Diane 35 Reviews

I began taking Diane when I was 23. Prior to taking Diane my skin was quite oily and I would get pimples on a fairly regular basis. I wouldn't say my acne was severe, but my skin was rarely clear, I'd usually have at least one pimple. Within a few months of taking Diane my skin began to clear up and within a year it was really good. However, I also noticed that my libido dropped significantly. At first it didn't bother me that much, but after about 2 years it got to the point where I decided to stop taking Diane. I was off Diane for a few months when I began breaking out again. I would usually get just one big pimple, but they were deep and painful and would leave marks. After about 9 months off Diane I had a terrible outbreak, with deep cystic acne on one side of my face. It was so bad my doctor put me straight back on Diane and on antibiotics and considered sending me to a dermatologist for Roaccutane. The outbreak left me with permanent scarring. The acne I had post-Diane was worse than the acne I had before I began taking it. Since starting Diane again my acne has cleared up. I rarely get a pimple and except for the scars my skin is flawless. Any pimple I do get leave a red mark though which takes a few months to fade. My doctor told me this is post-inflammatory hyper pigmentation which is exacerbated by Diane. My libido is also at an all time low as well. I'm in a new relationship and am so tempted to stop taking Diane but I don't want my skin to go through that again. I think I will probably continue taking Diane until I want to fall pregnant. I am dreading going off it and can only hope when the time comes I fall pregnant quickly. To those of you thinking of trying it, it cured my skin problem 100% but it causes other problems and your skin will be worse when you come off it, so think carefully. In retrospect, a part of me wishes I'd never gone on it, whilst another part thinks it was probably the only way I could ever have achieved clear skin.

I was on Diane 3 years. My acne was gone 100% after 2-3 months. But got yeast infection which i never had that before. Low sex drive. But didn't gain weight at all.
I decided to get off diane after i got married since last december. It has been 7 months now. In about 3 months after i got off the pills, acne is back and it started break out on both my cheeks and then chin. It is the cystic ones. So, i researched on line and find this site. I'm now using acne.org's suggested regimen for the past 3 months. it's under control a bit (20%) but nothing like diane. This regimen clears my forehead breakout but not the chin and cheeks.
I'm getting worried now, so red scar on the face and non stop acne break out in the chin & cheeks area. so wanted to go back on diane... Still in decisive since i read about some related death cases related to diane on cbc.ca. i will give dan's regimen a few months try cos' i prefer to control my acne in a natural way. But if it is not getting better (at 70%+ clear), will be back on diane or other pills with less side effects.

I started Diane 35 when I was 19. My skin was pretty horrible for years and I decided to give it a try. After a couple of months, my skin cleared up really well and I felt great. After about a year of taking Diane, however, I started to feel anxious and worrying all the time. I have no idea if this was a side effect from Diane, but I decided to go off of it for a while. After a few months my skin started breaking out a bit but I did start feeling better and wasn't so anxious and depressed anymore. After about 6 months of being off of it, I started going out with this guy and my face broke out worse than ever! I decided to go back on it for my skin and birth control. It cleared up my skin again and I was feeling pretty good for about half a year. I then started worrying again about stupid things and feeling depressed. It's been a year now of being back on diane, and since my bf just broke up with me, I'm thinking of going off of it again because of anxiety. Again, I'm not sure if its the diane causing this. I'm worried though about going off of it because I don't want my skin to break out! Argh. Did anybody else experience these side effects?

I used Diane for 3 years for birth control only. I didn't have skin problems until after I went off Diane. I noticed pimples here and there but they weren't that offensive, plus at the time I had a steady boyfriend and he didn't care. Then after about a year and half, I got real acne. It was so frustrating! I had broken up with my boyfriend and was dating a new guy and I felt so gross with the acne and didn't know how to deal with it...I'm 24!! I am totally convinced that my acne is purely hormonal as I had never had any problems post Diane. Has anyone else notice this? I'm on ortho tri-cyclen now for birth control and to help clear my skin, but I'm on the 5th cycle and although there's less, I'm skin getting blemishes.

Opps forgot to say the side effects lol, I'm very tired and feel like sleeping alot.

Just started on it, I'm on Diane and the Doxy anti-biotic was also prescribed Retin-A but won't be taking that after all the horror stories I heard, don't think putting stuff on your skin will help, the problem of acne seems to come from more inside of your body if anything.

I've been taking Diane35 for 5 years mainly for treating my acne but also for heavy periods which has led to my anemia. My skin was pretty bad and I tried creams, masks, antibiotics etc: and being on the pill, my skin has cleared up quite well. I get so many compliments from friends and even strangers saying how they want skin like mine. I just think 'are you serious? You don't know what I've been through'.

At one stage I was off the pill for about 2weeks and some of these symptoms like acne and oiliness returned during that time. I did not think this was a reaction that the pill was responsible for. I figured that either my hormones were not being controlled by the pill anymore and so I was having similar problems to before I started the pill.. or, my body was trying to get a new balance in my hormones now that I'm not supplying some of them with the pill anymore.

When I went on the pill I was told that I wouldn't see much change for a good 3 months. I assume that when I come off the pill it will take a certain amount of time for my body to reset and level out my hormones again. I expect some side effects when that happens.

ie: for those women who have experienced a big break out in their skin after coming off the pill: You had 2 sources of hormones being produced (body + pill) and all of a sudden it's been cut back down to one. Your body has to readjust to this and recalculate it's own balance.

I recently have had side effects from taking the pill, but I have been told that this is probably because my body is changing it is producing a higher level of hormones, and then I am taking the pill on top of that. So when I get my period there is a more extreme drop in hormone levels (drop in hormone levels triggers the period) and my body is reacting. (Depression/sore breasts). You can change pills to find one that suits you better, but it does say in the information that comes with your pill that certain side effects are likely.
Anyway, your doctor can do up graphs explaining this better.

Went looking for info on side effects as one month in have been feeling bloated and suffering anxiety and insomnia. Have been taking valium (which had been prescribed for pms) mid-cycle to help me sleep! Disastrous. Acne worse.

I have been on Diane for 4 months, my acne got better but still not perfectly clear. I do not have any side effects so far, but I am definitly worrying about going off Diane later will cause the acne worse than before.

I have PCOS, and at the age of 25 had facial hair, scalp hair loss, and acne. I ordered Diane-35 through the Internet and have been taking it for 5 years. During the first week, my skin and hair were no longer oily; my acne and facial hair completely disappeared within 3 months, and after a year, I have regained about 40-50% of my lost scalp hair back.

There were times when my eyes and throat were really dry; almost like I had taken an anithistamine.

My sex drive, which was through the roof beforehand, did diminish; I can still oragasm just fine, I just no longer think about sex 24/7.

The first week, I thought I was going to die; I was throwing up and had diarrhea; the it just all seemed to disappear.

I exercise everyday and eat a low-sodium, healthful diet to counteract the effects of all oral contraceptives on blood pressure.

Other than that, I havn't had any side effects. I plan on taking the pill until I'm 35 or so, then propbably switch to HRT.