i have a couple of friends that swears taking birth control pills had made them gain weight. i've always known that excessive calories is what makes you gain weight. is there something i'm missing? please explain.

Apparently there are two factors with birth conrol pills that can lead to weight gain. One, is an increase in appetite. The second is an increase of fat storage due to hormone levels. I know a few girls who gained 40 LBS. from getting the implant and/or the shot. This was not a drawn out wieght gain either, it seemed overnight. I also tend to fight about a ten pound difference myself. Luckily, now that I am working out so much I have managed to shed it.

it affects all women differently. i have tried 3 different brands and have never experienced weight gain from it (other than normal bloating i always had), and i have made progress in my fitness goals. i had to switch brands for various reasons, but not weight gain.

if your friends are gaining weight, maybe switching to another brand will help.

I think that the shots and implants are much more likely to make you gain weight than the pills. I agree with chops, maybe your friends should try another brand. Maybe one of the low dose kinds.

I have never experienced weight gain or other side effects from taking the pill.

I was going to start a new thread but I saw this one.

My Fiance and I are considering using birth control pills as our primary source to prevent pregnancy when we get married this July, however she is concerned about side effects. I see that several people here use them. Can people comment more on their experience with them. Specifically what fears you might have had when you decided to start and whether or not they turned out to be true. Also does anyone know of any websites where lots of people give feedback.

Freemason, you said that you had no side effects at all, is this typical of most women. Is it sort of like an allergy, where you either experience side effects or you don't. Like 2% of women will have side effects and the rest just won't.

Thanks for the help!

Hi GH, I was on birth control pills for a year and had no side effects. I switched to depo-provera(the shot every three months) for the conveinience. I've had a few side effects with depo. I became hairier in places I wasn't before and another freaky thing happened but I won't get into that here. I've been on the shot for 2 years and I plan on staying on it until I want kids. There are things your wife needs to consider like possible weight gain/ possible acne flair ups, heavier/less periods, or if she uses depo - no periods at all. Also if she smokes she shouldn't be on birth control at all. I was going to start a new thread but I saw this one.

My Fiance and I are considering using birth control pills as our primary source to prevent pregnancy when we get married this July, however she is concerned about side effects. I see that several people here use them. Can people comment more on their experience with them. Specifically what fears you might have had when you decided to start and whether or not they turned out to be true. Also does anyone know of any websites where lots of people give feedback.

Freemason, you said that you had no side effects at all, is this typical of most women. Is it sort of like an allergy, where you either experience side effects or you don't. Like 2% of women will have side effects and the rest just won't.

Thanks for the help!

Freemason, you said that you had no side effects at all, is this typical of most women.
Typical of all women I know. I've only known one girl who had side effects; she had an adverse reaction to the change in hormones.

For everyone else I know, the pill is fantastic. Makes periods lighter, PMS and cramping a tiny bit less (though still definitely there), clears up pimples for a lot of people, makes it so hormone levels don't fluctuate so much, I think they're great.

Two caveats:
(1) No smoking. (Like woeisemma said in her post. Big time no no.)
(2) Must remember to take it everyday.

Your fiance could always try them, then if she doesn't like them it's very easy to change methods.

No adverse side effects from the pill here and I've been on it for quite a while....getting close to 10 years.

Thanks for the response woeisemma, Freemason and Teriliel. This is encouraging feedback. I've sent it on to my fiance and we will be considering it.

One more question, can you change when you have your period by starting the pill on a certain day? I've heard this is possible but am not sure. This would be sort of for planning purposes for the wedding day and honeymoon type of thing. Thanks! More responses are welome too.

Thanks for the response woeisemma, Freemason and Teriliel. This is encouraging feedback. I've sent it on to my fiance and we will be considering it.

One more question, can you change when you have your period by starting the pill on a certain day? I've heard this is possible but am not sure. This would be sort of for planning purposes for the wedding day and honeymoon type of thing. Thanks! More responses are welome too.

Not really. It takes time. If you want to be regular in time for the wedding, suggest that she start a few months prior. Many women experience spotting in the first month or two of use, and it's not much fun. However, the pill will make her very regular, so you can certainly plan around it.

She should have a good chat with her doctor about which pill to use. There are 101 different varieties that have different hormone levels and different active and inactive ingredients. She can have trouble with one variety and none with another. And this goes without saying, but there are very serious potential side effects to the pill. We seem to be a lucky lot in reporting that we don't know anyone with serious problems, but they do happen. She should absolutely not be on the pill if she smokes.

The advice regarding smoking and birth control is that if you are over 35 and smoke, you absolutely should not take the pill. I am not proud of this, but I was a pack a day smoker for the majority of the time that I have been on the pill. My blood pressure was the ONE thing that was normal on me. Very strange and very lucky for me. I have since quit smoking, but I just wanted to clarify the smoking warning.

The advice regarding smoking and birth control is that if you are over 35 and smoke, you absolutely should not take the pill. I am not proud of this, but I was a pack a day smoker for the majority of the time that I have been on the pill. My blood pressure was the ONE thing that was normal on me. Very strange and very lucky for me. I have since quit smoking, but I just wanted to clarify the smoking warning.

Thanks for the continued advice chopaholic and Teriliel, she doesn't smoke so we don't have to worry about that. She has an appointment to discuss things this friday, so thanks everyone for your comments!

I think she can skip her period for your wedding day/honey moon. She will just have to take pills for 4 weeks straight instead of the 4th week of sugar pills.Thanks for the continued advice chopaholic and Teriliel, she doesn't smoke so we don't have to worry about that. She has an appointment to discuss things this friday, so thanks everyone for your comments!

i myself have experience weight gain and 3 week bleeding with the pill. the only thing that worked for me is the birth control patch. i live in a military community and most of the women i speak to also have the patch. i now come to realize it is GOD. the best thing invented. you put it on once a week for the whole week for three weeks and the the forth you do not wear it at all. i have actually been losing weight but the only down fall with the patch if you do smoke i including several other women i spoke to said they get serve chest pain. which i never had with the pill. but any way that is a good thing in a way. i am smoke free now. good luck
USE THE PATCH

I think that the shots and implants are much more likely to make you gain weight than the pills.

actually... for me... when i was 16, I got on the Depo Shot, and I took it every 3 months and I actually lost 15 pounds.... didn't exercise or anything, just took 1 diet pill a day (before ephedra was known as bad for you :p )

i was so worried about gaining weight, that is why i started taking the pills... because i would sit on my butt through school 8-3:30 then work from 4-10.... no time for exercise...

so the shot did not make me gain 1 pound... when I got off Birth Control, I gained weight... :d_frown:

I took some regular-dose pill my doctor prescribed to me when I was 14 to increase my estrogen levels, but it caused me to gain 10 lbs in 3 months. That particularly pill didn't work well for me and I was not my normal mood at all. As soon as I stopped it, I lost the weight and my mood was happy again. This year I tried the mini-pill, Aviane (brand name is Alesse) and took it continuously for months because I didn't want a period. No mood swings, no weight gain. Then when I began my transformation I decided that, just in case it did inhibit fat loss, I wanted to do without it.

I think she can skip her period for your wedding day/honey moon. She will just have to take pills for 4 weeks straight instead of the 4th week of sugar pills.
So, are you supposed to do this, meaning, what would a doctor say about it? Since it will be her first time taking something like this, I wouldn't want to do anything out of the norm. That way we can see what her reaction would be to the normal dosage.

So, are you supposed to do this, meaning, what would a doctor say about it? Since it will be her first time taking something like this, I wouldn't want to do anything out of the norm. That way we can see what her reaction would be to the normal dosage.

Other women may jump in and disagree with me here, but I have no interest in messing with my period. The pill is as close as I come. I won't take Depo, I won't manipulate the pill to change my period, I won't try the new pill that gives you four periods a year. I just have a gut reaction to these thing, that messing with my cycle for no reason just can't be healthy.

Maybe in 30 years doctors will be telling us it's fine, that longitudinal studies have shown no averse effects to Depo or the new pill. But I'm not interested in being a lab rat.

:confused:

A choice every woman has to make for herself. And I might take a moment to plug the fact that not all women get to make these choices...

that messing with my cycle for no reason just can't be healthy.

Actually, if you are on the pill, you are 'messing' with your cycle...creating an artificial period when you go off them for a week (that is how my physician explained it, he could be wrong and I welcome any and all comments that refute!) :nod:

I just went on the 4-periods-a-year pill and will NOT go back. Just my personal preference. From all of the science I've seen, you still take in about the same amount of hormones per year, you just take in less each day, but go longer before you 'break'. I for one am anxiously awaiting the 'one period a year' pill (in development as we speak), and the promised 'no period at ALL pill!!!! YEA!!!!!
:claplow:

big hee. I truly do understand someone not wanting to do this, but wanted to put in a 'plug' for it as I've had good results. YES, some women do experience spot thru bleeding the first cycle (3 months) but it usually goes away. I personally did not experience this.

Actually, if you are on the pill, you are 'messing' with your cycle...creating an artificial period when you go off them for a week (that is how my physician explained it, he could be wrong and I welcome any and all comments that refute!) :nod:


I agree; that's how I understand it as well. What I hope my post said what that a 28 day pill cycle is as "extreme" as I'm willing to go.

Actually, if you are on the pill, you are 'messing' with your cycle...creating an artificial period when you go off them for a week (that is how my physician explained it, he could be wrong and I welcome any and all comments that refute!)
That is correct. Taking the pill is definitely messing with your cycle and your hormones.

I wanted chime in here and mention Fertility Awareness Method (FAM). You take no horomes to control you cycle with this method. Basically, you track your fertility signs so you know when you are ovulating (a woman is only fertile when she releases an egg). If you are interesting in learning more, check out the book "Taking Charge of your Fertility" by Toni Weschler. You can also visit www.tcoyf.com (http://www.tcoyf.com) for a large member community that are using that approach to either try to avoid (TTA) prregnancy or trying to conceive (TTC) a baby.

I think that even if you choose not to use that method, you should still read the book...especially if you plan to have a baby one day! You'll be amazed at what you learn about your body! :d_smile:

Just wanted to add in my experience... I was on the pill for 10 years, and never noticed any side effects at all. Definitely no weight gain. Also, for the past six years or so, I've skipped periods whenever I wanted to (probably had about 4 a year). You can do this with any of the constant dose pills (not ones that have a different dose depending on the week on the pack) just by skipping the placebo week. If your fiance wants to do this for the wedding, she should definitely start the pill several months ahead of time, though. When you first start taking it your cycles aren't quite as supressed and if she tries skipping periods right away she might have some spotting.
A big cavaet, though- I went off the pill this fall (as I said above, after ten years on it), and I sort of feel better than I have in a long time - more "energy"... Not sure if it was the pill or not, but I suspect it. Pills that have slightly more testosterone are less likely to have this effect.
Jess

:d_eek: I think I should add my experience in too...

Mine wasn't as pleasant as most of the experiences here. I was on BC for about 6 years and I had to keep switching brands till I was finally on a low dose the last couple of years. I gained a TON of weight on it (60 lbs) and I was miserable. The weight didn't help, but I developed depression, anxiety (to the point that I couldn't drive or leave the house without panic attacks), and just overall very bad emotional ups and downs. I turned into a complete basket case. I even almost flunked out of college because I couldn't concentrate enough to take an exam or do homework. I was a complete mess. I decided I had some problems and I wanted to go to the doctor for an evaluation and possibly meds. I was still on my parents' health insurance then, so I talked to my mother about it. She was completely baffled at what was going on in my life because she never saw any signs of depression or anything else while I was growing up. Finally I confessed to her I was on the pill (I was weird about sex and such with my parents). She immediately told me to stop taking the pill because that was causing my problems. Of course, I didn't think that was the problem, so I continued the pill and struggled for another couple of years.

Finally, I decided to stop the pill to see if it would help. I am happy to say that I am a perfectly normal and healthy person now and I am positive that the pill was the reason for my problems. While I was on the pill I had a very very hard time losing weight. It just wouldn't come off at all. My cycle was very messed up for about a year after I stopped the pill, but I noticed that I had tons more energy and I dropped weight almost without trying. I just feel so much better and I would never go on the pill again. I have heard that the mental disorders from the pill are rare, but they do happen. I am just happy that I finally decided to take my mother's advice and I am VERY happy that her and my father (he is a doctor) refused to let me go to a shrink and get on anti-depressants. I would have had a whole mess of other problems if I had done that.

Here are the brands that i took:
Ortho Tri-Cyclen--2 years (weight gain not that bad, but made me feel sick all the time)
Ortho-Novum (I think this was the name)--2 years (a mix of above and below, but gave me migraine headaches twice a month and I had never had them before taking this pill, and never had one since quitting this pill)
Alesse--2 years ("low" dose, but the one that gave me the really bad depression and weight gain)

There are many types out there though and I have heard of my exact side effects with a few other people and then they tried Yasmin with great results. I am scared to try any type of pill at the moment though. I want to lose the rest of my weight and then maybe attempt to try something. Any hint of the past side effects and I am throwing them out the window though. Condoms are just fine if it means I don't have to live like a paranoid fat zombie.