Ladies..scared of BIRTH CONTROL!

Taking Aviane, have lost 30 lbs. I have heard that it affects appetite and water retention, so if you stick to a caloric deficit and stay hydrated, you will negate the weight-gain effects .

Don't be scared!

I've had my implanon for almost 3 years. Absolutely love it, haven't had any side effects besides irregular periods.

I've lost 40 pounds over the last year and I gained that weight because of me, not because of my BC.

But the weight's gone now

Oh and also I plan on getting the implanon again once my time with it is up.

depo is horrid!
it is just something i would never do again if you paid me.
besides the 50+ lbs i gained while on it, and the mood swings, when you do decide to get off it, good luck having children any time soon.

I have a paraguard IUD... no hormones = no hormonal side effects! I love it!

I also had tumors grow on my liver from birth control pills. I'd not have known until one of them ruptured last summer. Pain was intense from the internal bleeding. It was diagnosed as being a problem with my gall bladder despite my never having had gall bladder issues. I trusted the Dr's and had my gall bladder removed only to find out during my second opinion for the liver tumor that nothing was wrong with my gall bladder. I then had to have 20% of my liver removed to get rid of the damaged area. Supposedly the liver tumor thing is rare, but I've now heard of quite a few women who have experienced it. Recovery from the 2 surgeries that occured within 6 weeks of each other has been intense. I'm now 6 months out of the liver surgery and am having a really hard time strengthening up my core after it was cut (a 14-inch incision). Yikes.

I was on the pill for most of my life starting at age 18 - I'm now 47, so a long time.

Just be careful!

b.c. does not cause weight gain. I brought this up to both my ob/gyn and my regular doc, and both told me no, that is definitely not going to cause weight gain. My gyn even looked at me like "come on, you know better than that". And yes I do, but sometimes you just want to hear it from the doc. LOL

it *seemed* to me that right after I went back on it, I gained weight. I thought it odd though because in the past it never caused weight gain so I did ask even though I was sure that b.c./weight gain was a myth (it is). I reviewed what else was going on in my life at the time I started to gain a few and oh yes, indeed, I was going out more, not watching what I was eating and more specifically DRINKING. I found a new love for Blue Moon as a favorite beer and I am not a heavy drinker at all, but those 16 oz glasses of blue moon ADD UP especially when you are using it to washing down pub food and other garbage.

Other than serious medical conditions (like hypothyroidism, etc) - calories in vs, calories out is the only thing that will make you gain, no matter what else you want to blame it on to make yourself less at fault.

I've tried several different types of birth control, hopefully this will be helpful:

Depo-Provera
Pre-Baby: No side effects, other than absolutely no period for 2 full years - not a drawback in my book. Also, my breasts did increase in size which was okay by me since I'm only a B cup.
Post-Baby: Horrible weight gain (30+ lbs), cramping, acne, and man I think I lived in a constant state of mood swings for 3 months till it wore off. I had the injection when my son was about 5 months old, perhaps that was too soon and I wasn't leveled off enough to go back on a hormone based BC.

***I had some friends who did not get so lucky though, one of my girlfriends gained about 50 lbs and it really messed up her system.

Ortho Tri-Cyclen
Pre-Baby: It was okay, caused some side effects that weren't awful, mostly mild cramping/moodiness/bloat. I had trouble remembering to take it daily. I did like that it regulated my TOM and I could skip the sugar pill and just start a new pack if I needed to skip my TOM for vacation or something.
Post-Baby: Acne & slight weight gain. Again my breasts increased in size but I discontinued due to the acne and discovery of ovarian cysts, PCOS.

Yasmin
Only tried this after my son was born and about 2 years old. I was originally put on this pill to help with the PCOS symptoms. Yasmin had a diuretic in it that removed the fluid from the cysts and alleviated the pain and discomfort. I lost weight with this pill and took it for nearly 7 years. No moodiness or anything that I can recall.

For about 4 years we used no protection at all, but no baby which is likely because of PCOS.

I now have a Mirena IUD recommended to control my TOM. With this I have little to no side effects. In the beginning I had major cramping around my TOM, but its no longer an issue because my TOM has all but stopped. Every so often, maybe 3 or 4 times a year I spot for a couple days, but other than that no issues. I do break out a little when I ought to be having my period, but nothing like I saw when I was on the other BC forms.

my nurse said most birth control methods just increase appetite and make you more hungry. Its up to you to control or give in to those cravings. I am on the depo shot and the first time I had it 5 yrs ago I put on 30lbs and this time im losing weight. I just eat how much im allowed and make smart choices.
I dont think they do make you gain weight they just make you hungrier or crave foods

Just think how much you'd gain if you got pregnant.

Are there no other methods of birth control?

I've been on the pill for 13 years, i had weight issues before, and I still have them now, I don't think it has anything to do with the pill.