Quick question. Is the weight gain that most women experience when on "the pill" something experienced when the body is adjusting to the hormones at the beginning of use or is the propensity towards weight gain experienced throughout all use.

I ask this because I have been on Ortho Tri-Cyclen now for just over a month and with proper diet and regular exercise have already gained 14 lbs in that time! I have NEVER gained this much weight this quickly. I don't think that quite this level of weight gain is normal especially when I have been working so hard at keeping it down. Should I be concerned that maybe something else is wrong? I really want to keep using the pill, but this weight gain is out of control and I feel like unless I starve myself and run 4 hours a day I won't even be able to maintain my current weight. If I continue at this rate I will be 100lbs bigger in 8 months. What should I do? Any advice would be helpful.

Talk to your doctor and get OFF that pill as soon as you can!

I agree that you should get off this pill ASAP (finish out the pack you're on, though, or else you'll screw your hormones up), maybe switch to something else if you want to. Realize, though, that finding the right pill for you is a trial and error process. Not all pills will make you gain weight, though, and each woman will react differently to different pills. However, with this particular pill, if your appetite hasn't increased, your diet is good, and you're exercising regularly, the weight gain is most likely due to the pill slowing your metabolism. I've had this experience on the pill before and I gained 15 lbs, but that was in five months time. After that, this 'side effect' subsided. However, in your case, I wouldn't bother waiting it out. Also, starving yourself won't help you, you'll just slow your metabolism even more.