Oral Contraceptives

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Oral contraceptives, otherwise known as birth control pills, are also approved to treat acne. They work by regulating male hormones in the female...

Oral contraceptives, otherwise known as birth control pills, are also approved to treat acne. They work by regulating male hormones in the female body. Less male hormones normally lead to less acne.

Oral contraceptives contain an estrogen component (ethinyl estradiol) that is combined with progestin hormones, such as drospirenone (Yasmin® or Yaz®), norgestimate (Ortho Tri-Cyclen®) or norethindrone (Estrostep®).

Oral contraceptives are taken once a day with a meal. Make sure to take the pill at the same time every day.

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Abby

October 28, 2009

Pros:

none

Cons:

heavier bleeding, worse cramps, thinner hair, facial hair growth, dryness during sex, moody

I have nothing good to say about this birth control! If it works for the rest of you good for you but it was a total disappointment for me!

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melisa

October 23, 2009

Pros:

my boobs r huge

Cons:

iam bloated, the first week i was emotinal. and my face broke out into a rash.

its been awhile since i have been on the pill. so im giving my body sometime to adjust. i just starte dback last week. i have had one minor breakdown, huge boobs which is a plus. but my face and neck have a itchy rash. im hoping this goes away in the next couple of days. all and all im may just get the minera.

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Rebecca

September 1, 2009

Pros:

NO PROS

Cons:

BREAKOUTS BREAKOUTS BREAKOUTS

I've been struggling with acne for about 4 to 5 years now each year getting worse and this pill only made my breakouts WORSE. I only started taking this pill to TREAT my acne and now this is NOT one clear section of my face. I break out in areas that have never been problem. Not only does it make you break out this are DEEP LARGE bumps that take at least a couple weeks to clear. BOTTOM LINE IF YOU ARE TAKING BIRTH CONTROL TO TREAT YOUR ANCE THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT PILL FOR YOU!

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Cindy

July 24, 2009

Pros:

Just had my first period. I usually have very bad heavy cramping. I just started my period and the cramps started off bad where I had to take medicine, but I only had to take it once and no cramping for now.

Cons:

Made acne worse, bumps everywhere on my face, chin and neck

I've never been on any form of birth control (im 31), therefore, my doctor first tried me on the ortho tricyclen lo. I have taken it for a full month now; however, it has made my acne worse within a month. I get these hard bumps that are under the skin on my face. Two may come up the same time and when they go down, I get more that appear in different areas. They just come back to back and then leave these awufl black marks on my face and neck. What a way to try something for the first time and it is already turning out horrible!

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Zoe C.9

May 31, 2009

Pros:

nothing

Cons:

never had problems with acne now I'm getting pimples. I'm really bloated and crampy almost every day. I've gained weight I went from 109 to 112 and I've only been taking it for 3 weeks so I'm about to switch I can't be handling all of this!!

I was on micronor before this because I was breastfeeding my baby. So now I'm weaning her and needed a stronger pill so I was put on this now I'm having all sorts of issues.

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May 13, 2009

Pros:

Whle on it, my acne improved a bit, and my periods were regular

Cons:

WEIGHIT GAIN!!! I used to be a size 4, now im lucky to fit into a size 8! I gained 20 pounds in 3 months! The weight still hasnt come off, 2 years later, even tho i try to work out and eat healthy.

If I could go back in time, I would NEVER take this again. My acne cleared up (not completely) while I was on it, and at first I thought it was great. However, all of a sudden my clothes didnt fit and I hopped on the scale and realized I had gained a whooping 20 pounds in the 3 months I was on it! I went off the pill because I was so horrified about my weight, and unfortunatly, the acne came back, even worse than before! So now I am stuck with worse acne, and weight issues. I urge girls who are looking at this as an option for acne to consider other options first, maybe talk to your doctor about other options first, there are many out there.

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caregeek31

March 16, 2009

Pros:

Regulated my period, prevented pregnancy

Cons:

Made my acne a lot worse, mood swings

Ortho tri cyclen and Plan B are definitely the worse thing i've ever done to my skin. I had beautiful clear skin before but started breaking out after taking Plan B (like a week after Plan B which is why i didn't realize it was due to plan B until a long time afterwards). I then went on Ortho tri cyclen since i needed birth control and also because i was hoping it would clear the acne i got from Plan B. Right after the 1st week, it broke me out almost daily. I had like 1 or 2 new pimples a day compared to before where i would have none and my skin was very clear. I was very patient, thinking it was the initial breakout phase so i stayed on it for 4 months. After four months, i gave up on it and my skin immediately stopped breakign out as much. I still break out a lot (compared to before OTC) but no where as often when i was on the pill. I'm pretty pissed b/c i went from having beautiful clear skin to now having breakouts still in addition to old acne scars and rough skin.

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Meemee

September 13, 2008

Pros:

none

Cons:

I have taken Ortho-Tri-Cyclen Lo, but I don't think I ever took Othro-Tri-Cyclen regular. OTC Lo was bad!! I found it made me moody and caused me to break out!

I think the problem with OTC Lo is that the hormones are so low that it's enough to confuse your system--PLUS it's TRI-cyclen so the hormone levels are different for 3 different parts of the month in the pills, so you're not getting any regulation--it's like you're on a rollercoaster. I RECOMMEND PLAIN OLD ORTHO-CYCLEN!!! It's the one that existed way before orthro-tri & ortho-tri lo. it made my skin PERFECTLY CLEAR. It took a little while--maybe 2-3 months, but my skin was amazing on it. I stopped taking it and I wish i was back on it. I'm on Yaz now and my friend takes Yaz and said after 2 months, it got rid of her cystic acne, so I'm hoping that will happen to me too :)

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Sarah

August 22, 2008

Pros:

My acne was never really bad, but the little I did have cleared up quickly.

Cons:

Extreme nausea, fatigue, bloating...and i'm BITCHY. I've noticed alot of women on here claim to have been nice and always happy. I use to be too. This BC makes you believe your a little nuts. Ladies, I hope your boyfriends are understanding. :)

I've been pregnant before and I had severe morning sickness and fatigue. This BC is VERY similar, I literally had to lay down and close my eyes because I was going to puke!! I hope it doesn't get worse. I'm a little nervous on how long i'm going to have to put up with these aweful side effects. The things we women do..I think its about time the MEN get on Birth Control. ;)

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Red Star

July 21, 2008

Pros:

nothing

Cons:

pregnancy mask, severe mood swings, terrible bloating, weight gain

terrible side effects, to much estrogen for ANYONE to ever take.

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