does Birth Control REALLY make you gain weight, and if so how much?
I'm going on birth control on Friday..but I don't want all of my work to be in vein from trying to lose weight? Is it the meds or do you get hungry when you take it?
I think everyone is different... I've never done like, research on it or anything, but weight gain is a potential side effect listed on my pack. I put on 40ish lbs after starting Seasonique, because increased hunger from the hormones... BUT... I could have put down the cookies, too... LOL.
Those 40lbs are gone now, though... I do know that BCP helped me in other ways, though.. ways that out weigh (pardon the pun!) the weight!
Sure, anything that affects your hormones has the potential to make you gain or lose weight. With birth control, it's hit or miss for a variety of reasons. If you see a rapid uncontrollable weight gain, switch to a different pill. I would think any weight you gain on the pill would be less than the weight you'd gain with a pregnancy...Good Luck!
Everyone is different. Each pill is also different in terms of hormone level.
I didn't gain anything on mine. I don't see anything on your stats as far as PCOS or Insulin Resistance but you may want to take a gander over the the BCP article anyway.
The second hunk talks about pills that can affect insulin resistance and if weight is a concern or you think you may be on the road to IR, thinking that over may help.
It's listed as a possible side effect which means that it won't happen for everyone but it could happen. When I started the Pill, I don't remember a weight gain that I could directly connect with the Pill (I'm on Alesse (levenorgestral estradiol). If it happened, it was just a couple of pounds. I had other side effects instead.
Still, I've also heard of people making the assumption that they're going to gain weight on the Pill and then giving up healthy eating habits because why bother if the scale's going to go up anyway. That approach is probably not the best.
I'd say that if the Pill is the right choice for you right now (it's not a good fit for everyone) then go for it and so long as you maintain the healthy habits you're working on, if you do gain a couple of pounds, you'll know it's just the Pill and you can just work with it rather than feeling bad about it.
My experience with birth control has been great. It has solved other health issues for me so the risk of weight gain was worth it to me. YMMV.
I was on Depo Provera for years and it was great because I didn't have periods and only had to get it once every 3 months, but I gained about 40 pounds right away from it.
I'm on beyaz now and take it daily, but have had zero weight gain from it.
I also take Seasonique and it does not make me gain weight. I have gained weight (almost 60lbs in 4 years) but I've been on the pill, off the pill, on the ring, off the ring, on a different pill, off, on Seasonique, off, and back on again. Throughout all of it I was just gaining weight. So my weight gain had nothing to do with hormonal birth control and probably everything to do with going from my early 20s to my mid-late 20s. Also emotional issues.
Everyone is different though. Several friends cite various birth controls as the reason they gained weight. Whether or not that's actually true, I dunno. For a time I did blame my pill but after I went off it and was still gaining that's when I realized it wasn't the pill's fault.
The only weight I gained when I went on the pill was in my boobs. I went from a B cup to a D in about 3 months. That was a bunch of years ago, and now I'm happy to be "down" to a DDD.
What is up with the young women of today? My own daughters included? My generation relied on the diaphragm to prevent pregnancy. No hormones, no side effects. Easy cheap and it works.
What is up with the young women of today? My own daughters included? My generation relied on the diaphragm to prevent pregnancy. No hormones, no side effects. Easy cheap and it works.
It's not for pregnancy prevention. I need to regulate my period.
What is up with the young women of today? My own daughters included? My generation relied on the diaphragm to prevent pregnancy. No hormones, no side effects. Easy cheap and it works.
I can't do birth control pills but I totally forgot about a diaphragm. Thanks for mentioning that, maybe I should check that out...
It's not for pregnancy prevention. I need to regulate my period.
Well that's one less thing to worry about in pill performance. For all of the problems I've had with BCPs, they are quite helpful sometimes. I have friends who never want to go off their pills b/c their normal cycles are terrible and the pill is great relief with little to no side effects. I am a little envious b/c I have tried 6 of the 9 types with no success whatsoever but my body is hypersensitive and a little wonky.
I did gain weight as a teen when I started tri-cyclen. I also began working at a convenience store and eating way more junk. So, I'm not sure. When I went back on the 2nd time, I did gain about 10 pounds, but I may have gained that anyway with my lifestyle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lucindaarrowspark
What is up with the young women of today? My own daughters included? My generation relied on the diaphragm to prevent pregnancy. No hormones, no side effects. Easy cheap and it works.
I was calling in sick every month because of cramps. Went back on the pill - cramps all but gone.
Kassie, if you're doing it just for period regulation, go for a pill. Some people do well with the depo shot but I did not. If one pill doesn't work well for you, you can always change it.
Depo stays in your system for 3 months and is strong.
What is up with the young women of today? My own daughters included? My generation relied on the diaphragm to prevent pregnancy. No hormones, no side effects. Easy cheap and it works.
Yes, diaphragm can be a good choice for some if preventing pregnancy is the only thing on the table.
But it won't be a good choice for those who also have other health issues or have concerns about STD prevention as well as pregnancy prevention on the table.
In my case, I was prescribed BCP well before I was actually sexually active. And it was to GET a regular period and lining shedding. Otherwise I get none, and there ups my risk for uterine cancer -- old lining building up and never shedding out completely. Just break thru bleeding once in a GREAT while.
When I WAS sexually active and on BCP? I still used condoms too for the STD end of things -- because BCP covers the pregnancy prevention but it won't cover that bit.
It's just going to vary with the patient's needs and what their goal is with their health management.
does Birth Control REALLY make you gain weight, and if so how much?
I went from a B cup to a D in about 3 months. 
That was a bunch of years ago, and now I'm happy to be "down" to a DDD.
