I really hope this isn't a stupid question, but, what I am wondering is, is it the estrogen that causes the weight gain and water retention in b.c. pills? If it is, is there a pill with more progesterine in it to counter act that effect? Or is the estrogen what is needed to supress ovulation? thanks for the help.

You CAN get a P.O.P pill progesterine...no estrogen involved. it's also known as the 'mini pill' and is often given to women after they deliver and are breast feeding. Or to those women who cannot have the combination pills.

I was never on a combo pill for long because I reacted fairly nasty to them, so my doctor put me on a P.O.P.....but if your not a breastfeeding mother they do run you through the gauntlet before giving it to you because they are not quite as effective as the combo pills. (my doctor told me with average use it's 90% with 'perfect' use it's 95%) So I was willing to play the odds. I loved it!.....it's a continuous pill so I only had periods once every two months maybe.

From the reading I did on them they seem to only inhibit ovulation about 40% of the time, they mainly work by changing the dynamics of the fallopian tubes and the uterus itself....

But like I said they'll run you through the gauntlet before prescribing them making sure should a pregnancy occur you'd be ok with it. (they don't ask about abortion or anything basically just want to make sure your ok playing with that extra percentage of failure)....

The time frame in which you take them is critical...(believe me I missed my time frame and am 14 weeks pregnant now) and if you miss one you need backup for the month cause you cannot double up.

So even though I missed my time frame I intend to go back with it. (Another thing I found out from my OB is you do NOT want to go generic with P.O.P's....higher failure rate....and I was using generic)...because other than my periods being more spread out (WAHOO!) I had NO adverse reactions....

You could also just try a low dose combo pill....

Your best bet really is to just talk to your doctor about the options. I just wanted to give you my experience of being on a P.O.P.....

Good luck!