posted
It's already accepted in the journals that it doesn't affect the normal population's clotting chances. My OB-Gyn has connections to researchers at Berkeley (she's really awesome), and they've completed some not-quite-yet-published research that shows that it doesn't increase the potential to clot in the clot-prone population as well. Not enough to be statisticlly significant, anyways. It does have the osteoporosis problem, since it's basically convincing your body that you're a post-mentoposal woman - but calcium pills are a fairly good counter to that, as well as strength training.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
You know, I read somewhere that weight gain probably isn't a side effect for as many pills as we think it is. I mean, lower hormones make it less likely, I'm sure, but I'd read (I'm trying to find the article) that most of the time the weight gain is pretty typical of just people getting older and being sedentary.
But I'm not sure I believe that. Maybe it's more true after the first three months, when your body's adjusted to the hormones. I gained 10-15lb. when I was on the Patch, and I was only on that for about two months. Maybe three.
posted
The problem is weight gain on average is 0. For some women with some pills, you go on and feel like puking all the time so you eat less and so there is weight loss (the first pill I tried I lost like 15-20 pounds). Personally, I think this balances out the people who gain weight. When I went to continuous cylcing, I gained 15-20 pounds. My dr said it wasn't the pill, but that the hormones in my body signalled hunger so I ate more than I normally did. I was like, um, the pill made me hungrier, I am going to blame the pill. Or perhaps if I had had a warning that I would be naturally hungrier so that I could actively monitoring what I ate instead of just trusting my body to know...
Posts: 1001 | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote: better thann the full awful thing with its 4th day thing.
Maybe I'm just being dense, but I have no clue what you're talking about. On my 4th day, it's usually starting to get better. The 2nd and 3rd days are the days that suck. Do you mind elaborating?
Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by scholar: For some women with some pills, you go on and feel like puking all the time so you eat less and so there is weight loss (the first pill I tried I lost like 15-20 pounds). Personally, I think this balances out the people who gain weight.
It's small comfort to tell someone who has a significant weight gain that she's "balancing" someone who lost weight on the pill.
I've been following this thread and have stayed out of it because my experiences are similar to many of yours. I loved Depo due to not having periods, but gained weight and had some issues with depression (which were undiagnosed at the time). BCPs made me feel pregnant for the first few months with nausea, breast tenderness and moodiness. I never took them long enough to know if they would cause me weight gain or not.
When I was having my children, there were far fewer options and I had more than one unplanned pregnancy (though no unwanted ones). I'm happy my daughters have more options than I did.
No one here has mentioned Norplant. I had one implanted shortly after they were FDA approved (and it was the first BC that worked consistently for me) and had it for about 5 years. I didn't notice a weight gain, but I had just had a baby, and I did have a hard time losing the weight compared to my earlier pregnancies, but I figured that was more because of aging and similar issuse. Are Norplants not available anymore?
I've been out of the BC market since my divorce, so I'm not all that up on the news.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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posted
There is now a new product like NorPlant but I think it's easier, it only has one bar. I haven't done much research on it though.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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For a humorous take on this issue, check out Connie Willis' Even the Queen.
I just read this story, and I'm not that impressed. I knew it was supposed to be funny, but nobody on either side of the menstruation issue seemed to speak as if they had real passion for their views, and the ideas they espoused weren't interesting enough to make up for that. (Maybe they'd be more interesting if you'd never before thought of women trying to turn off their periods.) Also, I think it took too long for me to figure out how all the people were related to each other.
And this story won both the Hugo and the Nebula? (Sorry if I've insulted someone's favorite story here.)
Posts: 781 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Ok I looked on Wikipedia, Norplant was discontinued in 2002, but Implannon is now available. It is similar but only uses one strip and lasts three years instead of five.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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quote:Originally posted by maui babe: It's small comfort to tell someone who has a significant weight gain that she's "balancing" someone who lost weight on the pill.
I doubt it's all that helpful for the one who is losing weight and shouldn't be either.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote: better thann the full awful thing with its 4th day thing.
Maybe I'm just being dense, but I have no clue what you're talking about. On my 4th day, it's usually starting to get better. The 2nd and 3rd days are the days that suck. Do you mind elaborating?
It's horrible. It seems like it's going to stop. it gets lighter. Then it comes back WORSE THAN EVER! Do I need to elaborate? It's truely horrible and it's why I hate that stupid thing so much and cannot understand WHY i have to go through it. I am on bc continuously and still get periods which last a few days longer but are lighter so it only goes on for a small part of the day and it's super light, but I willstill get something simular to this on at least the seventh day or so. I really want to be a man.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Syn, that was me. Nothing would control my bleeding. That's why I finally had to have a hysterectomy. The only think that worked was Lupron injections, which is essentially putting your body into chemical menopause. Since I couldn't stay on Lupron forever, I finally had the hysterectomy and my stars, do I love it!
Naturally, this is not a solution for someone who wants to maintain their fertility. I'm so sorry for what you're going through. I had pain and bleeding for nine years (not counting the times I was pregnant) and I know how miserable it is.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote:Originally posted by maui babe: It's small comfort to tell someone who has a significant weight gain that she's "balancing" someone who lost weight on the pill.
I doubt it's all that helpful for the one who is losing weight and shouldn't be either.
i would love to be that person. hello six meals a day and a happy happy girl.
Posts: 3936 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
Well, yeah, so would I. Except my impression (from someone who had this side effect) is that it's not so much that you can eat whatever you like, as food is no longer at all appealing. Which is something I experienced with my pregnancies, and it's really not much fun at all.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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