weight gain and birth control

wreath7

I have a friend who was on Ortho Tricyclin Low to regulate her cycle and she says she lost weight. How common is it to lose weight or gain on birth control pills? Wondering if other people have experienced similar issues.

shovav91

I personally gained weight. Everyone's body is different; unfortunately there's really no way to predict how your body will react.

PeaceLuvVeggies

I hope and pray I don't gain weight when I get my birth control pills. Yikes.

GB333

I would say most people have problems gaining weight. I've personally ever heard of anyone losing it.

But if you track your food and calories, you should have nothing to worry about.

inspiration345

I gained weight and off pills for a month now. Losing weight as I should due to diet and exercise but now I am getting pimples on my face . On the birth control I couldn't lose even with diet and exercise and I was always bloated. My stomach is totally flat after a month now. I can't even imagine that I had a 5 months pregnant looking belly a month ago and for 1.5 years.

brunzella92

Hi, i was on Ortho Lo and nothing changed, i've been on other's that i've gained but that one is great for staying the same

Tonnina

My weight only changed when I was on the Shot... I gained 30lbs in 3 months because it makes your body believe it's pregnant (in a hormonal way) and causes wacked out cravings for entire bags of cheetos and loads of ice cream...

Everyone is different though, I'm losing weight while taking Levora, a low dose birth control pill. But I'm only losing the weight because I'm eating less and working out more. :-) The only way you can tell is if you take the pill and have a "reaction" to it involving weight. If it's bothersome or troublesome, talk to your Doc to get a different kind.

Onesnap

I've been on birth control since 1994.

No weight issues due to it.

Since 2002 I've been VERY happy with Neuvaring. It's expensive but worth every $$. NO side effects because it's low dose hormones right to the source.

Ephena

Many women gain on the full estrogen pills while they either don't gain or maybe lose on the low estrogen ones because of the hormone regulation. I was using an IUD for 4 years and up until the last 6 months of it I didn't gain. I think the weight I gained was a lifestyle issue. I just came off Seasonique, which was a full hormone pill, and I lost weight on it but again I think it was a lifestyle thing since I made huge changes to my eating and exercise routines while on it. But I started suffer side effects from so much estrogen so now I'm off birth control for a while to give my body a break.

Onesnap

I hope and pray I don't gain weight when I get my birth control pills. Yikes.

Birth control pills are so 1970s-1980s. I will never go back on the bill. Neuvaring all the way, baby. We're not having our own kids (adopting) so I needed something better than the pill (no same time every day situation to worry about, no weight issues)

Onesnap

I gained weight and off pills for a month now. Losing weight as I should due to diet and exercise but now I am getting pimples on my face . On the birth control I couldn't lose even with diet and exercise and I was always bloated. My stomach is totally flat after a month now. I can't even imagine that I had a 5 months pregnant looking belly a month ago and for 1.5 years.

There's lower hormone solutions out there. See above.

smltwngrl

I gained weight when I was on the pill (about 10 to fifteen lbs) when I started using the Depo shot I gained close to 20 and even with diet and exercise, it is just harder to drop it. I know it IS possible, and you just have to be more careful, but I know that a lot of women do gain weight due to birth control.

JenOman

I have been on BC since 1998 and no change (besides me becoming a couch potato and eating like I was still working out constantly). There have been studies about how that is a myth (in most cases). I have had no problem losing weight while on the pill

wreath7

thanks very much for the responses

GB333

My weight only changed when I was on the Shot... I gained 30lbs in 3 months because it makes your body believe it's pregnant (in a hormonal way) and causes wacked out cravings for entire bags of cheetos and loads of ice cream...

I was on the shot for 10 years and had no unexplained cravings or weight gain. Everyone is different.

Plus, like you said, it caused cravings.... but it did not cause weight gain. Giving in to those cravings and eating more caused the weight gain. Track what you eat and your calories and you will be fine.

I went off the shot a few months ago and switched to Loestren Fe and again have had no side effects. I've lost 22 pounds on the shot and now the pill no problem.

Shayyy01

I've been on almost every BC out there.

Depo- i gained 30+ lbs and caused migraines
Neuvring loved it! Didnt gain to much but if you have history of headaches it can cause a stroke..
Now i'm on old fashion non hormonal pills.. it sucks taking them every day but i've lost weight instead of retaining weight normal period, that actually should decrease over time and no headaches

I think it depends on the person. I had a friend on depo that lost weight but it made her sick.

hellotina

i work for a doctor's office & more thank likely you will gain weight vs lose weight on birth control pills if anything.

Onesnap

I've been on almost every BC out there.

Depo- i gained 30+ lbs and caused migraines
Neuvring loved it! Didnt gain to much but if you have history of headaches it can cause a stroke..
Now i'm on old fashion non hormonal pills.. it sucks taking them every day but i've lost weight instead of retaining weight normal period, that actually should decrease over time and no headaches

I think it depends on the person. I had a friend on depo that lost weight but it made her sick.

If you smoke on Neuvaring you can get bloodclots and stroke (if you're over 35). I don't think the headache thing is true...it's such a low dose of hormones compared to the pill.

GB333

Now i'm on old fashion non hormonal pills..

Just curious - what kind of pill are you on that isn't hormones?

eddyca

I've been on Safyral for a month and lost weight, but I've been trying to do so. I was on Lo-Estrin 24 Fe for 2 months before that which caused me to gain weight rapidly along with high blood pressure. I started dieting while on Lo-Estrin and still lost weight but it was at a slower pace in comparasion to Safyral. Every BCP is different, and every women reacts differently to the various hormones so that's a hard question to answer definitively!

Amanda0325

nuvaring all the way.. love it.. easy.. didn't gain a lot on it.. and i don't even care if its expesnive cause i can't forget to take it and im protected all the time.

CarolineHayden

I use a cheap generic birth control: Triprevifim or something like that. I've been on it for about a year and haven't had weight issues. With diet and exercise, I've been able to lose a few pounds so it doesn't seem to hinder the weight loss process. It's pretty cheap at the college I attend, too.

tiedye

I gained weight I have never been able to lose while on Yaz. I want to go off of it but because of other things going on in my body I need the hormones.

inspiration345

I was on Yaz too.I think it's low hormone.My doctor didn't seem to mind my weight gain and didn't do much about it.

sunnyzephyr

I asked my doctor about it when I went on birth control. She said there is no actual proof that birth control causes weight gain (or loss for that matter). She said statistics often reflect that women gain weight on birth control because the majority of women start using it when they start college. So she seemed to think that the weight loss was actually from college and life style changes as opposed to the pill. But that is just one opinion. I personally experienced no weight changes when I went on the pill. Although alternative bc's like the depot shot are known to have a much bigger impact on your body.

natalie1872

I have always taken a minimill until this year as I developed a stress related dermotitis on my face. My Dr put me on a higher dose oestrogen pill to counteract the problem. That worked however I gained 6kg this year. No matter what I did with diet and exercise I could not lose, in fact I kept gaining weight and got well above my start weight of 66kg. At the start of October I decided to stop taking the pill all together, since then I have lost 2 kg. and feeling better than ever. Im almost 40 and I feel the less medication I can take (in any form) is better.

meganmorsey

I've heard of a couple of people losing weight. Most seem to hang on to weight. I've been off birth control for about a year and half since my husband had the snip in April 2010. I weigh more now than when I was on the pill, but I wouldn't say that it is one of the causes.

I'm actually considering going back on the pill, but not because of weight issues. I get really bad PMS symptoms (bloating, irritability, fatigue, cramps, breakouts) since stopping the pill. On the pill I had many fewer issues. I don't think it had any effect on my weight one way or the other. If I have less bloating on the pill, then I may actually weight slightly less during that time since I'll have less water weight. If you exercise and watch your calories, taking the pill will not cause you to gain weight. Probably won't help you lose weight either.

grassette

Taking estrogen is a cause of breast cancer. It is why the breast cancer rates are now so high. The best thing to use is natural birth control, using the Billings Ovulation Method.

grassette

The very best birth control method is the Billings Ovulation Method. It is totally natural, and more women need to know about it. Wiki has a great article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billings_ovulation_method

If you are married, it is the way to go. It opens up the lines of communication with your husband, treats your fertility like the gift it is, and strengthens marriages. Friends tell me it has totally transformed their marriages.

There are all kinds of bad effects from birth control pills. They are the cause of the breast cancer epidemic, for one. They pollute the waters, leading to fish and amphibians becoming inter-sex (i.e eggs in the testes of males), and recent studies are showing a correlation with prostate cancer. The low-dose pills are finicky, becoming ineffective if taken only a few hours late, so abortion becomes the back-up, with all of those negative effects on future fertility and more.

And let's face it, there is so much profit to be made from birth control pills, getting something for free is not going to be what Big Pharma is going to promote. Natural methods are so much better. They put you in tune with your own body, and once you recognize how your cycle actually works, you can better monitor your health.

Many women come to the Billings Method when they are trying to become pregnant. But learning about your cycle early in life by recognizing your own body is really something every woman should learn and know.

dad106

I take Loesterin 24 FE and I've had no problems losing weight while on it.. I lost 28 pounds so far.

I honestly don't think the pill causes you to gain/lose weight.. If your eating what you should and not in excessive amounts, then you won't gain weight. If your eating at a calorie deficit and eating healthy, then you'll lose weight.

natalie1872

I take Loesterin 24 FE and I've had no problems losing weight while on it.. I lost 28 pounds so far.

I honestly don't think the pill causes you to gain/lose weight.. If your eating what you should and not in excessive amounts, then you won't gain weight. If your eating at a calorie deficit and eating healthy, then you'll lose weight.

I have to disagree, I have never had any trouble losing weight on the mini pill. this year however on the stronger pill, I could not lose and was gaining right up till I stopped at the start of October. Only in the last 2 weeks I have lost 2 kg, very happy about it too.