When will people understand that you can't spontaneously....

I had a large tumor on my thyroid that, without changing my diet, made me gain massive amounts of weight due a decrease in thyroid hormone. I also have no ovaries which means I'm in surgical menopause. Surgical menopause causes the metabolism to slow dramatically. Up until about a year ago I was able to keep my menopause in check with exercise. I stopped exercising due to the massive amounts of pain I was in caused by adhesions. I had adhesion surgery last December, and never felt well enough to exercise again. I gained a moderate amount of weight soon after (about 10 pounds) but nothing dramatic until around May. From May until August I gained 50 pounds without a change in my diet at all. NONE. Lucky me, I kept a food diary because my doctor didn't believe me. He thought I was just stuffing my face. Yeah, no. It's NOT NORMAL to gain 50lbs in 3 months. I was also extremely lethargic all the time. Even with a slight increase in calories something is dramatically wrong at that point. He finally believed me, ran a few tests, felt a tumor on my thyroid, had it biopsied (cancerous), and took it out in October. Since then I haven't gained a single pound... with no change to my activity and diet! Amazing what you don't believe until it happens to you.

That's to bad about the condition you had. Thyroid hormones contorl metabolic rate. So you where burning less calories and if you ate the same you would gain weight.

I had a large tumor on my thyroid that, without changing my diet, made me gain massive amounts of weight due a decrease in thyroid hormone. I also have no ovaries which means I'm in surgical menopause. Surgical menopause causes the metabolism to slow dramatically. Up until about a year ago I was able to keep my menopause in check with exercise. I stopped exercising due to the massive amounts of pain I was in caused by adhesions. I had adhesion surgery last December, and never felt well enough to exercise again. I gained a moderate amount of weight soon after (about 10 pounds) but nothing dramatic until around May. From May until August I gained 50 pounds without a change in my diet at all. NONE. Lucky me, I kept a food diary because my doctor didn't believe me. He thought I was just stuffing my face. Yeah, no. It's NOT NORMAL to gain 50lbs in 3 months. I was also extremely lethargic all the time. Even with a slight increase in calories something is dramatically wrong at that point. He finally believed me, ran a few tests, felt a tumor on my thyroid, had it biopsied (cancerous), and took it out in October. Since then I haven't gained a single pound... with no change to my activity and diet! Amazing what you don't believe until it happens to you.

That's to bad about the condition you had. Thyroid hormones contorl metabolic rate. So you where burning less calories and if you ate the same you would gain weight.

Pretty much, but it's still spontaneously gaining weight, which the OP said was impossible. Other things mess with metabolic rate including birth control hormones. So when someone says they "suddenly gained weight" with no change, it really is possible without changing your diet/ exercise.

PCOS wasn't mentioned in what i qouted. In your case, what controls insulin? Calories, it's still a caloric issue regardless. You do have a medical condition, which is understandable. Regardless though, the issue is calories. Eat less to lower insulin levels.

1. I have a feeling you're OP, and bored tonight.

2. If you're not OP, you're quite the idiot. Or a troll.

I would suggest a trip to a Registered Dietician, a Physician, or a College/University program to aid in your understanding of pharmacology, nutrition, and hormonal imbalances if you truly did want to learn more. We're a website. We're not here to teach you how insulin or medication works.

I am well aware of this stuff. So you're telling me if you fasted with PCOS you'll get fat? Once again, it's about calories, pay attention please.

If you're "well aware" of pharmacology, nutrition and hormonal imbalances, then you wouldn't be repeating "calories" "calories" "calories" to people who have stated very clearly that their diets have stayed the same, the medication changed their hormones/metabolism, and they found themselves gaining when the were watching "calories".

Doesn't matter if they watch their calories, if they're burning less calories than before they will gain weight. As you said specifically in bold.

Depo Provera is effective as a birth control for 6 months at a time. It can often work for longer than that and it's recommended that if you're planning to start trying you go off it sooner because it can take awhile to clear for your system. It follows that if it has a metabolic impact, you're stuck with that for awhile before the medication clears your system.

I'm no doctor though...

I have PCOS as well. My understanding is that insulin resistance does lead to carbohydrate/sugar cravings. I believe my doctor explained it like this:

When you eat a meal your pancreas is stimulated to release insulin by the presence of sugar/carbs being absorbed into your blood stream through the digestive tract.

Insulin metabolizes carbs/sugars allowing them to move into our cells (be they into muscle as fuel or fat as storage).

Insulin resistance means that our muscles do not respond normally to the insulin, requiring more of it to bring the carb/sugar into the muscle cell.

This results in prolonged elevated levels of sugars/carbs sitting in the blood, stimulating higher insulin production.

High levels of insulin in the blood stimulates cravings for sugar/carbs. Even if there is already an oversupply of sugar/carbs in the blood.

This leads to 2 possible effects:

1. fat cells may more easily take in the sugars/carbs than muscle tissue, resulting in higher body fat along with lethargy and other signs of malnutrition (because the energy is going to storage and not enough is going to fuel due to the insulin effects above).

2. The higher insulin levels are stimulating cravings/appetite resulting in excessive calorie consumption.


Medications such as Metformin help sensitize muscle cells to insulin helping to break the cycle.

I thought this topic was going to be about spontaneous combustion.

This is the first time I have been on this message board and it is sad to me this is the first thing I have read. The person writing it is obviously uneducated and ignorant. To challenge the medical profession, to include physicians, pharmacology, research, dietitians, etc. is a brave move. Oh, you didn't specifically challenge them, but you may as well have. You have many people on this message board with many physical issues that they are dealing with. Some of us struggle very hard to lose one pound because of medication. The doctors change the medication and up goes the weight again. Whether you believe it or not, it is very real. I have a pituitary tumor that resulted in my being hypopituitary. I take 14 medicines a day with more than half of them saying "may cause weight gain". Believe me, they do cause weight gain. I take steroids, that believe me cause weight gain. This is not a "temporary" medication for me. I will be on them the rest of my life or I will die. There are times that I am able to have the dose reduced and I work very hard to get my weight down. Then the doctor increases the dose again because my adrenal glands don't work right and the next thing I know the weight begins to pile on again. Some of it is water weight, the other is fat. Either way, you feel miserable and struggle hard to lose the weight. The last time I left the MD's office after he told me he needed to increase the dose, I left in tears, knowing what would happen. I had worked so hard trying to get the weight off. So, instead of being judgmental on this site, we need to try and lift each other up and encourage each other. You don't know how difficult weight loss is, especially for people struggling with medical problems until you walk in another person's shoes.

This, as well~! that's really all I was trying to say you guys, chill out. XD

Re-read your OP (and it's tone) (and combine it with your photo then and now). And then re-read this post. There's a reason you're getting the replies you're getting. The sock puppet who keeps replying isn't helping.

I have nexplanon in & I'm losing. I was on microgynon 30 & was losing. I was on cerazette & I was losing. I was on noriday & I was losing. it annoys me when people claim that b.c causes weight gain - it can increase your appetite but what you do about it is down to yourself.

I have nexplanon in & I'm losing. I was on microgynon 30 & was losing. I was on cerazette & I was losing. I was on noriday & I was losing. it annoys me when people claim that b.c causes weight gain - it can increase your appetite but what you do about it is down to yourself.

My BC did not increase my appetite. I did NOT eat more. I was tracking calories all along and exercising daily. I still gained a significant amount of weight.

I have nexplanon in & I'm losing. I was on microgynon 30 & was losing. I was on cerazette & I was losing. I was on noriday & I was losing. it annoys me when people claim that b.c causes weight gain - it can increase your appetite but what you do about it is down to yourself.

Congrats. That's wonderful. FOR YOU. Perhaps others react to meds differently? Why would this "annoy" you?

it can increase your appetite but what you do about it is down to yourself.

Except what about when it doesn't increase your appetite and you're not eating more and you still gain? What about when the only way you can lose the weight you gained is by dropping your intake to anorexic calorie levels? Because that is what happened to me and I doubt very much I'm the only person that happened to.

I gained 30lbs in 4 weeks from medication.And no I was not over eating, I was in a hospital and they had me on a strict 900 cal a day diet. Not sure how it works.The meds I was on were pretty powerful stuff..

I do agree tho...too many times people blame it on meds...I think it can be a factor but not to blame all the time like some people do.

I have nexplanon in & I'm losing. I was on microgynon 30 & was losing. I was on cerazette & I was losing. I was on noriday & I was losing. it annoys me when people claim that b.c causes weight gain - it can increase your appetite but what you do about it is down to yourself.

Congrats. That's wonderful. FOR YOU. Perhaps others react to meds differently? Why would this "annoy" you?

it can increase your appetite but what you do about it is down to yourself.

Except what about when it doesn't increase your appetite and you're not eating more and you still gain? What about when the only way you can lose the weight you gained is by dropping your intake to anorexic calorie levels? Because that is what happened to me and I doubt very much I'm the only person that happened to.

I edited my post to answer that question.

You didn't answer that question. I don't have any other mitigating issues. No PCOS or other metabolic disorders. I was thin my entire life (one of those people who could eat anything and as much of it as I wanted) until my late 20s. I gained some weight, lost it, kept it off with little effort and then the ONLY change was the change of birth control.

So you didn't answer my question.

And, yes, I saw my doctor and had blood tests.

I have nexplanon in & I'm losing. I was on microgynon 30 & was losing. I was on cerazette & I was losing. I was on noriday & I was losing. it annoys me when people claim that b.c causes weight gain - it can increase your appetite but what you do about it is down to yourself.

Congrats. That's wonderful. FOR YOU. Perhaps others react to meds differently? Why would this "annoy" you?

it can increase your appetite but what you do about it is down to yourself.

Except what about when it doesn't increase your appetite and you're not eating more and you still gain? What about when the only way you can lose the weight you gained is by dropping your intake to anorexic calorie levels? Because that is what happened to me and I doubt very much I'm the only person that happened to.

I edited my post to answer that question.

You didn't answer that question. I don't have any other mitigating issues. No PCOS or other metabolic disorders. I was thin my entire life (one of those people who could eat anything and as much of it as I wanted) until my late 20s. I gained some weight, lost it, kept it off with little effort and then the ONLY change was the change of birth control.

So you didn't answer my question.

And, yes, I saw my doctor and had blood tests.

I didn't say that it wouldn't effect metabolism I said that taking pills by themselves doesn't add weight. You should talk to a Endocrinologist and possibly an Immunologist to find out why that particular birth control has that effect.....maybe a different control will have better effect on your weight gain. You've come off the birth control apparently and really haven't lost any weight and your consuming 500-700 calories a day an working out 5 days a week.........it's a mystery then, right....or magic.

I have nexplanon in & I'm losing. I was on microgynon 30 & was losing. I was on cerazette & I was losing. I was on noriday & I was losing. it annoys me when people claim that b.c causes weight gain - it can increase your appetite but what you do about it is down to yourself.

Congrats. That's wonderful. FOR YOU. Perhaps others react to meds differently? Why would this "annoy" you?

it can increase your appetite but what you do about it is down to yourself.

Except what about when it doesn't increase your appetite and you're not eating more and you still gain? What about when the only way you can lose the weight you gained is by dropping your intake to anorexic calorie levels? Because that is what happened to me and I doubt very much I'm the only person that happened to.

I edited my post to answer that question.

You didn't answer that question. I don't have any other mitigating issues. No PCOS or other metabolic disorders. I was thin my entire life (one of those people who could eat anything and as much of it as I wanted) until my late 20s. I gained some weight, lost it, kept it off with little effort and then the ONLY change was the change of birth control.

So you didn't answer my question.

And, yes, I saw my doctor and had blood tests.

I didn't say that it wouldn't effect metabolism I said that taking pills by themselves doesn't add weight. You should talk to a Endocrinologist and possibly an Immunologist to find out why that particular birth control has that effect.....maybe a different control will have better effect on your weight gain. You've come off the birth control apparently and really haven't lost any weight and your consuming 500-700 calories a day an working out 5 days a week.........it's a mystery then, right....or magic.

Um ... no.

I am off the BC. I lost a good deal of weight when I went off of it. I have been struggling in the year since I went off of it, but you do realize that it takes time for a woman's hormones to regulate again after years on BC, right?

I only just started having normal periods again.