Anyone on birth control?

I just recently went on birth control about two months ago and I gained about 5 lbs.  That's was fine, but now that I'm exercising and trying to lose weight, it seems IMPOSSIBLE to take off this weight! I weighed myself last week and I was 143.0 and this week I'm 143.2 (5'4"), and I've been exercising and eating healthy all week.

I do have my period and I am feeling kind of bloated, but this is the second time I have had my period this month and I'm just confused.

 I was just wondering if anyone went/is going through the same things I am?

I just started using birth control too. I have definately had the irregular period part of it. This month my period was two weeks late and the week I was expecting to get my period my body was trying to tell me it was pregnant (just a side effect of the pill, thank goodness). Strangly enough I have had just the opposite effect, I can only loose weight while I am on the pill. The week that I am off it I have to fight not to gain weight. Try drinking lots of water and eating foods that usually help you feel less bloated. It could be that you are just retaining water. If you are still having weird periods and feeling bloated I would go back to your doctor and just make sure that the dosage is right for you and everything. They also make different kinds of birth control. It could be that you need a different mix of hormones.

Do you think it could be from my period? The bloating, I mean. I've been taking pamprin more than usual because the cramps have only gotten worse.

It is just a myth that birth control pills cause weight gain. The pill helps to regulate your cycle and keep your hormones stable, so your PMS symptoms(including bloating and excess cravings) should hopefully go down a bit when you take it regularly. Are you taking it at the same time every day? Maybe that particular pill is just not the right one for you. Are there any other possible reasons you may have packed on 5 extra lbs?

The weight gain is probably from just starting. I've been on the pill for about two years now (because of absurdly heavy periods) and I remember that I was slightly bloated whenever I got my period when I was on the pill for the first couple months. I think it was just because my body wasn't used to having regular period. It could also be that you're not on the right pill for you, as jmtomlinson mentioned. I had to go through three different brands before I found one that worked for me.  

Weight gain with birth control is NOT just a myth - the effects are different for everyone.

 I started with Yaz the end of last summer, and actually lost about 4 pounds the first week.  The only problem was about six weeks in I just went crazy.  

I went back to my gynecologist and she switched me to Zovia - and I gained 8 pounds in 14 days.  Not water weight, not swelling, not bloating - those 8 pounds stuck, and over the holidays I added about 3 more.

I'm not crazy now, but I also can't get rid of this weight despite joining a gym and regulating my calories very closely.  Avoiding alcohol and drinking more water than usual (almost 30 oz per day -  oops!  that's supposed to be 70 oz per day!) tends to help, but I continually feel bloated and it is worse when I have my period.

I'm going to give it one more month to see some normalcy (my cycle is completely out of whack) or improvements before I got back to my doc.

If you're not feeling "right", please by all means go back to your doc.

I agree with spursfan - birth control can make you gain weight, I think the changes in hormones make you eat more, unknowingly. And they also cause water retention. I've been on 3 different ones before I found one that worked.

The first one I gained about 15lbs in 2 weeks (i was histarical!) and like spursfan said, it never came off.. 2nd one I had too had spotting (the doc sayd it would go away once my bod was used to it) .. but it made me act like an outrageously crazy paranoid beach. (it was like 24/7 PMS)

The last one is yasmin, doing good. But when I get my period I still bloat, sometimes to the point where I look prego, and I always have bowel issues. Everyone is different, so after a couple months if this bc isnt working for you, go back to the doc and ask for a new one.

Original Post by jmtomlinson:

It is just a myth that birth control pills cause weight gain. The pill helps to regulate your cycle and keep your hormones stable, so your PMS symptoms(including bloating and excess cravings) should hopefully go down a bit when you take it regularly. Are you taking it at the same time every day? Maybe that particular pill is just not the right one for you. Are there any other possible reasons you may have packed on 5 extra lbs?

It's actually not a myth. The study that "proved" that gaining weight from the Pill is a myth was later found to be funded by pharmaceutical companies. So I'd take that with a grain of salt. When I went off the pill (Mircette, which I'd been on for about ten years) I lost seven pounds almost immediately. I'm now on the Paragrad IUD, which has no hormones--I'm very happy with it, though you should only get it inserted if you're in a stable relationship (it makes it more likely that bacteria from STDs can get into your uterus and really mess things up).

I just stopped my birth control a few months ago.  I had been on the pill (and depo for the last two months) for about 4 years straight.  I have lost a little more than 10 pounds since then.  It was harder to lose weight on bc.  I did gain weight with it because i didn't change any eating or exercise habits.  I went to the doctor and the nurse told me her daughter gained 20 lbs from the pill.  It effects everyone different.  I don't need all the hormones and crap. 

Original Post by hardxcoreicon:

I just recently went on birth control about two months ago and I gained about 5 lbs. That's was fine, but now that I'm exercising and trying to lose weight, it seems IMPOSSIBLE to take off this weight! I weighed myself last week and I was 143.0 and this week I'm 143.2 (5'4"), and I've been exercising and eating healthy all week.

I do have my period and I am feeling kind of bloated, but this is the second time I have had my period this month and I'm just confused.

I was just wondering if anyone went/is going through the same things I am?

I have been on birth control for a while, I am definitely more bloated the week before my period and during my period than before I started. I have less pain but get more bloated, go figure. It is a bit annoying because the scale will stay the same for those two weeks and magically at the end of my period I lose couple of pounds. People tend to retain more water at different types of their cycle. I find if I drink a lot of water and green tea helps, because before I did that would gain about 3 pounds and then lose 4 or 5 at the end of my period.

anyone notice any other changes?  like sex drive?

I'm usually ready to go at least a few times a week (I've been with my husband for six years, so I figure a couple times a week is good), but the past three/four months it has literally dwindled to the point that I just don't care.  I realized two weeks ago that it had been a week and a half.  I was getting a bit concerned until I found a website listing some of the side effects for my brand of pill - Zovia - as decreased libido and bloating.  It's the only site I found that listed those, and now I can't find the site again.

my period has also increased from 5 to 6 days of normal flow, to about 4 days of "heavy" flow and an additioanl six or seven days of spotting. so going through that takes up about two weeks out of the month.....

I've been on the pill for a couple months now and I haven't experienced any weight changes - this was probably due to my fear of gaining weight from the pill so I really watched what I ate for the first month or so but nothing's changed so far.

I have been on birth control for a good year now...When I started I was 148 pounds, then I ran myself up to 175.  So that is a good 27 pound weight gain, it was not fun my friend.  Birth control realllly messed up my self image.  But ever since calorie count, when I joined in November (I finally realized I had to take action) i've lost 19 pounds. It was really hard.  I had to restrict my calories alot and had to work out every other day.  But yes it is harder to lose weight on the pill and it is a lot easier to gain it.

WOW! You are very lucky! You just gained 5 lbs! I gained like 10-15! I am still on it! This week is supposed to be the time where i am supposed to get my period but it has not some yet, but it's supposed to! well, i feel so bloated right now too! I feel as if my stomach looks like a pregnant woman's one! But that's okay, i guess! I still eat normally! I exercise like crazy though! Good luck!

I actually never gained weight... the nausea made me lose, actually.  I have been on alesse and OTC lo.

Original Post by spursfan:

anyone notice any other changes? like sex drive?

I'm usually ready to go at least a few times a week (I've been with my husband for six years, so I figure a couple times a week is good), but the past three/four months it has literally dwindled to the point that I just don't care. I realized two weeks ago that it had been a week and a half. I was getting a bit concerned until I found a website listing some of the side effects for my brand of pill - Zovia - as decreased libido and bloating. It's the only site I found that listed those, and now I can't find the site again.

my period has also increased from 5 to 6 days of normal flow, to about 4 days of "heavy" flow and an additioanl six or seven days of spotting. so going through that takes up about two weeks out of the month.....

 I'm 22 and when I got on bc I noticed that I didn't really think about sex all that much. My husband and I decided that we would use a different method of birth control (basal body temp and cervix position) which is very reliable if you have the knowledge! (and are willing to "get to know yourself" a little better) When I stopped taking my bc, I wanted sex all the time!!! especially around ovulation. (which makes sense, because that's when you are most fertile)

I would make it a point to have sex with your hubby at least once a week (when I was on bc, I would put it on my calendar to remember) I know that sounds silly, but you know as well as I do that no sex in a marriage can cause lots of problems!

  I gained weight on the pill. I changed from 4 different prescriptions in one year and gained 5lbs for each one. When I stopped taking it I lost 3lbs within a week.  My flow was never heavy on the pill, is was always light and lasted 5 days. It was very unpredictable, stop-go-stop-go. But now that I'm off it is 2 days heavy and 1 day light. 3 days is so much better than 5!

I hope this helps... maybe going back to the gyno and trying a different bc would be good. 

japmonks - thanks -

after numerous hours of research on the internet and discussing it with my husband - and spotting for the past five days having not even actually starting my period yet -  I have decided to stop taking my pill AND to find a new gynecologist.

I figured I'd give myself a month or two to see how things go with my cycle and my weight and my libido, and then decide if I want to try a different pill.

and I have planned a "get-away weekend" for me and hubby this coming weekend...... and yes, we will be using other forms of protection!