birth control.

i have just been forced back on the pill by my parents.
i was originally on it because i had polycystic ovaries and the pill was to sort it out.
it helped, and after a while i went off it because i was sick of the weight gain. it seemed to have done its job and i havent had any repercussions from going off it.
this morning my parents found out i went off it, and had the biggest go at me. they forced me back on it and now i have extra weight to look forward too
im basically feeling stupid because my period is making me moody, im stressing about my schiz friend, and my self esteem is about to vanish. i wish that my parents realised that i DONT need to be on the pill. it will not change anything. except make me less likely to get pregnant.
i wish my parents would stop trying to push me around and acting like they know best. i fail to see the point of going on the pill again. seeing as all it will make me do is get fatter. oh and theres the fact that it sometimes causes depressive patches. oh well. whatever. sorry.

selfy - sorry you feel forced into taking a medication. Do you have a doctor you can talk to about this? There are many many brands of birth control out there. I'm sure you could find one that wouldn't cause you weight gain. I've had lots of luck with Ortho Tri Cyclen lo.

i have been on the yasmin pill for a year and half and my weight seems stable enough... how about u ask ur doc about it..

hope this helps

Really, your parents have no right to force it on you.

I'm on the pill for my period pains, and I love it. But then, weight gain doesnt bother me because I'm already too overweight to tell. So I know the pros, and some of the cons. Not just weight gain - the pill increases oestrogen levels in the water which contributes towards male infertility (along with smokeing etc).

Sorry, can't help going off on a tangent. Slightly.

Like I said, your parents can't force it on you - your parents may be able to decide if you have treatment for a life threatening thing until you reach a certain age, but you don't need the pill anymore,, so it is totally your choice.

Talk to them like an adult. Tell them it's you're choice, and you understand that they may have concerns, but you're fine and this is something you don't want.

Obviouslt you have to give them reasons, try and make it like a debate, talk down their reasons:

You might be worried that if I stop taking them then my polycystic ovaries may come back, however, that is gone, and yes there is a chance they might come back, but on the pill there is an increased risk of cancer. I can take the pills again if the problem comes back, and the less of them i take the less likely I will to have cancer, which is incurable.

Do things like that.

To them you're there child, no matter how responsible and adult you can be. But that's no reason to not act like that, even if PMS makes you wanna scream and throw things.

Dear Selfy,

Initially, oral contraceptives, may very well, mitigate the symptoms of PCOS, by virtue of the regulatory effect; they have on the sexual cycle. However, ultimately, they may prove to be counterproductive.

PCOS, is more accurately known as "Functional Hyperandrogenism". You don't have to have ovarian cysts, to have PCOS. However, elevated testosterone, an androgen, is a hallmark of PCOS. The progesterone component, of oral contraceptives, is metabolized into testosterone, potentially, raising total testosterone levels, i.e., free and bound.

The exogenous estradiol, found in the oral contraceptives usually prescribed for PCOS, reduces serum SHBG, i.e., sex hormone binding globulin, making more free testosterone available to be metabolized into DHT, i.e., 5-alpha-dihydrotestosterone. It is DHT, that causes the acne, hirsutism, and alopecia, associated with PCOS.

Lastly, a well known side affect, of oral contraceptives, is hyperinsulinemia, i.e., elevated insulin levels. Not only, do the elevated insulin levels cause weight gain, they have an adverse effect on the ovaries. Follicles, get stuck in the thecal stage, producing testosterone, rather than maturing to the point, where they produce estradiol.

Alternatives, to treating PCOS are antiandrogens, e.g., saw palmeto, flutamide, finasteride and dutasteride, as well as the antidiabetic metformin. Antiandrogens, either interfere with the enzymes, that reduce testosterone to DHT, or compete with the androgens for their binding sites, i.e., the androgen receptor on the nuclei of the target cells. The metformin, will reduce the elevated insulin levels, often found in PCOS, causing weight normalization, rather than weigh gain.

Lastly, and probably the most important, in the treatment of PCOS, is a healthy, low carbohydrate diet, coupled with abundant exercise.

I wish you the best,

Larry

I just started the pill again for my ovarian cyst issues. I too am worried about the weight gain but I realize that nothing can make me gain weight except calories, so I am adding more exercise to my regime. You really should discuss your concerns with your dr. I hope you get this resolved!

I didn't know oral contraceptives caused weight gain. I too have been on Yasmin for the past 4 years. I have gained weight BUT for other reasons. I also see my Doctor regularily.

Everything between your Doctor and you is confidential but only up until a certain age. ( I could be mistaken) I did have a friend that had the same family Doctor as her parents since she was a child, and at the age of 19 they still knew everything that she told her Doctor. I told her that she could report her Doctor and he could lose his license. But she was to scared of being blamed from her parents and having them disowning her.

But I don't know your situation. If it does have something to do with it, you could always take yourself to a walk in clinic.

And Malachite has some good points to bring up with your parents, although I am no Meds/Bio student and haven't a clue to what he has mostly said. But put like that to your parents maybe they'll take more of a notice to it.

haha I'd print that off, take it to your Doctor and have him/her sign it, than give it to your parents as your first argumentative point. Anyways Good Luck.