Quitting birth control to help with weight loss?

easjer

I hate what the pill did to me and got my tubes tied as soon as I could find a doctor who would do it. Needless to say, anyone even thinking of maybe having more kids in the future can't go this route and even if you're %100 sure you never want any or more kids, it's nearly impossible to get it done when you're young. For some reason a guy can get 'fixed' in his early 20s, unmarried, no kids, but good luck with that if you're a woman.

I agree! It's ridiculous that a man can get his tubes tied on his 18th birthday basically if he wants to...but when I was 18, I was told absolutely not, no one would tie my tubes for me (and believe me, I tried...lol). Every few years I go on the hunt looking for a doctor who will do it for me, but I've had no such luck. They see my age (I'm currently 26) and assume I'm just "confused" or being stupid, and that I'll regret the decision. I've never once in my entire life wanted my own children. I have a very strong opinion of adoption, and knew since I was a teenager that if I ever wanted children, I was going to adopt, and I've stood by those convictions ever since. But to the doctors I've spoken to, that's not a legitimate enough reason. Saying "I do not want children" isn't, either. The double standard pisses me off...a man can make that decision for himself as soon as he's 18, but a woman can't.

Vasectomy reversal is usually much easier than a tubal ligation reversal. Tubal ligations are generally much more invasive and difficult to reverse and require IVF if reversal fails (though I suppose IVF with TSEE is required if a vasectomy reversal fails).

While that's not my path, I feel for you. It's tough to be continually turned down when you know your own mind.

easjer

For the OP - there are so many types of birth control out there! I can't speak personally to hormonally based BC, because I've never been allowed to take it (concerns with some family history and effectiveness at my weight, and now I know I have MTHFR and don't care for increased risk of clots).

But going off hormonally based BC does not mean you have to get pregnant. There are a huge variety of pills and dosages, there are IUD's, there are barrier methods and there are natural methods that can be effective if done correctly.

Talk to your doctor about your concerns and explore your other options! Just remember to use a back-up method while you switch to ensure avoiding pregnancy. If you want information on non-hormonal natural methods, message me and I can assist. I can't hormonal birth control and I can't have an IUD (history of ectopic pregnancy rules it out), but I've successfully avoided pregnancy for years with non-hormonal methods and charting.

strangealchemy

I know this thread is really old but stuff like this drives me crazy! Hormonal birth control be it the IUD, implanon, mini pill, low dose, high dose, the shot etc--these can all definitely make some people gain weight--they can also make it nearly impossible for some people to lose; it all depends on their individual biology. This is something that a lot of people refuse to believe until they experience it (or some kind of hormonal imbalance) themselves.

When you have a hormonal imbalance (and there are different types you can get on the pill such as insulin resistance, estrogen dominancy etc) it is most certainly NOT as simple as "calories in calories out." When you alter your hormones it can actually end up altering your metabolism. The only reason some doctors and scientists insist that the pill doesn't cause weight gain is because it doesn't necessarily DIRECTLY cause it.

The endocrine system is incredibly complicated--estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone for instance, all have a multitude of functions (some you would never guess) and they're all tied up with other hormones and when you mess with one of them you mess with the whole balance.

Unfortunately, these pills are also not tailored to our individual biology. They are one size fits all. This is why the pill has so many side effects and it's why they will hit some women way harder than others, and in different ways. Some people are just way more sensitive to estrogen than others and even the low estrogen pills could cause them to gain weight (or give them any other number of side effects); it can also go the other way around where a person goes on the "mini pill" or mirena, or the ring, or the shot (all low estrogen options) and the lack of estrogen makes them GAIN tons of weight. When the hormonal imbalance is really off it can even make it impossible for them to lose this weight--no matter how much they work out or diet. So can other hormonal imbalances (like thyroid disease) so if you're killing yourself at the gym and eating nothing but veggies and still gaining see a doctor and get all your hormone levels tested.

Also agree with easjer that there are other non-hormonal options that can be explored. Unlike our ancestors, women now have access to sex education so educate yourself about your body and its reproductive cycle!

ddc022

I'm doing the same thing. I recently donated eggs and all the hormones screwed my weight up (+10 lbs!). So, I'm hoping quitting BC helps get me back to normal. I'm seeing my OB to get fitted for a diaphragm, we'll see how that goes.

spara0038

Maybe switch types? I'm on a low-dose one right now rather than tricyclic and I've lost over 20lbs and I'm having a pretty easy time at least maintaining that loss. When my insurance company switched me from one generic to a different form of the same generic, I gained 6 lbs in a week and felt like the world was ending.

Talk to your doctor. Unless you want to try to get pregnant, I wouldn't quit the pill. Just see if there's a better one for you.