I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for my question, but I thought I'd give it a shot. I've been having some MAJOR issues with my weight for the past 3 years. No matter how much I've exercised or how many calories I cut, I was inexplicably gaining weight. Finally, I had the bright idea that it might be my BC. So, last month I stopped taking it. The good news is that I haven't gained any weight. The bad news is that I haven't lost any either.

My question is whether anyone else has had similiar problems with their BC...i.e. did it cause your weight to skyrocket? If so, how long did it take after stopping the BC before the weight started to come off? Thanks!!

I was taking a pill which caused me to gain 10lbs in a snap and found it incredibly easy to gain weight. It took 3 months of carefully watching what I was eating and intense exercising to lose any weight on that pill. I told my doctor and she switched me off the pill and it became less of a struggle, although its always a struggle.

I have heard this a lot - that BC can cause people to gain weight. I am not sure I agree. Years ago I was in the best shape of my life - lost about 50 pounds, exercising a lot, etc... I started depo in the middle of all that and I found out later that it is supposed to make everyone gain at least 2 pounds. It sure didn't happen to me. I am thinking that they maybe can have a small effect but nothing major like consistently gaining over time (and, thus, cannot really adversely effect weight loss if you are doing everything right).

Yeah, I didn't think BC could cause that much weight gain either until it happened to me. About 5 years ago, I lost about 45 pounds with regular diet and exercise. It was slow, but steady. After I reached my goal weight, my ob/gyn put me on BC to regulate my cycle. As soon as I started, I found it really difficult to maintain my weight. I started gaining weight on the same number of calories and the same amount of exercise I did when I was losing. So I started exercising more, changing my routine, eating better, eating less and I kept gaining weight. The more I gained, the more I exercised and the less I ate. Pretty soon I was eating roughly 600 calories and exercising 2 hours a day and just barely maintaining my weight. When I still wasn't losing weight, I thought I made a mistake and needed to go in the opposite direction so I started adding back calories and cutting back on the exercise. I started gaining weight at a ridiculous pace. I went to about 6 different doctors and not one could find anything wrong with me. They all told me to give it time. I tried everything...I ate more protein, less protein, more fat, less fat, cut out all processed foods and artifical sweetners, changed my exercise, increased weights, hired a trainer and nothing worked. I just kept gaining weight. So now that I'm eating the best I ever have and in the best shape I've ever been in...I'm 45 pounds heavier and back to where I started. Finally, it dawned on me that the only difference between when I was losing weight and now is that I had started the pill. So a month ago, I stopped taking the pill and since then, I haven't lost any weight, but I also haven't gained any either. The only logical conclusion is that it had to have been the Pill. Now, I just want to know how long it will take for my body to start losing the weight again.

BC pills can cause weight gain, especially in the form of excess water weight gain. The extra hormones don't help either. It was almost impossible for me to lose weight when I was on the pill. Although I had lost 130 lbs while off of it, once I started the pill my progress slowed to a crawl. I'm now on the nuvaring, which is nonsystemic (doesn't enter the bloodstream) and I've found a lot of side effects are gone.

I think it varies from person to person. If you think BC is the problem, talk to your doctor.

I find when I go off the pill I start gaining weight faster. I'm back on it now and don't gain as quickly and lose it more easily. I think I'm backwards!

I've been on the same pill for almost 12 yrs and the first year and a half I was on it...I gained 30lbs!

It was suggested that I go off the pill b/c:

a) it may help me lose weight, doesn't work for everybody apparently...
b) if I want to start TTC next year...I have to let my body get back to "normal."

I want to shed at least another 20-30lbs before I consider having a baby.

My hope is that going off the pill will help!

It's pretty much both person and pill specific. Some have no probs on one type of OCP (oral contraceptive pill) and have had major issues with a different type of OCP. Others cannot tolerate any hormonal contraception. And still others have no issues at all, with any kind of OCP or other type of hormonal contraception (pill, depo, nuvaring, ortho-evra patch..)

Every body is different and every pill is different to some small degree.

Gee, Kitty, how'd ya get to be so smart?

And owl, with nuvaring, hormones do enter the blood stream, but the overall blood levels are reduced (and steady) compared to OCPs and orthoevra patch.