weight gain from coming off the pill

Exactly the same thing is happening to me! I was on Microgynon 50 and went off it because I was having issues with my period. All of a sudden I put on 6 kilos(13 pounds) which was weird because i have been the same weight for YEARS. My skin got bad so I went back on the pill.... and have not been able to lose the extra weight I have gained. I am dieting and exercise more than ever in my entire life and NOTHING seems to work. I feel like it is especially my stomach and legs that have become bigger. I feel like i am pregnant but am not!

I am going to my gyno on Monday so I will ask about this. Surely something can be done to reverse it!

I am sick and tired of missing out on social events because I am eating well and then not even losing any weight.

I will let you know what the gyno says. >;) :$ :'( :-( :'( %-) o.O

I am 26 and have been on Microgynon for 9 years, can't remember if anything changed when i started taking them but i have felt ok for this period of time. Only problems i was getting is some brown discharde mid way through packets. I heard that sometimes it's best to try a new pill after a long length of time so i have swapped onto Marvelon. Since then i have put on a stone in weight without eating more or doing less exercise. Confused as from what i've read Marvelon is less likely to cause weight gain then Microgynon.
I have decided that maybe i should come off the pill all together for a few months to see how i feel and how my body reacts, i'm hoping it might help me shift this stone in weight. I am just a bit worried about the side effects. Apart from getting acne which seems to be a common effect, i'm quite worried i am one of them people who actually gain weight when coming off the pill. I was thinking as i'm single at the momnet and there isn't a man on the horizon, this would be the perfect opportunity to come of it, see what happens, afterall i can always go back on it.
I guess my main question is has anyone had any experience with changing pills and gaining weight like i have? I can't decide whether it's the absence of Microgynon that has caused the weight gain, or the Marvelon pill. Any advice or knowledge would be appreciated.

x

Hi i have just came off the yasmin 2 week ago and so far i feel ok except for bloating and constipation.

I too have been having all of the same symptons.

I've struggled with my weight for a couple of years as I have an under active thyroid as well, but usually a mixture of healthy diet and exercise brings it in line. I came off the pill about 3 months ago (Cilest) and since then I have managed to put on about 7 - 8 lb without anything changing in my routine. This itself is frustrating, but I'm also at Slimming World, so trying to explain to the consultant that I'm not cheating every time I put weight on is exhausting and embarrassing... I run several kilometres three times a week as well as being always on the go (I have two children), yet it doesn't seem to be making any difference.

My husband, bless him, has done some research and the answer he came up is Vitex Angus Castus




I am going to go and get some along with Evening Primrose Oil today and see if it makes a difference. I hope it does because I really don't want to look and feel like this in June when we go away.

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_86 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I too have been having all of the same symptons.

I've struggled with my weight for a couple of years as I have an under active thyroid as well, but usually a mixture of healthy diet and exercise brings it in line. I came off the pill about 3 months ago (Cilest) and since then I have managed to put on about 7 - 8 lb without anything changing in my routine. This itself is frustrating, but I'm also at Slimming World, so trying to explain to the consultant that I'm not cheating every time I put weight on is exhausting and embarrassing... I run several kilometres three times a week as well as being always on the go (I have two children), yet it doesn't seem to be making any difference.

My husband, bless him, has done some research and the answer he came up is Vitex Angus Castus




I am going to go and get some along with Evening Primrose Oil today and see if it makes a difference. I hope it does because I really don't want to look and feel like this in June when we go away.






Hello,

I came off Ovranette aprox 3 months ago, so I could have the coil fitted and not have any chemicals in my body etc. I was just over 9 1/2 stone a size 10 UK. Now I have put on over a stone I am now 11 stone, I am 5"2 and I am 23 years old. I have been going to the gym regularly - as some other women have said I look pregnant sometimes and feel uncomfortable in my clothes - this is making me unhappy - I go on holiday in 7 weeks and don't want to look like a whale next to my bf who has a 6 pack - it's embarrasing.

My plan is to do the cabbage soup diet for 7 days as instructed - I am on day one it's okay so far :-/

I am going to be at thne gym at least 5 times a week for the next 7 weeks - bike, cross trainer, rower, running machine and weights.

I will then return to my normal diet which includes 2 pieces of marmite toast a cup of tea (2 sugars) for breakfast

an apple for break,

egg salad or some sort of salad for lunch,

a healthy balanced tea drinking water only after breakfast.

I am also intending to go on vitex I am going to the health store today - I will keep you posted












Okay - I am on day 2 of the diet and have lost 3 pounds - also doing aprox 70 mins cardio each day.

Taking water retention tablets and vitex - I'll let you know if this works soon as I know etc.

From next week I hope to go back to a healthy diet etc and regular excercise

xxx

"Hi there, i did the same.I started on the pill when I was 18, im now 25. I finished my pack of pills about 6 weeks ago(that was when my last period was.)and since then ive gained some weight which is unusual for me as im quite a skinny person and i never put on weight.I eat loads but dont put on weight. Ive come off the pill before and never had any symptoms like this.
I thought I was pregnant but just done a test today and was negative. Its so strange but Im assuming its the hormones but i still havent had a period, im 2 and a half weeks late.The weight I have put on is just on my stomach around my belly button which is weird and sticks right out when ive eaten and is funny shape but the test said negative. It must just be the pill playing havoc
Anyone else had these symptoms "


Yes I have been having all of these symptoms. Im 19 and have only been using the pill since age 16. I went off it because it seemed to decrease my sex drive, which did come back in full swing after I stopped, but I also have the symptoms you have stated. Im skinny too! But ive put on about 8 kg. I was told I may just have a severe case of stress..quite possible as I am going through a lot lately.

Hello, I have been on birth control since i was 19 and now am 32. first i was on synphase and then creazette.

I decided to come off of it a few weeks ago and am noticing a funny weight gain in my stomach similar to above.

I also notice some itchiness on my stomach around my belly button. Do others have this too?

I hope this goes away as I reallydon't want to gain weight! Any positive stories welcome, Miriam

I am so glad to see that you ladies are feeling the exact same way.  I got off birth control 7 months ago and gained 10 lbs overnight.  My diet hasn't changed and I work out regularly and have always maintained to keep my weight under control while on birth control which I was very proud of.  I just got back on two weeks ago and am experiencing swollen breasts.  I am hoping that within a couple of months, my weight will be back to what it was and I can stop feeling like a swollen, pudgy girl with a bloated stomach.  I feel so gross and out of shape.

Hi, im 16 years old and in October i made one of the worst mistakes ever! I went on the Microgestin pill. Back in October i weighed 7st 9lb for my petite 5ft height and figure. When i went on the pill it was to get rid of all the horrid side effects of having a period, though i thought being on the pill would help with this it actually made it worse. Ive struggled with my weight ever since i was little, when i was 12 years old i weighed a huge 11st 2lb. Since coming off the pill in January 2012, ive almost gained a stone in weight. This frightens me so much as i am petrified that i will go back to how i was. My diet and exercise regime has not changed since October, but my weight just seems to keep creeping up. I know this is unbelieveably stupid and i shouldnt be considering this, but im looking at anorexia sights and i have been close to becoming anorexic before which helped me lose a  lot of the weight, the reason why im considering it is because im at my wits end and i really need someones help so that i can get my weight back down to a healthy level. For a 16 year old to be so depressed over this isnt right, although i am seeking help through romatherapy, it isnt working. Please please please, if anyone knows anything about this pill and the weight gain to try and stop it, then please let me know.

Thank you x

What did the gyno say?

The said that it was due to the hormones as thry have been messed around with and can take uP to a year to goo back to normal. I also went to see a doctor and fat chance Of them helping. Apparently its not the pill and we cant keep blaming it as the tests that theyve done on 'some' women showed that it wasnt the pill, yet my doftor couldnt give me an answer as to why the sudden weight gain ???? :s

I swear this is some sort of conspiracy by the docs so that women keep taking the pill! I've decided not to listen to what they say about it not being the cause of weight gain because after hearing so many stories from women and having experienced it myself, I know it's rubbish. I was on Microgynom for about 5 years and came off it about 10 months ago. I put on about 10 pounds, practically overnight, I weighed 9 and a half stone before. I had moved abroad for a while when I came off and so initially thought that the weight gain and exhaustion I was feeling was perhaps due to  the change in lifestyle and the stress of a new job etc but I was actually eating a lot less than normal and doing more activity. I've always gone to the gym, classes, swimming etc 4 or 5 times a week and I was still doing all this but I just couldn't stop gaining weight. When I returned home, I weighed myself and I was about 10 stone 6 but I had definitely lost weight after about five months, with no scales on hand I don't know what my weight went up to initially but I think it was probably over 11 stone. Back home, I didn't join a gym until a month later and by then I had gone up to 11 stone 4. It's worth mentioning that I didn't have a period at all for 5 months, since then it seems to have just been withdrawal bleeding, only lasting for 3 days, this month is the first time I've had full five days and I have lost weight (down to about 10 stone 11) I have been exercising but not killing myself. So I feel like perhaps my body is going back to normal a bit now, it has taken 8 months! I also experienced massive bloatedness in the first few months coming off and like others have mentioned, I worried that I was pregnant because my stomach really looked like it and I had no period but no. I also felt incredibly tired and had an increased appetite (that was mostly unsatisfied because I didn't want to eat more than usual). Since the weight thing has started to go back to normal for me (I don't think it's going to come off naturally but it looks like diet and exercise will finally have an impact) my skin has gotten worse, so I suppose I'm going through the phases separately and it feels like its taking forever. I might try vitex and the evening primrose oil because I am so sick off looking gross. I also didn't gain weight while on the pill, although they say this is one of the side effects and I actually lost weight whilst on it, I don't know if there is a pattern here but I think the estrogen you get in Vitex might help. 

Overall, these side effects pretty much ruined my time away as my mood was all over the place as well, which really didn't bode well when meeting new people. I felt depressed about my body and too tired to go out in the evenings to meet people because I had been exercising in the morning and working in the afternoon, at the weekends I had headaches and slept. My advice to others going through it, would be to stick it out and not go BACK on the pill because you're just going to have to deal with it again, get the chemicals out of your body and don't go back! 

The Silver Lining

I have been looking through these forums for support and advice ever since I stopped yasmin in November 2011. I was on it for about nine months and am 24 years old.

 

I had some side effects while on it. These were

Bloating around mid section

Headaches

Sever low moods

Shortness of breath

Paranoia

 

For these reasons I decided to stop. Within four weeks of stopping the pill I gained about 5 kilos all around my lower stomach and thighs. I was happy with my weight before yasmin and had managed to lose about 45 kilos over three years, going from obese to a normal weight. This weight gain was therefore extremely depressing. Especially given that I exercised regularly and had not changed my diet. The rapidity of the gain was discouraging and I could not wear most of my clothes. I felt totally dejected and depressed. My hard work had gone down the drain. Doctors had no answers and just told me to accept the gain.

 

However, I am writing to give hope to the hundreds of women on these forums who have had similar experiences. It is now just over a year on from stopping the pill and all but half a kilo of the excess weight has gone. I feel like myself again. I will try to describe the last year as best I can

 

The first 4-5 months

Excessive bloating- looking pregnant

Moodiness

Hot flashes

Regular periods with 28 day cycles- never missed a period after stopping pill

I took agnus castus and ate as healthily as I could without depressing myself

Exercised four times a week

Still gained weight.

 

The next 5-10 months

I had very gradually managed to lose 2 kilos

Weight would fluctuate massively during each cycle

Noticed excessive urination in certain weeks of cycle (loss of water weight perhaps)

Slight pains during ovulation and increased libido

Weight seemed to be shifting

 

The recent couple of months

Still urinate a lot on certain days

Have lost 4.5 kilos in total since quitting

Cycles are regular

Feeling saner by the day

My body shape has changed due to yasmin

Have wider hips and bigger thighs since before starting the pill

 

Ladies, it is water weight. Give your body loads of time. At least a year from the moment your period becomes regular. The nightmare WILL pass.

 

I went off the pil;l earlier this year for wanting to start a family, the day i went off was my best day never look back, butsince coming off i have put on 10 kilos, pimples are coming up but not all the time, my skin has boils sometimes too (never had it before), i look bloated, i havent changed any meals i have been eatting smaller then normal. I get asked all the time when am i expecting im not a big person, but i have a little tummy, people think think 3-4 pregnant, have tested and im not..

i'm currently working with a nutritionist. i went off the pill 3 months ago to lose weight. your body wants to gain weight when coming off the pill. I've been eating nothing but protein and vegetables and exercising 6 days a week but still no significant fat loss. We are currently working on balancing my blood sugar afterwards im set to do an estrogen cleanse. that will supposedly make everything better. i'll keep you posted.