Girl Question in here... Birth control

pcps

:flowerforyou: I would suggest that you look into getting off the BC. Here is a web link in which you can find a doctor in your area that will help you balance your hormones without BC. Here it is.. blessings: http://onemoresoul.com/nfp-providers

DelightfullyWifed

I use to take BC pills, tried a couple of different ones (don't remember their names this was 10-12 years ago) and alwayshad something I didn't like about them - gained weight, always bloated, crazy mood swings, gave me headaches, and I jsut pain out hated that I had to remember to take a damn pill every damn day! When I got to college in 2003 the doctor there recommended the Nuva Ring - I have been on it since and LOVE it! If I gained weight I didn't notice, I feel like me, and its SOOO simple! Insert for 3 weeks and forget about it, then pull it out have your period, insert a new one a week later and start all over. I set 2 alarms per month, pull out and put in on 2 Sundays. They say it is more effective too because there is no "human error" of taking a pill at the same time. It's a constant 3 weeks of hormones all the time! FABULOUS!!!!

all4my3boyz

Thanks everyone. I haven't noticed to many other side effects so I will see what happens after a couple months. The doctor said she recomends giving it 3 months and see what happens. She also said that weight gain shouldn't be a problem other than a little water weight.

heather_elise85

I've been on every type of B.C. for 10 years now... you don't gain much and if you have cravings you just have to fight them. I just find crave sweets the 3rd week of my B.C. ( week before my period )

KimmyEB

I despise birth control. Seriously.... I think it is the worst thing in the world for womens health.

I have a copper IUD and I love it. No hormones for me anymore.. EVER!

I don't have a copper IUD, but I agree with the rest of this...I will never, ever use birth control again. Thinking back on it, I don't know why I ever let myself use hormones that aren't naturally my own into my body. The thought of it honestly disgusts me, now. I know some people have medical conditions in which they may need them, but if I don't NEED them, then I don't want them.

That said, I've come to find that asking people about birth control side effects gets you nowhere. They really do affect every single person differently. Some people gain weight, some don't. Some people get moody, others don't. Some get bloating, sore boobs, spotting, etc....while others don't. Some people experience the side effects mildly, others severely. It's like any other medication that has side effects. Personally, my appetite was ginormous when I was on the pill, both times I was on it, in different periods of my life, so I gained weight. I also was always negative, lethargic, moody, irritable...then I got off the pill, and all of these side effects subsided. I like the person I am when I'm not on the pill. It also killed my sex drive, both times.

pumpkinmoccasin

I've been on bc for about a decade, you stop gaining weight after a few months (though I don't remember gaining much at the time, maybe 10 lbs or so)... It has a lot to do with your usual watching what you eat and exercising, don't slack! You'll be fine.

fbmandy55

I've never known someone who gained less than 40lbs on Depo shot. DO NOT DO IT! I use Tri-Nessa (may be generic name for Orthotricyclen) and I've lost 34 on it. I'm taking it for treatment for PCOS as well and it has made my skin look great and my PCOS symptoms a little more calm. Dr. told me it wouldn't MAKE me lose weight but would make it a bit easier because of my condition.

rankailie

The myth that never dies.

Birth control does not by itself cause any gain in weight. Progesterone based birth control can increase your food cravings thus making you eat more. All birth control will give you temporary water weight gain that generally goes away after the first two or three months on its own.

As long as you're aware that your birth control can make you snacky you can control it. Log every single thing you eat, even just small nibbles and bites, drink lots and lots of water, more so then you might think you need and keep an eye on your sodium intake which can make water retention worse.

But there are many many many studies that have pretty much debunked the myth that birth control causes weight gain. The hormone levels in modern day birth control isn't high enough to do it.

Keep a journal during the first few months of taking a new BC of your daily moods and how you feel. If after three months its affecting your moods or you're extra snacky ask to switch to a different type. IE if you are on a combo pill ask to try a progesterone only, or vice versa.

And as someone who went the copper IUD route thinking it was the BC hormones making me crazy I was down right wrong. I like my copper IUD don't get me wrong, but the only thing that's helped to get rid of my horrible period related depression and symptoms has been depo provera and the complete lack of a period.

yogavegan

i was on depo provera and gained about 25 lbs of pure belly fat, while being very active and counting calories. it has to do with the way the hormones adhere to the adrenals and create cortisol which create belly fat. weight gain from hormones is very common... it sucks! i went off dep, and now a year later i have finally lost that 25 plus about 20 more, and feel much better!

MrsCon40

I've never known someone who gained less than 40lbs on Depo shot. DO NOT DO IT! I use Tri-Nessa (may be generic name for Orthotricyclen) and I've lost 34 on it. I'm taking it for treatment for PCOS as well and it has made my skin look great and my PCOS symptoms a little more calm. Dr. told me it wouldn't MAKE me lose weight but would make it a bit easier because of my condition.

I was my thinnest on Depo (5'6" and 99 pounds). Now you know one.

rankailie

I've never known someone who gained less than 40lbs on Depo shot. DO NOT DO IT! I use Tri-Nessa (may be generic name for Orthotricyclen) and I've lost 34 on it. I'm taking it for treatment for PCOS as well and it has made my skin look great and my PCOS symptoms a little more calm. Dr. told me it wouldn't MAKE me lose weight but would make it a bit easier because of my condition.

I was my thinnest on Depo (5'6" and 99 pounds). Now you know one.

I also have not gained weight on depo from anything other then just being lazy.

Most of my weigh gain came while I was on Ortho Tricyclen Lo. Again not the pill, just my own lazy habits.

There haven't been any studies really deeply into the actual cause of weigh gain on depo what has been reported is general increases in cravings and food desires. They have found it tends to be more common in women who are already overweight. Women who had healthier habits generally did not gain anymore weigh on depo then women with non-hormonal birth control did.

jms88

I was searching for threads about estrogen and fat loss (I was talking to a friend about it and found this article: http://fitfoodcoach.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/female-fat-loss-estrogen-and-stubborn-lower-body-fat/ - Thought I'd see what mfp's had to say about it) and found this one.

I hope that what you've learned from reading this is that every artificial hormone effects everyone differently. I was given oral contraceptives almost 15 years ago as a sort of treatment for hormone related issues, and the first one I was prescribed was ALL WRONG. I was suicidal and gained about 20-30 pounds. Yeah, sometimes it is just wrong for you - cravings or not. My doctor's solution was weight watchers and keep taking them. I switched doctors and pills, lost 10 pounds and all of the psycho mood swings, and have been fine on that one. BUT, other people have had the horrible experience with the one I'm on now.. It's all about your own body chemistry. If after a couple of months this one doesn't feel "right to you", maybe you should try another one, and another one, etc. I don't mean that to be disheartening, but I just don't want you to be afraid to find what works for you. Ideally, the absence of synthetic hormones is much more healthy, but I know that sometimes you're caught between a rock and a hard place. Over the last 15 years I have given myself some breaks from it - for one thing to see where my body is at WITHOUT it, but that's just me.