Ladies..scared of BIRTH CONTROL!

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Replies

  • Tme2change
    Tme2change Posts: 185 Member
    I have had HORRIBLE issues gaining weight while on birth control in the past..I gained about twenty pounds when I had that thing in my arm. I am now starting back up with a pill. I am SCARED TO DEATH to gain weight (I have been trying so hard!) I know it's better then having a babes at the moment, but still. How is it working for you?

    P.S. I am starting "Aviane"
    I was going to suggest the Mirena its a 5 year IUD however it does have hormones, it doesn't cause weight gain, your cycles lighten and can become absent until taken out. however it depends on how old you are if your GYN will put one in.
  • Sparlingo
    Sparlingo Posts: 938 Member
    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 :smile:.

    Don't be scared!
  • Pookylou
    Pookylou Posts: 988 Member
    Implanon implant for me, no side effects I have noticed, I may have gained weight when I started it but I think it was due to the epic amount of pizza I was eating.... On my third one now, so no periods for almost the whole time (had spotting the first 6 months, then for a few weeks when I had it changed). I love it, means I don't have to think about it,, apart from every 3 years! I was not great at taking my pill, and it gave me migraine!
  • Christina_3192
    Christina_3192 Posts: 133 Member
    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 :D

    Oh and also I plan on getting the implanon again once my time with it is up. :)
  • Amy106Days
    Amy106Days Posts: 172 Member
    I found it really hard to shed weight on Depo Provera my 6 years on the shot were my heaviest ever but I ate poorly too. Not sure if it has any part of the gain blame but I know I have lost easier since quitting the shot 1 year ago. I am not on anything for now (condoms) and my food cravings are much less intense.
  • sammirust
    sammirust Posts: 83
    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.
  • shivles
    shivles Posts: 468 Member
    The pill doesn't make you gain weight. A calorie surplus does.

    ^^ this! The pill will only make you gain weight if you let it, keep exercising and logging your calories and you will be fine.
  • JenRunTriHappyGirl
    JenRunTriHappyGirl Posts: 521 Member
    I have a paraguard IUD... no hormones = no hormonal side effects! I love it!
  • ninjakowski
    ninjakowski Posts: 158
    I'm on the pill and it hasn't caused me to gain any weight, nor have I had any issues losing when I want to.

    Emotional problems were more of an issue for me - Yaz turned me into a complete lunatic (my poor husband, I'm honestly suprised he didnt up and leave) - I never made the connection until the pharmacy gave me Yasmin by mistake and I realised a few weeks in that I was suddenly a nice person again lol.

    Obviously every type of BC affects different women differently, it can be a matter of trying a few different things to find what works for you - even different brands of the pill are going to be different. Just ask your doctor to try one for a month and see how you go, if you don't like it, try another one.
  • Karlaki
    Karlaki Posts: 74
    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!
  • jfryberger
    jfryberger Posts: 8 Member
    I have a paraguard IUD... no hormones = no hormonal side effects! I love it!

    same for me.

    I have 4 kids and did the mini pill after the first one. didn't stay real regular-not a good fit for my lifestyle and along came baby #2. Between #2 and #3 did the depo shot. I didn't gain weight but even with working out 5 days a week, breastfeeding and watching what I was eating it was almost impossible to lose weight. Also took me almost 8 months after I stopped to get pregnant. After #3 did the IUD with no hormones or side effects- LOVED IT!!! I was able to lose about 25lbs before #4. Now on the same thing and would never do anything else
  • twoss9112
    twoss9112 Posts: 162 Member
    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.
  • tayteetots
    tayteetots Posts: 114 Member
    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 agree, depo is one of the worst things I have ever done to my body.

    Huge weight gain, broke out in the worst acne (I had never had acne before that), I had a headache that lasted pretty much the entire time I was on it and just had to wait for the drugs to get out of my system. Being on this drug made me wildly depressed. I think I was on it for almost 9 months because my doctor didn't believe these things were caused by it but hey they all magically went away when I was off of it. Luckily, I found myself a new doctor.
  • meggawatt
    meggawatt Posts: 145 Member
    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.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    The pill doesn't make you gain weight. A calorie surplus does.

    ^^ this! The pill will only make you gain weight if you let it, keep exercising and logging your calories and you will be fine.
    I was on a diet, logged, and exercised. I gained weight. about 10LBS of (mostly) water that did not leave me til a month after the Mirena was removed. My bra size also went up. And I was moody. And I got migraines. And my libido disappeared. Not worth it for me.
    If the pill doesn't make YOU gain weight. You're lucky! It does for some folks. I'm convinced it changed how my body handled insulin.
  • ingeh
    ingeh Posts: 513 Member
    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
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
    Just think how much you'd gain if you got pregnant.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Just think how much you'd gain if you got pregnant.
    Are there no other methods of birth control?
  • squirrelzzrule22
    squirrelzzrule22 Posts: 640 Member
    I've been on avienne. Gained some boob weight but that's it.

    On Yaz I gained allll the weight I'm currently trying to get off. It is not directly because of the pill. It's indirect. It made my appetite insatiable and my emotions very depressed, giving me lower energy, etc. on avienne and orsythia I have NOT had these problems.

    If you continue to count calories you should lose weight.

    P.s. my issue with avienne was really low sex drive, just FYI! But everyone responds to every pill differently!
  • misskerouac
    misskerouac Posts: 2,242 Member
    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.
  • xXxHBICxXx
    xXxHBICxXx Posts: 370 Member
    The pill has never made me gain weight, and I was on it for 3 and a half years. Stopped because hubby and I were ready to have baby #2 but the shot made me gain weight, and yes people it was the SHOT. I was 17 years old, highly active and didn't eat anything out of the normal (meaning the exact same as I had been the 16 years before getting it) I gained 20 lbs on the shot the 1st time and 40 the 2nd I will never be on the depo shot again but I am going to be put on the mini pill the 19th of this month!

    Edited to say of you dont want to be on the BC why not try some over the counter product? Ensure and VCF are good (My sister has been using them for 4 years and no baby yet) you can get them at walmart or any drug store and condoms (If your not like me and have a bad allergic reaction to them)
  • TeachTheGirl
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
    Mirena for me. No periods, no cramps, slight mood swings around my monthly, but otherwise I don't have to worry about it~
  • marias2gaa
    marias2gaa Posts: 118 Member
    I am on the iud (5 year) and it is wonderful!. has not made me gain weight! :wink: :wink: :wink:
  • MorbidMander
    MorbidMander Posts: 349 Member
    The pill doesn't make you gain weight. A calorie surplus does.

    I second this. I'm on BC for PCOS (and have been since I was 17, 21 now) and since I'm watching what I eat, never been an issue..
  • Scarlett_Belle
    Scarlett_Belle Posts: 145 Member
    I loved the patch- best birth control I was on- ever!
  • angryguy77
    angryguy77 Posts: 836 Member
    Condoms are great and no hormones! :love:

    Says you
  • bushidowoman
    bushidowoman Posts: 1,599 Member
    I have had HORRIBLE issues gaining weight while on birth control in the past..I gained about twenty pounds when I had that thing in my arm. I am now starting back up with a pill. I am SCARED TO DEATH to gain weight (I have been trying so hard!) I know it's better then having a babes at the moment, but still. How is it working for you?

    P.S. I am starting "Aviane"

    As an ICU nurse, I am more afraid of the pulmonary emboli, heart attacks, and strokes that hormonal birth control can cause. I get to sometimes see what that looks like close-up.
    You do have other options.
  • rmchapman4
    rmchapman4 Posts: 152 Member
    The pill doesn't make you gain weight. A calorie surplus does.

    I concur!
  • wickedcricket
    wickedcricket Posts: 1,246 Member
    gaining over 20lbs isn't from birth control- that's a lack of SELF CONTROL. I don't think IUD causes weight gain - but pregnancy will
  • TracyJo93
    TracyJo93 Posts: 197 Member
    I take the pill (Yaz). I gained about five pounds when I started, and it made me feel like **** for a few weeks. But much MUCH better than a baby!

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