Ever since I was 18 I've been on birth control. I used to be on the depo shot for about 2 years, but got off of it since I stopped being sexually active. While on the depo shot I gained about 40 pounds (my heaviest was 165). I believe it is the reason today that I need to lose weight. Even after getting off of it my metabolism never got back to normal so I have to eat less and exercise more than I used to before getting on the shot only to maintain my current weight.
Well a couple years ago I got put back on birth control, but not wanting to gain any more weight, I went on the pill. In the past couple of months I've been struggling with problems like shortness of breath, chest pain, heart palpitations, a feeling like my chest is being crushed or constricted. So I went to the doctor. Well, I have stage 1 hypertension (it was 144/96), which isn't normal considering I'm only 22 years old and I don't drink much, and I quit smoking several months ago (and even then I smoked maybe a quarter pack/day for less than 2 years). On a side note, I'd like to mention quitting smoking is A LOT easier than quitting carbs. :P
The doctor believes it's the pill that could be causing the problems with my chest, and suggested I switch to an IUD. Although I'd be glad to get rid of my blood pressure problem, I worry that if I switch to a different kind of birth control, my weight will skyrocket again. As of now I am 158 (I lost 7 pounds, yay!), but if I gain another 40 pounds like I did on depo I would be almost 200 pounds, and that's not healthy at all.
So I was wondering if there are any birth control options that don't cause weight gain besides the pill, condoms, or abstinence. The pill causes high blood pressure and blood clots in the lungs, condoms are expensive (considering how often my boyfriend and I do it), and abstinence is not an option (living with boyfriend, please don't judge).
The implant (Implanon) that goes in your arm is suppose to be good.. I've been considering getting it. Lasts 3 years. Andisn't suppose to cause you to gain weight on it. I read reviews on it, and it was like 70/30... most people not gaining weight on it. Some even said they lost. My niece recently went on it, so I'm gonna let her try it out a few months before I get it. :P
Thank you. My boyfriend's sister-in-law actually has that, and she hasn't gained weight, either. In fact, she says she struggles with maintaining her weight. :P She has a son (she had him before she got Implanon) and is still a little skinny-minnie, cute as a button. Maybe I can talk to her about it to get more information.
Seconding copper IUDs, they're fantastic things. Completely non-hormonal contraceptive cover for ten years (some IUDs have a shorter lifespan), doesn't affect fertility, 99.4% effective even in typical use (that's more effective than sterilisation), fit-and-forget. Two potential snags: they tend to make periods a bit heavier and crampier, so if you already have monster periods, they're not for you. (Although if you're desperate, you can take IUDs while being on other hormonal treatments or any meds which can help. Personally I found that essential fatty acid supplementation almost entirely solved the extra bleeding.) Snag #2: if you get an STI while you have an IUD in, and you leave it untreated until it turns into PID (pelvic inflammatory disease), it is likely to be nastier than if this happened without the IUD in place. So if you're high-risk for STIs, for instance if you're a sex worker or just generally have a lot of partners and are not so careful about condoms, then this may not be a good idea, although of course STIs and PID are bad news for everyone, and the solution is to practice safer sex and get regular health checks.
Any reports of weight increases with IUDs are either due to going on Mirena, which is a hormonal IUD, or due to changes caused not by the IUD but by coming off whatever method of hormonal contraception was used before it.
Dieting, birth control, and hypertension
