The pill & weight gain - truth or myth?

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  • mamnboston
    mamnboston Posts: 81
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    i've been on the pill 4 months, no weight gain
  • sweetpea129
    sweetpea129 Posts: 755 Member
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    In the past 10 years i went on the pill twice (once in college, and then once after having my 1st kid). Gained weight both times. Definitley increased my appetite. I had my 2nd kid 12 months ago and was sure that I didnt want to go back on it. So i have gotten the non hormonal IUD placed (paragard), which hasnt changed my body at all. Woo hoo!!!
  • smith176
    smith176 Posts: 27 Member
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    I didn't gain any weight on the pill.
  • runningfromzombies
    runningfromzombies Posts: 386 Member
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    It's a myth! Recent studies have shown that women do not gain or lose a significant amount of weight while on the pill (and I definitely agree--I've been on it since I was seventeen and have been able to gain or lose weight at will): http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/birth-control-pills-weight-gain Basically, the myth originates from when the first pill came out and there was WAY too much estrogen in it. Levels in BCPs today are much lower, and not significant enough to cause weight gain. (:
  • Emancipated_Tai
    Emancipated_Tai Posts: 756 Member
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    Idk about the pill, but I'm on the shot. The nurse told me outright that I would gain weight & my response was "Yeah right!" I got on it in Janary & now weigh almost 15lbs less.

    Maybe you need a different form of birth control.
  • jdm120
    jdm120 Posts: 55 Member
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    I didn't have any weight gain, but it KILLED my sex drive and made me a moody biotch. What's the point of BC if you are too mean to have relations? I have the ParaGuard IUD and I love it. Much better!

    Totally get the low libido - the pill has put my beast to sleep - which kind of defeats the purpose entirely!
  • jdm120
    jdm120 Posts: 55 Member
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    Thanks all for your replies. Food for thought. I am going to change contraception methods. My body is not what is was pre-baby: it seems to be operating differently. I'm driving a whole new machine here.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    Everyone is different... so in my opinion, the hormones in pills react differently to an individuals natural hormones... I find that when I am on progesterone only (the mini-pill or the depo shot) I gain like crazy... when I was on the depo shot I gained at least 25 pounds in the course of 6 months... when I was on the mini-pill after my first born (and I was breastfeeding and pumping and I was eating normally or less than normal) I gained 11 pounds in the course of 4 months... I believe it was the wackiness of the hormones because my periods were way off too... instead of being irregular (like I am when I don't take BC) or even regular, I was having a light period every two weeks for about 7 days.... but when I'm on the Patch (as I have been since my second round of Depo back in 2005) I don't gain weight (though it is still harder to lose, but I can still do it)...
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
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    jdm120
    [/quote]
    I counsel women about birth control and this is a very common question. The answer we give at the birth control clinic is '30% of women will gain weight, 30% will lose weight and 30% will stay the same' The birth control pill sometimes increases appetitive and that makes more calories go in...and therefore the weight goes up. Sometimes it's water retention...sometimes we need to just do more exercise. Different women react differently to each pill. Try one for 3 months and if you are having problems then ask to switch. Good luck!
    [/quote]

    And of the final 10% ? Well 5% get horrendous flatulence and float away and the other 5% become so dense that they implode. <sorry just couldn't help myself> :bigsmile:
  • EmilyTwist1
    EmilyTwist1 Posts: 206 Member
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    Are you making sure to take it at the exact same time every day? If not, it could cause hormone fluctuations, which might explain the ravenous hunger. If you're like me and not the best at taking pills on a schedule, you might want to consider a different form of BC. I've been on Depo-provera for about three months, and it has stabilized my appetite (I used to go for months at a time with having very little appetite, then I'd get sudden surges of ravenous hunger).
  • mandie0378
    mandie0378 Posts: 73 Member
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    5% float away. :laugh:
  • PrincessMom08
    PrincessMom08 Posts: 120 Member
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    I seemed to plateau with my weight with every birth control I tried except the pill, but I also wasn't taking it as I should have been and wasn't on it long. I couldn't loose weight with Depo or Mirena. I just got off the Mirena a few months ago and instantly dropped 20 lbs but then plateaued again. Now I'm just using condoms as birth control.
  • KS_4691
    KS_4691 Posts: 228 Member
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    Even if it does make you gain a couple pounds, pregnancy will make you gain a lot more...
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    Even if it does make you gain a couple pounds, pregnancy will make you gain a lot more...

    That's not necessarily true for every woman either... I only gained 11 pounds with my pregnancy... all in the last trimester. I know women who lost weight... though for most that was due to Hyperemesis gravidarum, which I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
  • nmb0717
    nmb0717 Posts: 130 Member
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    I just switched to a new pill and noticed that my weight held steady for about 2 weeks and then went up about 4 pounds until the end of March. Being that I'd lost 35 pounds already, I certainly didn't want to keep doing this. I called my doctor and was told that the whole myth about gaining weight is really just water weight. She told me that the pill does not make you gain more than 4-6 pounds, which is 100% water weight. She said that gaining as much as 10-15 pounds wasn't a pill issue. Since then, my period started and I actually list about 8 pounds in the last week. I'm thinking half of that was water weight and half of it was regular pounds. Hope this helped.
  • bikermike5094
    bikermike5094 Posts: 1,752 Member
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    Absolutely true!! My wife was on the pill for 3 years and I gained 50 lbs........
  • sweetpea129
    sweetpea129 Posts: 755 Member
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    Even if it does make you gain a couple pounds, pregnancy will make you gain a lot more...

    That's not necessarily true for every woman either... I only gained 11 pounds with my pregnancy... all in the last trimester. I know women who lost weight... though for most that was due to Hyperemesis gravidarum, which I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

    I was going to say the same thing. I gained 1 lb net with my daughter. Had wicked morning sickness and lost 10 lbs in the 1st tri and only gained 11 in the 2nd and 3rd so a net gain of 1 lb. And gained 8 lbs with my son. My body loved being pregnant. I also, admit, that i gave up all pepsi and junk food while pregnant and ate completely healthy becuase eating for another person was the best reason to. If only i would have stuck to that AFTER having them LOL.

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