Ladies dopers: your opinion on birth control methods

In My Humble Opinion
21

gobbles - I gained weight, and I think I will be trying forever to lose it. I was on the Pill for 10 years, starting my freshman year in college, and instead of the “Freshman 15,” I gained the “Freshman 50.” But I had doctors who were honest with me, so a lot of that was my own fault.

There is another thread out there on the SDMB somewhere about, ahem, “sexual side effects” of the Pill, where I posted that I read the insert that came with my Pills every month. Said inserts did say that weight gain can be a side effect, at least for my Pill (I was taking Triphasil 28). Both my gyn and my regular doctor told me as much when I started the Pill.

However … I believe my weight gain was MUCH more than normal. My eating and exercise habits both changed significantly (and for the worse) when I started college. Both of my sisters are on the Pill - different ones, and different from the one I took - and they did have some slight weight gain that they were able to combat with minor changes to their exercise routines. Also, drinking extra water helps.

Just based on what I have heard from friends and family on the Pill, Ortho Tri-Cyclen is one of the worst Pills for weight gain. Hormones tend to do that to people - I have heard tell of some people who gain 20 pounds in the first month of their Depo “cycles,” then they lose the weight before their next shot, only to gain weight again. Little changes in hormone levels can affect your metabolism in big ways.

My best advice is this: talk to your doctor. If you don’t like the answers s/he gives you, talk to a different doctor or someone at your local Planned Parenthood office (or a similar-type clinic). Ask your friends who their doctors are, and talk to their doctors until you find a doctor who will answer your questions. You may find yourself with a new doctor, but it is worth it.

One other thing … there are ALWAYS work-arounds to weight gain from any kind of birth control, but you need to talk to your doctor about it. Sorry to preach (I didn’t mean for this to be so long), but I would hate for you to find yourself in a position you don’t want to be in because someone else didn’t answer all the questions you had (interpret however you want).

22

gobbles, I gained about 10 pounds when I started the Pill. But I really like the extra curviness those pounds added, so I’m not complaining.

23

CrazyCatLady, I do have a coppper IUD. At first my periods hurt me so much I thought I had appendicitis and went to the ER…it hurt that much. The really weird thing is that cramps I had before were pretty much across my lower back…maybe a little tenderness around my uterus, but with the IUD, my whole middle feels like its completely swollen and infected. I’m about done with this whole IUD deal. Its been a year and a half and they haven’t gotten any better.

As for weight gain, my doctor told me that chemical bc doesn’t cause weight gain: what it causes is appetite stimulation. If you watch what you eat, he said, you won’t get any heavier.

24

I’ve been on the pill for a while, and I’m happy with my weight. I have noticed that I tend to put on weight more easily, but I exercise regularly and lose it. But this could be due simply to my metabolism slowing down with age. However, if I were to switch to the patch or Depo, would I be in danger of gaining weight? Since my body is already used to the hormones in the pill, will that nullify or lessen that particular side effect? The pill and the other two methods all have the possible side effect of weight gain, but is it caused by the same hormones?

25

I tend to put on weight more easily with the pill, too, but like October, I can lose it fairly easily if I try.

Maybe in the next month (I can’t start the Depo until my next period) I should work on losing weight, so I can start the depo with a “negative balance”, as it were? :wink:

(Yeah, I’m doing a great job of that–I hosted a meeting yesterday, and have been munching all day on the leftover food: bagel chips, alouette cheese spread, sliced pepperoni, sliced turkey sandwiches, potato salad, and fruit salad. And punch. My pants are starting to hurt.)