Question for those who Have been on BC for a while

Good morning everyone!!

I was just wondering if your on Birth control can you still retain stupid amounts of water during your period?? Or does the Birth Control screw everything up lol. Thanks =D =D

I've been on BC since I was 12, so 9 years. (painful periods, not because I was sexually active)

I still gain 3-8lbs on my period, it's a lot worse when my diet sucks (i.e high sugar and salt).  I still PMS, everything is the same except my moodiness (I've been on 6 or 7 different types of pills, because they all have different hormone levels, it's REALLY important to find the right one for EACH person) has improved and my cramps are managable now.

Honestly, I take my pills for 3 months straight, so I have 1 period every 3 months.  It makes my life so much easier.  Yes it's perfectly safe, you can look up the literature on WebMD or talk to your OBGYN about it.  If I try for over 3 months, I break through bleed so..

However, during the time where I continue to take my pills, my body still kinda knows it's "that time" so I will bloat a little and get moody.  I call it my faux period.

I don't take it anymore, but I did for about 7 years.  I still gained weight every month, unless I was vigilant and drank extra water, avoided sodium, etc.  (i.e. when I was doing Weight Watchers and didn't want to gain!)  Still had PMS, cramps (although a lot less)...  It made things predictable.  Then we got my husband "snipped", so I went off it...

hahahah that's awsomee! I wish mine would go in for that sugery hahah =D =D

Did you feel much better going off the pill after 7 years... Cause i'm thinking of going off lol

You may want to consider changing your Birth Control- I use the Nuva Ring and don't have much of a problem.  The weight I do gain is more a result of my period- but since I know when my period is coming I'm able to not be too hard on myself when I gain a couple of pounds because I know it will be gone in a couple days!  I also try to up my water intake to reduce the amount of sodium I retain and take a water retention pill after my period is over for a day or so- gets me back to perfect quick! LOL

Original Post by nocturne:
Honestly, I take my pills for 3 months straight, so I have 1 period every 3 months.  It makes my life so much easier. 

 

Me too! I have horrible endometriosis and history of ovarian cysts...yikes!  I've been on the pill for about 3 years now.  I notice that it depends on what my body wants to do during my period.  Sometimes, i start the day I stop taking it, other times it takes 3 or four days to get the hint.  Sometimes, I gain like 2 or three pounds and than it takes a while to get back down again.  Other times, I lose weight on my period...like 5 pounds.  So confusing!

I've never been tested for endometriosis because I was young and scared of the tests.  Plus the treatment is BC so... They were going to give it to me anyway, why go through all that at 12?

Yes, sometimes I'm "late" even when I stop taking my pill, it's average is 3 days.  If I'm really late, eating ice cream makes me start within a few hours lol.

Sometimes I'm bloated for 10 days, sometimes for 2.  I believe it would normally be that random though, even if I wasn't on BC. 

Obviously, my hormones were already messed up enough to force me to go on BC.  I've never blamed any of my problems on it because it has solved so much, I'm very thankful.

for me it just completely screwed my body up. Im talking 3 week long periods with only one week of non bleeding in between the periods. pfft. Id rather just have another baby with my hubby than pay 50 bucks a month to bleed to death -_-

The worst for me were Depo and the BC patch.  Those both changed my body (well, I will NEVER need a boob job because of the patch either!).  I was fine on the pill (body-wise, not emotionally) and now have an IUD (for 1.5 years now) which seems to be nothing but a positive choice for me.

Because of Depo and my IUD, I have not had a period in about 2.5 years, which is AMAZING!  I love it.  And the IUD is very very low hormone, so my body really has no effects from it, like I did on the others.

I have had friends who got a softer look when they went on the pill.  One friend in particular had an athletic body, but when she went on the pill, she just got this layer.

I still gain, but I used to have really erratic periods (anywhere from ever 3 weeks to nothing for 4 months. :-/). After I got on the pill it evened it all out to every 4 weeks for me.

I still get cramps (but only for 1 or 2 days as opposed to a week or so... and then maybe no period following!), and water-retention, but I think that's pretty natural. Again, it depends on what BC you use and how regularly you take it, etc. It also depends on your body type. Some people wig out when they get on BC, others are complete opposite (me :)! ).

I wouldn't sweat a few lbs during TTOM, though. it's pretty "normal" or average for most ladies to. Try to boost up your intake to help prevent retention though. Maybe that'll help. 

 Also, I totally loved the pill when I first got it. I'd been an A cup through most of HS, then a B my last year. During my first year of college, I started the pill and "blossomed" to a C! It was pretty cool. The bf liked it, needless to say. ;)

I am on Mirena.  The new IUC.  I spent 3 months bleeding straight.  Not heavy enough for a tampon.  But now since I hit the four month point, 29 days between.  I got my period yesterday and only gained .6 lbs.  i weighed myself this morning and I lost a full pound.  Its really light.  I cant even use tampons.  There's like nothng there.  I didnt retain much water at all.  Different bc's do different things to your body.  Why not ask your doctor.