Jolessa and Weight Gain: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Jan...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 29, 2018

For Birth Control "I wanted a BC that stopped my periods, and this did it for me, so I'm happy about that. The downside is weight gain. I gained about 10 pounds over the past year. I exercise daily (personal trainer), and I eat healthy. No matter what kind of diet 'cut' I do... nothing changes. Also, my hormonal acne is insane. My skin consultant offered a routine to help me minimize my breakouts, but even still, they happen. So while I no longer have a cycle and cycle pain, I have an extra 10 lbs and hormone acne. Guess you get to pick your poison."

• Anonymous
• September 28, 2011

"It's amazing not having a period every month, but there are some downsides to this pill. It took me about 6 months to not have spotting. I had a lot of spotting for several days at a time when I first started, but now that has stopped. I started getting these big red pimples that my dermatologist called cysts and said this pill may be the cause of them, since I never had them before. I also gained 20 pounds. I work out regularly, and my diet hasn't changed. The plus side: my breasts got bigger."

• buf...
• October 16, 2011

"I have been on Jolessa for three years. I have loved this, however, I have gained 40 lbs while on this birth control. I just stopped the birth control today, and I am hoping I can lose some of the weight I gained."

• Ang...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 26, 2018

For Birth Control "I have been taking Jolessa since October 2016. I have only had a few months this whole time that I did not spot or bleed heavily. I have bad cramps during my period and clotting while on this pill. I noticed that my sex drive is much less, and I am drier during sex. I was not like this before I started taking this. It does prevent pregnancy. I am not sure if it is worth taking anymore. I recently found out I have a corn intolerance, and microcrystalline cellulose is in this pill. My skin is super dry, and I did gain weight. Some of these symptoms could be perimenopause since I am 45. I did read that it is supposed to help prevent those symptoms, but it has not for me."

• ver...
• May 31, 2011

For Birth Control "I have been on birth control for over 16 years now. I started with pills at 18, then Depo shot for 5 years, and now back to pills. I was on Seasonique and was okay. I switched gyno, and to help with copay, she recommended Jolessa. I tried it and have been on it for almost 6 months now. I have been PMS'ing since I started. Breasts are constantly sore, severe mood swings, headaches, and not to mention 10 pounds weight gain. I have always exercised and eat right. I am definitely switching!"

• Anonymous
• April 27, 2016

For Birth Control "Do not take Jolessa. I have always been 126 lbs, 6 months after taking Jolessa, my weight is 132 lbs. My period got worse after 3 months of taking Jolessa. It lasted 12 days and was a very heavy period. I do not recommend these birth control pills."

• Ano...
• January 19, 2011

For Birth Control "I am halfway through my first pack, and so far I love it. No bleeding or nausea. No weight gain. My gynecologist suggested I take birth control because I'm a wreck when I get my period-terrible cramps that nothing helps, loss of appetite, extreme fatigue. Hopefully, I'll have a lighter period (my period lasts 5-7 days) when I finish the pack and no cramps, fatigue, or headaches."

• Do...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 18, 2016

For Birth Control "I have always been 110-112 lbs, and then after starting Jolessa, almost immediate weight gain of 7-8 lbs even though I am still just as active and eat very healthy. My sex drive is non-existent now since these awful pills. The only reason I went on them in the first place is to get my period every 3 months. Well, it took me at least 7 months for that to happen because the first few months I still got my period every single month, and the spotting lasted for weeks at a time. I also have no patience anymore and can easily snap when this would have been totally out of character for me. I am switching back to my previous birth control this month finally."

• Ks0...
• May 2, 2011

For Birth Control "I took Jolessa for a year. Everything was fine, and I loved not having my period every month. After a while, it did make me gain 5-10 lbs, and I had acne towards the end of the year. I had to change to a different birth control. I hate that I had to leave Jolessa behind, but I can't stand the acne or the weight, even if it was moderate. Just try it for yourself, 4 periods a year is very nice."

• Anonymous
• November 9, 2010

"I started Jolessa 6 months ago. The first pack went like I had expected. I did have weight gain, as well as acne, which I never had before. The second pack was where everything went wrong. I bled the whole entire pack. Yep, I'm getting off this medicine."

• Ilo...
• January 20, 2018

For Birth Control "I was put on Depo after having my first son. Never been on birth control before. Gained about 15 pounds after having him and couldn't shake it. Switched me to Jolessa and gained another 40 pounds. Before I had my son, I was 120 lbs. Now on Jolessa, two years later, 190. Exercise, diet, cut out soda and alcohol, dairy, and sugar. Nothing. Nothing will make the weight drop. Going to stop taking this soon. I would rather have a period every month and use condoms than feel like this."

• Nab...
• December 10, 2015

For Birth Control "I started taking this after I got a depo shot, which made me gain like 15 lbs and made it hurt to have sex. When I started taking Jolessa, I gained weight very quickly, going from 160 lbs (I was 145 lbs before the depo shot) to 200 lbs in like 6 months. No matter how healthy I eat or how much I exercise, the weight won't drop. Even doing P90X, I can't get anywhere weight-wise. This pill also totally killed my sex drive. I get moody, especially if I forget to take it a day or two and start taking it again. I'm always tired. I never had any issues with pimples ever in my life, but when I take the white pills for the period or forget to take a few pills, I break out so bad. I hate this pill."

• Anonymous
• December 22, 2011

"I have been on Jolessa for a month. I love it, spotting a little, but it seems like I am ALWAYS hungry! I have never eaten so much in my life. I gained 5 lbs in a month, but I don't mind because I was very skinny to begin with. But I'm worried that I will gain too much. I am just going to have to eat healthier."

• New...
• June 30, 2016

For Birth Control "My experience has been almost entirely negative. Pros: fuller breasts, effective at preventing pregnancy. Cons: spotting and heavy bleeding, cramps, irritability, fatigue, cannot stop eating McDonald's... weight gain concentrated in the 'mom-gut' region. I began spotting during the first week. This lasted several weeks, some days barely there, other days heavy. It stopped for barely a week, and then started again. During the second month, I basically started a period, going from light spotting to a light period. During week 6, I started a full-blown heavy period. Week 7 - intense cramping started. I started week 9 this week... but I have just had it. There is no end in sight, it seems. Into the trash it goes."

• Phi...
• December 24, 2015

For Birth Control "I was switched to Jolessa by my OBGYN after 7 years of hormonal migraines the day before or of starting my period while on Spintec. So far, I've had a light to moderate period the first two months and have gained around 6-7 pounds. My skin is fine, can't comment on the headaches because I've had a consistent tension headache the entire time. I'm lazy and just want to sit around and eat ice cream. Something extremely annoying above all, I think, is the constipation. I'm so bloated and uncomfortable. I have a fiber-rich diet, so I'm assuming this is the problem. Not happy so far, but I'm gonna stick with it. Will re-review later after I'm done cleaning out the freezer section at the grocery store."

• Hyp...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 11, 2015

For Birth Control "Just finishing up my first pack. NEVER have I had this heavy of a period. Changing super plus tampons every 3-4 hours. Plus, I've had almost a constant period for the entire first and last months. That, on top of the (what seems irreversible) weight gain and mood swings, has made this experience HORRIBLE. I'm not giving up hope that it may get better, but so far it's been absolutely awful. Will write another (hopefully better) review when finished with the second pack. So far though, WOULD NOT RECOMMEND."

• A20...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 17, 2016

For Birth Control "I have been on this pill for 5 months and have put on 8 pounds, which is very uncommon for me. I also have zero sex drive. I am getting off this pill immediately. I'm going back to a regular monthly period pill."