Birth control and weight gain?????
 

Hi!

So I recently just switched my pill and now realize that I gained about 3-4 lbs once I had started it. I never believed that birth control can cause weight gain but now I'm wondering if it could be the reason why? I was down to 164 about a month ago then shot back up to 168 and just reached my highest of 172.

Anyway what's the best option for me? Should I stop taking it? Or should I just
Keep eating healthy and working out? Will that weight gain from the pill go away??

Thanks :)

Hormones can do crazy things.

Talk to your doctor! He/she can gladly prescribe something different or tell you whether or not you can expect this side effect to go away.

After over a decade on the pill, and only coming off of it to have my 2 babies, I will never go back on. It caused all kinds of bad things for me, even on several different types.

There are indeed non hormonal BC options as well you can speak to your dr. about.

Honestly though, I wouldn't freak about 2 or 3 pounds. I'm up 2 or 3 pounds for absolutely no reason ALL the time. It always comes off.

Thanks for your reply lockitup!

I have been switching my pill over and over cause I always end up getting some sort of side effect. I heard it can be fluid retention? So i am hoping that's what it is.. I have never had this problem before! Not sure if I like this pill yet.

Oh well! thank you :)

I agree - I'll NEVER go back on the pill... Any kind I tried did HORRIBLE things to me, not the least of which was about a 7 pound weight gain. It wasn't necessarily that the pill itself made me gain, but it made me so insane and hormonal I was stress eating, felt weak in the gym, and just wanted to sleep all the time.

I've been off and on BC pills since I was 14 years old. Never really had side effects from any of them until the depo shot. Oh my! 40lbs (I don't really think all of it was from depo alone, my eating habits I'm sure :lol:), hormonal, depressed, lack of sex drive, etcetc. Never again. After depo, I decided I was done with pills. Now I keep seeing warning adverts on TV for a few of old BCP I used to take so I'm glad I made that decision.

I want to put in a good word for my AWESOME iud, Mirena. It's excellent, causes me no problems whatsoever, and, as a bonus, I don't have periods anymore! (I do still cycle though-just no bleeding). It's excellent!

I cannot take birth control, I gain weight quickly on it, on every kind. Some worse than others. I was on the depo shot for a year and gained 100 pounds (what im trying to lose). I wasnt ever heavy until I started taking birth control. Be very careful with your diet.

Another bad experience here with depo. I quickly gained 60pounds on the shot. Now I'm on nuva ring and much happier

Which pill are you on?

I found on Tri-cyclen Lo I was okay, I didn't gain or lose.
On Diane 35, I gained about 40lb... but my skin was aamaaaazing!! hahaha

Now I'm on the Evra patch. Honestly, when I miscarried a couple years back, I asked the doctor what the best birth control is for me, because I didn't want to get pregnant (was afraid of it happening again) so I didn't want to miss a pill...

And he suggested the patch. Now obviously I asked him if it would make me gain weight, and he said, honestly, you may actually lose some weight. But your boobs will get bigger.

Now the boobs didn't get bigger, but they stayed the same, and I'm able to lose weight.

I hope you can contact your doctor and see if there's a link between your recent weight gain and the pill, if there is, maybe ask him if he thinks the patch would be a better guess? :)

I noticed slight weight gain when I went on TriLo Sprintec in America. I wasn't carefully tracking my calories or exercise then, though, so for all I know it was just coincidence that I gained weight around the same time I started the Pill (I was in college at the time).

Now I'm on a Japanese Pill, Ange 28. I haven't noticed any weight gain but I have noticed intense hunger during the 10 days before my period. I still haven't been able to curb this hunger and so I often end up going over calories (by a little or by a lot) during this period. If I wasn't tracking my calories and exercise I'd blame my hunger and temporary weight gain on the Pill; since I am, though, I know better.

If you're not already, I suggest you take note of your mood and appetite in addition to whatever food/exercise log you have. You may notice hunger patterns that coincide with your monthly cycle. If so, you can probably conquer your hunger or temporary weight gain.

Good luck!