Birth control and weight gain?

Water retention is one of the side-effects of birth control (especially with a higher dose of hormones). As your body adjusts to the higher dosage, the water retention should go away. I've always heard that you have to take a birth control pill for at least three months in order to give you body time to get used to it

I'm on Tricyclen, I actually had to switch to it after I started losing weight because I missed my period on the lower dosage pill (There was no pregnancy just messed up hormones from the weight loss) That was the end of october. Im down 41 lbs since then. So I wouldn't say its going to make a big difference in general.

the pill always made me gain weight too, that's why I don't take it. Even the LoLoEstrin kind which is like the lowest hormone possible, made me gain weight. Only like 5 lbs but STILL. Ugh. Hubby is getting a vasectomy so I don't have to take the pill. No more hormones in my body PLEASE. I hate that.

I found that I gained about 5lbs when I first started the patch. It was pretty disheartening at first, but I stopped weighing myself for a while and continued on with my routine. When I weighed myself next I had lost not only that weight but an additional 5lbs! So as much as the initial gain sucked, it was nice to see the scale down 10lbs at the end of it

Don't give up!

It's the progesterine in birth control that causes weight gain. This is because one of the side effects of hormonal birth control is to trick your body into thinking that you're pregnant, which is why it helps stop your period except during your "off week" if you're using the pill. Because your body is acting like you're pregnant, it increases your appetite because you need to take in more calories when you're expecting. This is also why, despite the claims, many women also find that they actually have an increase in acne.

I was on provera (pill form of the shot) for a couple of weeks because of a hormonal imbalance (bled for more than 4 months straight) and it didn't work, and now the doc has me on premarin (estrogen) which has stopped the bleeding and which is what encourages ovulation. Naturally, estrogen starts your period and then encourages ovulation, at which point progesterine takes over. Estrogen actually can help with better moods and weight loss. The downside of any artificial estrogen, of course, is that there's an increased risk of blood clots, especially if you're a smoker or over the age of 30, so it's a good idea to move around a lot. There's also an increased risk with any artificial hormonal birth control of cervical cancer, because it causes cervical erosion and dries up the cervical fluid, which is part of how it makes your body inhospitable to sperm, as well as increased risks of heart attacks and strokes.

To be perfectly honest, if I hadn't had so much trouble that I HAD to use the premarin and provera, I wouldn't use artificial hormones at all. Outside of this little issue I've had lately, I'm normally a practitioner of the sympto-thermal method of natural family planning since it doesn't mess with my hormones and puts me in MUCH greater control. Hubby and I have been much closer since we started with this method, as well, since it requires communication. I also love that it's all natural, with zero risk, zero controversy attached, and that when he and I are ready for kids, it'll be easier to switch from avoiding pregnancy to attaining it. Plus it helps with weight loss because you're paying more attention to your body's natural signals.

Oh yeah. Weight gain is SUCH a common side affect of gaining weight!! It's almost inevitable (though it didnt happen for me lol but I was already so heavy and not trying to lose. but it happens to everyone else I know).

Anyways, don't let it impede your routine or progress. I'd start going by body inch measurements rather than scale numbers for the next little bit while your body is getting used to the hormones.

Is anyone else on the implant?
That's the main cause of my weight gain, I went on it a year ago and I gained 2 stone almost instantly, with no change to my food/activity level.
Is it harder to shift weight?

The arm. Mines called nexplonon or something like that.

Hormonal birth control is evil. I put on soo much weight over the years from Ortho-Tri-Cyclen. Never again.

Same here, the BCP is a wretched unit. Not only did I lose 20 pounds when I went off it, I gained my sense of health back. Throw away your pills and buy a condom. They are fairly reasonable.

All through college I was on Depo and I ballooned like crazy! Way more than the usual freshman 15!!!
Now I have Mirena and I love it! I don't attribute my weight gain to the birth control now as much bc I've not been eating r exercising like I did when I was in college!

implanted where? uterus, or arm? there's two different kinds.

i'm on nuvaring, fyi. been on it nearly two years with no side affects

i love nuvaring. the side effects are less intense and there's no remembering to take a pill every day! just an in/out every three to four weeks based on your preference. Five years of use and I have little interest in switching to any other form of hbc.

same! it was the first and only birth control i've ever tried. my doctor said "dont waste you time trying a pill. everyone who takes nuva ring says they 'LOVE' it, and I don't ever hear anybody use that word in the same sentence as birth control" lol. so i was like alright, good enough for me. it's been fine from the start! some people are really intimidated by it. but you dont feel it. and it's so easy to put in and remove. some people think its such a huge complicated procedure that you have to go the doctor for lolno. it's easier than inserting a tampon. and you forget it's there! love it.

My step-daughter had implanon. She went off of it because it was actually causing her to have hallucinations. There are SO many side effects that they never tell you about, or lie to you about outright if they're only interested in profit. I still say ditch the hormones unless actually needed medically and start charting fluid and temp. 99.999% accuracy (I'm fairly certain my step-daughter screwed this up on purpose, considering she'd been trying to get the papers signed to marry her now ex-boyfriend for nearly a year before she got pregnant...)

As for myself, before I started NFP, I had been on the pill (three different types), the shot, and the patch. I felt crappy on all of them, and the shot made me bleed for 6 months straight and gain 60 pounds and caused ovarian cysts. Since I started NFP, I have found a lot more confidence, had fewer mood swings, had almost zero acne (which means no makeup needed so I'm saving money there as well as saving money because I don't have to pay for artificial birth control), and I'm just overall happier, which is what led me to this, my weight loss journey, because I now believe I can pull it off.

Trust me, you'll feel so much better for switching.

I take Loestrin 24 FE.. and have had no weight gain or any problems losing weight. I know why I gained weight.. because I drank like a fish every weekend in college and ate pizza and jimmy johns practically every night. The pill had nothing to do with it.

Keep plugging away and drink some extra water. It will even it's self out eventually. I personally could never go off my B/C.. the cramps, nausea and fatigue are way too awful.

Hormonal birth control is evil. I put on soo much weight over the years from Ortho-Tri-Cyclen. Never again.

Agreed!