Nurse giving medically incorrect info?

[luolian.livejournal.com]

(FWIW I'm on Yaz)

Ok, so I was talking to my gyn's nurse on the phone about my concerns that my BC was making me gain insane amounts of weight. (Jury is still out on this, but I don't have a thyroid problem, but that's not what I'm asking about here.) The nurse told me that "birth control makes your body think it's pregnant, so you feel hungrier."

I was feeling upset at the moment (dealing with this is very frustrating) and I wasn't getting the best reception on my phone, so I didn't question her, but WTF?

I have read many times here on VP that HBC makes your body think that it has already ovulated, right?? And that's is not the same thing as tricking your body into thinking you're pregnant, right?? Did that nurse give me medically incorrect information or is that lazy dumbing down of the science so that I can understand?

And has BC been proven to make you feel hungrier? This I am not sure of that either way, but given that she had just told me that my body was thinking I'm preggers I was suspicious. If that's true, then I would presume that I wouldn't be able to trust my body's feelings of full and hungry, but no one has ever warned me about that. Especially as someone who is considering how best to lose weight, I would need to know for sure if that was the case.

Also! If the nurse is telling me incorrect info, should I tell my doctor? Honestly, I'm not sure which nurse it was, but I feel like I ought to tell someone. I feel more inclined to do it because I can't point the finger at someone in particular, so hopefully no one will get in serious trouble, but it could be corrected.

Any quick reply would be appreciated as I have to call my doc about something else anyway and I'd like to do it this morning if possible. Thanks!

Comments

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

A lot of medical professionals (and, actually, Yaz' own website) explain the effect like "tricks your body into thinking it's pregnant." I don't think that's the most accurate way of putting it, but it's certainly the most common explanation.

I don't know of any research on HBC and appetite. I do know that I have an increased appetite on HBC, and gained weight accordingly (about 5 lbs).

However, there are studies showing that birth control pills are not linked (http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=Hormonal_Birth_Control#What_about_weight_gain_as_a_side_effect.3F) to a statistically significant weight gain, so if I had to make a non-educated guess I'd say that this effect doesn't happen to everyone, has a lot to do with what your appetite was like before (I'm an extremely small eater naturally), and thus produces some gain for some people because of that, but not widespread enough to be statistically relevant.

[jenn-possible.livejournal.com]

I also have an increased appetite on HBC, and if I switch pills, I get really bloated for a couple of months, so I feel like I've gained a lot of weight. And it's not really like my appetite has increased - it's more like I can eat more without feeling full. It's kind of weird.

Significant weight gain from the pill isn't actually very common, but lots of women blame the pill for weight gain. I've seen people blame the pill for gaining 10 lbs in five years. Lots of women also start the pill when they start college, and people often gain weight during their first year away at school, but again, they blame it on the pill.

As much as I hate suggesting counting calories, it might work if you feel that the pill is increasing your appetite. Then, you can tell how much you're eating and see if you've actually started eating more or if the pill is having some kind of effect on your metabolism.