Ortho Tri-Cyclen (Birth control) Reviews

It's so nice to find this place -- I didn't know anyone else was having these problems.

I was on OTC regular from around age 15 to 22. It was amazing. Cleared up my acne COMPLETELY, periods regular as clockwork, etc. Then I kept hearing about these "low dose" pills, and stopped taking OTC... My skin flared up, and I went on Alesse, because my gyno said it was lo dose and not the tri-step. Horrible idea. She really should not have let me use that brand: it has an older form of progesterine in it, which made my skin really awful. Back acne (never had that before in my life), and zits where I'd never gotten them before (especially on my cheeks). So now I'm on OTC-lo, and have been for about 4 months. I've seen very little improvement: is it time to throw in the towel? I'm hoping to go back on OTC regular, and (crossing fingers), get my skin back!! I just can't stand this. I'm 23, I shouldn't still have to worry constantly about acne!! I don't want to worry about scars, either. Now that it's been a year of dealing with this, I really want to get my life back. I'm tired of feeling like I can't go out of the house without concealer.

I have been on OTC-lo for about 6 months now. I am 21 years old, and before I had great skin. A month into the pill, I started breaking out, esp. on my temples, and in places I never had acne before, like my cheeks and on my hairline. After doing some research, the trend of the pill is to clear up acne if you have it and make you break out at first if you don't. My skin is pretty good now, but I still have to really pay attention to my face. I called my gyno., and he said see a dermatologist, because the pills shouldn't make your skin do this (obviously, we all know something different is going on!). Here are some tips I can give you:

1. Wash your face twice a day with an oil free, fragrance free cleanser. I like oil of olay cleanser for sensitive skin, $6. It seems like the pill makes you not just break out, but makes you more supseptible to break outs, so anything with fragrance and dyes seems to make my skin break out more.
2. You have to use some kind of acne-specific medicine on your breakout area once a day. If something says spot gel, put it only directly on zits, because it will irritate areas that are nice and free of acne! Medicated pads are good to use all over the face every other day, and spot gel is nice in between.
3. To fix acne scars, rub vitamin e or neosporin on them.
4. Don't wear lots of makeup, its only going to make you break out more. And if you feel like you have to, be sure and wash it completely off before you go to bed at night.
5. I hear monthly facials and jojoba oil are magic.

I am just starting to take Tri-Sprintec for birth control and to help clear my acne. I've been taking it for a week and so far, my acne has shown no improvement. Does anyone know how long it takes for it to start working? I also hear that some people say it makes their skin worse. Does anyone have any opinions on Tri-Sprintec?

I have been taking Tri-Nessa for about a year now. I used to take OTC. I honestly don't see a difference. If you don't have insurance the Tri-Nessa is a lot cheaper. It def. does make your boobs swell. I went from a C to a D. I did gain some weight as well. I never had acne, but did have some breakouts during my period and this helped clear it up. I would def. recommend Tri-Nessa.

I'm starting my 3rd month on Ortho-lo. The first month I was on it I had some of the worst breakouts I have ever had in my life. I was told by my gyno, and have read numerous articles online that for a birth control pill to fully get used to your body you have to give it 3 months. By the end of the 2nd month my skin was much, much clearer than it was compared to the first month I was on it. Considering the difference in my skin from the 2nd month compared to the 1st month I'm assuming (hopefully) the 3rd month will continue to improve, then the 4th month, and so on etc. I only gave it a rating of 3 considering I'm still breaking out a little, but compared to what my breakouts before my period used to be like it's an improvement. If after the 3rd month I'm still breaking out, or if it's gotten better I'll come back and update either way.

This is in reply to anonymous, cleveland. I know that if you don't have insurance and want the actual name brand ortho tri-cyclen it can be expensive if you don't have insurance. it's definitely over $50 a month (not sure what the exact number is) which is expensive to me. what i had to do is take a clone drug called tri-nessa which only costs $10 a month. it's made by the same ppl. as ortho tri-cyclen and has the exact makeup that ortho has but it is w/o the trademark name to lower the price. i don't know why they do that but that would be my suggestion for you. i don't know about yas