Zovia 1/35E and Weight Gain: What Users Say

• Anonymous
• October 12, 2011

For Birth Control "I started taking Zovia about 5 months ago, and I could immediately tell the difference after the 1st month. I started gaining weight, my breasts got even bigger than they already were, and they were constantly tender. My periods went from 3-4 days to 7-9 days with horrible cramps. My face became very oily, and I started breaking out. I have never had a lot of acne or breakouts, but after starting this birth control, it got bad. I have been an emotional wreck and cry all of the time, and I'm normally not like that. I think I had every bad side effect a birth control can have, so needless to say, my OB has called in a different birth control! Hopefully, if you decide to use this birth control, you don't have any of the side effects like I have."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 16, 2012

For Birth Control "I have been on Zovia for 4 months. I quickly gained 10 pounds, even though I work out 4 to 5 times a week and watch what I eat. I have gone from a B cup to a C cup, and I have developed horrible mood swings. I also experience bad acne about 4 days before and after my period."

• sar...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 20, 2012

For Birth Control "I have been on this pill for 3.5 years, and it is my favorite thing ever. My periods are extremely light, I almost never have cramps or mood swings, and the only weight gain I experienced was welcome and came in the form of a cup size. I haven't had any problems during that time of the month or otherwise, and overall, I think this is just a very nice, happy pill. I always use condoms because I'm paranoid, but I'm scare-free also!"

• Anonymous
• September 27, 2011

For Birth Control "The good aspects of this pill for me were no weight gain, no loss of sex drive, and my breasts got a bit bigger. However, I could not continue into my 4th month on Zovia because I had such intense mood swings that I drove everyone around me crazy. I had to switch to a different pill because I was on a constant emotional roller coaster: crying, being angry, feeling depressed, hopeless, and paranoid that my boyfriend was cheating on me. I felt like I was losing my mind, and my boyfriend and I almost broke up over it. I became a completely different person, and it only became worse as I was on the pill for longer. Hoping another pill will work better!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 22, 2012

For Birth Control "I have been on Zovia for 11 months. The first 3 months I had a lot of mood swings from crying to anger, anger to crying, and happy to sad. It was the most difficult 3 months of my life. I still have mood swings but not as much as in the beginning. It did make me gain weight but prevented me from getting pregnant."

• Anonymous
• December 5, 2012

For Birth Control "I recently switched to Zovia from Ortho Tricyclen. It's definitely doing what it's supposed to. The side effects that I've experienced since switching are slight weight gain (even though I'm active), B to C cup size and some tenderness, nausea, and mood swings (and my boyfriend agrees with me -- this is the WORST side effect). What I do like about Zovia is that it cleared my face up and made my periods EXTREMELY light and short. I think I like Ortho Tricyclen better, but only because I didn't have any side effects with it."

• Anonymous
• November 1, 2011

For Birth Control "So after reading the reviews, I feel a little bit better because after two weeks of taking this pill, I have gained 5 lbs, and my breasts went from a normal B cup to a large C cup. Usually that would be a great thing, but it's very uncomfortable, and the weight gain is upsetting because I work out 4-5 times a week and eat healthily. I used to be on the NuvaRing, but it is too expensive, so I tried a low dose birth control, but on this, I was spotting all the time and became very depressed."

• Gir...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 7, 2017

For Birth Control "I have a love-hate relationship with the Zovia 1/35 birth control pill. Back when I was younger, in my teen years, even early 20s, it worked amazingly. No weight gain at all. I stopped taking it for a few years when I started my family, and now, 10 years later, I decided to get back on it. Let me just say, weight gain! I don't blame the pill 100%, but I feel like you have got to be prepared for how hungry this pill makes you! So you will be hungrier than usual and eat more, and hence, gain weight on it. It's getting out of control, I have decided to stop this month."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 22, 2014

For Birth Control "I was on Beyaz before switching to Zovia. I switched because my periods were so light that tampons were painful, and pads were too much protection. On Zovia, my periods are even lighter, lasting a max of 2-3 days with an extremely light, almost nonexistent flow, larger breasts, oily skin on my face, weight gain in my abdomen and thighs, and constant bloating. However, my acne has not reappeared since being on Zovia. Thinking about switching birth control. These light periods make me fear I'm pregnant."

• Anonymous
• February 2, 2012

For Birth Control "My experience has been great so far. I have been taking this pill for over 8 years now. I did experience weight gain, which was a good thing. I do experience bloating before and during my period, my period tends to last for 3-4 days. I have missed a couple here and there and have not gotten pregnant, thank God. I recommend this pill to anyone who is searching for a pill to try."

• Bet...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 25, 2015

For Birth Control "I've been on Zovia for at least a year now. I had tried two other types of pills before this point, but they basically made me have a period for at least two weeks out of the month. Zovia has worked really well. I have typical periods now, and they last maybe 4 days? My acne has cleared up a lot, and I did end up going up a cup size and gaining some weight (this might be related to other things in my life though, so I'm not 100% going to blame the birth control for this). My PMS is better than it used to be (I used to have the worst mood swings before I went on any pill at all). However, my sex drive is super low. I'd say that's probably the only bad part?"

• hai...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 19, 2017

For Birth Control "I've been on Zovia for about 3 years now and I've about had enough. Yes, it has been so far amazing in preventing pregnancy or whatever. But the side effects are no joke. The weight gain is horrible, for example, if I eat regularly without the birth control, I weigh 130 pounds, but if I'm on the birth control eating the same, I weigh almost 150 pounds. IT IS RIDICULOUS. My mood swings are so bad. I'm so sensitive and emotional, and I wish I would've read reviews on the birth control first because, before your period, if you think PMS is bad, try being on Zovia while you're on your period. NOBODY will want to be around you. Anyways, not everyone is the same, but that's just my experience."

• Jen...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 5, 2017

For Birth Control "I only took this a month and had to stop. This made my skin so dry. At first, I couldn’t figure out why. I spent a lot of money on creams and moisturizers, and nothing could help it. My face was so tight to the point where it was extremely uncomfortable all day long. I finally googled it and found out that combination birth controls (those with estrogen and testosterone) stop sebum production, which is why it clears up acne. This is great for oily girls, but not great for girls with already dry skin. I also stopped this pill because it made me eat like a pregnant girl. Nothing would satisfy my appetite, and I was constantly hungry. I gained weight just the short time I was on it."

• Anonymous
• June 10, 2011

For Birth Control "I was on Zovia for 3 months and had side effects from the start. In the first month, I had a weight gain of 8 pounds. It caused a lot of nausea. It made me severely depressed. I'm switching to Nordette. On the positive side, it did regulate my extremely irregular periods."

• Cam...
• March 12, 2018

For Birth Control "Had been on this medicine for a couple of years but then realized it was making my skin worse, major cravings, and weight gain with a lot of bloating. I would always feel super nauseous when starting the pill at the beginning of the month and would sometimes vomit. I do not recommend this brand. Basically had all of the side effects."