at the end of my wits, side effects after stopping birth control

I work in a developing country, far, far away from my doctor and not really willing to go to any OBGYNs around here.  I know this isn't the best place for medical advice, but here it goes anyway.. I stopped my birth control last month because my doc said it was too strong for me (I was on Diane 35 - which is apparently good for clearing up acne, but I didn't have a problem with that before).  This month after my last period on the pill, my weight was at 110lbs at the beginning of January (I'm 5'2").  Since then, evey week  I've gone up 2lbs.  I swear I'm not eating more, I exercise 5 xs/week, and can see no reason for this other than water retention.  Plus my stomach area is getting huge!  My thighs, hips and upper abdomen are swollen/protruding and nothing fits.  My face still looks the same, but I weighed 116lbs this morning - a weight  I haven't been at for 2 years. 

This is really distressing because I feel like I have no control.  I have such a small appetite even though I'm working out a lot - I eat about 1400 cals/day, despite one hour cardio sessions and weights.  I want to talk to a doctor, but that won't be possible for another 2 months.  Can anyone offer advice, please?

Also, I haven't had a period since I stopped the pill. I'm only a week late (I'm 125% sure that I'm not pregnant), but I had irregular periods before starting the pill, so perhaps this isn't such a big deal.

One last thing, would taking a diuretic help?  I have one that's a Hydrochlorothiazide, but not sure I should take it or not.

I can't answer all of your questions because I simply don't know.

You're getting 1400 calories and exercising for an hour a day? You may need to eat more. Plug in your stats and see what CC recommends.

The pill can be a funny thing for some people Give it time to get out of your system. I don't know about a diuretic but make sure you drink enough water. It should help flush out any sodium-caused fluid retention and hydrate your insides.

If it were me...I might wait another month before seeing a doctor. I know you want to nip it in the bud, but if you try your other solutions, you'll be able to have even more evidence to take to your doctor. In the meantime, write down your exercise, your food intake, weight, and how you feel and take that into your doc.

Thanks, I'll try to suffer through another month.  I am keeping a diary about activity, calories, foods, and weight - I've never done that before, so it shows I'm worried!

Maybe I'll try the diuretic for a week and see if it helps...

the swelling sounds terrible. did you try calling your doctor at home and explaining everything that is going on to see if there is reason for concern?

Without knowing your exact situation & what you usually eat and drink, this probably isn't helpful...but if it was me, I would be worried that maybe it was related to something else (maybe different food or drink?).

Hope you feel better & get some answers.

Ugh, I went up another kilo! (2.2lbs):( I have been monitoring calories - eating still around 1400,at most, have no appetite, keep doing my regular exercise routine and my weight climbs up a pound over night.  My period is 10 days late, but this is soooo depressing.  None of my clothes fit and I´m thinking about this all day long! I've never weighed this much - in the last month I've gained about 7 pounds.  I could understand if I had started eating a ton of chocolate, but I haven't.  Sorry, just needed a public rant

I am SO glad you posted this! I am having the EXACT same problem and I thought that I was doing something wrong with my diet or exercise routine! THANK YOU! But I know... it totally sucks to not feel in control of your body. What is most scary is to think what all of the hormones were doing to your body this whole time you were on birth control, you know? I have yet to get my period either. I am just trying to keep calm, continue doing my usual thing, and HOPE that the weight goes away as fast as it came on! I am also practicing hot yoga to really try to sweat out as many toxins as possible and replace taking an unhealthy diuretic. Did you end up taking it? did it help?

You poor thing!

I have taken DIANE 35 - ED for years now, and I want to go off it eventually but I have heard so many horror stories!

A lot of women get bad acne, I think it may be because Diane balances the male hormones that cause acne so when you go off it after years, your body may not know how to handle fluctuating male hormones?

A have heard about people who did not have acne before Diane, who got acne after they went off it

I have also heard a lot of people who went on the pill to treat acne, and got their acne back once they went off the pill.

You may need to work with a specialist ( endocrinologist, obstetrician, or gynecologist) and wean your body off the hormones by going on a lower dose of hormones for a while, ands lowly coming off them so your body adjusts, or there could be a completely different method I have no idea!

GOOGLE “ Diane and acne” and see if you can find as many experiences from other people as possible, that is what I did, and make sure you get your doctor to refer you to an expert because your problem sounds serious, it is not normal to gain weight when you are not eating enough extra calories to gain

Or maybe going off the pill is making you gain weight on the same amount of calories you were eating on the pill? Basically, maybe you just do not need to eat as much as you did when you were on the pill?

Well I have been off Diane for 3 months and no acne problems report - thank goodness, I really couldn't handle that as well.  Still haven't had my period (well just two days in  3 months - I'm hardly counting it).  I'm still bloated and waiting for about 6 lbs to come off to go back to normal. My appetite is absolutely nill and I know I'm eating way below my needed calorie intake given my level of exercise, but I am trying to get proteins in.

In another twist, I had a blood test to see what my hormone levels were in order to find out if that could be the reason for the water retention - hormones were fine, but my cholesterol is through the roof! As are my triglycerides! for a person who basically eats no fat, I'm more than 100 "points" above where I should be.  I have a doctors appointment on Monday, but I'm seriously worried.  My diet is so strict. I wish I could say that I was shoving chocolate, cheese and meat down my gullet when no one is looking and that's the reason my cholesterol is up, but I'm not, so it's not so easy to cut out the bad influences:(

Hope Monday sheds some light on all this...

My period was irregular when I was not eating enough. It came every two weeks on a 1400 cal/day diet.

Also, getting off the pill and not having a period for a while is completely normal. This also happened to me. I was on the pill for years and then did not have a period for about a month and a half. I asked my doctor and he said it would return soon, just your body getting back to a non-hormone induced cycle. The weight gain also comes from that. Those pills are strong, even those low dose ones. Your body gets all off balance after them, took me a year to feel normal again(not trying to scare you) but I am sure after you get your period back all that weight will shed right off. It's just your body compensating for the lack of it and getting back to regularity without the pill.

Hope that helps :)

i just got off the pill too, about three months ago

i have no period yet, from what i hear this is entirely normal. i have also gained, not quite so dramatically but i've gone from 108 or so to around 111,112 with no outside contributing factors.

from what i've read, this really happens to a lot of people and it can take anywhere from a month to a YEAR for your body to re-regulate. i'm actually incredibly angry with my old doctor for failing to mention any of the side effects of taking/stopping the pill. (the whole time i was taking it, my sex drive was dead, and it is still not back 100% yet). i am now convinced it's a horrible horrible thing and i'm never going back on hormonal bc again. i'm getting the paragard iud.

anyway, the pill is evil, give it some time, you should bounce back.

Thanks for all the advice.  The prospect of being like this for a year scares me.  Today I'm up another 2.2 lbs and my stomach looks like a big basketball.  Yes, it will be a long time before I take the pill again...

The pill sucks. I tried 4 different kinds of BC and my body always got used to it. I was really irregular before I started taking it and for like 3 months on the pill I'd finally be regular and then all of a sudden the problems would start; I'd get super emotional, gain all this water weight and my period would not come when it was suppose to, totally uncool. This happened every time I tried a new pill. My friend just got off the pill because her breasts hurt all month and had grown a cup size. She was always getting highs and lows in emotions and finally she just got sick of it and took herself off it. The pill is great for helping prevent pregnancy, but otherwise, that's about all I see good in it.