has been for 30 years.

I always hoped when I stopped the pill, the pounds would drop off......NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[careb]

I have been thinking the same thing lately, i'm due for my shot at the end of the month and I'm seriuosly thinking about stopping. I feel my slow weight loss is due to it.

[Pedmom]

careb-I'm going to ask my doctor about my depo, too. I probably wont' stop, because frankly I just can't see going back to having to take a pill every day. But I'm curious....someone said it's been reported that depo can make losing weight difficult. I lost 30 pounds okay, but my body just doesn't seem to want to let go of anymore! I've been stuck here for 8 weeks!

[careb]

pedmon-ive been on depo almost 8 years now, when i first started taking it i did not gain weight yet i was in the military at the time and excersise was a must so I never gained wieght until i got out two years ago. I believe though that this is the reason my wieght loss is slow-b/c of the shot-that is why im seriously considering coming off of it. I had a friend who came off of it and in a month she dropped 10 pounds without changing her eating habits.

[nwgal]

I was on depo quite a few years ago and stopped for several reasons (so moody, so hungry). Got back on the pill and lost the weight. Then I was on the mini-pill while bf'ing my son after I had him. Same main ingredient - progesterone, same results - so moody, so hungry. Well, now I am back on the regular pill again and losing weight again. I think my body just does NOT do well with only progesterone.

[Kirara_the_Demon_Cat]

I highly reccommened NOT taking depo.. OMG that stuff is evil! some people gain weight! I did!! I didn't eat much sweet stuff either.. not much of mmy diet changed (expect i was just a tad bit hungrier)

Plus I was told by the doctor at planned parenthood to stop depo because of the possibility of it taking longer to have children.. Some people even need to use fertility drugs (like clomid)

I'd stick w/ the pill

(btw I dont take anything so I'm no expert.. Depo -weight gain Pill-pregnancy LOL)

[mandy30]

I have used the pill and depo in the past but I now have an IUD. I love that I don't have to remember to take the pill or go to the Dr. office for a shot, or the bad PMS. I haven't had any side affects at all. The IUDs are different from the ones in the 70s that had a bad rep.

.. and no weight gain.

[JunkintheTrunk]

I recently had a thread on the Playground asking about women's experiences with Depo and the implant - and there were a lot of negative experiences with Depo. Just an FYI.

I stopped BC pills last year for six months and lost some weight. But I eventually went back on them. And gained the weight back. (I was being very careless in my eating, in all honesty.)

I'm going to be switching to the implant soon and my doctor has said that it's such a low dose of hormones that I shouldn't either gain or lose.

Famous last words, huh? All I know is, I'm going to stay on top of my WOE and exercise this time around.

[randtbrown]

I recommend the natural method. Get a basal temp chart and basal thermometer and track your cycle for a couple months. And learn how to read your body. Not being on BC has been so good-I took it when I was young and had a really bad experience. I won't go into it but I almost didn't live. That doesn't happen to many people- but it is enough for me to be an advocate for natural family planning!

[Fizgig]

I'm a fan, too, randtbrown, but it does take a lot of dilligence and honesty. Plus you have to be lucky enough to have a very regular cycle in order for it to be effective. I just figure that half my month is safe, and half isn't - and use something extra during that time. Five years and no pregnancies. Course, I could just be infertile. Who knows?

There's that old joke - What do you call a couple using the rhythm method? Parents

I do not react well to hormones... Not really any weight gain, but I become very irregular and uncomfortable on them, and I've tried six different types. I'm much happier hormone free.

[katiesue]

First off..going off birth control can cause weight gain..about 9 months worth..LOL...
As far as the rhythm method goes..I would never trust it again..I had used it to conceive my three children and tried to use it not to conceive a fourth baby.....I ended up getting pregant and having just a terrible miscarriage. Turns out I sometimes ovulate twice in a cycle and got pregnant the day after my period ended! Doctors believe that egg was a "bad egg" and released to early..all I know is it was hell on myself, my husband and my three children!!

[andibug]

I was just wondering this same thing. I've been giving serious thought to getting my tube tied especially since there's only the one left. I've been taking the depo shot for almost 11 years and my age (39) being what it is and the fact that I'm a smoker the increase risks bother me at times. My doctor told me that I would be safe to take it through menopause, but I'm not sure about that. I would be happy if they just yanked out the whole mess but I'm afraid that'll never happen.

Other than having to get a shot every 3 months, I've never had a problem with it at all.


*Debbie*

[califgal45]

I was on the Depo shot when I started Atkins and in 6 months I only lost 20 pounds now I did not think that was right I mean I weighed 278 and should of lost more, anyway I stoped the depo and durring the next 6 months I lost 50 pounds.

Talk to you doctor and tell them of your concerns with weight, I'm sure there must be something else maybe an IUD, I had an IUD several years ago and liked that alot nothing to think about and no hormones.

Good Luck

[EmilyBlanche]

I found the following information on WebMD

"The hormones in the Pill (estrogen and progesterone) can alter water metabolism, sometimes causing fluid retention (called edema). A woman could experience a weight gain of up to five pounds from this temporary side effect that usually begins in the first month and lasts for four to six weeks. Decreasing your intake of salt could lessen this water gain, so you might want to cut down on chips, pretzels, and other salty foods when you're on the Pill. "

"You might also ask your doctor if you can switch to one of the pills that contains a lower dose of estrogen if you are not already taking one. According to a study of 463 women published in the March 13, 2000 issue of the journal Contraception, side effects such as bloating and breast tenderness were one-third less common in women taking lower-dose pills than those taking higher-dose ones, without a loss of effectiveness in preventing pregnancy. "

After being on Atkins for four months, my significant weight loss threw my cycle way out of wack so my doctor put me on Alesse to regulate it. I have seen no weight gain. He also told me that researchers have never been able to prove a direct link between weight gain and contraceptives. They have come closer to proving it with Depo, but they have yet to establish a direct correlation.

[ncacc1]

I wear the patch and I love it. Just change it once a week and doesn't seem to stop my weight loss.

[TNChick]

I was on depo for a year (4 cycles) and I gained 60 pounds. My doctor kept telling me if I'd just stay on it long enough for all the awful (in my own words) side effects to diminish I'd like the depo. Wrong, big mistake for me. I'm still trying to get all the gained weight off. Luckily my new doctor listens and will change my hormones according to how I feel and my side effects, not the "normal" side effects. Good luck if you decide to go the depo route.

[Pedmom]

I agree that many people have bad side affects from depo shots. I am not one of them luckily. The only problem I had was too much breakthrough bleeding, but just the first 4 months. Nothing since and it's been 3.5 years for me.

I didn't gain weight-I stayed the same.

I'm not having any more children so that's not a concern. I'm 38 and have a mentally disabled son and long ago decided no more for me because I didn't think it would be a good idea. And I don't trust the planning method enough to chance that.

I have never had mood swings or any other emotional effects.

I lost 30 pounds fine without any unusual things happening or deviating from Atkins. I'm just saying that it occured to me that my body wants a higher set point than my brain does!

I know a lot of women say depo is horrible. I just felt I should share something positive. It's been a godsend for me, even if I never lose the last 5 pounds.

[Weedydidi]

My husband got a vasectomy.

After three pregnancies, he decided it was his turn.

[SugarFreeSheila]

The Pill never affected me either way - and I've been on Ortho-Cyclen, Ortho-Tri-Cyclen, and now Jasmine. But Jasmine made my boobs noticeably bigger!

[Reva72]

I am taking depo and have lost 85 pounds in five months so I don't personally think it causes weight gain.

[CatieTN]

The patch, love it! Change it once a week, no mood swings, light periods and no weight gain....

[heahyou00]

Well I just got back from the dr's office from my getting my depo shot, I have been on it for a year now and I dont notice that it made me gain weight or stops me from losing. I have lost 15 pounds in the last month and a half, and the inches are still melting off. I find it easier than the pill.

Kelly

[ms_tonna]

Mandy-- I was thinking about the IUD also, but when I called about it (Planned Parenthood), I was told that it works better for women who have already had children (the uterus holds it better). Do you have lil ones already?

[lisa5683]

My experience with birth control of any type has not been a good one. When I first started birth control in high school I packed on 15 pounds fast! I soon lost that after a horrible bout of stomach flu. BC pills always made me sick but regardless I still gained weight (a small amount but still). Then after the birth of my first son I got the depo shot. I was not sick but gained weight with it as well and all diets didn't work. Also I never got a period while on depo and in under a year had developed cervical dysplasia which occured from not having a period. In a very short amount of time (waiting for the surgery to have the dysplasia removed) it turned into cervical cancer. I had most of my cervix removed and was able to have another child but now it would be ' a medical miracle' if I were to get pg again. I was having abnormal periods last year and was put on the lowest dose of bc pills- again made me sick and made me gain. I went on Atkins and was given another type of estrogen and I gained even while staying on plan. Because of all of these complications, my being married and having only one sex partner, and the unlikelyhood of me getting pg we now do not use birth control, the occasional condom though just in case. You really have to weigh the pros and cons. For ME the cons were just too much to handle.

[jdprecious]

ive been on depo for years.. the first time i gained 30 lbs in 3 months.... but also due to the fact that yes i was hungrier.. and i felt like i was never full.. and so i ate and ate.. so it was more my fault..

but after the birth of my daughter.. i went back on it.. this time knowing the only side effect that i had was a ravenous appetite. so now a week after i get it.. i eat very minimally and ive noticed those hunger pains dont last very long at all... and ive lost successfully with atkins while on it

also no aunt flo.. and that is just wonderful... 3 yrs with no kotex.. that is the best

and all bc affect everyone differently my poor baby sister took ortho trycyclen when she was 15 to regulate her periods... and she shot from 140 to 190 in no time flat.. she just graduated from high school and is just now getting back down to 140..

my thinking is that all bc have diff effects on everyone so just make sure you are wary of what your body is telling you !

[Beth Sch]

I recommend you do a search about adverse hormonal reactions to birth control pills. You will be amazed as to how HORRIFIC these pills are. I am so thankful I never took them. Altering hormones to trick your body into thinking it is pregnant, can't be good long term. I believe it is only a matter of time until problems will eventually happen.

Take Care,

[mandy30]

ms_tonna

Yes, I have three children, and to chicken to have my tubes tied. Thats why I got one But I didn't know about them working better if you have had children. That is something to defiantly take into account.


Good luck


They need to make a better birth control for men.