Can We Talk About...Birth Control?

[kc892020 90]

This may sound a bit too personal, but I was wondering if anyone post-op would be willing to share their experiences with birth control?

I'm nervous because in the past when I was taking the pill for acne, I gained A LOT of weight. Looking back, I'm pretty convinced it set the spark for my past obesity. I'm dead serious. So...yeah. I definitely don't trust that. But I know there's a lot of other options these days. I've never had to consider birth control for actual birth control until recently, so I thought I'd ask for other's thoughts on the subject.

I know this can be a sensitive topic, so I really appreciate anyone who is willing to share their experiences. I've come far on this journey and the last thing I want to do is worry about weight regain from my method of pregnancy prevention.

[catwoman7 10,867]

I didn't have my surgery until I was past menopause, so I've had no personal experience with post-WLS birth control, but I do remember being on Depo-Provera once and gained like 40 lbs from it before I begged to be switched to something else. Not sure how that one would be if someone had had WLS, but not sure I'd risk it. Weight gain from the pill isn't as high as that - and maybe some brands aren't as bad when it comes to weight gain. I did go on the pill for awhile after the Depo disaster and didn't gain any weight, but it could be that I was watching it like a hawk because I was terrified of gaining more weight. Would your doctor be willing to do something like place an IUD? I'd just talk to him/her about your concerns and your options.

Edited February 24, 2021 by catwoman7

[Katiebal_Lecter 28]

I take BC for acne/PCOS and am still losing weight. You might just need to try different brands of pills until you find one that works for you and doesn’t affect your weight.

[ms.sss 14,679]

9 hours ago, kc892020 said:

This may sound a bit too personal, but I was wondering if anyone post-op would be willing to share their experiences with birth control?

I'm nervous because in the past when I was taking the pill for acne, I gained A LOT of weight. Looking back, I'm pretty convinced it set the spark for my past obesity. I'm dead serious. So...yeah. I definitely don't trust that. But I know there's a lot of other options these days. I've never had to consider birth control for actual birth control until recently, so I thought I'd ask for other's thoughts on the subject.

I know this can be a sensitive topic, so I really appreciate anyone who is willing to share their experiences. I've come far on this journey and the last thing I want to do is worry about weight regain from my method of pregnancy prevention.

Well my birth control is in the form of Mr.'s vasectomy. LOLOLOLOLzzzzzz

I have several friends who have IUDs and swear by it.

I also have another friend who does injectables, but wants to switch to IUD based on our other friends' experiences.

It is said that hormonal IUDs *may* still cause slight weight gain vs. non-hormonal ones, but I know at least 2 of these gals are using hormonal ones and have not gained any weight in the years they have been using it. Mind you they are never-been-fat girls, so that may be a factor.

Edited February 24, 2021 by ms.sss

[kristieshannon 1,544]

I’ve had a Mirena IUD for over 10 years (on my third one). I LOVE it!! No period, and no problems dropping my weight after surgery. I highly recommend it. I’m near menopause age (51) and having no symptoms. My doc recommends me keeping it in until I’m assumed to be past menopause as she states it will prevent me from having most menopause symptoms. Yay for that!

[ms.sss 14,679]

9 minutes ago, kristieshannon said:

My doc recommends me keeping it in until I’m assumed to be past menopause as she states it will prevent me from having most menopause symptoms. Yay for that!

ooohhhh....i did not know that it prevents menopausal symptoms! guess its time for me to research this!

[Deb9386 110]

No suggestions about better methods I'm afraid as I'm post menopausal, but I think you're right about the pill causing weight gain. My daughter who was always very slim put on a ton of weight when she went on the pill and really struggled to lose it. She became pregnant last summer almost immediately on giving up the pill to ttc, and was nearly 3 stone over the weight she should have been i.e. that she had been until she went on the pill. While pregnant she has managed to gain hardly any weight with very little effort and while eating well for the baby. So when she isn't on the pill she can control her weight easily and when she's on it she balloons. Hope you find a good solution!

[outofusernames 8]

I started a non estrogen bcp on January 28th and had a polyp removed this morning due to nonstop bleeding for months. I got on the scale and only lost 1 pound since Jan 12th. I was shocked! Granted I did a reset mid to late January and lost 5 pounds in about 6 days (a lot of Water I'm sure) but, I've been faithfully tracking and exercising since (had a 4 day trip to Florida but didn't eat much and walked a lot) and was sure I had lost another 7 or 9 pounds. Nope! Now I'm really questioning if it had anything to do with the bcp. I'm only 7 months post surgery and starting to worry about reaching goal at this weight. I figure I'll call surgeon's office in a week if the scale doesn't budge. One thing I know from my past experience with bcp is every body and type of pill is so unique in how it effects a woman. I too fear the IUD weight gain because I'm so prone to weight gain as it is. Not sure if that helps at all. I feel it was part my venting, as well.

[Circus321 58]

Condoms? Won’t affect your weight and are pretty reliable. I can’t use hormones at all because they cause me to have seizures (I have epilepsy) so that’s what I’ve always used. You could also use a cervical diaphragm or sponge if you don’t want to do the condom, I know it can be hard to use a condom every time with a long-term exclusive partner, and those are also pretty reliable barrier methods that won’t affect your weight but feel a lot more “freeing” than a condom lol. When I was researching options my doc told me that the Nuvaring and the patch have by far the lowest side effects for hormonal birth control, and the copper IUD doesn’t have hormones so it’s supposed to have few side effects as well. Good luck!

[Starwarsandcupcakes 1,897]

I’ve been taking the depo shot since before I had WLS due to period related anemia. Even during my 6month pre-op period I lost weight. Post-op I haven’t had any issues either with weight loss. Now that I’ve been at goal for about a month and eating more I’ve still managed to stay in my goal range. I will say that when I wasn’t on the depo for around 6 months post-op I had only lost about 35-40lbs.

[catwoman7 10,867]

3 minutes ago, Starwarsandcupcakes said:

I’ve been taking the depo shot since before I had WLS due to period related anemia. Even during my 6month pre-op period I lost weight. Post-op I haven’t had any issues either with weight loss. Now that I’ve been at goal for about a month and eating more I’ve still managed to stay in my goal range. I will say that when I wasn’t on the depo for around 6 months post-op I had only lost about 35-40lbs.

I gained 40 lbs on that....but that was before WLS. Weight gain is evidently really common with that, so you were lucky.. It might be different after WLS, though.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/will-the-depo-provera-shot-cause-weight-gain-906704

Edited March 1, 2021 by catwoman7

[Circus321 58]

On 02/28/2021 at 23:11, Starwarsandcupcakes said:

I’ve been taking the depo shot since before I had WLS due to period related anemia. Even during my 6month pre-op period I lost weight. Post-op I haven’t had any issues either with weight loss. Now that I’ve been at goal for about a month and eating more I’ve still managed to stay in my goal range. I will say that when I wasn’t on the depo for around 6 months post-op I had only lost about 35-40lbs.

I had an always-been-skinny friend who gained about 80lbs on the depo shot, and I’ve known of other girls who have gained a lot from it too. I’m glad it’s worked well for you but unfortunately substantial weight gain is a very common side effect with that one

[catwoman7 10,867]

10 minutes ago, Circus321 said:

I had an always-been-skinny friend who gained about 80lbs on the depo shot, and I’ve known of other girls who have gained a lot from it too. I’m glad it’s worked well for you but unfortunately substantial weight gain is a very common side effect with that one

yep - I begged my gyno to take me off it when she couldn't guarantee that my weight gain would stop - after I gained 40 lbs!

[Christina J. 17]

When I was 18 I took the depo shot and gained 50 lbs in 3 months which absolutely spiraled my obesity. My current doctor said that pill birth control was no longer a good option because my absorption has changed and therefore it would not be as effective. After speaking with my ob-gyn I opted to try depo one more time. I have still been losing weight but I can tell that my body is trying to adjust because my period is almost non-existent, though my body is still reacting as if it's happening normally, i.e. bloating/acne/etc. I had an IUD at one point in my life and it caused me to develop an ovarian cyst that burst. Many friends are on the patch or have the mirena insert and they love those options.

[XtinaDoesIt 196]

I think my birth control sparked my weight gain as well. I was on the Mirena (hormonal IUD) and although I loved how it stopped my period, I felt like suddenly I wasn't able to lose any weight no matter how hard I tried. Thats really when I started trying all of these extreme dieting and exercising and developing bad habits. I eventually started gaining weight until I took it out but by then I think the damage had already been done. Also, I developed facial hair which still continue to grow after I removed the Mirena. Recently I tried the Paraguard (Copper IUD) which didn't make me gain any weight but I HATED it. My menstrual cramps were soooo bad and I bleed so heavily and often. I haven't tried anything post WLS.