Ortho Tri-Cyclen (Birth control) Reviews

I just received a couple of packs of OTC Lo today. But geez after reading all this, I might as well shoot myself as to take these! Hopefully they will work better for me than they have everyone else.

I started taking the Lo pills a little over a year ago strictly for my horrible cystic acne that I have suffered with since I was 13 (now I'm 21). I've tried everything for my acne and nothing seemed to work so I thought I'd give the pill a try. Wow! I thought it was a miracle drug for the first 7 months of being on it. It completely cleared up my acne and made me the happiest girl in the world. However, a couple of months ago I don't know what happened but my acne came back with a vengance! Plus, I've gained almost 20 lbs. in a year's time and I've been alot moodier. All those months of clear skin and then I wake up one morning BOOM! acne everywhere!! So when I went to see my ob-gyn last week he prescribed Yasmin for me to try. He thought that Yasmin may work better for my skin. I haven't tried it yet since I need to finish off this pack of Ortho Lo. So hopefully it will work for me...

I've had acne since I was 12, two years before I started my actual period. It started as blackheads on my nose, and over the last 13 years, it has moved to different areas of my face. It's not cystic and I hardly ever get the ones that hurt, but it just doesn't go away. I had OCD in high school and scarred myself to death trying to get the sebum and oil out of my face.

Don't pick.


I used pills in high school for about 3 weeks, until the school nurse thought someone was giving me food poisoning; then,I had to own up that I was on the pill. It made me deathly ill to my stomach, and I absolutly hated it. I have never taken the pill since.

My boyfriend and I managed not to get pregnant for 7 years using the ole' "pull out" method, all becasue of my fear of birth control. I went in for a pap and the nurse introduced me to Nuvaring. I was skeptical, but I tried it. It is absolutly wonderful.

It's works like a tampon--you just slide it in and it stays put. You keep it in for 3 weeks, take it out for one, and then start the process over with a new ring.

I love it. The ring psyched me out when I had nausea
(b/c I wasn't taking it orally, I psychologically didn't connect the nausea with something a ate). and...my acne WENT AWAY. Just gone. My sister (who I introduced to moisturizer before she was 10) couldn't believe what I looked like without makeup. My other sister is getting the Nuvaring on her next cycle. After my first cycle using it, I barely had any nasuea at all. I couldn't afford it this month, and my face is a war zone. That's how I know it works.

I was taking Yasmin, thought that it might be causing my sudden severe acne (had some in the past, but tolerable), so I switched to Ortho Tricylen Lo, but pharmacy has been giving me the generic Trinessa. Never been worse in my life, I have a dermo appt in 3 weeks, so I guess I'll wait it out.

I was on OTC for about 2 years, it did great for my acne which I had struggled with since sixth grade. I didn't gain that much weight and didn't notice mood swings, but I didn't have a sex drive either. I enjoyed it for the most part. I got off BC for about 4 months and then got back on it but my Doc put me on Yasmin, which made me absolutely nutty, horrible mood swings. I then went to Trinesa, I hate it, I've got acne again that I struggle with constantly and gained weight, I'm about to now start OTC lo, I hope this works??? Cross your fingers.

I switched from Depo (3 years) to Lunelle (6 months - awful) to Ortho-Tri-Lo (1 yr). I lost 5 lbs on the Depo, then gained 40 pounds and got severe acne on the ortho-tri-lo. I used to cute & tiny, the Ortho made me puffy & chubby, & the depo has kept me from gaining or losing any weight. I switched back to depo & have had it for another year & 1/2, but am now switching to yasmin.

I have never had any acne problems, but needed to be on birth control for obvious reasons...I have tried the Depo shot (huge weight gain!), Seasonal (big huge zits and a lot of scaring!), OTC-Lo (big zits around my chin only!) and OTC (which made my sex drive non-existant!). I hope I can find something that doesn't give me any of these terrible side effects! GEEZ

OTC (regular) worked perfect! I used to get many small bumps on my forehead and minor acne on my face. While on the pill I didn't need to apply any heavy creams or anything because my skin made a huge improvement. It only took like a month to see results. I highly recommend it for people with combination skin and minor but sometimes embarassing acne.

Ok listen, I had horrible acne from the age of 12. We tried everything, I mean everything, shots, differin, cetaphyl, glucolic acid, salicylic acid, accutane...nothing worked. Then we decided to do Ortho-tri-cyclen. I opted to get the generic version, Trinessa, thinking it was the same thing, but NO.

If you read one thing in this post, read this: You shouldn't comprimise where medication is involved, especially when it has such emotional ramifications. Yes, often generic medicine really is the same, but not always.

Trinessa was a huge mistake for me. This is what happened almost immediately:
- acne got much worse
- weight gain
- severe moodswings
- depression

Then I switched to the actual brand Ortho-tri-cyclen. After a month my skin was clear. The moodiness and depression stopped. I lost some of the weight but still not all of it. Ortho might have something to do with the extra weight that I still carry, but I'm not sure. I'm 19, and I'm so happy to have clear skin (with the exception of some faint scars) and being able to leave the house without wearing foundation that I don't want to switch, even with the weight. I'm just working on compensating with extra excercise etc. If you have terrible skin that doesn't respond to anything, Ortho might be a good step to take. Only a few people gain weight from it, if any, I don't know anyone who's taken it for skin and hasn't seen positive results.

**Oh, also, Orth Lo doesn't do anything for skin, just birth control. Look it up.

Ortho TriCyclen worked really well for me when I was about 15. Then my clinic switched to Desogen, which worked equally well seemed to affect me less in terms of my mood. I never gained weight on either of the pills. I stopped taking all pills when I was 16 1/2 and now, at age 18, I'll be going back on Ortho TriCyclen. By coincidence, I'm going to a wedding in less than two weeks, and I really hope my face clears up. It was never really bad until I strayed from the path of sobriety (oops) and it got really messed up, all those toxins in my body. I've been clean now for almost six months and I wish it would get better. Here's hopin'!