Birth control affect weight gain???

LokiFae
LokiFae Posts: 774 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So another thread sparked this idea in my head, which hadn't really occurred to me before.

Does birth control contribute to weight gain, or is it all in my head?

In the month after having my son, I lost all my baby weight plus 20 pounds. I went to the doctor, got on the pill, and subsequently gained 50 pounds in about 6 months without changing my normal routine (Granted, I wasn't the MOST active person...who is, with a newborn, but I was still breastfeeding, which is the reason I lost all the weight in the first place). Is there any proof that birth control has an effect on weight gain, esp. postpartum? Has anyone else experienced this?
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Replies

  • LokiFae
    LokiFae Posts: 774 Member
    So another thread sparked this idea in my head, which hadn't really occurred to me before.

    Does birth control contribute to weight gain, or is it all in my head?

    In the month after having my son, I lost all my baby weight plus 20 pounds. I went to the doctor, got on the pill, and subsequently gained 50 pounds in about 6 months without changing my normal routine (Granted, I wasn't the MOST active person...who is, with a newborn, but I was still breastfeeding, which is the reason I lost all the weight in the first place). Is there any proof that birth control has an effect on weight gain, esp. postpartum? Has anyone else experienced this?
  • GIGINATOR
    GIGINATOR Posts: 355 Member
    Yes, there is documented literature because of the hormones in birth control they cause you to store extra fat, thus more weight. Sorry, wish I had a better answer:cry:
  • LokiFae
    LokiFae Posts: 774 Member
    :frown:

    I guess it's better than eight or nine babies.
  • kerikitkat
    kerikitkat Posts: 352 Member
    :frown:

    I guess it's better than eight or nine babies.

    :laugh: true that! I gained 10 lbs when I got on the pill and have kept it ever since. That's one of the reasons I'm on here. But I'm NOT giving up that magic little pill. Nuh uh.
  • wagsgirls
    wagsgirls Posts: 144 Member
    yes some do definately cause weight gain. i was on one about 8 yrs ago before my first daughter was born. it made me gain like 40 lbs in maybe 6 months. that's more than i gained when i was pregnant! but it was so gradual that i didn't realize it till it was on me. i notice it when i had got new jeans for christmas and like a month later they didn't fit and i knew i didn't do anything different. i change pills right away! now 8 yrs later with 2 girls(8&6) i have mirena and love it!
  • LokiFae
    LokiFae Posts: 774 Member
    What's Mirena? Isn't that an IUD?

    And that's another question...Are there any forms of birth control that don't affect hormones so much? My opinion is, any hormonal manipulation works (pill, shot, patch, IUD), it's just finding the one that doesn't screw with my weight as much.
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    There's a couple interactions between the horemones estrogen and progesterone and bodyfat - almost none of which you're going to like.

    First, an increase in estrogen and progesterone makes the body store extra fat. Why exactly is still unclear, but they've recently found that fat cells actually act like miniture glands. The higher the amount of bodyfat, the higher the amount of estrogen. Lower bodyfat, lower estrogen. Thats why some female bodybuilders begin to look more and more like men (including deeper voices, etc).

    Your body acclimates itself to the level of estrogen and progesterone pretty quickly though, but then there's the second danger - stopping birth control. When you stop the estrogen levels quickly taper off. In many cases the body will begin to overproduce estrogen temporarily, causing the body to store a ton of bodyfat.

    There's a ton of literature out there, and I don't know it well enough to really explain beyond that. Check it out though.

    Makes me glad that I only have to worry about testosterone, heh. :heart:
  • uwhuskygirl
    uwhuskygirl Posts: 320
    I knew someone who literally put on 40lbs because of depo. However, I've been on depo for nearly 7 years (yes, I know about the bone density issue, I'm getting off of it next week) and haven't put on a pound because of it.

    Also, I had a roommate who put on 5lbs from the patch, but lost it all when she went back on ortho tri cycline.

    I think it really varies on how your body reacts to it.
  • LokiFae
    LokiFae Posts: 774 Member
    Makes me glad that I only have to worry about testosterone, heh. :heart:

    :tongue:
  • ramsam70
    ramsam70 Posts: 37
    I switched from pill to pill, gaining weight, feeling depressed- even fighting nasuea (that is just too much). My doctor finaly put me on Yasmine, which for me, caused headaches so intense I went to bed in tears.

    After baby #3 my husband took a little visit to the Dr. the scalpel and cauterizer did the rest ..... so yes, there is birth control out there that doesn't screw up hormones and weight and headaches.... it requires one of you getting snipped, and it is extremely permanent, but for me? Ahhhhhh, heaven!

    And I have to say this also- after my last struggle with postpartum, I finally felt the clouds lift and my old self return. Now I am a happy and effective woman again (well, most days!)
    But until you know you have all the little souls running around that you should, you just kind of have to deal with the rest of it! Sorry for that!:flowerforyou:
  • lina1131
    lina1131 Posts: 2,246 Member
    I was on Lo Estrin 24 and didn't notice a weight gain. I did however skip a period and freaked out like no ones business. :laugh: Mammas got to have a period for peace of mind. So now the doctor has prescribed me Lo Estrin 21 and hopefully my period will come back and all this bloating will go away.

    So in short, I have no clue what the answer to your question is! :bigsmile:
  • uwhuskygirl
    uwhuskygirl Posts: 320
    I switched from pill to pill, gaining weight, feeling depressed- even fighting nasuea (that is just too much). My doctor finaly put me on Yasmine, which for me, caused headaches so intense I went to bed in tears.

    After baby #3 my husband took a little visit to the Dr. the scalpel and cauterize did the rest ..... so yes, there is birth control out there that doesn't screw up hormones and weight and headaches.... it requires one of you getting snipped, and it is extremely permanent, but for me? Ahhhhhh, heaven!

    And I have to say this also- after my last struggle with postpartum, I finally felt the clouds lift and my old self return. Now I am a happy and effective woman again (well, most days!)
    But until you know you have all the little souls running around that you should, you just kind of have to deal with the rest of it! Sorry for that!:flowerforyou:

    If you don't mind me asking, what's the recovery and recovery time like on that? And I think since you got cauterized periods are gone forever now?

    I really want to do something permanent like that, but I feel like I should wait till after I turn 30.
  • cwjett
    cwjett Posts: 189 Member
    you need to be on a low dose pill like the loestrin or even the new yaz. most people don't have weight gain and usually you have lighter and shorter cycles! thats a plus! lol

    I am on the mirena which doesn't contain any estrogen, just a small amount of progesterone. I hardly have a period and i haven't had any weight gain from it.

    The pill can defenitely put on the pounds and the depo provera is usually worse for most people!
  • ramsam70
    ramsam70 Posts: 37
    Well- my hubby got snipped first and then I had a Uterian Ablation due to such heavy and horrible mestrual cycles. For him- a day or two on the couch and he was fine- a little tender to running or jumping for a week or so, but no big deal. In office for him was about 45 minutes....

    For mine, I had to be completely out, go to the hospital where my Dr. works, and it took all day by the time you check in, get the surgery- which is only minutes in and of itself, ( a laser and hot water scalding of the uterus), recover and eat and keep food down. I cramped and felt very a bit sore after for a day or two, but ibuprofen was all it took to help me feel better. No lifting for a week- but really that was all. After that you have lighter, or for some, no periods. Mine went form 8 days of flow (3 very heavy- one miserable!) to 2 days of extremely light spotting. All cramps stopped for me. I still fell edgy and tired, but that is all. They say it lasts about 5-8 years, and you can only do it once, and of course, no more babies. Your uterus is compromised after the ablation.
  • 5KNohno
    5KNohno Posts: 503
    My mom, both my sisters, and I all gained significant weight very rapidly after starting the pill. My mom and one sister quit and they both lost the weight. My other sister and I went on Depo and gained even more (50 pounds in two months for me - dr. ignored me said that was impossible and that I was probably just eating too much but I have several witnesses!) Due to that and all the other crazy things it did to us we both got off that. My wonderful, fabulous, loving hubby got a vasectomy (best Valentine's Day gift I ever got!:heart: ) so thankfully we don't have to worry about that anymore.:smile: Basically I think it depends on the individual's reaction to the hormones, but some people definitely do have negative reactions.
  • wagsgirls
    wagsgirls Posts: 144 Member
    What's Mirena? Isn't that an IUD?

    And that's another question...Are there any forms of birth control that don't affect hormones so much? My opinion is, any hormonal manipulation works (pill, shot, patch, IUD), it's just finding the one that doesn't screw with my weight as much.
    yes mirena is an iud. i have had it now for about 4 yrs so my time is almost up! i was on different pills although orthro evra i think it was worked well, but i apparently was fertil myrtle because it seemed when i missed one i got pregnant! i also tried the patch. so i finally decided on mirena it was worry free and cheaper because i didn't have to pay a copay for pills every month! i have noticed no side effects other barely any period. now that's me and as far as weight gain i'm pretty sure that it ws me and not that. but as someone else said everyone is different. the one thing with the mirena is it is easily removable. i finally talked my sister into it after 3 adorable accidents!
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    There's a couple interactions between the horemones estrogen and progesterone and bodyfat - almost none of which you're going to like.

    First, an increase in estrogen and progesterone makes the body store extra fat. Why exactly is still unclear, but they've recently found that fat cells actually act like miniture glands. The higher the amount of bodyfat, the higher the amount of estrogen. Lower bodyfat, lower estrogen. Thats why some female bodybuilders begin to look more and more like men (including deeper voices, etc).

    Your body acclimates itself to the level of estrogen and progesterone pretty quickly though, but then there's the second danger - stopping birth control. When you stop the estrogen levels quickly taper off. In many cases the body will begin to overproduce estrogen temporarily, causing the body to store a ton of bodyfat.

    There's a ton of literature out there, and I don't know it well enough to really explain beyond that. Check it out though.

    Makes me glad that I only have to worry about testosterone, heh. :heart:

    Wow, wait a minute here...I'm a female bodybuilder, and I know plenty of other natural female bodybuilders, and we all look feminine. Female bodybuilders who undergo physiological changes in their jaw bones, brow ridges, voices, and genitals do so because they ABUSE ANDROGENIC STEROIDS. It has nothing to do with drastic changes in hormone levels. We produce very small amounts of testosterone, and when we do gain muscle, it's due to growth hormone, not testosterone. Low body fat can influence menstruation, as can extreme calorie deficits. But testosterone doesn't increase; oestrogen just decreases because there is less fat available with which to produce it (cholesterol is required to produce it).

    Also, although estrogen does promote fat storage...*you're NOT going to gain fat in a DEFICIT.* I have been on hormonal birth control for several years, and I lose fat and gain fat just like any other person-- when I undereat and when I overeat. Birth control won't just make you gain fat. If you give into cravings or overeat, that's your own decision, but if you practice self control you can lose fat like anyone else.
  • foxfire9372
    foxfire9372 Posts: 184 Member
    Depending on your bodies sensitivity to hormones it canaffect you. Ditto for me on depo, 50lbs in 6 months and I was very active at the time, I came off and it took me two years to get back to normal. I got the Mirena after my son was born and although I was able to lose weight, slowly, but lost and then I hit a plateau and nothing seemed to work. Then the worst started. I started slowly gaining regardless of what I ate and how I worked out. I had it removed two months ago and have plans to meet with my doc in 60 days if my body isn't back to normal. So, I invested in the best bc ever, my husband (after numerous threats that if he didn't get it done, I was going to do it the old-fashioned way; read rubberband) he got snipped. For you guys that think I am mean, his promise was I had the kids, he took care of bc the rest of our lives!!! So, yes bc can definitely affect you, but I agree, nowhere near as much as having kid after kid after kid after kid!!!!!!!!
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
    Absolutely. In fact, watch out when you get near perimenopause or menopause and your glands start producing less estrogen, etc. Weight gain unless you're really watching out for it, just seems to pile on during this time. I've lived it, and now am trying to get it all off, so I can get to the weight I needed to lose before this time in my life.... :huh: (and that's not a huh face, it's an UGH face.)
  • ramsam70
    ramsam70 Posts: 37
    My mom, both my sisters, and I all gained significant weight very rapidly after starting the pill. My mom and one sister quit and they both lost the weight. My other sister and I went on Depo and gained even more (50 pounds in two months for me - dr. ignored me said that was impossible and that I was probably just eating too much but I have several witnesses!) Due to that and all the other crazy things it did to us we both got off that. My wonderful, fabulous, loving hubby got a vasectomy (best Valentine's Day gift I ever got!:heart: ) so thankfully we don't have to worry about that anymore.:smile: Basically I think it depends on the individual's reaction to the hormones, but some people definitely do have negative reactions.

    hey fitnessluvr- my hubby got his on Valentine's day too! Must be a busy time for those Docs!

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