Hi there,
I did a forum search and didn’t quite find what I was looking for…
My daughter has had somewhat significant acne that seems to fluctuate with her menstrual cycle. She is 18 and about to head to college in August. She will be on the beach volleyball team there. My wife took her to the pediatrician in hope to get treatment for the acne. She walked out with some topical antibiotics and an rx for oral birth control (estrogen/progestin). Any good resources you can recommend or can you offer any advice or reassurance with regard to both general quality of life (weight gain/loss/energy) and possible implications on a collegiate athlete? I don’t trust my ability to sift through the general google search results. It’s staggering and a bit nausea inducing.
Thank you so much!
Joel B
Hey Joel,
Congrats on your daughter entering college. That’s huge!
Regarding questions about quality of life, weight gain, and affect on performance, I’m surprised this stuff wasn’t covered at the doctor’s visit. I’m happy to provide some data, but this info likely best comes from the prescribing physician, you know?
For weight gain:
Combine hormonal contraceptives (oral birth control) don’t seem to cause weight gain based on existing evidence.
For athletic performance, birth control doesn’t seem to have any reliable effects:
Individual experiences can vary, of course!
-Jordan
Thanks very much, and I appreciate the reply and links! Yes, I would have thought this would come from the PCP as well. I was not on this appointment and apparently the conversation was more of “try this it should help and if it doesn’t we can try something else”. Perhaps it’s just my needs for information not being met. So I thank you!