Losing while on birth control

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Replies

  • jessmart83
    jessmart83 Posts: 283 Member
    I havent had "the pill" in years, but I do get depo, just because I am not good at remembering to take pills. I have never had a proble with weight because of birth control. Mine was mostly due to being comfortable with my bf, making huge comfort food meals, and slacking on my workouts.
  • squirrelzzrule22
    squirrelzzrule22 Posts: 640 Member
    I gained a ton of weight on Yaz. Some, but not all, of that weight just FELL off afterwards without me consciously changing anything. A few years later on Apri I was able to slowwwwwwllllyyyyy lose some weight (and I don't blame the pill for the slow loss.) Just switched to Aviane (due to other Apri side effects) and it remains to be seen how I will do on it. Now, my doctor told me that weightloss is one of the listed side effects of Aviane which I found very discouraging. However, when I gained tons of weight on Yaz it was indirectly from the pill- Yaz gave me intense anxiety and mild depression (shockingly common on this particular pill). Both of these conditions turned me from a routine jogger to a sedentary and miserable person. Additionally, it gave me an INTENSE appetite- I was SO hungry all the time and I just KEPT ON EATING! About a month after I'd been off it (and was on no pill) I had my normal, pretty average appetite. I hate to say it but the roughly 30 pounds I put on in 6 months on Yaz is the weight I am still trying to get off. For the rest of college I lived an unhealthy college lifestyle and slowly LOST from my maximum Yaz weight.

    So to answer your question, the pill absolutely can effect weight, but I believe it is usually "indirectly" because messing with pregnancy hormones can really screw with your appetite.

    And to those criticizing use of the pill, please don't. Its a very personal medical choice and you shouldn't judge why someone might choose to be on it.

    Thanks for not letting my be the only one who feels like that. I've changed my pill a few times, but it's all the same.


    You're definitely not the only one! Make sure you voice those problems to your doctor (and make sure your doctor knows what they're talking about....the person who first prescribed me Yaz was a dermatologist and not an OBGYN and when I did see an OBGYN she was much more helpful.) Good luck!!
  • darknessgurl
    darknessgurl Posts: 2
    I'm on the depo shot too. Started when I met my partner alomost 6 years ago. I have gained ALOT of weight over the last 5-6 years. I think that it is because I am overly comfortable with my relationship. Obviously eating horribly and not exercizing is mostly to blame.

    Everyone kept telling me "come off the injection and you'll lose weight" and so I stopped for a year. And nothing. So it is definitely not the injection that has kept the weight on.

    But now, staying under my daily calorie intake, excercizing daily etc and I am still not losing weight. There could be a number of factors contributing to that though. So will try other things and see how it all goes!
  • tamikia87
    tamikia87 Posts: 66 Member
    I actually am just the opposite, When I am on the pill I don't get cravings and I'm a lot less hungry than off of it! I've been off and on it several times, when I'm on it I loose around 15 lbs, each time I came off it I gained the 15 lbs and then some! I get a lot more cravings now to, but I've chose to stay off it because I feel it's a healthier choice for my body. I just need to learn not to be hungry all the time!
  • ZozoMonster
    ZozoMonster Posts: 270 Member
    I've been on the pill for nearly 5 years and it's done nothing to stop me losing weight, nor did it make me gain any. I gained because I ate too much and was lazy, and I've lost coz I got off my butt and exercised, and ate healthily :p
  • charismanoodles
    charismanoodles Posts: 343 Member
    I gained when I went on the pill, only because my hormones went crazy and I craved junk all the time. Swapped pills and no problems, lost most of my weight while on birth control ;)
  • kirstie1926
    kirstie1926 Posts: 48
    I'm on the depo shot too. Started when I met my partner alomost 6 years ago. I have gained ALOT of weight over the last 5-6 years. I think that it is because I am overly comfortable with my relationship. Obviously eating horribly and not exercizing is mostly to blame.

    Everyone kept telling me "come off the injection and you'll lose weight" and so I stopped for a year. And nothing. So it is definitely not the injection that has kept the weight on.

    But now, staying under my daily calorie intake, excercizing daily etc and I am still not losing weight. There could be a number of factors contributing to that though. So will try other things and see how it all goes!

    i was on depo for 1 year about 13 years ago and gained 60 lbs in that year! depo is laboratory created progesterone and it causes women to go into pre-menopause. i was a college kid in a relationship and i thought wow, this is great, i won't have to remind myself to take a pill everyday and have the fear if i slip up. and since i won't have a period, the cost between the shot and spending money on tampons was even more economical. then i gained weight, hair fell out, mood swings, depression, hot flashes, lack of sex drive (they inject sex offenders with this drug to reduce their sex drive). i was 19 and had the side effects of a 55 year old, menopausal woman. if you're on it, i highly HIGHLY recommend getting off of it. i've done my research on the drug and it's totally bad news bears. just research it, even wikipedia can give a brief overview. i don't want to cause fear, but just trying to help my fellow females out.

    since then i've never gone back on any hormonal birth control. condoms are my bff.
  • xBethiee
    xBethiee Posts: 2
    Currently on the pill and have lost 7lbs (half a stone) since the new year... I don't think the pill can actually cause weight gain or make any harder to lose weight. If anything, its the hormone changes that will make you feel a bit binge-y but there are ways to tackle that like drinking lots of water or going for a walk if you feel like you will binge on food.
    Good luck! :)
  • Tubtui
    Tubtui Posts: 53
    When I started taking the pill my doctor told me that weight gain can be one of the side effects.* But he also said it's normally up to 5 lbs because of water retention and I should see him again if I gain more weight than that, to try another pill. I didn't gain any weight back then, I only put on the pounds when I started eating more and moving less than I used to.

    * According to the information leaflet in my pill package (Levomin) getting headaches (1 in 10 women) is a more common side effect than gaining weight.
  • moonlitdreams2
    moonlitdreams2 Posts: 83
    When I was on the shot I gained so much weight! The pills I haven't had as much trouble but I know they can be hard to lose weight while on them. It's a side effect. I have been single a long time so I quit taking them for now. Just stay motivated and working hard. You may have just hit a plateau and it's not really the medicine. If you want help staying motivated and/or want to chat add me as a friend :) Good luck!

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