Is back up birth control necessary?
 

In perusing this site, I've seen a number of off-handed comments about the pill not being sufficient when on this diet.

I asked my coach (male--not that it should matter) about this and he said he has never heard anything along these lines from Ideal Protein.

Can someone fill me in on where this info comes from and what basis there is for needing back up? I was thinking that with such a low-calorie diet, it would make getting pregnant harder, not easier :)

Thanks!

I say yes, you need backup.

My coach has heard of people that have tried to have a baby for many years and couldn't get pregnant, go on the diet and get pregnant right away.

I decided to stop taking my pill altogether because I saw it as a waste of money if it wasn't going to fully work anyways (plus your TOM can be wacky on the diet too)

Do you think that this diet makes you more fertile, or do you think that people who previously had trouble conceiving because of being overweight can now get preggo because they've lost weight? Just curious what others think. I have to dust off my brain - human reproduction was a LONG time ago!

Weird! Why would the pill be less effective? If anything, it seems like it should work better since we'd weigh less :)

I have a hormonal IUD & haven't thought twice about backup BC.

It is because hormones are released in the fat you are burning and can make it less effective. Trust me...this diet can do CRAZY things to your hormones. The whole "IP baby" warning was one of the first things my coach talked about and I am pretty sure it was in the written material I got the first week too

I can not speak for everyone but I started IP in Feb and at the end of March was pregnant (all on the pill) Nobody warned me thats for sure :)

I also have an IP baby...although I wasn't on any BCP, we had just used timing (successfully, I might add, for several years). Well, IP definitley messes with hormones and therefore my timing was off ;o)

Surprise Baby #3 will be one in a few weeks!

I have not used back up just stuck with my pills, and have not got pregnant. But it also wasn't a concern for me. If it happened it happened, it was kind of the point of me being on this diet

Ha! I hadn't thought about that. So wild! Congrats to the IP mamas :)

A big Yea! to all the IP Moms! I heard a joke on a TV show where a ditzy woman said she and her husband weren't sure if they wanted kids or not, so she took the pill every other day. I have no idea why that joke has stayed in my head all these years! ;)

Do you have to use backup the whole time you are on the program or mainly the beginning when your body is getting used to all of the changes?

Estrogen stores in your fat cells, and is released as you lose fat. So as long as you're losing, you need backup!! :)

My husband is going to love that....Oh well, too bad for him, hehe

learned something new

oh this makes me so nervous... Thanks so much for bringing this up! My wedding is in February so an IP baby right now would not be the best timing ;)

Agreed! Congratulations!! (I'm getting married in April, so this also made me nervous...)

Oh! How romantic to abstain until your wedding! Nothing works so well as that! ;)

Is this for any diet program? Or just IP?

It would be more of a problem on diet plans that cause you to lose a LOT of fat in a short period of time - the estrogen would "rush" your system. Something with more gradual fat loss isn't going to cause the body's estrogen levels to rise in the same way.

I have an IP baby ;) I wanted to have #2 and it didn't happen quickly so I redirected my energy to losing weight from baby #1. 2-3 months on IP and I was pregnant ;) I hated that I was getting into an IP rhythm and getting my body back but what a wonderful surprise! She's 16 months and thanks to getting back on IP I weigh less than my baby #1 pre pregnancy weight ;)


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Looks like you've hit the jackpot on all fronts!

I didn't know there is an app for this forum! I'm going to see if they have one for the iPad!

I can't tell you how much this sucks for me. I'm almost 50 and have never had a baby (by choice), and the last thing that's gonna happen at our age is going back to condoms. What other backup is there if you are on the pill? Cause that ain't happening. :-(

This never crossed my mind! Excellent information. I can't believe this isn't mentioned anywhere in Tran's book (at least I didn't see any mention of it).

My amazing DH (50) already has 2 grown children and we decied that we were not going to have any of our own (my choice to have never had any - I'm 42). Anyway, he went in and had a vasectomy - he was a tad uncomfortable for a day and a half but there is far less recovery time for men than women who choose to have a hysterectomy. And yes, this was his idea, his choice... and another reason why I love him so much! ;0)

Ok, the estrogen released shouldn't make you ovulate more than once per month, so I wouldn't worry about abstaining the whole time you're on the diet. Just try and track your fertile time. They have Ovulation predictor tests that you can buy at Wal-Mart or Target that can help to determine when you're ovulating. I would use backup at those times, or abstain for those 4-5 days.

I got my period twice in six weeks, so yes you can ovulate more frequently :)

I have a non-hormonal IUD that I have had for 3 years. This type of BC would not be affected by the estrogen released by the fat stores.

That's great! My DH has been talking about getting one too. He is adamit that there will be NO more babies. I am too but I trust my IUD.

I also would not rely on OPKs as a method of birth control- as someone who has gone through hundreds of them, I can tell you that they are not a perfect method. You really have to test twice per day to catch your LH surge, and even then you can miss it. If you are irregular, as many of us on IP become, you would be testing all month long. They're good for finding the right time, but not so great for avoiding the wrong times (if you don't want to get pregnant).

I use Birth Controll pills but i got told to go on back up through phases 1 and 2. I never got told that at first i read on here and asked my coach and she forgot to tell me! I have a very fertile family so i was kinda worried when she brought this up 2 weeks later and being me and my husband are newly weds!! But everything is good!! But we would be happy with a baby i just need to lose weight to have a healthy weight during pregnancy

I believe the estrogen thing, my doctor noticed that my fibroid tumors have grown since I've been on this diet... these tumors feed on estrogen.

I switched over to the IUD about 3 months ago and asked my doctor about my hormones on the diet. She said higher hormones while losing a lot of weight is true, so I was told to use a pregnancy test if my TOM didn't come. Of course, the TOM is all out of whack, so I've been periodically taking tests just to be sure. No surprises!

What about the IUD? Good enough??

I know that for people who have polycystic ovary syndrome, a diet that creates insulin sensitivity can actually help them ovulate, hence getting pregnant when you couldn't before. I don't think that EVERYONE who is of childbearing age needs to use double protection...just those who 1) want to be absolutely, positively, without a doubt sure they don't get pregnant and 2) anyone who had irregular periods and/or PCOS and don't want to get pregnant.

Is it crazy that I'm super excited about this? My hubby and I have been trying to conceive for 5 years. We miscarried about a year and 1/2 ago and have not gotten pregnant again. I'm starting IP next week and would be over the moon if this helped us get pregnant!!!!!!

I can say from experience that this diet does very strange things to your cycle. The first time I did IP everything was messed up. I wouldn't have a time of month for an extended period of time and then would for three weeks. Everything was SO irregular. I have cystic ovaries and endometriosis, so the irregularity doesn't help. However, losing weight has helped others with their endometriosis symptoms, so it's a double-edged sword for me. Here's to hoping it helps things out!

It absolutely messes with your period! Definitely take that precaution if you don't want to be preggo!! And for those of you who do - have fun! :-)

bump

Take this seriously, unless you don't really care whether you get pregnant or not. If you are using an IUD I would certainly check with your gyno since there can be a problem with tubal pregnancy if you DO become pregnant. Fatal for the unborn child of course, and very dangerous for you.

I've 'taken a chance' only 5 times in my life and even that was a calculated risk counting in TOM & cycle. That's why we are childfree. Don't take chances unless you will be happy with a positive preggers test.
Liana