Birth control and weight gain - myth?

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  • cosmo_momo
    cosmo_momo Posts: 173 Member
    RayneScar wrote: »
    It really sucks being a woman sometimes hahaha!
    I wanted to get the coil but the doctor won't let me. She said first of all that it would be harder since I'd never had kids - fair enough. Then she said that the coil may affect my fertility long-term so she couldn't give it to me.
    The problem is, I don't want to have kids. I have never wanted to have children. I explained this and she said I may change my mind.
    I don't know why doctors can't accept that some women are simply not maternal. The reason I want birth control is so I don't get pregnant. In my case, that's a permanent decision.
    Thanks for your input guys, it's interesting. I think the hormonal changes may cause the weight gain.

    To be honest, I would find a new doctor if that is a route you are serious about perusing. I had to go through three doctors until I found one that would let me get the Mirena. Best decision ever btw. I also never want kids, but at 21 there is no way I would find a doctor willing to sterilize me so an IUD is the next best thing. It's also completely false that you have to have had children first. I don't have any and my doc was more than happy to let me try Mirena once I found the right one. The only reason they say that is because once you've had kids, it can make insertion a little easier. There are meds that can be prescribed to soften the cervix now and mine did a paracervical block so all I felt was a good cramp and it was over. Honestly just do your research and find a new doc because the old school ones aren't experienced enough with them so they find reasons not to do them.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    My understanding (someone correct me if I'm wrong) but the chemicals in birth control can make you feel, "hungrier," than you normally do and that's why some girls gain weight.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,416 Member
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079533/

    DPMA (depo) has been shown to cause a steady increase in blood glucose and insulin levels for the first 18 months of use. I experienced this as "insulin resistance" that resulted in headaches if I ate too much sugar at once and flat out bitchiness if I didn't eat OFTEN. Both of these things started happening pretty much instantly with the first shot, and having to pick between killing all my friends and going over on calories, I ended up over-eating a bit until the stupid thing wore off. I was NOT a fan and only got one.

    You CAN control your weight with CICO on birth control, but they DO have a measurable effect on your blood chemistry that may cause you to want/need to eat more often to keep your blood sugar balanced. So, it's a myth that you WILL gain weight, but it may be difficult not to if you have a particularly strong reaction.
  • NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner
    NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner Posts: 1,018 Member
    Birth control always made me put on weight. I was a Hoover and would eat everything in sight. :lol:
  • manicautumn
    manicautumn Posts: 224 Member
    I can't say I've had the experience of weight gain solely due to birth control. I've been on several types of pill, the ring, and, now, the Mirena IUD.

    Though several of the pills coincide with me gaining weight, it was less to do with them specifically and my own eating. They effected me poorly emotionally and I chose to binge eat.

    I've lost weight with them though. It's all about choice. (At least, it has been for me.)
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
    I've been on depo for my whole weight Loss process, and also used it years ago before having my Son.
    My doctor said, some women like to blame the birth control because it's easier then admitting that they over eat. It comes down to calories in verse calories out. He said he encourages those that claim to have gained weight from BC to weigh and log their foods on mfp for one month. Then they quickly realize it's not the BC, it's how much food they consumed.
    I've had no problem losing weight on BC :-)
  • danicristina2015
    danicristina2015 Posts: 50 Member
    Birth control *kitten* up ur body in the long run.
  • 20Grit
    20Grit Posts: 752 Member
    Makes me gain, grumpy, mentally stupid, a whole bunch of side effects.....kinda like being pregnant...Hate it. The gain was not so much from eating too much, I felt bloated everywhere, especially my belly, was huge, and no matter how much I ate, it wouldn't go away. Kind of like my insides were inflamed. I wouldn't be able to button my pants within a week or so. I also seem to start packing on the cellulite around my stomach, hips, and thighs, even my upper arms.

    also - why do people think the chemical hormones in BC can make you feel hungrier but they can't make you gain weight....makes no sense, It messes with your hormones, of course it can make you gain or loose for that matter, everyone is different. Just like any other pill you take, you may or may not have side effects.
  • cosmo_momo
    cosmo_momo Posts: 173 Member
    20Grit wrote: »
    also - why do people think the chemical hormones in BC can make you feel hungrier but they can't make you gain weight....makes no sense, It messes with your hormones, of course it can make you gain or loose for that matter, everyone is different. Just like any other pill you take, you may or may not have side effects.

    Because fat is energy and that energy doesn't just come from thin air. It's called physics.

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