What is your experience on getting off the pill while being plus size?

[brokenlyperfect]

Context : I am not pregnant yet but me and my BF are thinking of conceiving. I (26F) got back from my OB/Gyn consult last week. She prescribed me progesterone to get my period back, because since I stoped the pill a year ago in January 2023, I didn’t have my period back on (only had spotting 1 day in last november). I did an echo and blood test who turned out fine. I was taking the pill since I was 14 y/o. i’m afraid i’ll need infertility traitment. So, what are your experience with the progesterone? Did it help with getting your period regularly back on?

Also, im 5’3 and weight about 205 lbs. My gyn said I should lose weight (like I didn’t know) and that would help with getting my period back… I know weight is an important factor in health, but to what extent can it influence the return of my periods? Has anyone got their period back without losing weight?

 

[divinespork]

@brokenlyperfect I’m sorry you’re having this experience! I am guessing that your weight is not the only factor here, though, because my BMI is higher than yours and my period started right away and was fairly regular (28 to 36 day cycle) in the year I was off BC before conceiving. What seemed to eventually make the difference for us and allow us to conceive was decreasing our alcohol intake. (I assume mine made the difference but my husband did make the change at the same time, so who knows).

Anecdotally your problems sound like ones common to PCOS to me, so maybe similar treatments and solutions would work for you!

 

[brokenlyperfect]

@divinespork I looked at the PCOS symptoms, I don’t have a lot of them, just that the majority of my weight is around my belly and that I have no period… I don’t have the excess of hair, acnee or ovarian cysts etc, but i’ll definitly investigate with my OBGYN to get diagnosed

 

[kevinkret86]

@brokenlyperfect The reason why weight could affect reproduction is that fat cells make estrogen too. So you have the regular estrogen being made and regulated through your ovaries and pituitary gland but then you also have this unregulated back channel of estrogen being made, so your hormone levels may not be balanced in a way that allows the normal ebb and flow of hormones to happen that causes periods.

But as you mention, weight loss is hard and actually impossible for most people long term. Fortunately there are other ways to get one's period going. I would start taking inositol and coq10 right away. Maintaining high levels of estrogen can also affect egg quality and those two things can help. As for lifestyle stuff, don't worry about losing weight or unrealistic exercising. Try to live the way you'd like to if you were actually pregnant. Eating balanced meals more often (but not dwelling on eating what you crave!) and doing movement that feels good, like going for walks more often or stretching/mini yoga sessions. Lifting weights has been a godsend for me... I'd recommend Casey Johnston's Liftoff: Couch to Barbell ebook.

As for treatment for anovulation: a doctor can prescribe you progesterone to take for a bit, and then stopping will cause a withdrawal period. After that you can take letrozole or clomid to encourage ovulation. These drugs are pretty inexpensive, so it's a good starting point.

Don't let medical providers hassle you into thinking that your body is broken or that you'll never conceive because you're bigger. Fertility is tricky and some doctors will zero in on factors they think we can change, like weight when realistically we know weight loss isn't really a thing either. Start from where you are. You are a bigger person, you want to have a baby and there are lots of medical supports out there to help. Good luck!

 

[brokenlyperfect]

@kevinkret86 Wow, thank you so much for your answer. I was starting to feel guilty that my body isn’t functioning normally since i’m bigger, now I know that the solution is not only to lose weight. I’m starting the progesterone next month, I hope i’ll get my periods to stabilize. Does inozitole and letrozome need to be prescribed by my doctor?

 

[kevinkret86]

@brokenlyperfect Letrozole yes, inositol no.

 

[butterscoth]

@brokenlyperfect There’s no need to jump straight to infertility. There’s a bunch of pcos subs that you may find helpful though to start. Basically diet changes to help pcos symptoms in many cases

 

[brokenlyperfect]

@butterscoth How do I know if I have PCOS? I though I had it as well, but my OBGYN said she didn’t see anything on my ultrasound that indicate I have PCOS…

 

[butterscoth]

@brokenlyperfect I mean you aren’t ovulating or getting a period, you’re in a larger body. You can look up pcos symptoms and see if they match you but pcos whether physiological or weight induced seems plausible

 

[dm1057]

@brokenlyperfect PCOS is a syndrome, meaning it's an umbrella term for a number of symptoms that happen together without a current known root cause. Usually it's defined as at least two of the following three: anovulation/irregular ovulation, high testosterone, and cysts on the ovaries. As your period hasn't restarted, you've got anovulation. Did your blood test look at your testosterone levels? PCOS usually comes with elevated testosterone. It sounds like you have no cysts on your ovaries, which is good (that's what the ultrasound was looking at).

Sometimes women's periods just don't restart after long-term birth control, for unknown reasons. Sometimes it seems like it just needs a little "kick" to get going again. But it'd be worth getting your testosterone checked just in case

 

[texasn]

@brokenlyperfect I was on the pill for 7 years after having my first child. I’m 5’6” 250 (pre-pregnancy), once I stopped the pill I didn’t have my period for one month then I had it every 30 days and got pregnant my first month trying. I don’t think your issue is only weight related but I wouldn’t jump to infertility either. I’m sorry you’re going through this. I hope your period comes back!!

 

[beautifulyoufitness]

@brokenlyperfect I don’t know if I’d recommend doing this, but I went low carb because I heard it helped to manage pcos symptoms and within 3 days I got my period. Maybe you could test it out to see if it works!

 

[brokenlyperfect]

@beautifulyoufitness Thank you for sharing your experience. I looked into PCOS a while ago since I had a few symptoms who seems to indicate that I had that, but my ONGYN said PCOS is noticeable on echo and she didn’t see anything that indicate PCOS on my ultrasound…

 

[addisonclark]

@brokenlyperfect You don't have to have cysts to have PCOS. That's a common misconception about the disorder.

PCOS should be diagnosed by symptoms, and your obgyn should know that.

There are 3 broad diagnostic symptoms: elevated androgens, irregular menstrual cycle, and/or ovarian cysts. You only need 2 of 3 for a diagnosis.

I'm not saying you absolutely have PCOS; I am saying that it can't always be diagnosed by imaging alone, and your obgyn should already know that.

 

[tcoltreed03]

@brokenlyperfect So far, I’ve only been off the pill for about 2 months and have not had a period yet. I’m 5’1” and last time I checked 210. Age 33. Was on the pill for 17 years. Had no idea my weight could affect my periods returning. fingers crossed for both of us.

 

[brokenlyperfect]

@tcoltreed03 Thank you for sharing your experience. I suggest you do a full blood test cheked up if after 6 months you don’t have your periods yet. The next step after that is to get an ultrasound, as I did, to see if you have PCOS. Hang in there, it’s confusing to feel like your body isn’t working normally. Best of luck to you

 

[tcoltreed03]

@brokenlyperfect Thanks. I appreciate you sharing yours too. I’m not too worried yet since I’m fairly new off the pill. Fingers crossed. Good luck!

 

[martaja]

@brokenlyperfect Personally, I did find that gradual weight loss did improve my period regularity but my weight gain had been a result of being nailed by a pretty long term illness that left me disabled for a few years. When I was able to get back on my feet, I didn’t do anything fancy, just walked my dogs in the woods most days and put some creative energy into adding nutrients to my food in a positive way. I didn’t lose a ton of weight or anything but noticed an improvement quickly.

The other thing was starting to do daily ovulation tests. This may or may not help if you’re not ovulating at all. Did the OB test to see if you’re ovulating? From my understanding, one doesn’t always mean the other (as in not menstruating regularly doesn’t mean you’re never ovulating, just less regularly).

 

[brokenlyperfect]

@martaja She didn’t test to see if I was ovulating, she assumes I don’t I guess… Do you know if the ovulating tests available at the drug store are reliable? I think I do cause I always have a peek of libido around the same time of the month, Idk if thats a sign

 

[martaja]

@brokenlyperfect When I did it, we were told to order or buy the strips, yeah. I ordered a big box and it had ovulating and pregnancy tests. As far as my OB told me, they are reliable. And I can tell you that I’m 38w + 3 and scheduled for c-section Thursday so they worked for us. It took me about half a month of uncertainty and the following month, I learned I ovulated much sooner in my cycle than I realized. We got pregnant that round - so 1-2 cycles depending on how you look at it. Obviously YMMV, everyone’s bodies are different. But also, just a sidenote, the test my OB ran for general levels/ovulation was also simple as a starting point. I’m guessing you can just ask for that.