18 replies to this topic

[lox45]

I've been taking YAZ for 5 months now and it seems that my skin has gotten worse and worse since I started taking it... I'm seeing my doctor soon and seriously considering switching perscription to Ortho Tri Cyclen.

It just confuses me because the progestin component of Yaz is supposed to be COMPLETELY non-androgenic... so what gives? Is it possible that OTC will help?

[ILuvChaseyPoo]

I've been taking YAZ for 5 months now and it seems that my skin has gotten worse and worse since I started taking it... I'm seeing my doctor soon and seriously considering switching perscription to Ortho Tri Cyclen.

It just confuses me because the progestin component of Yaz is supposed to be COMPLETELY non-androgenic... so what gives? Is it possible that OTC will help?

I am wondering the same thing, but the other way around... I am about to begin my 5th month of OTC and my acne first got better after about two months but then it got worse. I have been contemplating either switching to Yaz or just sticking it out with OTC as I have read so many things that say it may take longer to work. The funky thing is my acne is in different places now. I used to break out more on my cheeks and sometimes forehead. Now my chin and jawline area is the only problem and they are big painful ANNOYING zits that last forever. I haven't changed my regimen since I started the OTC so it has to be the hormones. I don't understand!

Lox, is your acne primarily on your chin/jawline area too?

[lox45]

Nope, entirely forehead. My skin is damn near perfect everywhere else but my forehead is oily and gets clogged pores. I don't get it. Anyone know what the problem is?

Oh and could not taking BCP at exactly the same time every day contribute to bad skin?

[cassiopeia]

Nope, entirely forehead. My skin is damn near perfect everywhere else but my forehead is oily and gets clogged pores. I don't get it. Anyone know what the problem is?

Oh and could not taking BCP at exactly the same time every day contribute to bad skin?

Taking the Pill at different times has nothing to do with your skin. Unfortunately, everyone reacts to Oral contraceptives differently.

Ortho-tri-cyclen is what changed my skin from moderate to severe cystic acne, and it took accutane to get rid of it ... I've been on 7 pills, and although NONE of them cleared or helped my acne, OTC definitely made it worse. Perhaps it will be different for you; I do know of people for whom the Pill "cured" their acne. I was not one of them though.

Oh and the androgenic activity in the Pill may also not be necessarily what is contributing to your breakouts. Remember, everyone reacts differently.

[sufferinginpa]

My first time on OTC was great, but I didn't have acne before I started it. Second time...huge mess. My skin after three months was horrible. I noticed a difference in my oil production within three days of stopping it. I'm not on anything right now but I"m going to try Yasmin. I advise you trying new things for three months. Everyone differs.

[lox45]

If not OTC, what about Yasmin? Could a greater dose of the same hormones have a more positive effect?

[lox45]

Well, I switched to OTC and got Benzaclin, which cleared me up COMPLETELY last time. I'm hoping the combination of the two will help - I only have mild acne on my forehead so

[ILuvChaseyPoo]

Well, I switched to OTC and got Benzaclin, which cleared me up COMPLETELY last time. I'm hoping the combination of the two will help - I only have mild acne on my forehead so

I really hope it works for you! GOOD LUCK! Keep us updated on your progress.

[lox45]

Okay kind of an early update... I've been on OTC only two days and in just the first day I could see that my pores were producing far less oil. My skin needs to be moisturized more now, but when it is it is very silky and soft. Don't want to jinx myself so *fingers crossed*

[nosroma]

I was on OTC all through high school and I don't remember having a single zit. I went off of it to try the depo shot (huge mistake). I tried going back on it - but it made my skin worse, and I had a bunch of side effects. I tried going back on it again a couple years ago (because I was in high school nearly 10 years ago - I thought maybe my body reverted back to a better hormonal state or something - wishful thinking ) ) - and it didn't work again. So I tried a bunch over the years, mostly generic stuff, and I thought it might be making my acne worse (because it certainly wasn't getting any better!) so I recently switched to Yaz. So far, so good.

Everyone reacts differently to medication though - the best bet is just to try it and see (but give it at least 3 months). Worst case scenario - you have something to cross off your list of things to try. My friends are all on that nuevo ring right now. I tried it, I hated it, but to them, it's the best thing since sliced bread.

[cupcake31]

I had mild acne and at the suggestion of my doctor I started taking OTC. OMG the worst mistake of my life! After 5 months of constant breakouts I stopped taking it and used prescription topical gels and stuff. During my use of OTC the pimples changed from whiteheads to hard, red under the skin type. They left tons of scarring even though I didnt pick. Its been a year since I stopped taking OTC and my skin isnt what it used to be.

[jules12199]

I am twenty one years old. I decided to try taking Yaz to see how I would react, being sexually active and such. Occasionally I have gotten a few minor pimples here and there beginning when I was about 13 when I entered puberty. My doctor implied that birth control usually clears your skin. I figured I had nothing to lose so this past November of 2008 was my first (and last!) month on Yaz. I broke out SO very badly along the jawline of both of my cheeks. I also got extremely depressed on it. I have never had acne and to get it at age 21 seemed as though it was obviously related to the pill seeing as though the first month on Yaz I experienced a bad case of acne. When I finished my first month of Yaz I decided to finally call my OB-GYN...she told me that it sounded unrelated - my breakout and the pill....I used my own judgement on this one and stopped taking the pill after my first pack. My skin is slowly getting better and my moods are also getting back to where they used to be. I never have dealt with depression and am certainly I happy person.

I wanted to add to this blog to share my story in hopes of helping other who may have experienced the ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE, DEBILITATING side effects of Yaz. If you have experienced some of the side effects in which I did, I would advise you to go off of it, or ask your doctor about switching Good luck

[JennieLynn99]

I just started my second pack of Yaz and I am about ready to get off of it as well. My chin and jawline has broken out so bad. I get very small pimples and huge ones that want to pop within a hour or so of getting one. They are showing up constantly and I get new ones even during the day out of no where. I am getting so irritated and its making me feel more and more uncomfortable. I also keep reading the same stuff from lots of posts. I thought this stuff was supposed to make your face clear but even when you look at side affects acne is actually one of them. How weird...

[BollywoodBarbie]

I have been taking Yaz for almost 3 months already(b4 I was on Yasmin).I fell into the hype of the commercials stating how it was a low dose BCP..that's great and all but this BCP messed my skin up.I noticed everyone that has had skin issues with this has developed acne on their chin,jawline,lower cheeks.I have joined the club!Acne that develops on those areas is hormonal.So it's def. from the YAZ.I'm also an esthetician and I almost have to cringe when I say that because my skin looks soooo bad from taking this lousy BCP!!I've never had a pimple in all my 27 years except for the occasional stress zit or "that time of the month pimple" but that is RARE!!It seems like as soon as I started YAZ I broke out within a week.Same as every1 else on the jawline,cheeks,chin.I think..wait I know...I'm switching back to Yasmin..I'll just deal with the water weight!!lol..That's the only good thing about YAZ(besides from all it'sbad) no water retention..but every1 is different i suppose.I hate YAZ and I advise any woman to stay away from it!!!
p.s.Has anyone noticed their hair changing when using this?Mine won't curl or even stay in any style for that matter..It's pretty much lifeless.I haven't changed my shampoo or anything.I'm known for having alot of hair and now it seems like my hair has gotten thinner and limp.

[NJcollegegirl]

yes i agree. YAZ was a nightmare for me. literally from the first few days that i started it (beginning of sept 08) my skin looked like CRAP. i have hormonal acne but i stay away from all bcp's and just use the accutane. i dont want to be taking too many medications

[Jry0318]

OTC definitely made my acne worse. Only after taking OTC did I start getting cystic acne.

[hopefull123]

DO NOT TAKE YAZ! i regret taking it every day of my life. i literally had every side effect plus more. and whats more upsetting is that i was perfectly fine on it for the first year. then i was diagnosed with severe depression and panic disorder (which i never had in my life) my blood pressure would drop to 50/20. i had horrible vision/hearing problems and i was diagnosed with ibs this year which i never head. i have panic attacks everyday and they are slowly disappearing after i stopped that hell pill. i ruined my 3 year relationship because my mood swings where out of this world. i would cry and be suicidal then go to happy then have totally hatred for no reason.
im not saying it wont work for you but PLEASE do your health a favor and google yaz. they actually have a website for yaz survivors. its ridiculous its still on the market.

[pinkpugsy]

I started taking Ortho-Lo in November 2008 and it caused havoc on my skin. I was only taking it to try to clear up minor acne to begin with, but it made it much worse. I switched to Yaz after a month and a half, and my skin broke out even MORE. Just like everyone else, I got cystic acne on my jawline and chin. They were painful and lasted FOREVER. However, I've been on Yaz for about 6 weeks and my skin is almost COMPLETELY clear!! I'm so glad I listened when my derm told me to just stick with it because it can make your skin worse before it gets better. My skin has not looked as good as it does now in a very long time. So for those of you who are having trouble with the cysts, keep up your facial cleansing routine and wait it out! Also, makeup wise, I usually use Bare Minerals but when I first started Yaz I was too broken out and it didn't give me enough coverage. I switched to Dream Matte Mousse by Maybelline (I think), it gives much better acne coverage; you just have to be sure to wash it ALL off because it is not non-comodogenic.

[hbomb84]

I started taking Ortho tri-cyclen five years ago to regulate my periods, since they were way out of whack. I didn't really notice it doing great things for my skin, but it wasn't making it worse either. I was just happy that my period came every month and only lasted 4 or 5 days instead of 10+. Eventually the health center at my college started giving a generic version (tri-previfem or tri-nessa, I think) instead of OTC, which I wasn't too thrilled about, but from what I could tell it didn't seem to be too different (I know chemically it is supposed to be the same, but I still wasn't convinced).

I'm not sure if it was just a coincidence or what, but around the time that I started on OTC is about when I started suffering from depression, which eventually got severe enough that I stopped going to most of my classes halfway through my last semester and ended up failing out of school. I was so moody and would pick fights with my boyfriend for no reason at all, and would get so angry that I didn't even recognize myself. I thought I was going crazy. My boyfriend (who was saving for an engagement ring) and I ended up breaking up, mostly because I had pretty much turned into a moody, angry nutcase.

Not long after that whole incident, I tried Nuvaring for awhile, but only for three months or so. I eventually switched back to OTC (but another generic, tri-sprintec) and have been on that for the last two years. Lately my depression hasn't been nearly as severe as it has been in the past, but I still get irritable and moody rather frequently. It recently occurred to me that the birth control pills I've been taking for so long could have possibly triggered my depression, so that is when I asked my gyno for something else, and decided on Yaz.

I'm currently on my 6th day of Yaz. Unfortunately I've still been pretty moody the last couple of days, but it hasn't been long enough for me to know if it's from the pill or not. My skin is definitely not clear right now, and I'm nervous that the two big zits on my chin and the giant one on my jaw might be from Yaz since a lot of you have reported acne in those areas. My skin is normally far from perfect, but I've only had maybe one or two of these big zits in the last year or so since I started using Benzaclin. Admittedly I can be lazy with my skincare routine, so I'll give it a few months. Hopefully the Benzaclin and Yaz together will make me a sane person with clear skin! If the Yaz turns me into a monster like I was before on OTC, I'm just going to stick with condoms and suffer through my long painful periods.