water retention question...

Okay I was on this birthcontrol and it was making me gain from 5 to 7 lbs a month just for water retention(I'd loose it like a week or week and a half later).  I've been off of it for a month now...when should I quit retaining so much water?  I've never had this problem before now.  And how much water retention is normal before a menstral cycle anyways?  Thanks!  You'd think after 2 kids I'd already know all this!  haha

the best way I've found to deal with water retention is to drink a LOT of water all day, every day.  Your body is retaining water because your body needs water to do a lot of it's normal, every day functions.  If you increase your water intake, your body will not have a reason to retain and then you'll flush your system out.

And, whatever you do, do not start taking water pills those will dehydrate you so bad it's not even funny.

Good luck to you! :)

I do drink a lot of water...if I drink anymore I think I'll be in the bathroom all day.  That's why I'm confused with the whole weight gain every month.  I carry around one of those big gulp size insulated cups full of ice water.  I'm confused.

It'll also help if you cut out any and all salt or high sodium foods and replace them with lots of fruit and veggies.

Why do you think it was the BC that was causing you to hold water? I think the vast majority of women pick up extra water weight every month for a little while.

I don't know that there is a "normal" amount of water retention, but 2-3 days before my period every month I will gain weight -- how much depends on how well I've been doing food choice wise and calorie/ exercise wise.  My best defense is to drink a lot of water, up the exercise to sweat out the extra sodium/ water, and really avoid breads/ pastas/ high salt/ sodium foods.  I really try hard to focus on fruits, veggies and lean proteins, fish works best for me. 

I can tell it's starting because while I'll stop losing weight for a day or two and my rings will be tight in the morning.  Alcohol really messes with the weight gain, too, for me.

As far as your system adjusting to no more BC, when I went off it years ago, the doctor told me then that it can take up to 6 months for some women to regulate their systems.  

I will also add that I have read before that women's weakest willpower time is the week before their period.  It's a bad time to start a new diet (though not continue one you're already on); the best time to start is actually at the beginning of your period when cravings and appetite tend to plunge.

I have the same problem and recently started taking cranberry pills (had slight UTI) they seemed to help with bloating and water retention as well as promoting a healthy urinary tract.  At first I tried drinking cranberry juice (the real stuff not cocktail) but it still has lots of sugar so I switched to the supplements.  Don't know if it would help everyone but it has helped me.

Thanks for all the added replies and info.  I went online to see side effects and found a chatroom with lots of people talking about the BC I was on...same side effects I was having.  So...I cut down on the "salties" today for the most part and lost .5 lbs of the water weight.  So it's finally going down...it would just last for like 2 weeks before...that's just way too long!  Anyways, I'm going back to my old BC that had no side effect on me soon.  THanks ladies.