Does BIRTH CONTROL make you gain weight?

I was put on birth control maintain my period and make it regular and help with PMS...

But I'v heard it makes you gain weight!!!

Is this true?!

I was on the Depo shot for 6 1/2 years. I gained 25 lbs and no amount of dieting and exercise dropped any of the weight. The Depo shot also caused excessive bone density loss so I am getting off it. Don't know how long it will take to see any weight loss, or any improvement of bone density. My advice is to only stay on the shot short term, no longer than two years. Not worth the consequences. I'm in peri-menopause so there may not be any weight loss!

 I believe it depends on the woman. All I've done since I've been on the depo shot is consistently lose weight. For a little over a year now.

My doctor said some women gain 10lbs in a year, due to it.

I think it depends on the woman. Or it's total bs. Perhaps, less active women. Of course, I've never had the whole pms thing either. My periods or steady and problem free.  So yeah. I call bs. I think it's all a mental thing.

( 5'2 105lbs. ) Trying hard not to lose more weight. Maintain maintain maintain. =-P

I'm so glad this topic was brought up last June. I was doing a search engine general serach for this and these answers really helped. I'm bumping up the thread.

I'm an egg donor and they gave me birth control with a very high hormone so the mother & I could be on the same scedule.

My body is acting so oddly-just as if I were pregnant. Smells are making me sick, my stomach is constantly in a state of turmoil. Because of this, I've not eaten a lot over the last week. I have to force myself to stay over 1200 calories and yet I've gained five pounds this last week. I'm not overweight but I do have a call into the reproductive center because my clothing is getting a bit tight on me :(

Thank you all again for the answers to this question!

My birth contol didn't make me gain weight at all. The only thing that it does do is give you more hormones, which can lead to an increase in appetite. So if you decided to up your intake then obviously you will gain, but if you are still maintaining then the actual pill doesn't cause weight gain. Bloating from the pill however can lead to water retention, which makes you feel larger but in all reality it's just not true.

Still, being bloated and retaining water is as bad as being fat if it doesn't go away and remains the whole time you are on the pill.

Yeah, it mainly depends on the woman.  I went on it for a month, gained 10 lbs.  That really sucked, so I basically demanded to be taken off it, ha ha.  The main thing you have to think about it is if you're on the pill and you do gain weight, is the pill worth the weight?

I posted this as a reply to a thread in the maintenance forum:

 

I gained 30 lbs when I first went on the pill almost 7 years ago and am only now taking it off. I used the pill as an excuse and told myself I'd rather be heavier than pregnant. But there were many factors that contributed to my initial weight gain. I was extremely sedentary, was working at a fast food restaurant (and taking advantage of the free food), was in an uninspiring relationship with someone who was happy to spend all his hours watching tv and movies, and I was generally unhappy. Also, I was probably at an age where I should've started paying attention to what went into my mouth, but instead I ate endless sugar and carbs (pasta and bagels were the staples of my diet). I moved to the city from the suburbs (and dumped the boyfriend) about 5 years ago and saw 10 lbs drop off just from walking more often, but the other 20 remained until the most recent Christmas season when I became completely disgusted with the holiday bingeing and got down to business. I've been counting calories/eating healthier foods/watching portions and going to the gym (weights and cardio) four times a week, and have *almost* returned to the weight I was before I went on the pill (I'm still on it). I'm hoping I'll maintain it with no problem, but I guess we'll see. Point being, I don't think the weight gain is inevitable and it's not impossible to lose while you're on the pill.

Oh and also, the pill definitely regulated by period! Didn't help too much with PMS (but eating healthier foods certainly does!).

Original Post by purespark:

My concern is that if I go off of the Ortho-Cept, that my boobs will shrink. I gained about two cup sizes over the time I've been on the pill, and I'm afraid if I lose them, that my breasts will succumb to gravity pretty badly. Has anyone who's gone off the pill had experience with this?

 I've lost a full cup size. I'm not happy about this. And yeah, they're not as pretty as they were before I gained weight (partially due to scars from the stretch marks I had when I first gained. Probably doesn't help that they're 7 years older, either). They still look great in a bra, though, and my boyfriend doesn't see anything wrong with them.

as far as permanent weight - i do not know. I take seasonale...i am on my 5th week...and I am SO bloated all the time with water weight and crave foods I have never craved before and it also makes me really tired which sucks bc i used to be HARDcore work out. I am stopping birth control at the end of the pack if this keeps up. I have gained some weight over the last 5 weeks and it better come off...I ahve not changed any of my habits :( please someone tell me it will!

I actually lost weight when I started takein the pill.  But I am also a freak.... I think that it has alot to do with your perception.  The pill may actually trigger stronger craveings, but if you  keep up with your healthy eating, and exercise you should be fine.

Yaz is the best.  I've taken others like Ortho and Ortho Lo and gained weight.  With Yaz I actually LOST weight.  The progestin (synthetic form of progesterone) in the pill actually has somewhat of a diuretic effect so the water weight and bloating is almost non-existent.  To boot, the progestin also has an anti-androgenic effect, which is what has cleared up my skin! I was breaking out horribly for two years before I went on Yaz.  About three months after I started taking it I really started to see a difference.  Now, about 6 months later, I don't have ONE pimple.  Not one. 

As someone who had been on BC for over 2 years and went off in December and back on this month, I have noticed absolutely no change at all in how it affects my consistent weight loss over the period. Granted, I've only been back on it for a little over a week now, but I have maintained the same rate of weight loss that I've been doing for a while now.

So... who knows. I'm on Yaz and like it a lot.

I was on trinessa for 1 year, and while I did not gain weight, it made me super emotional and I cried at everything.  So I switched to lo-ovral, and while my emotions were back to normal, I gained 7 lbs in the first couple of weeks!  My face also has broken out something terrible.  I've been hitting the gym 3 x a week and eating about 1,600 calories a day to NO AVAIL.  I decided to wait, and now it's been 2 months.  I tried on 2 pairs of my jeans today and I COULD NOT GET THEM ON!!!!  I believe I shall call my doctor on Monday and tell her I'm OVER this pill.

I've been on Depo for 3 years and any weight I gained on it was because I was stuffing my face and am currently have no troubles losing weight... and I get a new shot this monday.

I've been on Ortho-Tri-Cylcen Lo for about 7 months now, and have never experienced any side effects, except when, about 2 months ago, I stopped taking them at the same time every day. I started feeling bloated and realized that it was because I wasn't being consistent with when I took it. Other than that, no complaints. I haven't gained any weight either.

i have been on mircette (its very low dose) for like 5 months.  my doctor told me that the only reason someone would gain weight is because it increases your appetite, but that goes away in a couple weeks.  i noticed the increased appetite the first couple weeks but it DID go away.  unfortunately i gained almost 20 pounds the first month and it will NOT COME OFF!!!  i have faithfully dieted and excersized for a couple months now and nothing is working!! its driving me crazy! i am going to go ask my doc about this.... it sounds like it is differnt for everyone...

i started taking BC to regulate my periods... and have been since i was 16 (i am now almost 25)... i have been on many and i can say the only one that had caused me to gain weight was Seasonale (the pill where you only get your period 4x a year)... i would suggest a low hormone pill. Right now i am on loestrin 24 which i like personally.