Your experience with birth control and weight loss

Hi there I was off and on Ortho Tricyclen-Lo from the ages of 15 to 27 (I just turned 28 this year). Moments in between, I had the Mirena IUD for about 2.5 years, and for the past year have been on an OT-Lo generic called "Trinessa".

Neither of these three birth control options caused me to balloon up or made it hard for me to gain weight. I was born and raised in the U.S., and my heritage is almost 100% Latina-American (a small % of my background is German).

Hope this help!

I used to take Ortho Tri Cyclen when I was in my earlier 20's for a few years and then stopped because I was very unhappy with it. It made me gain major major weight and killed my sex drive. I have very irregular periods and so I really felt like I needed to get back on some form of BC to at least regulate my cycle. When I went back to the Dr to get a new prescription I told the nurse that I literally gained 20lb in the first month of taking Ortho the pevious time and she didn't believe me so when I came back for a check up and gained about 15lb I wasn't surprised. My Dr recommended I try a pill brand called Chateal which I've been on for about a year now and I love love love it. I don't have any nasty side effects like crazy mood swings and I do get my period once a month but its very light which is great. I've also consistently been losing weight since I started taking it. I know results will vary because everyone is different but I would recommend trying it if your Dr agrees.

I tried Mirena, less than a week later had to have emergency surgery to have it removed as it had perforated and was waaaay over on my right side causing a lot of pain. A lot of my friends have either Mirena or Paragaurd (non-hormonal IUD) and they love it. I was just the lucky one.

Now I'm on Errin (mini-pill). Estrogen pills made me emotional and hungry, so I opted for the progestin only pill. It's not as effective as the estrogen pills, you have to take them at the same time every day. I have lost 25 pounds on it though, so I'm not too excited to change right now.

I am considering the nuva ring now though, after reading these posts. IUD's are out for me, but I'm worried about msising a pill!

Hi there. I have taken various forms of birth control over the years. I started on the Nuva Ring ~13 years ago and I had no side effects. I knew about it while it was only available overseas and as soon as it became available here I asked my doctor about it. I absolutely LOVE it. This helped alleviate the heavy bleeding and severe cramps I would get during my period. Now I only get mild cramps and mild bleeding. I did stop the Nuva Ring 2 years ago to try for a baby. I had a healthy baby in April and resumed the Nuva Ring 4 months later, still with no side effects. I love this product so much I recommended it to family and friends. It does take some getting use to but once you have the hang of it, I think it is great. Definitely discuss with your doctor and I wish you the best!