7 replies to this topic

[mws]

Hi, I've been taking Ortho Tri Cyclen (regular not Lo) for a little over 7 months for my acne. At the beginning it seemed to make a difference for my acne but now my skin looks like it did before I went on it except now I get a lot of big, hard pimples along my jawline and on my cheeks . I'm going to my doctor soon so I'm wondering if I should try switching to another brand of birth control. Please let me know if any of you have had experiences with Ortho or if any other brands worked better for you. Thanks!

[peachy_D225]

Hi, I've been taking Ortho Tri Cyclen (regular not Lo) for a little over 7 months for my acne. At the beginning it seemed to make a difference for my acne but now my skin looks like it did before I went on it except now I get a lot of big, hard pimples along my jawline and on my cheeks . I'm going to my doctor soon so I'm wondering if I should try switching to another brand of birth control. Please let me know if any of you have had experiences with Ortho or if any other brands worked better for you. Thanks!

Have you considered adding Spironolactone? BCP's alone never worked for me (and I tried A LOT!). The acne you're describing definitely sounds hormonal, and I bet Spiro would work well for you.

[mws]

Have you considered adding Spironolactone? BCP's alone never worked for me (and I tried A LOT!). The acne you're describing definitely sounds hormonal, and I bet Spiro would work well for you.

Thanks for the response! I've seen that mentioned on here but none of my doctors have brought it up and I haven't thought to ask recently. How does it compare to accutane? From what I just looked up it looks like it can have some bad side effects like hair loss, dry skin, eyes, etc. Have you had any problems? I'm too scared to take Accutane because I'm terrified of permanently messing myself up somehow but I'm getting really desperate to be rid of my acne.

[peachy_D225]

Have you considered adding Spironolactone? BCP's alone never worked for me (and I tried A LOT!). The acne you're describing definitely sounds hormonal, and I bet Spiro would work well for you.

Thanks for the response! I've seen that mentioned on here but none of my doctors have brought it up and I haven't thought to ask recently. How does it compare to accutane? From what I just looked up it looks like it can have some bad side effects like hair loss, dry skin, eyes, etc. Have you had any problems? I'm too scared to take Accutane because I'm terrified of permanently messing myself up somehow but I'm getting really desperate to be rid of my acne.

Trying to compare Spiro with Accutane is like comparing apples and oranges. They're both SO completely different. I think Spiro has A LOT less severe side effects. For me, I had some mild side effects for the first month of spiro, and after that, was totally fine. I would definitely recommend trying spiro before jumping into accutane.

[Yo Adrienne!]

i took ortho tri cyclen like 8-9 years ago when my acne was REALLLLLLY bad and i did a great job of clearing my skin... but it stopped working after a few years. since then, ive tried about 5 different birth control pills... but none of them have seemed to clear my skin very much. ive also tried several antibiotics and a countless number of topical creams. im now on accutane. so far no horrible side effects... but im still waiting for my skin to clear. it just sucks there is no cut and dry answer for fixing acne. im really hoping the accutane starts to help me soon. hang in there!!

[mala_moja]

Did anyone have worse acne the first cycle of ortho-tricyclen? I'm on it and it's my first PMS and I'm breaking out so bad on my chin! but only my chin is much worse. I mean I usually get maybe two on my chin every PMS time but this is ridiculous. Another keeps popping up everyday. Should I keep going with this stuff or is this a sign it's not for me? Is it that it's just the first month?
If anyone has any info on this, please help.

[kiky]

I used Ortho Tri-cyclen Lo for more than a year, but it makes my face so bad. so oily and a lot of cysts and pustules, which are big, hard,red and painful,and especially around the U-zone(jawling,cheek,and chin). I heard that cysts around U-zone are related to hormone. For me, OTC lo did not clear me up but left me so many cysts and scars!!!Last time I see my dr, she gave me the Yaz, and I am going to start it the coming sunday. I hope it can help me, but I also be afraid that it will make my face even worse....worrying about that everyday...

[pogo25]

Tri-Cyclen did NOTHING for my acne. The only ones that worked for me were Ortho-Novum 7/7/7, Modicon, Brevicon. Those last 2 brands are real rare now, but try to get one of those if possible.