Contraception and weight gain

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Conspiracy19
Conspiracy19 Posts: 36 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was always a skinny kid. I just didn't like to eat when I was really young. I was also a skinny teenager, my parents actually took me to a dietician at one point in hope that I would gain weight. I started gaining a little weight when I was about 18 and was a healthy weight up until I was about 21.

When I was 21 I went on birth control. I was originally on the pill but it was stressing me out (I'd take it everyday but I'd worry if I took it a few hours late) I'm now on the injection. It's obviously working as I haven't gotten pregnant but the weight gain is a pain :(

My appetite just shot up :(

I'm thinking of going on the implant but I've heard some horror stories about it off my friends. Does the implant also increase your appetite?

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  • Susieq_1994
    Susieq_1994 Posts: 5,361 Member
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    I don't know anything about the implant, but I use the injection and I've found that symptoms can vary from round to round. How many injections have you had so far? On one round (By round, I refer to the three month period in between injections) I had horrible, unending hunger that JUST. WOULDN'T. GO. AWAY. After 12 weeks, when I had my next shot, the hunger had faded away and just wasn't there anymore.

    I've had the same experience with several other common side effects like break-through bleeding, panic, mood swings, etc. They usually don't last longer than one round at a time, at least for me. Everyone is different, of course. :)

    I've also heard a lot of horror stories about the implant--very, very few good reviews that I've ever found to date.
  • Conspiracy19
    Conspiracy19 Posts: 36 Member
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    Like, two years :/ I don't actually have periods anymore (very light bleeding now and then) though which is a plus.
  • Coley88
    Coley88 Posts: 114 Member
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    I was on the shot for about 6 months and gained 25lbs. I also spotted ALL the time and had terrible mood swings.
  • stephchadz
    stephchadz Posts: 143 Member
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    I never had any issues with weight gain on the pill before. I'm sorry to hear that you have. :(

    As for the implant, I looked into getting it when I started birth control almost a year ago, but never did because the first pill I was put on worked for me. I have friends on the implant though and they love it because you don't have to think about it or remember to do anything for it. I guess what I am trying to get at is you should go with whatever you think will work best for your needs.

    Maybe you could ask your doctor about trying a different pill? I have a friend who went on seven different pills before she found one that didn't have a bunch of negative side effects.

    Good luck!
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    The shot itself doesn't cause weight gain...no birth control does. It does however increase appetite. If you are aware of this you can counter it with more filling foods...I have used most methods from the pill to Mirena. ..lost weight on Mirena and depo by watching my calorie intake here on mfp.
  • Conspiracy19
    Conspiracy19 Posts: 36 Member
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    Yeah, I think I may have to change to something else. It's just for years I still had the "I'm thin, I can eat whatever" mentality. Only recently I've realised I'm now thin anymore :') and I need to sort it out before I get too big.

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