Birth Control?

Ive started dieting but recently, due to frequent periods, my doctor has put me on birth control to regulate my periods.

Will this affect my weight loss or make me gain weight? I knew of one girl who gained a whole bunch of weight as a result of taking the pill.

i had the same exact problem as you! they put me on yaz and then loestrin 24 and i went from 125 to 138 in 2 months. i stopped taking the pill because i ABSOLUTELY could not stand the weight gain. since going off the pill in january ive managed to get back to around 126 but the doctor thinks its completely necissary for me to go back on it again.

my doctor recomended losing 10 lbs before going back on the pill so the weight gain wouldnt be a huge shock, but being a 5'7" teenage girl i find it impossible to loose 10 lbs without no eating.. which i am not willing to do!

my mom also went on the pill when she was my age and experienced no weight gain.. it all depends on your body.

good luck with that.

Ive been on the pill since 96 and have taken a break to get pregnant in 02 and again in 05.

It I didnt take long. The week you are supposed to take the "place holders" I didnt start the hormon pill up after that and was pregnant 2 weeks later.

I have been back on the pill for a year or more now and taking LoEstrin and I have to say its great.  No zits here!!

As for the weight gain its kinda hard to when the whole premis of the pill mimicks pregnancy. The pill raise the hormon levels that are commenly assoicated with pregnancy and that tricks your body into thinking its pregnant so you dont release a fertlized egg.

So the yah the pill has caused me to gain weight........

When I stopped taking the pill in 05 I dropped the extra weight in no time. I started taking the pill and the weight went back on.

I use to get the Depo then the patch.  After concerns with both, my gyn dr. recommended the IUD low dose which has no side effects and lasts for 5 years.  I love it, no pills, no shots, or forgetting to take the pill, etc.  No worrys what so every and has not effected weight, matter-fact, I am loosing agian and not gaining.  More freedom, my moods are evened out, more positive than any other form 

I started on Yaz about 2 months ago and have not gained any weight, my dr said it shouldnt cause weight gain as long as your eating habits dont change. =)

I talked to my doctor about my weight gain and how I thought it was from my birth control. She said that birth contol can only account for up to 5 pounds a year of weight gain the rest is from lifestyle and eating changes. Birth control doesnt make you gain weight, it increases your appetitie but if you are aware of it you can control it. If you find that you are more hungry than you used to be, note it and talk to your doctor. There are plenty of other signs you should look out for like depression and such, just be aware when starting any new medicine regimine. Birth control isnt all evil :)

Hey all!  Thought I would chime in on this one.  I'm a sexual health educator.  I don't know everything there is to know about birth control but I know a lot.  The first thing you need to understand is that most doctors, especially GP's really don't know anything about hormonal contraceptives.  They know what the drug reps have told them and that's about it.  So don't trust that your doctor will know about side effects or that he/she will even tell you that s/he doesn't know.

Two true stories.  I was on the birth control pill three times.  The first time, even though I had a history of depression, the nurse (birth control clinic) prescribed the highest dose estrogen pill available because that was what they had there and it was the cheapest.  I took a huge nose-dive and could barely get out of bed.  Quite taking them.

I tried again with another doctor.  No major problems there because it was lower dose.  Then, when I started doing my training, I found out that antihistamines interefere with the effectiveness of the pill.  Guess what?  My doctor had prescribed both to me on the same day!

Last time I got them years later from a doctor who knew my history well including the fact that I suffer from migraines.  A month after starting I was having debilitating headaches and my sex drive was gone.  My doctor said 'oh yeah, the pill can cause headaches, guess you need a new one'.  She told me that it wasn't responsible for the sex drive.  I stopped taking them and will never ever ever touch them again.  And now I've learned that it is very very common for the pill to affect sex drive!!!!

So, don't trust your doctor - sorry, just don't.

And secondly, every woman's hormone balance is different and the change caused by the pill will be different for every woman.  Estrogen and progestin are affect so many parts of us including our body chemistry, metabolism, sugar metabolism, weight, sex drive, and mood.  So yeah, the pill can cause a lot of side effects but it will be different for each woman.

I think women should go on it only if they really think it's the best method for them - as it is only one method.  and then watch all of these factors carefully for potential changes.  If you don't like what it's doing to you, request a different pill.

One recommendation I have is to check out the NuvaRing.  It's infused with estrogen and it's inserted into the vagina and worn for a month at a time.  It secretes a lower amount of estrogen that stay more constant than with pills.  It also does not enter the bloodstream in the same levels.  All of those things mean fewer side effects.

love B

I second whoever posted about an IUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOVE IT! No weird side effects at all and I dont have to take a pill everyday eather! Its great! I have been on the IUD since Jan and I have still lost 25 lbs. I am almost at my first goal of 145 lbs! Anyhow good luck!

DANG

maybe that's what it is!

i started birth control three weeks ago and i'm a little heavier now but i need it

both for periods and for its uh normal usage haha

what do i do?!

Skybudge, I have to disagree with you. You DO know before you do it, or at least your doctor should. Way too many American doctors will prescribe birth control without any kind of blood testing. They just guess, and they're messing with people's health. I have three friends who have suffered terrible, irreversable reactions to Depo, because a doctor didn't bother getting the information. Imagine, going through menopause at 22...

Talk to your doctor about proper testing and insist. Your reproductive health may depend on it.

Vball, I'm not a doctor, but I know my pills. The active ingredient in Yas is a very small dose of ethinyl estradiol. If you're really sure it was that pill that caused you to gain weight, then you must be REALLY estrogen-sensitive. You may need to consider the mini-pill, or a triphasic pill that mimics your body's natural rhythms. The triphasic pill messed with me, but it may work for you.

Please, ask your doc to do a blood test to give you a picture of what will work best with your natural hormone levels.

Hm.

I didn't get any sort of blood tests or anything done. I went to a free clinic, i filled out forms on my medical history, and I was given Ortho Tri Cyclen. The past three weeks I have been taking it. I haven't been more hungry and I actually started eating HEALTHIER and not as much as before and dieting again which has nothing to do with the pill, but all in all it didn't increase my appetite and I have been eating less than before as I started dieting, like I said.

Unfortunately, I have gained weight in the past three weeks. Pants that fit me 1-2 weeks ago and were starting to get loose now don't close. And I lose a CONSIDERABLE amount of weight to fit into them. I would assume I've gained at least five but less than 10 lbs. I eat very healthily.

My first pack ends tomorrow and then the placebo starts Sunday. I'm going to come off the pill after I finish my pack tomorrow. It also caused SEVERE mood swings/crying/depression/me being EMO, basically.

So I'm guessing hormone therapy messed with me. I read on a UK medical site that women on the pill can gain a little more weight the week before their period as well (noticeably) but that once you start bleeding it starts to come off. She wasn't talking about water weight but I couldn't quote her exact words. And yes, she was a doctor.

I can't wait for this extra weight to come off. I wasn't even at my goal! I think I will wait an interval of time before seeing a DOCTOR about perhaps an IUD or something besides the pill.

Anyway so yeah...I definitely see weight gain as a possibility, even if I'm a rare case, because I'm SUPER careful about my food especially when I start actively dieting to loes weight. I even went weeks of eating basically whatever I wanted, and no it wasn't healthy, haha, but I did, and  didn't gain any weight till I started dieting exercising and taking the pill at the same time. Obviously it's the pill.

ACK.

Wow, that sucks. (just wanted to give you some symphathy - lol)

OK so I have a question, I have been on ortho tricyclen for 10 years and now my husband and I decided it was time to go off. I was noticing severe mood swings that was out of control especially these last few months.  Even though we made this decision I'm only 26 and I'm not trying to get pregnant. That aside I have a major bloating problem and I was wondering if I can get some input on what to expect these next couple of months. I asked my (military) doctor, and they keep saying they cant tell me anything because everyones different. Regardless, I would like to know the maybe's... so any help would be great!

i'm pretty susceptible to every rare, minor side effect that medicines seem to be associated with and i even dont have a problem with weight gain on the pills---in fact, the thinnest i ever was in my life was alll while i was on birth control.

i tend to gain weight whenever i take any medication at all for some reason--and people say its in my head, but when you're obsessed with your weight, you are aware of how your body reacts after awhile and pretty soon the only changed variable would be the medication---but i never had a reaction of any sort to birth controls. In fact, i can't think of one friend i know who has had weight gain with birth control and we're all obsessed with our weight, so i'm sure id have heard about it...

but yes, every person is different...

oh, the only thing i do notice is the week BEFORE my period, i seem to be bloated more consistently and heavily than when off the pill--but i never mind. its like a secret free week because you work out and eat right and feel sort of fat, but then sometime into your period, i'd always wake up 6 pounds lighter and it was so fun!