Birth control

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  • eastcoastcoco
    eastcoastcoco Posts: 12 Member
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    I have the Mirena and have gained weight, not because of the actual IUD but because I was eating more and not exercising. I asked my doctor about it because I was concerned and he basically broke it down this way...when you're on a hormonal birth control in order to prevent ovulation it increases your hormone levels to trick your body into believing it is pregnant. He said you will find yourself retaining more fluids, nutrients, and caving to cravings because that is what a body does when it's developing a fetus. His advice was to be more conscious of what I ate, exercise more and if I didn't like that then switch to a non-hormone or Progestin-only pill.

    I'm not a doctor and he could have been just telling me this to make me feel better about my weight gain but after speaking with him I realized that my weight gain/loss depends on me. Maybe it's a mind thing but it's worked for me and I have no plans to get rid of my Mirena anytime soon.
  • citybelle24
    citybelle24 Posts: 7 Member
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    I was curious about this topic as well! I had been on Trinessa since Sept 2006, and have only struggled with tons of weight gain over the last three years... Has anyone else been taking Birth Control for long periods and then noticed weight gain?

    I also stopped my pills in mid January because my Insurance was changed, so I have not been on Birth Control since mid January and in this time I have lost 10lbs. I'm afraid to go back on BC for fear that it was the trigger for the weight gain...
  • k_winder
    k_winder Posts: 65 Member
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    I gained 20lbs in 8 months after starting BC in 2010 (I use Loestrin). I believe my metabolism was already slowed by beta-blockers I take for a heart condition. With the weight packed on from the BC and my slowed metabolism....I'm in a place where I am unhappy with my weight but having difficulty losing anything more than water weight. My dr has agreed that the weight was likely caused by the BC because I hadn't changed anything else and the gain started as soon as I began the BC. However, he told me that switching to something else is no guarantee I will be able to lose those 20 lbs and changing the hormone balance my body has grown used to could actually cause MORE weight gain.

    So......no advice for you. But you definitely are not alone.
  • triciab79
    triciab79 Posts: 1,713 Member
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    Birth control and I did not agree. It messed with my moods and my weight. It was the same with Mirena. I was not one of these lucky girls that lost her period grew beautiful hair and had perfect skin all while avoiding pregnancy. FYI though I have a 4yr old and a 1yr old that prove that for some people birth control just doesn't work.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
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    1-5 pounds may be the birth control more than that and its probably the way you have been eating
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    I've had Mirena since October 2009 and I love it. It did take my body about 3-4 months to adjust to the hormones, I gained 8 pounds but it was also over the holidays too, but then it leveled out and I was able to shed those 8 plus some more just like before I had it placed.

    It's just one of those things you have to weigh out the pros and cons. I gained some weight temporarily, but I have no period, no cramps, no moods -- no worries about babies. I think you have to give your body time, but set a limit for when it's no longer worth it. Had I gained more than 25 pounds, I would have had it taken out.
  • Mommy4812
    Mommy4812 Posts: 649 Member
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    Birth control and I did not agree. It messed with my moods and my weight. It was the same with Mirena. I was not one of these lucky girls that lost her period grew beautiful hair and had perfect skin all while avoiding pregnancy. FYI though I have a 4yr old and a 1yr old that prove that for some people birth control just doesn't work.

    Do you mean you got pregnant with both of them on the mirena?
  • samweee
    samweee Posts: 22 Member
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    I was on the pill for two years and it didn't affect my weight at all, but as soon as I stopped taking it, I gained almost ten pounds. I don't really know why, I always just blamed it on hormones but I don't really know.
  • getfit_kal120
    getfit_kal120 Posts: 46
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    When i got on nuva ring i had lost a lot of weight out of no where, like 45 lbs, im pretty sure it had to do with a break up, but then i ended up gaining it all back after i got in a new relationship with "happy" weight. then got off it a while back because i was having a reallly hard time losing weight ..nothing happend, then decided to get back on it and gained 10lbs.. now off it again.
  • cnewlin86
    cnewlin86 Posts: 87
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    I have Mirena, have had it for nearly 5 years. I am planning to have it out in november when it's due out. Before that I had tri sprintec and got PG on it. I never would have switched off Ortho tricylen LO but i couldnt afford it anymore. Thinking of getting the Mirena out and trying Ortho tricylen again. I think the mirena may be cause for my low sex drive over the last five years and some of my weight gain. I have to take credit for poor food choices but I haven't ate horrible the last 5 years either...and it seems harder to take it off tho or maybe it was because before pregnancy i never struggled with weight issues....who knows....
  • chellebublz
    chellebublz Posts: 568 Member
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    I have Mirena, have had it for nearly 5 years. I am planning to have it out in november when it's due out. Before that I had tri sprintec and got PG on it. I never would have switched off Ortho tricylen LO but i couldnt afford it anymore. Thinking of getting the Mirena out and trying Ortho tricylen again. I think the mirena may be cause for my low sex drive over the last five years and some of my weight gain. I have to take credit for poor food choices but I haven't ate horrible the last 5 years either...and it seems harder to take it off tho or maybe it was because before pregnancy i never struggled with weight issues....who knows....

    It is DEFT the cause of the low sex drive. I have been experiencing it like mad crazy. I got pregnant with my son while me and my fiance's relationship was still new and were in the "honeymoon stage" i guess you can call it the entire pregnancy including a few weeks after he was born. Then I got the Mirena and I havne't been in the mood once. Not to mention I gained 20 pounds and didn't change my eating habits at all, I didnt even gain 20 pounds during my pregnancy =/ When the doc let me choose between Mirena and Paragard I knew I should have went with the no hormones one, but the idea of no period sounded amazing to me. But I still get a very light one every couple months so that didn't happen for me.

    Seriously considering getting it out, but I'm so scared I will gain back the weight I've lost if I go on something new...... I've even considered permanent birth control since I'm pretty sure I'm done having babies. But I've read about weight gain as a side effect with that too. GRRRR
  • concavity
    concavity Posts: 143 Member
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    I tried 3 different BC pills. The first Yaz I automatically got off because of all the scary warnings, Orthotrycyclin lo which caused me to get ot my highest weight ever (+20lbs). Now seasonique I have 5+ from normal but it might just be because I haven't exercised as much as when I was taking the other 2
  • littlelily613
    littlelily613 Posts: 769 Member
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    A lot of people say you gain on birth control, but I really haven't noticed. I did gain a lot of weight recently, but only because I fell back into old habits. I also lost 80 pounds in about half a year while on birth control.
  • misskerouac
    misskerouac Posts: 2,242 Member
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    BC affects everyone differently unfortunately
    I've gone through 4 different pills that have not agreed with me, they didn't make me gain weight but some made me throw up if i didn't take them EXACTLY at the same time every day.
    I'm on Demulen now (it's been about 6 years on this one) and its the only one that hasn't made me sick.
    I've been on BC for 13 years now and I've been 150lbs and I've been 185lbs, so I can't blame the BC
  • Kslutsky83
    Kslutsky83 Posts: 10 Member
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    I have not had any issues with my Pills, but the last time I was on the shot I put on 45 Lbs, But I think it had more to do with what I was eating and how much I was eating.. I just started my Pills again 2 weeks ago and I have had no issues with weight... It did however make me want to EAT EAT EAT and I had to make sure that I did not EAT EAT EAT and if I did it was semi healthy stuff!
  • cnewlin86
    cnewlin86 Posts: 87
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    I have Mirena, have had it for nearly 5 years. I am planning to have it out in november when it's due out. Before that I had tri sprintec and got PG on it. I never would have switched off Ortho tricylen LO but i couldnt afford it anymore. Thinking of getting the Mirena out and trying Ortho tricylen again. I think the mirena may be cause for my low sex drive over the last five years and some of my weight gain. I have to take credit for poor food choices but I haven't ate horrible the last 5 years either...and it seems harder to take it off tho or maybe it was because before pregnancy i never struggled with weight issues....who knows....

    It is DEFT the cause of the low sex drive. I have been experiencing it like mad crazy. I got pregnant with my son while me and my fiance's relationship was still new and were in the "honeymoon stage" i guess you can call it the entire pregnancy including a few weeks after he was born. Then I got the Mirena and I havne't been in the mood once. Not to mention I gained 20 pounds and didn't change my eating habits at all, I didnt even gain 20 pounds during my pregnancy =/ When the doc let me choose between Mirena and Paragard I knew I should have went with the no hormones one, but the idea of no period sounded amazing to me. But I still get a very light one every couple months so that didn't happen for me.

    Seriously considering getting it out, but I'm so scared I will gain back the weight I've lost if I go on something new...... I've even considered permanent birth control since I'm pretty sure I'm done having babies. But I've read about weight gain as a side effect with that too. GRRRR

    I understand exactly how you feel! It was the same way for us! I feel like I had a better sex drive when I was pregnant than I do now. I'm just really tired of not wanting to have sex. It's gotten old! I feel menopasual and I'm only 26! But I'm not ready to have another kid yet either. I'm just about to finish school, I want to get a full time job and a few other things before we start. But it almost seems worth it to get it out and switch back to a birth control pill just to see if things in the bedroom improve! As far as my weight goes it may be a contributing factor along with my food choices and lack of exercise from time to time. I have never gotten back to my weight before pregnancy but I can't blame that on the mirena. I haven't actively tried to until the last two months and so far I've lost 10lbs and several inches. If I dont keep up the working out and eating right it comes back on...So I know my metabolism isn't the same either. This time however, I don't plan to quit on myself. I really want to lose some weight and keep it off!

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