NWR: I stopped taking the pill

I always gained a little weight but not that much. I gained a lot more weight and bitchiness with the shot. My biggest thing was a killed sex drive with the pill which is why I won't go on them again even though we don't want children (as of right now, hopefully ever). Hope it works out for you, Megan, and that you have amazing results going off of them!

I've gone off and back on a few times over the course of a decade. I have never experienced any side effects coming off, and generally feel better NOT being on it. I'm looking forward to going off soon, but I am not willing to take ANY chances right now, and I'm not guaranteed full nights of uninterrupted sleep since I have 2 kids already.

I charted for awhile, NFP, whatever you want to call it. I liked the control it gave me. The rules are stringent though so if you're not disciplined to follow them (or can't, see above), it's not the most effective b.c. I used it as a birth control method for 7 months though with no scares. "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" is a great resource if you're interested.

I was on BC from 16 - 23 the only real effect I noticed was my skin and my periods.

My skin broke out SO badly on my chin. I saw an article about getting acne on certain parts of your face have to do with certains things, like the chin area is horomones, nose is stress, etc. so pimples only on my chin made sense, since my body was regulating the horomones.

My periods got heavier and longer and I got cramps, which was how my periods were before going on BC as well.

If I gained or lost weight, it would probably just be a couple of pounds that I didn't really notice. I switched to NuvaRing last year and prefer that, since I hate having to remember to take a pill every day.

Thanks ladies! I think/hope I will feel better off of them too!

I thought the gaining weight thing was just a myth. Google it.

I started Lo Loestrin Fe bout 2 years ago. Great pill but I also gained a good 20 lbs so im excited to come off it in Feb so I can see if I lose weight again because excorsizng on this pill doesn't do anything and one little piece of chocolate goes right to my ass!!!

I would have came off sooner but this pill also stops my period and I didn't want to come off now and risk having it on my wedding day!!!

I've always had a bad time with BC. Like you said.. Skinny pills, fat pills, psycho pills, normal pills, no sex pills and devil pills. I hate being on birth control and love when I'm not on it! BUT I have PCOS and my body doesn't work properly with the hormones and my dr wants me on BC to regulate before trying for kids. I'm on the lowest possible dose and it's still not working right.

I've not gone off of them, but I can imagine you will go through a weird adjustment period and then settle into what you may have been like before. I went on the mini pill a few years ago and love it. It's just one hormone and you take it everyday, no weeks off. It was rough the first six months and it can be annoying not knowing when your period might come, if at all. Now I just get it every 3-4 months for a couple weeks and it's very light. Before I started the pill I had horrible ones that made me anemic as it was so heavy and I would have it for a week or more. I would also be throwing up from the cramps. I feel so much better now! I plan to stay on them until we decide to have children. I hope you have an easy transition coming off of them!

@Lynnie Pin - that's the one I'm on and I gained as well, but I also managed to get the weight off when I joined Weight Watchers so I don't know. blah.

^^ I say tomayto, you say tomahto.

you wouldn't have an increased appetite if you weren't on the pill so it's six of one, half dozen of the other, but I get your point.

My ob-gyn told me that the any weight gain more than 3-5 lbs wouldn't be because of the pill. But I know so many women who have experienced weight gain with it, so who knows.

I just got an IUD put in because I am so sick of taking a pill everyday. Plus I liked the thought of a lower dose of hormones that don't circulate through my body (with Mirena, it's still a hormone but it stays in your uterus so if you won't have as many hormone-induced side effects).

I recently went off the pill and went on the nuvaring. The pill screwed up my cycle so much i was now going to have it on my wedding day and got stressed. The nuvaring can be manipulated so that it wont hit that month. hopefully it works.

I am happy to be off the pill but I gained 20 pounds in like 4 or 5 months when I got off it. I spazzed and went to my gyno and she said it was b/c of a change in hormones... haven't been able to drop this 20 pounds either FAIL! good luck

Uhg! @FutureMrsZottola...I hope thats not the case! I'll be a good 200 pounds if that happens

I went off 3 months ago because we intend on trying right away, and my cycle took those 3 months to regulate. I also hate the idea of putting that stuff into my body. I never gained weight on or off... but my skin (face) has broken out a bit more around that time. I get one big pimple

Awww damn FutureMrsZottola... I really hope that doesn't happen to me! I want to go off the pill maybe a month or two before the wedding because we want to start having children right away.

I've been on the pill (Ortho Tri Cyclen) for almost 12 years. I'm going to go off of it in June so we can start trying for kids. But I'm going to talk to my doctor a few months before to see what some of the effects of it could be or if I should maybe come off of it earlier.

I always had weight problems in high school. I was able to drop the pounds afterwards, but when i started using BC, gained everything right back. So I stopped. Just be very careful when doing the dirty.

I did happen to get pregnant, though, when i started on the sugar pill (green one or darker pink) at the end of the cycle.

I got off the pill right after my wedding. I never had any weird side effects from the pill at all. Never made me irritable, gain weight etc. I got off the pill and my period came back almost like clock work. It was a few days earlier than it would have been if I was still on the pill. Since then I've had two periods and both have arrived in very regular increments. My period after being off the pill is noticeably lighter and I don't have any cramping. It's been great. This is our first month trying to conceive.

Congrats @gettinghitched! And thank you for making me feel better