Birth Control Comes With A Weight Limit

[mistysj 1,939]

"The average American woman weighs 166 pounds. New data suggests that the Plan B morning-after pill is less effective if you weigh more that 165 pounds, and won't work at all for women who weigh more than 175. What's more, writes Kate Clancy (an anthropologist who studies women's reproductive issues), the dosages for regular old daily birth control are set for average-to-low-weight women. If your BMI is over 25, the pill won't work as well for you."

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[ShrinkyDinkMe101 82]

& you're at greater risk for blood clots & stroke. I wasn't allowed to do any hormonal birth control at higher weights.

[Jamisfat2fit 2]

"The average American woman weighs 166 pounds. New data suggests that the Plan B morning-after pill is less effective if you weigh more that 165 pounds, and won't work at all for women who weigh more than 175. What's more, writes Kate Clancy (an anthropologist who studies women's reproductive issues), the dosages for regular old daily birth control are set for average-to-low-weight women. If your BMI is over 25, the pill won't work as well for you."

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This is bull. My friend, against her better judgment, frequently uses Plan B as her method of birth control considering she only sees her fiance once a month due to his job. She weighs approximately 260 lbs & is 5'3. I am trying to get her to try a different form of bc because I think it will adversely affect her in the long run, especially when she wants to have another child.

[mistysj 1,939]

This is bull. My friend, against her better judgment, frequently uses Plan B as her method of birth control considering she only sees her fiance once a month due to his job. She weighs approximately 260 lbs & is 5'3. I am trying to get her to try a different form of bc because I think it will adversely affect her in the long run, especially when she wants to have another child.

What part of it is bull? And do you understand how Plan B works? It might be good to read about it before giving medical advice to your friend.

[Amanda Nicole Hosaflook 65]

Does it mention this on the warning label? I can't imagine this pill still being on the market if it only works for skinny people. There would be too many upset users. What is in it that makes it not work at a certain weight?

[Jamisfat2fit 2]

What part of it is bull? And do you understand how Plan B works? It might be good to read about it before giving medical advice to your friend.

The part about it being less effective in women weighing more than 165 lbs. Yes, I'm very familiar with Plan B in my line of work. I offer my advice to my friend as a professional & someone who knows her medical history. She suffers from HBP and Plan B only increases her risk for complications concerning her HBP. Plan B is not meant to be used as a long term form of bc (It does work for her although she weighs more than the 165 lbs mentioned in the article). Therefore, I reiterate, this research is bull.

[mistysj 1,939]

The article doesn't say it won't work, just that it is not as effective. Hormonal birth control these days is given in micro-doses, to reduce some of the side effects of hormone-based contraceptives that were introduced in the 1960s and 1970s. The dose is so small that you must take the pill as close to every 24 hours as possible, and missing a dose is very serious. With these tight tolerances, it makes sense that it would need to be correctly dosed by weight.

The article cites scientific sources. It isn't an opinion piece. I thought this was something people should be informed about, so I posted it. Don't shoot the messenger.

[Amanda Nicole Hosaflook 65]

Are you just talking about plan b or birth control in general? I have been on birth control for 16 years and weigh 250 pounds. Never had a pregnancy scare...

[Indigo1991 1,612]

Misty, in the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory

Agency announced yesterday that it is to review morning-after pills with a view to deciding if they need to carry a warning about weight.

This comes two years after a study by Edinburgh Uni found that obese women were more than 3 times likely than normal weight women to become pregnant after taking some morning-after pills. Apparently, that link was particularly strong for levonorgestrel-based pills.

Advice here is to follow your doctor's advice until a decision is made. Seems something is happening about this globally...

[Jamisfat2fit 2]

The article doesn't say it won't work, just that it is not as effective. Hormonal birth control these days is given in micro-doses, to reduce some of the side effects of hormone-based contraceptives that were introduced in the 1960s and 1970s. The dose is so small that you must take the pill as close to every 24 hours as possible, and missing a dose is very serious. With these tight tolerances, it makes sense that it would need to be correctly dosed by weight.

The article cites scientific sources. It isn't an opinion piece. I thought this was something people should be informed about, so I posted it. Don't shoot the messenger.

Misty, my opinion was based on my personal experience with Plan B which has a much higher dose of hormones than regular bc pills. If you & the article are referring ONLY to bc pills, I'd probably agree. But, I'm referring ONLY to Plan B. Please, don't take it personally or me too seriously. I said I think the article is bull. Not you! I still believe the article was an interesting piece. I just so happen to not agree with its weight limit.

[mistysj 1,939]

Misty, my opinion was based on my personal experience with Plan B which has a much higher dose of hormones than regular bc pills. If you & the article are referring ONLY to bc pills, I'd probably agree. But, I'm referring ONLY to Plan B. Please, don't take it personally or me too seriously. I said I think the article is bull. Not you! I still believe the article was an interesting piece. I just so happen to not agree with its weight limit.

It talks about both. See the post above yours for corroborating info from the UK. And there really is no place for opinion when the discussion is about science and research. We can all have our own opinions but we don't get to have our own facts.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

I'm curious how someone can say for sure plan B is working. Isn't it possible that one of the partners has a fertility problem?

[Jamisfat2fit 2]

I'm curious how someone can say for sure plan B is working. Isn't it possible that one of the partners has a fertility problem?

Because they both have children. The youngest is 2. A total of 7 kids between them. No fertility issues there. No one has been tied or snipped either.

[Jamisfat2fit 2]

It talks about both. See the post above yours for corroborating info from the UK. And there really is no place for opinion when the discussion is about science and research. We can all have our own opinions but we don't get to have our own facts.

Sorry, for you guys that this has turned into a personal attack on me. But, I love the fact that this is just a forum for discussion. Makes no difference to me one way or the other. Never intended to offend anyone. "Scientific research" changes every day & is often flawed. So, it doesn't mean much to me. If I listened to scientific research & statistics, I wouldn't be alive today. So, forgive me for being skeptical. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

[mistysj 1,939]

I am sorry if you felt attacked. That was never my intent.

I think there is some misinformation in this thread, though. You can never be sure if Plan B "worked" or if you just were not pregnant in the first place. You have to take it within a very short period of time from the sexual encounter, before an egg would have implanted. It actually prevents the egg from implanting, hence you would never actually be pregnant. The chances of a given sexual encounter resulting in pregnancy are far, far from 100% anyway. That's why I asked above if people knew how Plan B works. It is not an abortifactant. It is an implantation preventer.

It is a well-established fact that obese people, and especially obese women, get a lower standard of health care than healthy-weight people. Of all the people who need to be informed about studies such as the above, obese women need to be aware. This was simply my attempt to raise awareness of new research that has a big potential impact on women on these forums.