TMI: changing birth control and weight fluctuations?

mistresscox

I'm giving you all advance notice this post has some TMI parts to it.  

I think I need to change BC methods, but am afraid to for what it will do to my weight.  I currently have a Mirena IUD which has been ok-no periods, no "forgetting" the pill, no going to the pharmacy every month...all great.  However my sex drive is totally MIA.  I used to really enjoy it, and now the thought of it just makes me groan.  I'm just not interested at all.  I've tried several different things to get myself back into the mood but nothing seems to be working.  DH is talking about trying for #2, but I can't even get myself into the MAKING the baby, let alone the thought of taking CARE of the baby.  I think it may be the hormones from Mirena and so I'd like to change.  

I'm worried though because I have been on hormonal birth control since I was 16, and every time I change it I gain weight.  I REALLY don't want to gain weight just because of birth control issues!  (I'm currently doing WW to take OFF all of this weight that has been accumulating over the years)  If I go OFF hormonal b.c. am I likely to gain again?  Or will the lack of hormones help me a bit?  I am planning on asking my OB/GYN this, but I can't get an appointment for at least a month and a half, so I was just wondering if any of you ladies had experience with this.

lindylogana

I don't take birth control just for the fact that I gain weight and my sex drives plummets.  Is it an option for you two that you just don't use birth control and semi chart and just be extra careful around your fertile times?  Or he use a condom?  I'm a much happier person not being on birth control.

Sassystace

I thought the hormones from mirena only worked locally in the uterus not systemicly like hormonal bc. I don't think you will gain weight if you have it removed. I'm not convinced it is causing your problem though either.

realisticdreams

me on bcp=walking around divorce on a daily basis lol.

me off bcp/pregnant=puppy dogs & rainbows.

I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do after this baby.  I'm almost sure we are done (we only wanted one) but the fact that i'm only 24 makes me wonder..what if...once Peyton & Morgan are in school..and then I freak out about getting my tubes tied!

You could have something else going on..thyroid..PCOS...something besides the bcp causing the weight gain too. 

peachypear

Condoms, cervical caps, diaphragms? There are a lot of hormone free birth control options! It would be particularly good to get off hormones if you want to have another baby in the next year or so, as there is a washout period before you can conceive.

I quit BC pills a few years ago and have been so happy with my decision. I feel so much more normal, my weight dropped, and I just love that I?m not taking all those extra hormones.

I agree with pp that you should talk to you doctor about other factors that might be at play if going off hormones doesn't change your energy level. Thyroid dysfuntion is common, could also be diet.

peachypear

BTW, on the ?low-dose? pills, I threw up on the first day of a pack every. single. month. My doctor didn?t believe that it was possible, but I pushed for a pill change and the vomiting stopped. (Ultimately, this got me thinking that I really shouldn't be changing my biochemistry, so I quit pills altogether).

Trust your body. If you feel like it?s not working right on the mirena, then change.