Quitting birth control to help with weight loss?

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  • drea73
    drea73 Posts: 20
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    Long ago I did the BC shot and gained a lot of weight. I have been on and off the BCP for a long time (over 15 years) and for me being off the pill is not worth it. It makes me have horrible (like pschyo lady) PMS and horrible heavy long periods. I considered getting and IUD or even having my tubes tied until my Dr reminded me that I was going to be raging PMS lady balled up with cramps and bleeding like a stuck pig if I went off the pill. I decided that I would stick with the BCP.

    If the BCP is not controlling any other symptoms you may want to give it a try. Just don't get knocked up.
  • quixoticmantis
    quixoticmantis Posts: 297 Member
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    Discuss different options with your doctor. There may be another bc that agrees with you better.

    Me, personally - NOTHING could make me stop my birth control, haha :noway:
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
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    Consult with your physician so you can find something that works for you. If you are not ready to have kids, I hope you find a birth control that works for you rather than just giving it up altogether. I'm sorry you're going through this and wish you the best of luck.
  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
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    You know it's more likely the BC is making you more hungry and you are eating more without realizing it? I lost 56 pounds on Yaz, relatively easily.
  • alecta337
    alecta337 Posts: 622 Member
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    I am on the pill and have been for 5 years now, when I started it I didn't gain any weight. I gained this weight about 2 years after starting the pill. I am still on the pill and still losing weight.

    I think that its all a myth honestly
  • sblueyez
    sblueyez Posts: 156 Member
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    You should talk to your doctor before you stop. There are more than weight you should consider, which they are showing in studies now that birth control is not causing people to gain weight. Especially with the newer medications coming out with the lower amounts of hormones.

    Are you using it only as birth control or to regulate your cycle in some manner? And do you plan to use other methods to prevent pregnancy?

    Personally I wouldn't stop the birth control. And if you feel the pill is not the best option for you there are five billion other methods. Including implants, IUDs like the Mirena , patches, and vaginal rings.

    Agreed. Talk to your doctor. I went for a year before I told my gyn about the side effects I was having. She switched the script and I am doing fine now. I'd try something else before you quit.
  • kgillikin
    kgillikin Posts: 191 Member
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    I got back on BC recently and gained like 10lbs overnight. I am so swollen I cant even wear my wedding ring. I HATE BC but dont want to get pregnant again so I will just have to live with it.
  • dot513
    dot513 Posts: 38
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    I struggles with this question... just be careful. Pregnancy weight is hard to lose!!!!
  • ehg87
    ehg87 Posts: 430 Member
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    After a year and three months of depression, crazy mood swings and a 30 pound weight gain I had my Mirena taken out. ( Oct 2011) The Dr acted like I was making up my symptoms, and that "no one has weight gain due to Mirena." but I know my body and insisted it be removed. I have never had a weight problem and lost all pregnancy weight after two babies with no problem until being on the birth control. I know for me personally all I wanted to do was eat, and if I tried to cut back I would get intense headaches and feel like I was starving. It was the best decision I've ever made. I've got tons more energy and that constant starving feeling is gone. Since having it removed in Oct I've lost 10lbs. You know you're body better than anyone else and pills do different things to each person.
  • LilacDreamer
    LilacDreamer Posts: 1,365 Member
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    ugh i know how you feel. I lost 40 lbs in 2007, and i dropped down to 217 and maintained it for a year and a 1/2. In 2009 i started taking the pill. BIG mistake. I took it for 6 months and gained 30 pounds. They kept changing my pill every 2 months because of the side effects but the weight kept piling on. Now here I am trying to lose the weight all over again. blah.

    Edit: I was at the same activity level on the pill as i was before the pill, and I did not eat any more then when i started. Some people do react negatively to the hormones.
  • rissadiane
    rissadiane Posts: 355 Member
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    On my current BC, I'm actually losing weight and I have less of an appetite. This is the second kind I've been on that made me that way. The two in between made me a witch and gain weight. I think it depends on the hormones.
  • hungreeteacher17
    hungreeteacher17 Posts: 135 Member
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    If you don't want to get pregnant now it is imperative that you talk to your doctor & find a reliable method of birth control before you just drop the pill. I would ask about switching brands / types. Usually they will give you samples to try before you have to buy them, so you can avoid one that makes you crazy or makes you hungry all the time. I used to be on Depo (the shot) & lost weight on that, although many others said they gained on Depo. It really depends on your body chemistry. If the only reason you are quitting the pill is weight loss explore your options. I personally like Loestrin Fe. I found that taking it continuously (at my doctor's suggestion) helped me avoid the out of control hunger I used to have for the week before I took the placebo pills & the 4 days of placebo pills. Also no periods to deal with:)
  • sw33tn3ss07
    sw33tn3ss07 Posts: 71
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    I quit the pill a week ago and i am losing a lot more weight...
  • ReverendJim
    ReverendJim Posts: 260 Member
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    Didn't work for me, but good luck!
  • ljb82
    ljb82 Posts: 72 Member
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    Getting knocked up will put on a lot more than a little pill. The effect of oral birth controls on weight has been widely over stated. For some people weight goes up, but for some it goes down and most of the weight difference is due to water balance. I just say this because a friend of mine thought that she would stop taking hers two years ago and is now 120 lbs heavier with two kids. I'm not saying that you don't have control over your situation, but I know that I can't take that chance right now.

    Ditto! I also believe that the pill does not cause major weight gain. I know this from personal experience. Best of luck on whatever you decide :)
  • LeanMeanFitnessMachine
    LeanMeanFitnessMachine Posts: 659
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    It depends - is the possibility of getting pregnant more or less of a fear than not losing weight?
  • CharityEaton
    CharityEaton Posts: 508
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    Quitting the pill could make you gain a WHOLE lot more weight if you get pregnant! LOL!

    Seriously though, I have been on and off BC since 1998...off from 2001- 2006....the years I was WANTING to get pregnant with my children. I have now been on it non-stop for 6 years. Look into getting on a lower hormone type instead of quitting all together.

    The positive effects of the pill far outweigh the weight gain. Can't say that I noticed any weight gain because I got on it right after my youngest was born so I still had baby weight to lose BUT I've been on it this entire weight loss journey and have managed to drop 23 pounds in 6 months. I think the pill gets a bad wrap for weight gain. Everyone is different though so definetly talk with your doc!
  • CharityEaton
    CharityEaton Posts: 508
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    I quit the pill a week ago and i am losing a lot more weight...




    A week ago, really and you have lost more weight??? Could just be normal weight loss. Don't think one week is long enough to really be able to tell what made the weight come off.
  • MrsNoir
    MrsNoir Posts: 236 Member
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    Ohh Yazmine really made me put on weight. Right now I'm taking the minipill, as they call it over here, as it's for nursing moms, (I think it has less hormones in it) just in case I get pregnant again, however, I'm very chaotic with it, I just simply forget to take it everyday, so in the end, because it's not safe if not taken regularly, I end up using pills and condoms, so I'm wondering if there is really any point in keep taking it, I've been losing weight regularly since I had the baby, but perhaps I would lose it quicker if I give it up.

    Read on the leaflet of the pills regarding secondary effects, you'll find it there if your suspicions are right or wrong. :D You may also find there if you're bound to lose all your hair after taking it, perhaps that other girl incident was for other reasons like anemia. Sometimes doctors don't know it all, to be honest, I think they don't listen to 90% of what you say, they stick to your basic claim when you visit them, I think they tend to think that we are all hypocondriac, especially women, and they adopt the attitude of "They'll be better off if they think this or that" and they'll think they're doing something great for you, when perhaps you need the opposite effect, everybody's body is different, so they react differently to different things and unless they do specific research, like blood test, he won't know if that pill makes you feel hungrier or not.
  • Athena413
    Athena413 Posts: 1,709 Member
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    I am on the pill and have been for 5 years now, when I started it I didn't gain any weight. I gained this weight about 2 years after starting the pill. I am still on the pill and still losing weight.

    I think that its all a myth honestly

    I tend to agree with this. I DID gain a significant amount of weight around the same time I started taking the pill a little over 5 years ago, but a lot of other things also changed in my life - I got married, I was working 2 jobs, I was going to school full time, we didn't have a lot of money so we ate cheap (crappy food choices!) - thus I really think that's what caused me to gain all the weight.

    I quit taking birth control toward the end of October, I think, and I have yet to see a significant weight loss due to not taking it. Even if you DO lose weight after quitting the pill, it's probably just water weight, anyway.

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