4 replies to this topic

[chloe192]

Hey everyone.

I have decided to stop taking my hormonal birth control pill, which the doctor gave me purely for acne. It cleared up my moderate/severe acne, not completely, but did clear most of it off. However it has made me gain weight, and feel a bit down. I have been on it for a bit longer then a year.

I am worried that when I stop taking it, my acne will come back, because I have heard that happen to a lot of people. If that is the case, is there anything I can do? Certain health tablets I could take, food I could eat or products for my skin? Just wondered if anyone has come off it with success, and what tips you could give me to make the process easier.

Btw, I am 19 years old, and I have also recently started taking fish oil tablets, and bio zinc tablets for my skin, in hopes it will help the process. Thanks!

[hayleyx90]

I'm also interested to hear positive experiences with coming of diane 35. My nurse has just given me diane 35, I was reluctant to go on it because of so many horror stories but its the only option I have left of clearing my acne.

How long did it take for your skin to clear up Chloe? I've heard about Saw Palmetto to control acne after BCP.

[chloe192]

Hey Hayley, thanks for your response. I will definitely look into Saw Palmetto! It did work for me, Diane 35. Took about 3 months, if I remember correctly, to see a significant change, and from then on it only got better. It also helped my pms cramps. It didn't make my skin 100% clear, probably about 80-90% which I was really really happy with. However, I was only taking the tablets and using a random cleanser, so maybe if I focused on a healthier diet and more water/ vitamins/ toners and skin repairs, then maybe I would have gotten 100% clear. Also, just so you know, I did not experience any initial breakouts.

It has been 4 days so far, since I have stopped taking it, and so far no new break outs, however it still is early. Also, I have recently begun to drink more water, and am taking one bio zinc tablet, 4 fish oil tablets a day, and I might start taking a vitamin D tablet a day, to prevent any break outs from stopping the pill. Have been doing all that for about a week, and my skin right now is the clearest it has been in years. However, my skin wouldn't look this good if I hadn't took Diane 35. Will keep you updated on how my skin goes. Good luck to you!

Edited by chloe192, 20 April 2012 - 02:47 AM.

[hayleyx90]

Wow I'm glad to hear your skin is at its best right now. Its good that you've started with the supplements as soon as you've come of Diane 35, hopefully that will reduce the risk of your acne returning!
How bad was your acne before you started the pill? I'm so scared of the weight gain and mood swings not to mention a huge flare up when I come off. How long were you on it for? I used to take zinc and it helped with my skin quite a bit, but I was getting tired of taking so many tablets a day. I might try it again with fish oil tablets too.
Anyway hopefully your healthy diet and supplements will keep your skin clear!! Keep me posted, will be interested to hear how you get on!
xxx

[Shantess]

I took Diane-35 for 10 years. I started getting acne when I was 9 years old. I tried everything and I do mean everything, including 4 rounds of Accutane, before I started Diane. When I was on it, I considered it to be nothing short of miraculous - my severe, cystic ance was gone within a few months and was completely "cured" for 10 years. I was nervous to go off of it (when my husband and I decided to try for children) but thought surely to god that at 31 years old, my skin would clear. Well, not so...things were ok for about 5 months and then my acne started coming back. At first it wasn't so bad but now it is the same if not a bit worse than 10 years prior. I've done some research and I guess it's common for acne to return after stopping birth control until your hormone regulate themselves and in a lot of cases it comes back worse ("rebound acne". So sorry to be all debbi-downer but I wish I knew beforehand about this rebound-acne because I would have been extra careful with diet and some other remedies. So just beware.