I went on Ortho Tri-Cyclen when I was 17, and since then I've been switched to a couple different brands, but always a triphasic regimen. I love the pill, and I love what it has done for me (no more debilitating cramps, regular periods, much less PMS, etc). The only problem I had with it was that it gave me morning sickness for the first few weeks I was on it, but luckily that went away!
As for weight gain . . . Well, I definitely gained weight while on the pill. But I do not at all blame the pill for my weight gain. My doctor told me when I went on it, "Most women start the pill right when they go away to college, and that involves a big change in eating habits and I'm sure you've heard of the "freshman fifteen." Some people say the pill makes you gain weight, but it's also true that many people go on the pill at a time in their life when they are about to gain anyway."
I was about 145 when I went on the pill, but I was already on my way to being obese back then. I had been gaining 10 lbs/year for the past three years already, and once I started college and was eating crap in the dining hall and a whole lot of really bad for me snack foods, I gained even faster. I don't think being on the pill had anything to do with it at all.
The brands I've been on are Ortho Tri-Cyclen, Tri-Levlen, and now I'm on Enpresse or something like that. I'd say if you are worried about weight gain, just be extra careful about what you are eating and how much you are exercising. If you start to see a gain, get more serious with your healthy eating or work out more.
Anyway, other people may have had different experiences. It seems to me that weight gain with BC is like weight gain when people quit smoking -- they just start eating more (because smoking is an appetite suppressant, and I bet the hormones make you want to eat more in BC).
I know that you are talking about oral contraceptives, but I have to tell you that I have been useing the Ortho-nova Ring and I think it is the best thing since chocolate and coffee! Whenever I was on the pill I was always sick and cranky and always took it a different times, so I tried the patch and I had pretty much the same problems, but with the added fun of band-aid gunk. The Ring you put in and leave it for 3 weeks, take it out and then one week later, put in a new one. My only concern was being able to feel it, and I can't - at all - no matter what. There has been no nausea or weight gain - I have been loosing weight pretty much the whole time (with diet and working out). Anyway, I thought I would throw it out there as an option.
I take a very low dose pill .. can't remember the name of it haha but I just started it a couple of months ago and I FEARED weight gain .. but it actually didn't effect my weight loss at all and actually I think it got me over a plateu ... I think it depends on your mentality cause if you blame eating junk and say it's the pill then you're in trouble but if you exercise and stay OP then I don't think it affects you at all .. hope that eases your fears a bit
The one I use is Diane 35 (not sure what it corresponds to in other countries though, if it has an equivalent, or a different name, etc). I didn't notice any weight gain nor increased appetite, but I guess that at the time, I was so stressed with my job that I just didn't pay attention, and was anyway not eating right nor at right hours. In any case, it hasn't prevented me from losing weight, nor made things extra difficult by making me get whacko with hormon levels or something (and all the good side effects - no more PMSing, no more awful cramps, no more bleeding to exhaustion for 7 days every month - are worth a few pounds gained, if I ever gained any because of that ).
I've took Ortho Tri Cyclen for 2 years and I've been on the lo-dose version for almost 2 years. I have actually lost weight since being on the pill. It regulated my hormones and shrunk my pms-time from about 2.5 weeks to just about a week. I think I did the majority of my eating for the month during those 2.5 weeks because when I'm pmsing I want to eat everything.
I've read studies that say that the pill doesn't cause weight gain, but I think it is probably different for everyone. Personally, I would recommend it because it keeps my crazy hormones under control.
The first two times were with Ortho Tri Cyclen, and each time I gained 15 lbs. But, those two times were when I started college and law school. Undoubtedly my eating habits changed and were to blame for the weight gain.
Now I use Ortho Try Cyclen Lo. I started it back in February and I didn't gain any weight. But I didn't llose weight, either, until I started WW this past May. I'm losing weight at about 1 lb./week.
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