Birth control pills and weight

Hey everyone,

I have recently joined CC. so far, its proven really helpful and I am down to my last four pounds. However, my doc just prescribed Yasmin for me-it's a birth control pill and might cause weight gain. Has anyone had any experience with it or any other birth control pill? Is there any way to avoid the weight gain? I hate the idea of putting all the weight back so any help will be appreciated.

I think the only reason people gain weight when they start the pill is because their body is adjusting to the hormones and you might eat more if you are an emotional eater  like I am.  Once you are used to them you  should be fine.

I gained a few pounds when I started the pill--simply because I ate more (mostly what I was craving, which was the worst stuff) and was not active.  Now that I am conscious of what I eat and am working out, I am not having a problem at all.  I have found that a lot of women blame the pill for making them fat, but I just think it is a way to take the blame off of what they were doing to put the weight on.  Try this pill out and if you keep your routine up (maybe step it up for a month or so while your body gets used to the hormones) and you see some funny stuff going on with your weight, try another pill.  There are so many different types out there, there has to be one that works with your specific body chemistry.  I have to tell you though, no matter how my weight fluctuated, going on the pill was one of the best decisions that I made for myself; and it sure beats the 20, 30, 40 pounds a pregnancy would put on my body!

thanks for your advice. Yes, I guess I'll just have to be more careful regarding what I eat and exercise more frequently

I went on it 2 months ago due to severe PMS w/ mood swings/depression.  I'd say my mood swings and the cramping affected my health so badly that the Pill is helping me keep on track. 

I know a lot of people preach against hormonal birth control but it's made my life vastly better.  No cramps, no mood swings, able to exercise and keep depression at bay.   I wouldn't doubt some of it is placebo effect because I started it when I decided to start exercising.  So, I"m giving it credit for things that aren't directly related. 

Raises Hand against hormonal BC. I felt like a beast of woman on the pill and I tried two different types.  One monophasic and one multiphase pill.  NEVER AGAIN. Did i mention a crazy woman, without a sex drive. 

I love my Diaphragm and Charting too much to go back.  Plus i haven't gotten pregnant in the year I have been doing this. 

I think it effects everyone differently. The weight gain issue comes more from over-eating, not just from taking the pill.

I am back on Yasmin after Yaz gave me 2 week long periods (and like the pp said... ZERO sex drive). Not good. Yasmin seems to work for me.

i am on ortho tri-cyclen, haven't had any real problems with weight gain and it did wonders for my skin.

i was under the impression that birth control also causes you to retain a lot of water, which makes sense if you think about it, because what it essentially does is tricks your body into thinking it's pregnant.
keep drinking lots and lots of water and be aware of your cravings (2nd week of active pills is awful for cravings for me!!) and you'll be fine.

I agree, the pill affects everyone differently.  I am convinced, however, that I am 3-5 pounds heavier when taking the pill.  To test this, I stopped taking the pill for one month (while still trying to watch what I ate and diet) and lost 6 pounds.  I began the pill the following month and gained all 6 pounds back.  I believe that this was as a result of two things 1) water weight (bloating) from the pill and 2) having a larger appetite while on the pill.  I noticed that I am much hungrier while on the pill.  I lost most of my weight (close to 40 pounds) while off of the BC.  I went back on the pill (and also deviated a bit from my diet) this past fall, after being at my goal weight for about 3 months.  I gained 15 pounds back in about 2 months.  This weight, no matter what, I cannot seem to lose.  I do not think that the BC is responsible for the entire 15 pounds but after my experiment, I am pretty sure that if I stop taking the pill I would lose at least a few of them.  But for me, I take the pill not only for contraception, but for medical reasons as well. 

Has anyone had an experience with a BC pill that has actually helped them to lose weight?  Or one where they are fairly confident that it has not caused any weight gain?  The pill that I used to be on had no weight gain associated, but they no longer manufacture this pill.  I have tried several others, and all of them have produced the same couple pound weight gain.

The pill does not directly cause weight gain, it causes increase in appetite.  Your pills should have a little booklet inside the box.  Just read it.  I was on Yasmin, but I just switched to Yaz because it has fewer hormones.  I think the pill efffect is different for everyone.

The pill seems to effect everyone differently, but Yasmine has a different type of progesterone in it that also acts as a diaretic (read makes you pee). I am on YAZ which is similar to Yasmine (same hormones but slightly lower estrogen and you take it for 24 days rather than 21).  Anyway, I have actually noticed less water weight on YAZ. I am not necessarily losing tons of weight, but I am less bloated from water retention especially at the end of the month.  The only side effect I have had is a little bit more breast tenderness, but I think that is because I don't seem to get a period at all on YAZ.  Anyway, that is my experience.  If I were you, I would try it for a month or two and if you notice you seem to be gaining weight try something else.

I started Ortho Evra (the patch) 2 years ago and i didn't notice a difference in weight gain, skin, or any of the negative effects that are reported with birth control. If anything, I think the patch helped to regulate my mood, period, life really. I'm still on it and loving every minute. I can't do the pill since I would never remember to take it and it wouldn't be effective that way, but I love the patch. I'm all for hormonal birth control. I think if you keep up your regular routine and just pay attention to what you're eating/drinking/etc, then you should be fine.

"Has anyone had an experience with a BC pill that has actually helped them to lose weight?  Or one where they are fairly confident that it has not caused any weight gain? "

 

Like I said, I've lost weight on Yaz because I no longer have severe PMS and mood swings interfering with my lifestyle.  I was bingeing, emotional eating and would never be able to keep a regular exercise schedule before. 

i have been on the pill for 5 years and have not gained any weight.  there have been several studies looking at this and nobody has ever proven that the birth control pill has any direct effect on your weight:

 

http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/news/2 0060124/pill-wont-add-pounds-study-shows

 

http://www.contraceptiononline.org/contrarepo rt/article01.cfm?art=254

 

 

Glad to hear that you like Ortho Evra.  Is it annoying or troublesome to have the patch on your body?  Does it come loose toward the end of the month?  During bathing suit season, have you noticed any difficulties with suntan lotions, tan lines, etc?  I have been contemplating it.  Like you, I have trouble remembering to take it at the same time every day, and the pill gives me slight nausea every morning.

I used to be on the pill but due to medical reasons was taken off. I've now been fitted with an IUD. some can last for up to ten years and you dont have to stress about if you took it on time or not. and as it is hormone free you dont gain any weight.

To me its the safest and easiest option. and i cant beleive i wasted my time on other types! but everyone is comfortable with different things. but this was definately the best move i've made :) good luck and hope this helps (even though i kno i've taken it slightly off topic!) 

I'll tell you... with me, I lost weight.  I'm not an emotional eater, I'm an emotional starver, I guess.  With adjustment, I wasn't craving as much, and I was starting to be... "happier" with myself.  Yay for PMDD... :-P

From mrsdagle:
I went on it 2 months ago due to severe PMS w/ mood swings/depression.  I'd say my mood swings and the cramping affected my health so badly that the Pill is helping me keep on track.

I've been on it for almost a year, and I had the same issues, and my doctor told me that I should be on the pill so I'm not hospitalized every few months when I can't handle the pa
in.

From choco9:
I am back on Yasmin after Yaz gave me 2 week long periods (and like the pp said... ZERO sex drive). Not good. Yasmin seems to work for me.

Odd... Yaz did give me a 2-week long period at first, but my body adjusted to it and now I have teensy tiny light periods for 4 days or less.  And I daresay my sex drive needed to be inhibited.  I still enjoy sex regularly, but I'm not asking for it every day.

I was on depo provera for 4 years and I did not gain weight in fact I did lose weight.  I switched to Yaz because of long term risks are not really known for depo and I don't really want to get osioporosis :0.  So far Yaz has been alright.  My boobs are really tender though.  But other than that.....Good to Go!

I have a large sex drive so maybe I should look into another pill that would decrease it.

 

Anyways, I'm on Levora.  Years ago when I first started, it helped balance my moods, cramping, and bloating to a degree.  I also went from 140 to 135 on it within two months.  I'm not sure to accredit the pill with the weight lose or the fact I was just a developing teen.  It doesn't make me crave anything in particular or my appetite bigger.  I notice beforehand when I wasn't getting enough of certain vitamns, I would crave food more.  Now because I watch what I eat and take supplements, my appetite isn't as large.

Well - I am going to disagree with alot of people who think that the only reason you gain weight on the pill is because you are overeating.  Some women have a hypersensitivity to extra hormones in their body.  I gained weight with Ortho-tricyclen even though at the time that was the lowest dosage of hormone I could get. I gained weight pregnant during the first 2 months, and at the time could only hold down a piece of toast or two per day.  You might say - oh you were in starvation mode - but that takes a few weeks to kick in and I started gaining from day 2 pregnant (high risk pregnancy so they pretty much knew exactly when it happened).  My body doesn't like an increase in hormones - natural or in pill form.

They put that side affect on the pill box because for some women they do cause weight gain - not just because some women eat more, but because the hormonal balance their bodies have created do their job just fine.  Any additional hormones throws lots of things out of whack.

every pill is going to affect everyone differently, you really have no way of knowing how it will affect you until you try it.

but i'm getting a little sick of seeing people say how women who gain weight on the pill are just blaming the pill becuase they are overeating!  i've tried 4 now and they are all different. there was one that i was on where i was ALWAYS starving.  i wasn't eating junk either, it was just that i was always eating because i was always hungry.  now that i'm on a different pill i don't have that issue. if i was just overeating and blaming the pill i would of done that on all of them.  another one made me really down and lazy and mopey.  i've had other affects as well. i'm on loestrin now and perfectly fine.  but you really don't know til you try them.