296 replies to this topic

[M1na]

Same story as everyone else's. Stopped taking yasmin, after I've been on it for years (this is now over a year ago). The first 3 months I still had beautiful skin.
Then my skin got progressively worse.
To the point now that I am embarrassed to even leave the house.

I am on antibiotics now, but can't see it making a difference. It is worse than ever.

I tried using progesterone cream for 3-4 months prior to that and that didn't help either. I actually think it made things even worse and screwed up my hormones even more.

Also I still don't have a regular period yet again. So I can't recommend using progesterone cream. I also took it to increase my low sex drive, but even that worsened with it.

I also tried everything else from creams, to face wash, all the other crap. Nothing helped.
The only thing I decided I am going to try now is meditation.
I will give it a go since nothing else has helped and I am hoping that that will improve my skin.

I started doing yoga for the same reason 10 months ago and that didn't help.
I was told acceptance is the answer. Easier said than done!

[Dannie]

omg im sorry to hear that...darn
its not right that BC is giving out to people without being warned about all this.
Acne is a horrible thing to have and its become worse for people
U would think they would have a cure by now..

[def0ne]

I'm suffering acne conglobata for years, don't know if this will ever disappear.

I'm suffering acne conglobata for years, don't know if this will ever disappear.


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[Dannie]

whats acne conglobata
never herd that term

[Kristabel]

I went to my derm and said i have been taking yasmin for years, dianette before that, and that every time i had tried to come off the pill in the past my skin has gone crazy. I explained i now have severe depression which may be linked to the pill and he said i need to come off the yasmin. He said i should be ok if i switch to cilest for a few months and when my body has adjusted to the transition, to come off the cilest as the breakout coming off the cilest is not as bad as the breakout from coming off yasmin. I guess its like weaning off rather than going cold turkey.

To help the transition from yasmin to cilest, i have been prescribed isotrexin and duac, and Nlite laser treatment once every 2 months.

I had my 1st Nlite laser treatment 2 weeks ago and my skin (which had been clear from the yasmin) has been breaking out really badly, taking longer to heal, and breaking out in places i dont normally get acne. I'm going nuts with worry because i didnt expect that, i was just worried about the breakout from changing pill and i dont even change pill till next week! I cant handle this acne i have right now from the laser and i'm terrified of even more acne when i change pill. I'll update on what happens, either in this post or one of my other ones

[overratedsociety]

Same thing here! I was on Nuvaring for about 2 years and my skin was flawless. I had noticible acne before but nothing I was too worried about. 6 mos after I stopped the NuvaRing I had the ultimate breakout and have been dealing with it for 3 years now. All of the doctors say the hormones only regulate but if you are not taking them they don't change anything. So basically they said my bad acne now was inevitable, I say thats bull. The only suggestion I have is to find a product that works for you. My golden egg was Acne Free 'Severe'
Good LUCK!

[Dannie]

so basically, MOST people who go on BC will eventually develop acne once they get off?

i knew some people who where lucky and didnt get it. and they never had acne before either though..
there really isnt anything that will help control it if its hormonal ..no product or whatever i guess

[Alyssa2008.2008]

Hey Ladies, I've been going through very similar experiences too. I have been on the pill since I was 17 and I'm 28 now. I had bad acne since I was 13 and going on the pill helped ALOT. Anyways, when I went off of it 6 months ago, is when the acne came back , tiny comedones everywhere! I'm finally starting to curb them by taking supplements and oils and have found so much useful information on this site its unbelievable. What I want to know is from you ladies is I haven't gotten my period since I've came off birth control. I went to the doctors, I'm not pregnant. So its been six months since having a period and would like to know if you ladies had any similar experience? I'm starting to get worried about whats wrong with my body.....
thanks so much for any input that you give, its much appreciated,
Alyssa

[Dannie]

wow its like me...acne since i was 13 been on the pill since i was 16 and im 29 now

U HAVENT GOTTEN A PERIOD IN 6 MONTHS??? OMG...
what is going on there??? the pill must of really unbalanced your hormones after getting of it..
what does your doctor say?

i did read on another forum alot of girls went threw the same thing..

i take alot of suppliments and i hear that does help for the acne

[Alyssa2008.2008]

Yeah I know its crazy! I have a gyno appointment at the end of march...so i hope everything is ok...I really want children someday! For the acne, I've trying lots of diff supplements and oils, I'm getting some good progress...and experimenting with different face washes, topicals, etc....how about you? are you making progress with the acne at all?

[Dannie]

well im still on the pill but i found when i changed my diet and added workouts to my days it helped a great deal..i also added in suppliments ive been takin for a while now such as omega 3, flax, zinc,b complex, B6 for hormones, calcium

i also still use clindamycn acne treatment,,,
but to wash my face all i use is the ponds wipes...my face is combination but dry when i wash with any cleanser and water..so this has helped and its full of good ingredients..
my night moisturizer is the loreal genesis serum which u r suppose to use with the night cream but the serum is great alone for me..the night cream was great but to oily in the end for me..

in morning i use water and then a sunscreen
so far my skin is great
i also use the tanda device...blue light..

[rosiemarie]

I will officially be BCP-free on Sunday! YAY! I hated being on those stupid pills, all those chemicals. I have the same problems as everyone else in this thread--I've tried to go off BCP for about 3 years now. The first time--it was really bad, but I feel like I have more knowledge about it this time around. And I am determined to stick it out for 6 months. I think the key is to re-balance the hormones. It kind of makes me mad, I started taking BCP when I was 15 for acne (I'm 23 now). I hate that I was put on it at such a young age too, without knowing the facts. Anyway, I will have to keep an update! Right now this is my plan:

-one Vitex/day. I got mine from iherb.com, the Femaprin one by Nature's Way. It's supposed to be a high-grade Vitex, the same one they prescribe in Germany for women with irregular cycles (I guess it's a well-known supplement over there?). Vitex

-2 cups of Red Raspberry Leaf tea. I have no idea if this will help, but every little bit counts. It's used to help with many female problems/issues, but it's supposed to help regulate too.

-Green Smoothies (getting those fruits and veggies in)

...any other suggestions? My acne is so-so right now, it will most likely get worse though.

[Dannie]

wow..good luck with all that
please keep us up to date
im not sure what helps with hormones...if u try new things let us know

i know b5 and b6 is good..i use those now but im still on the pill

[fifilegend]

Hey everyone,

I have to say it's kind of reassuring to read that other women have gone through similar to what I'm going through right now... Basically I had been on Marvelon since I was 17 (I'm 22 now) and I came off it last October because I was going travelling and I didn't want to have to remember to take it all the time whilst travelling. Also I thought it would be a nice break to my body since I had been on it for 5 years. Now the weird thing was about a month after I came off it, my skin was the BEST it has ever been, even better than how it got when I started taking the pill for my acne, as well as a method of birth control. I was so so happy. Then after a brief week or so it started to gradually come back. But I swear it is now worse than I ever remember having it when I was 15/16. Not only do I have very oily skin (mainly on my forehead) and acne mainly focused on my forehead and chin, but it is all over my back and chest. When I suffered with acne in my teens, I didn't suffer with it much on my back or chest so that bit is definitely new.

Obviously my biggest temptation is to now go back on the pill now I'm back home but I have yet to have a period yet. I'm not sure if this is just because of my hormones readjusting or whatever? My periods hadn't really regulated themselves before I went on the pill (I was a late starter... no period until I was 16) and so that may explain why I haven't had one yet? Would love to hear any ideas on this and the whole acne after coming off of the pill. Especially if your skin was really good to begin with.

[Dannie]

my god...whyis it the skin gets 10 times worse then before the pill after u get off it????

its not fair..how can the derms not have a solution for that particular issue

[rosiemarie]

Hey everyone,

I have to say it's kind of reassuring to read that other women have gone through similar to what I'm going through right now... Basically I had been on Marvelon since I was 17 (I'm 22 now) and I came off it last October because I was going travelling and I didn't want to have to remember to take it all the time whilst travelling. Also I thought it would be a nice break to my body since I had been on it for 5 years. Now the weird thing was about a month after I came off it, my skin was the BEST it has ever been, even better than how it got when I started taking the pill for my acne, as well as a method of birth control. I was so so happy. Then after a brief week or so it started to gradually come back. But I swear it is now worse than I ever remember having it when I was 15/16. Not only do I have very oily skin (mainly on my forehead) and acne mainly focused on my forehead and chin, but it is all over my back and chest. When I suffered with acne in my teens, I didn't suffer with it much on my back or chest so that bit is definitely new.

Obviously my biggest temptation is to now go back on the pill now I'm back home but I have yet to have a period yet. I'm not sure if this is just because of my hormones readjusting or whatever? My periods hadn't really regulated themselves before I went on the pill (I was a late starter... no period until I was 16) and so that may explain why I haven't had one yet? Would love to hear any ideas on this and the whole acne after coming off of the pill. Especially if your skin was really good to begin with.

So you have been off BCP since Oct. and haven't had a period since then? They say it can take up to 6 months to regulate, so after that I'd make an appt. with your doc to see if they can do anything. I'm taking Vitex and drinking red raspberry leaf tea, but there other methods out there too. I just don't know anything about them (like natural progesterone cream). Then again, if your cycle was irregular before you went on BCP, it would be the same irregularity after going off them (after an initial period of adjustment).

Good luck! What frustrates me is the lack of quality information online that I can find on this matter.

[ann24]

HAS ANYONE TRIED YAZ?? IT'S SUPPOSE TO BE REALLY GOOD FOR ACNE I TRIED EVERYTHING FROM MY DERM. FIGURED I TRY THIS.....

[Dannie]

i have never herd of it..what is it?

[snerren]

I will officially be BCP-free on Sunday! YAY! I hated being on those stupid pills, all those chemicals. I have the same problems as everyone else in this thread--I've tried to go off BCP for about 3 years now. The first time--it was really bad, but I feel like I have more knowledge about it this time around. And I am determined to stick it out for 6 months. I think the key is to re-balance the hormones. It kind of makes me mad, I started taking BCP when I was 15 for acne (I'm 23 now). I hate that I was put on it at such a young age too, without knowing the facts. Anyway, I will have to keep an update! Right now this is my plan:

-one Vitex/day. I got mine from iherb.com, the Femaprin one by Nature's Way. It's supposed to be a high-grade Vitex, the same one they prescribe in Germany for women with irregular cycles (I guess it's a well-known supplement over there?).

-2 cups of Red Raspberry Leaf tea. I have no idea if this will help, but every little bit counts. It's used to help with many female problems/issues, but it's supposed to help regulate too.

-Green Smoothies (getting those fruits and veggies in)

...any other suggestions? My acne is so-so right now, it will most likely get worse though.

[snerren]

I was on the pill for a long time and just came off of them 3 mos ago. I am having some more issues with acne since coming off of them. It is not severe but enough to bother me somewhat. I had initial withdrawal effects such as dizziness and difficulty concentrating. I took ginger pills (or tea) and that greatly helped with the dizziness. I had a period fairly quickly coming off the pill but still feel "off" at times...I am 38 and was told by my doctor that I might be starting peri-menopause. She is going to try me out on progesterone cream. I have heard it can take a while for your body to adjust being off the pill. Any kind of lifestyle changes will greatly help...eating healthy, getting enough sleep, and yes, supplements will help also. I tried vitex initially after coming off the pill and it made me ansy and wired. It could have just been withdrawal effects but I quit taking vitex for the time being. I have also started evening primrose oil so interested to see how that works.