Ok, I need advice- I've been on and off birth control pills for 6 years now- I've been on 5 different kinds and have had to change b/c of extreme moodiness, heavy bloating, and even hair loss at one point!! I really hate the pill, but I don't see many other feasible, reliable options. The kind I'm on now, Mircette, is not great but tolerable. The thing is it makes my stomach bloat up. When I lost last bigger chunk of weight before, I had gone off the pill b/c BF was overseas for 6 months. When I went back on, I gained about 3 pounds which is ok, but I wasn't ready to stop losing yet. Do you girls think it would be ok to go off the pill to lose these last 8-10 pounds, or should I wait to see if the side effects of bloating will go away? I've been on Mircette for 3 months, and 3 months of another pill before that. I guess I'm afraid I'm not giving it enough time, but I want these last pounds off!!!!! Maybe if I get the the lower end of my maintenence range, it won't matter if I go back on and gain 2-3 pounds.

Ok, that was some rambling!!! Anyhow, what would you girls do?? Or what are your experiences with the pill and side effects?

I used mircette, I liked it, I only switched to get a cheaper pill due to not having insurance now. I think you should give it more time for sure! You're body will never get used to it if you go on and off and switch. You will be able to lose weight on it. Except in really unusual cases I've never heard that it is impossible to lose weight on them. If your Dr. thinks it's normal that you have side effects for every pill, that I would think that you'll be just fine.

Or try Ortho Evra... the patch. I was taking the pill, but it was screwing up my system, and I wasn't getting my periods. Since being on the patch, everything has been on track... and I love not having to remember taking the pill every day.

Good luck!

I loved mircette too. Student health services stopped carrying it, so now I take desogen which is a higher dose, which I think definately made gaining weight this past fall. Anything you try, unless the effects are bad, stick with for at least a few months.

I am on ortho novum, but my doc just switched me to something else. I was getting pimples, cramps, and pms in the last year (i'd been on the ortho novum nine years already and didn't have any problems the first 8 years). He switched me to the new one because he said my body doesn't need all the estrogen I was getting in my old pill. He said that because I'll be getting less estrogen, I'll have a much easier time losing weight. I don't remeber what my new pill is, but pm me in a week when I've started it and I'll be thrilled to tell you!

AndreaHope, I'd give it another two months to see if the bloating goes away. I've only been on the pill once, for the last 5 months, so I don't have a wealth of knowledge or experience. I'm on tri-sprintec 28 (generic for ortho-tricyclin lo). For the first 3 months I gained 5+ pounds every month when I had my period, and for the first 2 months I also had fairly bad nausea, spotting, and long periods. The 3rd month it wasn't as bad, and by the 4th month my side effects were pretty much gone other than about 2-3 pounds gain w/ my period (which I had when I wasn't on the pill). I agree w/ Lockitup, you need to give your body a little bit more of a chance to adjust to this pill before you give up on it.

Also I'm not familiar w/ Mircette, is it low dose hormones? I asked my doc about weight gain when I went on it, and she said that as long as I was doing what I'd been doing to stay healthy eating and workout-wise (she's been my doc for 15 years and is familiar w/ my long struggle w/ weight) I should be fine. When the pill originally became widely available 30+ years ago they contained huge amounts of hormones, way more than needed to be effective as BC, and they did cause a lot of weight gain. Today's pills have a lot less hormones so weight gain shouldn't be nearly as big a problem.

Sorry you have such bad side effects, it sounds pretty icky and annoying.

If you have problems with the pill/the patch, you might want to ask your doc about getting a hormonal IUD. I couldn't use the patch/pill because it sent my hormones out of whack, but the IUD is good, since basically, as far as I can understand, there aren't any extra hormones in your system.

Anyhow. It can cause cramps for a few months, and it hurts getting it in, but it's worth it-- Mirena (the brand I'm on) is in for 5 years, and is much cheaper than any other form of b/c for the same amount of time. it also stopped my period, which I'm quite happy with.

Anyhow-- ask your ob-gyn about options. They should be able to give you more detailed info.

The Nuva Ring is the only b/c I have ever used, and I don't plan on ever switching to anything else. It has some of the lowest hormone levels compared to other forms of b/c. I had mood swings during the very first month, but that was the extent of that. It hasn't affected my weight or skin, and I don't really have spotting. I've been on it for over a year and couldn't be happier. You really only think about it twice a month; I love how easy it is.

I have been on ortho tri cyclen Lo for 2 years now and I love it. Absolutely no weight gain. I was on 4 or 5 different birth control pills before this one and I hated them all. I've taken Lo-Ovral, some British brand when I lived in Scotland that I don't think we have here, Lo-ogestrol, and three other ones. They all made me spot bleed or gain weight (I think i gained 15 pounds on Lo-ovral).

I tried the ortho evra patch for 2 months. I couldn't take it. I'm active and go the gym a lot and I couldn't keep the thing on. I had to end up taping it to my skin by the end of the week and it would always get clothes-fuzz on it. I hated it and went back to the pill. The physical effects were okay (no spotting or weight gain) but the keeping it on part was enough to say bye-bye.

Thanks guys for all your input!!! I think I'm going to stay on it for a little longer, WHILE I look for other options. I think some people just can't handle the hormones, and I might just be one of them Eh, oh well.

I just started the Nuva Ring and opened a thread on it last week. Everyone who is using it seems to like it and so far I have no problems. I would be careful if you ever try the patch as their have been some recent developments that have been all over the news about more side effects then the pill. Just a warning to anyone out there who's on the patch!

I am also on Desogen. I had never been able to lose weight until I began taking BCP's. I've lost 75 pounds since. I'm wondering if I should switch, as it is a higher dose and I've been fighting (and losing lately) a battle to keep the last 5 off.

I actually had a doctor tell me that there was no way that the pills had anything to do with losing weight and that any weight gain beyond 5 pounds could NOT be attributed to the pill. And she was so smug about it.

I have talked to doctors about weight gain and the BCP. It's not really the pill that makes you gain weight, but it has an influence. The hormonal changes and how it interacts with your particular body can do things like cause you to retain water or substantially increase your appetite. That is what happened to me on my first few BCPs. I knew I was eating more but I was so much hungrier....and I gained weight. Big surprise... I'm just happy I found one now that doesn't give me the 'hungry' side-effect

I never had problems with my BCP -- My body settled in with the first brand I was put on (Alesse). My roommate, however, has huge issues with a lot of BCPs... she'd get really really moody, she gained weight, and was just generally very unhappy. She had always been on triphasic pills. Her dr changed her to a monophasic (not sure what brand) and she seems to be doing well... Maybe it's not the amount of hormones, but the times at which they're delivered?