Help! ana recovery and birth control pills... :S

I'm just starting my recovery from amorexia and haven't seen my doctor yet (tomorrow morning app't! :S ) but my therapist said that my doctor might put me on birth control pills to help my estrogen levels. has anyone else taken birth control pills in their recovery process? even before ED i decided i would never take the pill because i think it makes people fat and bloated, and i definitely don't want that. i know that i need to and will be gaining weight, but i'd rather do it on my own, ie. food plan, eating more, etc, feeling my natural feelings of hunger again, rather than have an added on factor of the pill which will influence things. the pill makes people gain weight partly because of the release of hormones and partly because it makes you feel hungry (not sure how or why) and i don't want my feeling of hunger increased unnaturally...just naturally. does anyone know what im talking about/feeling? any advice, ideas...ANYTHING is welcome :)

They want you to take BC so that your body gets estrogen. When someone has extremely low body fat / weight, your body stops what it sees as unecessary production, like your reproductive function. Your doctor is trying to help stop the damage that has been done to your body, and help you heal. You can stop taking them when your doctor runs a blood test that shows you are producing hormones on your own. Low estrogen levels cause osteoperosis when you get older, and many other health problems.

The last thing you need to be fretting about is weight gain - if you are serious about recovery, then you will need to let go. Your BC fear sounds a bit like the ED fear is creeping in - you are afraid to gain weight, period. You need to gain weight and listen to your doctor. Good luck!!!

the pill didnt make me gain weight. it made me loose weight during recovery, so they took me off it.

even if it was to make you gain, it would be a minimal amound compared what you should gain if your serious about recovery.

trust the doctors, they know whats best.

goodluck with recovery love! xx

I've been on the pill for most of the last 12 years and it never caused weight gain for me...I've lost and gained weight while on the pill, but it had everything to do with my lifestyle and nothing to do with the medication. :)  It may make your boobs a little bigger, but you shouldn't go up any more than a cup size.  Give it a try, but let your doctor know about your concerns and be sure to keep in contact with him/her about how you feel while you're on it.  Good luck with everything!

Oh, and I read recently that research has shown that most people associate weight gain with being on the pill simply because women use the pill during the time of their lives when they're likely to put on weight, anyway.  The pill rarely ever has anything to do with the weight gain itself.

Hey hon - not only did I (and a few of my friends) never gain weight on the pill, recent studies have not been able to show a connection between taking birth control and gaining weight, either. Don't worry about that -- just do what your doctor wants you to do. :)