This is not news for me.. but ever since I hit puberty (and pcos symptoms reared their head) I've struggled with weight. When I was put on Birth Control Pills at 16 to regulate my periods, I lost weight easily. I say "easy" but in reality I just put in a normal amount of effort, ate less & moved more. I lost 1 to 2 pounds a week and dropped to an ideal weight within a year.
In my late teens I lost my health insurance and stopped taking BCP.. I ballooned up to 185 or so within MONTHS (from 129).
Finally got back on BCP a few years later, and got my weight back down with regular effort.
I went off of it when I wanted to TTC and it was a struggle just to maintain.
Things got really bad last July when I was at my highest (210) and I went back on BCP becuase I was miserable.
I easily lost 1-2 pounds a week on a 1500 calorie diet and daily exercise.

I got down to 169lbs in February 2012. I went off BCP in May and gained 10-13lbs back in 4 weeks with no major change in diet.
Since May I have been stuck at 178. It may waver a little under and a little over, but generally I am 178.

Bottom line is.. I know if I were to go back on BCP I would be able to lose weight again. I really want to have another child and I want to stay away from synthetic hormones..

But all I want to know is.. WHY!?? Why is weight loss so effortless for me on BCP?? Historically this has proven true time after time.

Just thinking. Wondering if my body takes well to the estrogen in the pill and that helps me lose?

Hm..

Hi TudorRose,
I don't have any personal experience with BC since I have never been on it. But, what is happening to you as far as the weight gain after you go off BC sounds to me like a hormonal imbalance. Obviously going off BC will cause a sudden shift in hormones, but sometimes our bodies can't recover as quickly as we would like them to, especially with PCOS.

I found this website: http://natural-fertility-info.com/b...-fertility.html and the article is called "How to Balance Your Hormones After Birth Control".

It's a very informative article centered around PCOS and the like. Towards the bottom it has a list of natural remedies and supplements you can try to help alleviate your symptoms.

Personally, I have tried the Vitex and it worked well for me. I started to have AF closer together. I took 3 capsules per day and it took about 6-8 weeks before I started noticing any changes.

Also, have you though about looking into FertilAid? I have heard a lot of good things about it from women with PCOS.

Good luck to you!

lol the oposite happens to me.. when i was on birthcontrol 4 years ago (as i've been trying to get prego for that long with no success) i gained a LOT of weight i got on it originally at about 16 and gained about 45lbs from 160 to 205 (nope never been a skinny gal) and then when i went off it, i lost back down below 200, i went back on it when i was about 23 gained up to 225lbs, when i FIRST got back off it 4 years ago, initially i went down to about 210lbs, but even without going back on it i gained weight, mostly from lack of physical activity, and probably depression (the more and more we tried to get pregnant i did get more and more depressed). I think it's all on how those hormones work for you.

Everyone I know of gained weight on BCP!