Talk to me about birth control ...

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  • Smuterella
    Smuterella Posts: 1,623 Member
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    Have you thought about Natural Family Planning (NFP)? It's 99% effective, free, with no side effects! Just cost $25 for initial class. Basically, you learn when you're in the fertile period of your cycle and abstain during (which is really only a week out of the month). Pharmaceutical companies and doctors do not profit from this at all, so you won't hear it from them.

    It sounds like a lot of hard work keeping track to me. I'm a very chaotic person which is why I went for the depo in the first place. I'll definitely do some research though.
  • jkandktmom
    jkandktmom Posts: 1,010 Member
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    I was on Depo before I became pregnant with my son and I was the heaviest I have ever been:sad: . I went off Depo and about three months after my last shot the weight started to fly off. Even when I was having a "bad" week I would lose 5 pounds. I continued to lose even after I got pregnant.

    Now after two kids and a divorce I'm on Mierna. I love it! I don't have periods and I haven't noticed it hindering my weight loss.
  • inside_lap
    inside_lap Posts: 738 Member
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    I use Mircette and really LOVE it. I'm one of those girls that get really sick on the high dose birth controls. However, several of the low dose birth controls either did not control my period (erradic periods that did not sink with the pill) or made my period disappear all together (sounds great if you don't freak out and buy a test every time... lol). No weight issues on Mircette, nice light periods, and no nausia. Good luck!!
  • martymum
    martymum Posts: 413 Member
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    hi

    I used to be on the mixed pill and my doc changed me to cerazette because I was 40.

    I lost a few pounds and it hasn't impacted my recent weight loss (put it on when I gave up smoking and working at the same time).

    I have no side effects and even better no periods since I started taking it...perfect for me.

    Martyxx
  • mrsfickle
    mrsfickle Posts: 34 Member
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    It definitely depends on your body. I gain weight on birth conrtol pills unless they are progesterone based. Listen to your body and work with your doctor. I suggest starting with a bloodwork and further testing esp. since you have such terrible periods. I was not diagnosed until 27 with PCOS after years of miserable periods, weight gain, difficulty losing weight etc. I had an ablation in December and periods are better but still there! Can't wait for hysterectomy and oophorectomy! Good luck!
  • BrawlerBella
    BrawlerBella Posts: 400 Member
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    I have been on Depo for 3 years. No weight gain that I can attribute to it. In fact I've lost 35#. I am getting the Essure method done in July as a permanent option.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    I was on Microgynon (combined Pill) for years but started getting horrible headaches during my pill-free week, presumably as my natural hormone levels have been getting lower. My doctor recommended the Mirena coil, but I was too small to fit it (getting it halfway and back out was SO painful!).

    I'm now on Cerazette and couldn't be happier. After three months, no bleeding at all and no effect on weight.
  • bexy_27
    bexy_27 Posts: 28 Member
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    I was on Yaz (sister to Yasmin) for a year (2006-2007) and it was a nightmare. I gained 80 lbs almost overnight it seemed, in places I'd never carried extra weight before (my arms and tummy). I still haven't been able to get it off. I had migraines every single day for the last 6 months I was on Yaz, before my doc suggested it might be the pill, and I came off of it - migraines went away for the most part. I have maybe one every 2-3 months these days.

    I tried several birth control pills after Yaz. Kariva (generic for Mircette) was the gentlest by far for me. I say "for me" because everyone's body reacts differently.

    The best solution for me was to come off of birth control entirely. I use herbal tea to regulate my cycles when I need a little help, and I have an app on my cell phone that tracks my cycles so I know when I'm fertile. Been using this method since Oct. 2010 and have not been pregnant.

    Like I said, that's what has worked for me. Best of luck to you! :flowerforyou:
  • steelerstone
    steelerstone Posts: 2
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    There is a difference between eating well and eating healthy.
  • leahhugh
    leahhugh Posts: 144 Member
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    I switched to the pill, and I just switched to a lower dose of the pill. Since I've been on a lower dose the scale has actually moved!
  • _birdy_
    _birdy_ Posts: 5 Member
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    I gained over 30 pounds in 2 months when I went on the Depo shot as a teenager. I went off birth control entirely for about a year and all the weight went away without changing anything else. Now I'm on Nuvaring and haven't found that it inhibits anything about my weight loss progress.
  • smartandtrim
    smartandtrim Posts: 123 Member
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    I'm on implanon, but I've been on the pill since I was 10 (heavy periods). I think it depends on the woman and her eating habits, because neither made me gain weight (though the pill made me super hungry).

    Also, implanon is my favorite thing in the world.
  • Becka_D89
    Becka_D89 Posts: 60
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    I've been on cerazette for about a year. No weight gain since I started it, no TOTM since starting it (which everyone around me loves, i was horrid lol) But everyone is different, and everyone will react differently to different medications. All I can suggest is try it and see, can always change again later if its not working for you :)
  • SuperAmie
    SuperAmie Posts: 307 Member
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    I was on Alesse... I came off of it completely and the weight left aswell.. I think a non hormone free option would be worth asking about.
  • strunkm4
    strunkm4 Posts: 266
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    I take Tri-Sprintec. I haven't had any weight gain since I've been on it. The only problem I have is irratic TOM. I never get it on time, sometimes it lasts for a week, sometimes 3 days, sometimes 2 weeks. I've talked to my Gyno about it, and she says this is from my workouts and diet and that it shouldn't be a cause for alarm. Otherwise, I can't complain.
  • VictoriousMommy
    VictoriousMommy Posts: 24 Member
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    Have you thought about Natural Family Planning (NFP)? It's 99% effective, free, with no side effects! Just cost $25 for initial class. Basically, you learn when you're in the fertile period of your cycle and abstain during (which is really only a week out of the month). Pharmaceutical companies and doctors do not profit from this at all, so you won't hear it from them.


    This is what we do, and so far its been very effective...But you really have to know your body and have regular cycles. I always get mild cramping when I ovulate, so its easy for me. :smile:
  • collectsfrogs
    collectsfrogs Posts: 34 Member
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    I've been using Jolessa since March. During that time I've been able to lose weight. Granted, it isn't as fast as I'd like, but I'm still losing. And the great thing is only 4 periods a year!

    I also have been using Jolessa. I started a little over a year ago. and yes 4 periods a year, are great :). I was on the Depo shot for about a year, about 6 months I was fine with it, then the last 6 months, I gained a bit of weight. Went back to the Ortho Tri Cyclen I was on for years. Didn't have an issue with it. But my doctor wanted to change my pill cause she said that I was kinda getting "immune" to it cause I was on it for so long. So I battled with 5 different pills in 2 years, all that made me have some type of issues. Then I really researched a lot of different stuff. I don't agree with an IUD, so that was out of the option. So the Jolessa has worked for me. I haven't gained weight on it, and am able to lose weight.
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
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    Thanks all

    Sadly I don't think a coil will be a good option for me, I have very painful periods which is why I went on the Depo in the first place and apparently coils can make all that worse.

    Wish I could just get sterilised really, but it isn't something doctors are willing to do for a woman who doesn't have children.

    Mirena (IUS) will make your periods lighter or non-existent. The amount of progesterone in it doesn't get into your blood stream in significant amounts. I wish I'd discovered it earlier in life. You don't even have to remember to take it.
  • paperstars
    paperstars Posts: 76 Member
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    I'm on NuvaRing right now and it's pretty great. No weight gain, and I actually noticed a lowered appetite for quite a while when I first started. The only negative is that it's expensive without insurance and makes my period a bit longer and heavier.

    Before I got pregnant with my second child I was on Mirena. It was awesome. It's really low dose hormone and absolutely hassle free. It stopped my periods all together. Insertion is pretty uncomfortable though.
  • ShilohMaier
    ShilohMaier Posts: 135
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    I have a Mirena IUD. Love it!! I don't have to think about anything for the next two years (have had it for three so far, it works for five). My periods have become almost non-existant. Doesn't seem to interfere with my weight. I want to have the Essure procedure done to be permanently fixed, but my husband won't let me (he thinks he is somehow going to persuade me to have another baby... if he wants another baby, he'd better just go get another wife!) and where I live, a husband's consent is required for sterilization. Blah.

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