Diane 35 Reviews

I'm 32 years old and was on the birth control pill for 9 years, the last 2 years of which I spent on Diane. The first 4 months on Diane were horrible - I broke out like crazy and almost gave up but I continued on and finally started seeing results in the 5th month. Diane was the only birth control pill that helped my skin. I had beautiful, glowing skin for almost a year and a half and I wouldn't have stopped except for the fact that I'm now trying to get pregnant. I have now been off Diane for 4 months and my skin has been horrible. Not only do I have acne on my face, but also on my neck and back which I've never experienced before. I never experienced weight gain, headaches, depression or loss of libido on Diane but I did notice that I had alot of UTIs. My skin is starting to get slightly better now but the last 4 months have been really difficult. I had no idea that my skin could get this bad - my skin was never this bad even during puberty! In hindsight, I'm not quite sure if I would recommend Diane since the consequences of going off of it are so difficult.

I've been on Diane-35 probably three different times in my life including one 2 or 3 year stretch. It was awesome for my skin. Within days of taking it, skin and hair were less greasy and acne started clearing. In fact, I had no acne and I have cystic acne (I forgot about my acne problem it got so good!) However, my breasts were always really sore for the first couple months... really sore -- taking off a bra hurt. I also noticed less vaginal discharge and a reduction in body hair and sex drive somewhat..This seemed obvious given it is an anti-androgen and in effect lowers the male hormones in your system. And these side effects seemed okay given that I was finally living with clear skin. However, I also had chronic yeast infection problems being on Diane-35 that I never had on other pills or when not being on the pill. I got yeast infections from sex like clockwork-- every single time. (My partners were checked... they weren't passing it back to me... it was all me). I tried everything to get rid of them, but nothing worked. So I went off Diane a couple times in frustration but I found I would get a nasty flare of acne and instant greasiness again upon stopping. A no-win! I would probably have stayed on it if not for the yeast thing. I'm now taking Yasmin, which has a milder effect on clearing acne, but no yeast problems thus far. Only 4 months of taking it so far, but no serious side effects. Yasmin is a diuretic and the bit of dehydration it causes makes you lose a bit of water weight (good) but it sometimes causes headaches and cramping (bad) so if you switch to Yasmin at any point, drink lots of water. Hope this helps.

horrible.....made me break out after 4 monthes....

It works great my acne is completly gone after just 2 and a half months My breasts grow alot! my moods are fine, my libido if anything has increased! i guess it's just different for everyone!

I was on Diane for 6 months for moderate acne and hirsutism. My skin cleared significantly and I also noticed less unwanted hair so I got off the pill. 3 months later I had a severe outbreak of acne, worse than ever before. I panicked and got back on the pill. Stayed on it pimple-free for about 11 months then I got an allergic reaction to hair-dye for the first time in my life. My skin became extra sensitive leading to yet another moderate-severe acne outbreak. This time I used antibiotics as well as still being on Diane. I had been using topicals from day 1. My skin took 3 months to clear. I continued on Diane for 9 more months. My skin at this point was clear but with small breakouts that were easily ignored. I decided to take a break from the pill. Sure enough 3 months later - another severe acne outbreak. Now my doctor has put me on Alesse. I might need to stay on birth control pills indefinitely to control acne till I 'grow' out of it. It's been 3 weeks on Alesse so far and no significant difference except for a slight reduction in inflammation. I don't think Diane-35 was worth it because it cleared my skin till a certain point (80%) but then made it SO much worse when I stopped. Unfortunately it's not cut out to be a long-term drug due to concerns about deep vein thrombosis. I hope Alesse will work for me otherwise I'll probably try Yasmin. As far as side-effects go I didn't experience major difficulties except for slight increase in cellulite, water retention and a 'puffy' face.

I'd been on Alesse for about 4 years, and last summer had a break-out on my face. I never had severe acne before, so this was a shocker. (I'm 24 y.o) My dr put me on Minocin, and a couple months later I started Diane in addition. I am now on my 4th month. It took a while to see results, and I'm not sure whether to attribute the improvement I have seen to the Diane or the Minocin. But it's still not perfect. The first month my breasts got REALLY sore, but that went away, and they grew as well, but have since gone back to their original size. I'd been trying to lose a bit of weight before I started the pill, with lots of exercise and diet -- i think it was working, but since I've been on Diane, I havent lost anything. I slowed down my crazy exercise regimen a bit, and I've gained 7 pounds in 2 weeks!! I'd rather have a little troubled skin than gain at this rate. ALso, after reading these posts, I've finally found the reason for my inexplicable crying fits! (thanks) So I've decided to stop Diane and go back to Alesse (which I never had any problems with), while keeping on Minocin.
Has anybody ever tried changing to a BCP when coming off Diane?? does it mitigate the reaction at all?? ALso, those who did gain weight, was it easy to lose it once you went off?? THis is important to many ppl I'm sure, so if you've had a similar experience, please post it!!!

I am on my third month of Diane-35. I buy it because I teach in Seoul and it is available over the counter. I was on Allese(sp?) before, and loved it. Since I have been on Diane-35, I have noticed nothing has changed in my skin, nothing has changed weight wise(I eat well and exercise and have lost weight in the last 3 months), except, like Kiana, I have cronic yeast infections. I am exactly the same as her in my symptoms and I am stopping it today. Proactiv has worked amazing in the last 3 weeks for my face, try that!

I've been on diane for probably 3 or 4 months now. I haven't noticed much change in my skin, other than the fact that I haven't had any cystic pimples since about the third month of using... overall though, my skin hasn't been too much clearer as yet- still lots of little pimples, however I guess it helps that they're not under the skin like the cystic ones were.
I was concerned about the possibility of depression etc which others have noted here, however I've been lucky enough not to experience any of these type of side effects myself. I was on other contraceptive pills before Diane so that may be in part the reason, as I know other contraceptives can cause depression as well and I've never had any problems like that.

I have been on diane 35 for 5 and a half months. I have been experiencing weight gain, bloated stomach, mood swings, depression, crying fits.. basically not very fun stuff. I didn't have a problem with my skin, so didn't see any effect there. so in my opinion.. stay far far far away from this pill!

I'm on my 4th pack already. I decided to take it due to my hormonal imbalance, thus the result of acne! Grrr... The only significant change I have felt so far is the decrease of oiliness on my face. I still get some cystic pimples at the jaw area. It can be frustrating because I was expecting that it would have totally cleared my face by now. However, my dermatologist constantly reminds me that I would be seeing its full effect within 6months to 1 year of taking it. I'm really hoping that Diane would help in restoring the beautiful skin that I once had! :(