water weight on "the pill"

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
edited November 9 in Health and Weight Loss
I appear to have gained about 5-6 pounds for NO GOOD REASON. I am an experienced calorie counter, avid runner, and I have kept a deficit every single week for the past 6 weeks but I have not lost a pound. In fact, my weight today is higher than it's been at any point in the past 5 months.

I started taking BC pills (low dose) about a month ago--wondering if it's the culprit. I am bloated all the time. Heavy. What gives?

Have you experienced this?

I am due for "TOM" (the withdrawal bleed on inactive pills)...is that a likely cause?

Does it go away?

Replies

  • aparker36
    aparker36 Posts: 30 Member
    I think it depends on your pill, only one I've found that doesn't do that to me is Yasmine, or the generic I take which is ZARAH. Love it, no bloatedness, no weight gain, no moodiness..nothing! Best pill I've ever been on.

    I switched at one point to that seasonale and the same thing happened, weight gain, bloated, boobs aching...hated it.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    It does mess with your hormone levels, and while you're adapting, yes, you could be holding water.

    I have experienced the same coming off the bugger.

    And yes, as you approach the withdrawal bleed, your body will experience the same kind of bloating etc you'd expect from a natural period. I can gain as much as 6 pounds that way.
  • Cindym82
    Cindym82 Posts: 1,245 Member
    I take migrogestrin and its great. Yasmine cause very bad problems with me and I stopped taking it, also it was recalled.
  • memcd911
    memcd911 Posts: 230 Member
    I just started taking Seasonale after a year or more of being off of the pill. I'm hoping and praying this isn't something I have to worry about.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    Does it go away?

    If i stop taking it, should I expect an almost immediate return to my normal weight?
  • memcd911
    memcd911 Posts: 230 Member
    It does mess with your hormone levels, and while you're adapting, yes, you could be holding water.

    I have experienced the same coming off the bugger.

    And yes, as you approach the withdrawal bleed, your body will experience the same kind of bloating etc you'd expect from a natural period. I can gain as much as 6 pounds that way.

    I also experienced weight gain from hormonal changes coming off of the pill.
  • fittyfittybumbum
    fittyfittybumbum Posts: 90
    Now they have studies that show the pill does not cause weight gain of any kind...but there are millions of womyn that will say otherwise. It makes sense that they won't admit to it. One common fear that all womyn have is weight gain. When every billion of your dollars is made soley off womyn, admitting the truth would have bankrupting results.

    If you understood how BC pills work, it makes sense as to why womyn gain weight. Long story short, the body uses the manipulation of hormones to trick the body into thinkin it's about to get preggo. When you don't, you shed the linning and there's the period. But with your body thinking it's about to get preggo, it will hold on to extra weight in order to protect the baby it thinks it's about to have. Messing with the hormones alone will affect a person's weight.

    I was on the pill for a year. Gained 20lbs...YIKES!!! Started exercising and cleaning eating...could not lose the weight. No matter how many miles I ran, or how hard I went in boot camps. Wen't off the pill earlier this month, weight and inches are coming off.
  • Melimoo2012
    Melimoo2012 Posts: 24 Member
    well i started cilest 3 months ago previously on yasmin i was over weight but only through laziness and my job which ment i sat and drove a lot... but this cilest has caused my breast to enlarge by a cup size and my thighs and butt have expanded i went today and the Dr agreed to put me back on Yasmin as i got every side affect in the book on dam cilest i got down to my goal and under it on yasmin 2 years ago now i cant lose half a stone to save my life its very de moralising
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    Does it go away?

    If i stop taking it, should I expect an almost immediate return to my normal weight?

    It should go away - though I would expect the normal monthly increase before you bleed.

    I would give it a few months and see what happens. If you need to be on the pill, for whatever reason, it's worth persisting with it.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    i don't have sex. I don't need the pill. It was prescribed b/c of low estrogen (I'm a runner so this is common). I don't like being bloated all the time. I can FEEL a difference in my body AND i get nightmares now and can't sleep.
  • brighteyesxluv
    brighteyesxluv Posts: 334 Member
    i used to take apri. not anymore. i was able to lose weight while on the pill but i always felt bloated. i'm not sure how much water weight i truly had from it. but i did bloat like a balloon and feel uncomfortable. but yes, the pill does cause a lot of water retention. it sucks. plus being a girl doesn't help. girls in general just retain lots of water. i know i do. no matter what. constant struggle. so i drink water like there's no tomorrow in attempt to "flush it out"
  • WhisperALullaby
    WhisperALullaby Posts: 67 Member
    They say you should give it a few months to even out in your system. With the weight gain thing, they've started saying it's really a placebo effect. Women believe they will gain weight when starting the pill, so they do. Even if their diet hasn't changed. From my experience though (took Yaz for a little under a year) I gained. And it wasn't just water weight, even though I was barely eating anything at the time. I'm still trying to get the last bit to go away, and I stopped taking it over a year ago. Wasn't worth it for me. Like you, I was taking it for a medical reason (ovarian cysts). I'd rather have a cyst pop once in a while than deal with that. Talk to the doctor though about it, see what they have to say.
  • onedayillbamilf
    onedayillbamilf Posts: 662 Member
    You said you're due for TOM....so....???
  • Hazel_mck
    Hazel_mck Posts: 3
    Im on Mycrogynon and its perfect for me. I had to change a year or so ago to dianette, however after being on it a month, I gained about 10lbs and my hips, thighs and chest grow out of nowhere. Im back on Mycrogynon now, and its slowing coming off but its proving difficult. Wish I'd never changed in the first place.
  • Eleisabelle
    Eleisabelle Posts: 365
    Heh... I have the opposite problem. I just got off the pill after being on it for, yes, about 20 years. I decided to stop because I'm high risk for stroke, and now that I'm older that risk outweighs the benefits of the pill.

    So I've been off for two months now, and I jumped to about 3-5 extra pounds of weight that won't go away and that's messing with my training and my attempts to rebalance my diet with my new workout routines. I'm sure it's mostly water weight (it doesn't help that I just started weight training, too, so I'm sure I'm retaining water there as well), but it IS frustrating to know it's there and nothing's budging, even though I'm running 12-16 miles a week and doing two days of intense weight training...

    *sigh* I just hope my body figures itself out soon...
  • memcd911
    memcd911 Posts: 230 Member
    Also, I lost 60 lbs with healthy eating and exercise WHILE ON THE PILL. So it's not irreversible.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    i used to take apri. not anymore. i was able to lose weight while on the pill but i always felt bloated. i'm not sure how much water weight i truly had from it. but i did bloat like a balloon and feel uncomfortable. but yes, the pill does cause a lot of water retention. it sucks. plus being a girl doesn't help. girls in general just retain lots of water. i know i do. no matter what. constant struggle. so i drink water like there's no tomorrow in attempt to "flush it out"
    I'm on the generic version of this. I ALWAYS feel bloated as well! What do you take now?
  • marbit
    marbit Posts: 108
    I had the worst experiences on all the pill forms I took. Either it made me super nauseous all the time, or i gained weight, or my migraines got worse, or my periods were agonizing. I switched over to the Nuvaring and my weight has been steady, no bloating, and to be honest I feel normal, not like I am on hormones. It might not work for everyone, but I am so THRILLED to be off pills, I'm never going back!
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    I'm thinking of trying the nuvaring if i choose to take birth control at all.
  • JanaB2011
    JanaB2011 Posts: 20
    My doctor switched my pill last year. With insurance, that pill was not being made as much and it was extremely expensive to pay monthly. I was on that pill for 10 years without any issues at all. I switched to a new on and have gained 15 lbs that I can't seem to get off. I can exercise, track everything I eat and still nothing. Never gave it a second thought about gaining weight on the pill, never had issues in all the years I have been taking them. It was suggestioned to try the ring, but a little nervous about that.
  • marbit
    marbit Posts: 108
    My doctor switched my pill last year. With insurance, that pill was not being made as much and it was extremely expensive to pay monthly. I was on that pill for 10 years without any issues at all. I switched to a new on and have gained 15 lbs that I can't seem to get off. I can exercise, track everything I eat and still nothing. Never gave it a second thought about gaining weight on the pill, never had issues in all the years I have been taking them. It was suggestioned to try the ring, but a little nervous about that.

    I was super nervous about it at first too, mostly because I have serious psychological issues regarding using my fingers to insert something. I was also worried about losing it since it had no string or anything. The first few months I used it I kept checking to see if it was still there (which obviously triggered my aforementioned psychological issues). I was surprised as anyone when it didnt fall out, and I had no side effects. Additionally, eventually I was able to overcome my psychological block and also my fear of tampons. So really, it was a win win for me!
  • Mandykinz2008
    Mandykinz2008 Posts: 292 Member
    It could easily be a result of the pill. Your body will adjust over a couple months. IF it doesn't go back to your doctor and try a different pill. It took me 5-6 different pills to find the one that works best for me, and I've had no problems since, but I've been on some that bloat me up and make me feel miserable!!
  • RunChinni
    RunChinni Posts: 149 Member
    I was on Ortho, a generic version of it actually for about 2 years. And I gained 5 lbs at the drop of a hat. But my body got used to it and I dropped the weight when I started working out again after a year's gap. However, it did take longer than usual to drop the weight. I switched pills a couple of times after that because the bloating began again.

    Now I am off the pill because I just couldn't handle the bloating after a while. I still haven't found a BC that suits my body (back to the condom!)

    I am contemplating the NuvaRing as well. But I don't really know anyone who can give me a pros v/s cons of the same.
  • mrsdizzyd84
    mrsdizzyd84 Posts: 422 Member
    I've been on the pill since I was 16 as a way to treat my abnormally heavy periods. I switched to Tri Sprintec (generic of orthotricyclin I think) earlier last year. It took me a few months to get used to it, but now that I have I don't have a lot of issues with bloating except around TOM. When TOM is approaching I gain a couple pounds of water weight, and then it drops off once TOM arrives. Once I start the new pill cycle I might gain a pound, and then steady out for the rest of the month.

    It's a bit of a pain, but my husband and I don't want kids just yet and I don't want to deal with my crazy periods, so I'll take the 1-2 pound swings versus the alternative.

    BTW, I'm losing weight at a very consistent rate despite being on the pill, so it is possible.
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