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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think the pill doesn't cause weight gain?

28 replies

Euamoonatal · 10/12/2018 11:23

because I've read of lot of articles that say it doesn't.

I'm trying to find a reason as to why my DD,16, has gained weight so suddenly without seeming to be eating

OP posts:
Escolar · 10/12/2018 11:26

My understanding (willing to be corrected!) is that the pill itself doesn't cause weight gain if the person taking it carries on eating the same. But that the hormonal changes associated with the pill may cause someone to eat more (or eat different foods) and hence gain weight.

I definitely gained weight when I was on it!

Original poster
Euamoonatal · 10/12/2018 11:26

"Without seeming to be eating noticeably more" that should read!

OP posts:
echt · 10/12/2018 11:26

Do cite your articles.

Why is your DD's weight gain problem for you?

maddening · 10/12/2018 11:27

It does for me - progesterone seems. To be my issue as I also gained loads in pregnancy (considering I did not increase food intake) I have pcos and my hormones are an issue - the pill is not a friend for me weight wise

BlueberryMarshmallow · 10/12/2018 11:28

Certain types of pill make me gain weight mycrogynon makes me have an insatiable hunger all of the time so I constantly snacked and put in weight. Switching to a different pill made it go away.

Roomba · 10/12/2018 11:29

I've tried several pills that caused a lot of weight gain very quickly for me. Depp injections also did this (along with giving me awful depression). After a lot of trial and error I found one that made me lose weight and cleared my skin and depression up - a miracle! Now I'm being told I'm too old and have to come off it (sob).

So yes, it's very possible to gain weight with the pill. Especially at first - it can settle down if you persist in which case I can see how it wouldn't be 'statistically significant' when looked at after a year or two?

OftenHangry · 10/12/2018 11:30

@echt because sudden weight gain with no obvious cause can be sign of a health problem...

Original poster
Euamoonatal · 10/12/2018 11:31

Its not a problem for me. Its a problem for her. She is unhappy, i want to help, or at least point out that it may not be completely within her control, therefore starving herself is not going to help.

OP posts:
Original poster
Euamoonatal · 10/12/2018 11:32

Roomba can I ask what pill you are on now?

OP posts:
Huntawaymama · 10/12/2018 11:33

I think the theory is that it can't make you gain weight but can make your appetite bigger so you eat more. However, my experience is different, i was 8 stone when I started taking the pill at 16 and could not gain weight, I was active but I'd have loved to put on a bit. I stopped taking it at 22 and gained 2 stone over a summer without changes to diet and exercise so I do believe my hormones had been effected

VioletCharlotte · 10/12/2018 11:34

In my experience, it can cause water retention. I always felt bloated and huge when taking the pill, like just before a period.

Enb76 · 10/12/2018 11:37

I would agree that the pill itself does not cause weight gain however, the changes it makes within an individual's body can cause that person to gain weight for a variety of reasons. For me, I have not found a pill that I can take because they all do something to me that makes them intolerable. It either impacts on my mental health (I basically go a bit loopy) or I entirely lose my libido, or I never feel full, or I lose all my energy. Two of those symptoms have made me gain weight in the past, off the pill I have no issues.

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 10/12/2018 11:38

I have always passionately said that it does not affect me or my weight at all.

But I stopped taking it after ten years in March; and started again a month ago, and I am struggling to keep my appetite in check now. It does seem to make me more hungry.

If it's making her really unhappy; I've been told switching to a mini pill can make it better, or the implant.

HopeGarden · 10/12/2018 11:38

I gained weight when on the pill. I didn’t blame it on the pill at the time.

But I noticed that when I stopped taking the pill, my appetite drastically reduced.

I lost something like a stone in a month after stopping, and it was purely down to the way my appetite reduced. Everything else about my lifestyle stayed the same but I ate a lot less because I simply wasn’t half as hungry.

So I believe that the pill can cause weight gain by increasing the appetite because it’s a lot harder to eat sensibly if you feel hungry.

Fairenuff · 10/12/2018 18:20

Could she be pregnant?

squirrelnutkins1 · 10/12/2018 18:24

Yasmin was the best I ever took. No side effects and no weight gain.

Original poster
Euamoonatal · 10/12/2018 19:14

Not pregnant Fairenuff

What other pill did you try squirrel?

OP posts:
Thefrenchconnection1 · 10/12/2018 19:32

Has she finished school or moved schools. My dd lost 2 stone recently over a period of time. This was due to significant walking which she had not done before- part time job and new college. Has she done the reverse?

squirrelnutkins1 · 10/12/2018 19:32

Tried quite a few including microgynon and cerazette. Could well be the pill causing weight gain x

underneaththeash · 10/12/2018 19:34

It makes me hungrier, I'm much thinner when I don't take normal contraception.

HavelockVetinari · 10/12/2018 19:35

Try the implant - the amount of hormone is drastically reduced, and there's the added bonus that it's more effective as user error is taken out of the equation.

Thishatisnotmine · 10/12/2018 19:36

I was on a POP pill that caused huge weight gain and bloating. At the time I wasn't drinking, walking lots, going to the gym and eating normally. When I stopped it after a year the weight just fell off. I think a lot of it could have been water retention but I have never been that big or weighed that much at any other time apart from when I was 9 months pregnant!

CarolSpatula · 10/12/2018 19:37

Mine made me kind of ‘swell’, I wasn’t eating more, so maybe it caused water retention or something?

Almostfifty · 10/12/2018 19:44

I went up two bra cup sizes when I went on the pill.

MrsLettuce · 10/12/2018 19:47

All the versions of the pill I tried resulted in weight gain. They all also made my boobs disproportionately mahoosive - what I now know is their natural size at full term pregnancy. It was painful and expensive. Other side effects, from lack of libido to varying degrees of depression varied per pill type. Horrid.