Hi I am 25. I have been on pills, lots of different types but mostly TriCyclen since I was like 12. I had never gotten pimples, breakouts/ NEVER. Till one day I was soo tired of being nausiated, one of the side effects I decided to try something with lower dose of estrogen, doctors orders. Well big mistake, I broke out. I have been stuggling with acne now since age 21 till today. When I got pregnant in 2001, my face lit up like a light, and I had pimples so bad I looked like I had chicken pox, no joke. Let me tell you it was and still to this day has been the most emotional effect on my self-esteem. I have since then tried several pills, antibiotics, almost every creme you can imagine, pro active, NOTHING has worked. So today I decided to come on the old internet and search for answers. I found this board and thought I would give you all some insight. I found that the number one cause for this horrible condition is high testosterone levels, this is why birth control pills help, I dont know if you all even knew why they prescribe them but this is why. The levels of estrogen in the pills help to lower the high levels of testosterone. Here is the thing though. You all might be thinking ok, so what. Well this is a disease called PCOS Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, and strangely as it sounds the number one treatment for it is indeed the birth control method. So considering that since I was 12 I had never had a pimple and then I stopped the pill and had a outbread beyond control, it seems that being on a good high dose estrogen pill might just be the answer after all. Please I urge you all to ask your doctors about this PCOS, and also search it on the computer, you will be surprised.
So I hope this helps, I will be trying either the Orthra Evra, TryiCyclen again, or maybe the Micrette.

By the way for all you suffering from Acne, I too know that it is a horrible condition and even though I have a gorgeous son it is hard to go outside and show him off because I am so emotionally scarred. But with God in my life I have found a new since of security, one that no pill, creme, shot can give

Good Luck
&
God Bless

I'm getting ready to start my 3rd pack of ortho tricyclen lo. I had heard all these great things about it, and some of them were true. I haven't had any weight gain yet and the cramps have decreased significantly. However, my acne has gotten out of control. I'm really upset by this, because I used to have an occasional breakout here and there, but now it's rare to wake up and not have a new pimple to add to my forehead. Not just the small ones, but the painful ones that leave scars behind! Does the regular pill help any better with acne? I was told by my doc that they were about the same, however the regular pill is used for females weighing over 180 lbs. I gave the pill a high/good rating for affordability because it is free through the university as long as you're a student.

I hate this stuff, i was on Ortho tri-cyclen and ortho tri-cyclen LO for almost a year and it did nothing for my skin. So i decided to get off it because I didnt like the risk of side effects and also it gave me other personal discomforts (including no help with acne), a week after i stopped the pill my body was destroyed. I gained at least 10pounds out of nowhere and because of that my skin ripped resulting in stretch marks, my period was all over the calender for the next 3 months, and i broke out like mad. Since then my body has never been the same. It totally ravaged me!!NOT RECoMMenDED!!!

Major Point: Ortho tri cyclen and Ortho tri cyclen lo are two completely different products.

I have been on ortho tri cyclen lo for the past few months. I hate this pill so much that I just stopped taking it today even though I'm in the middle of a pack. It's not worth the side effects at all. I have broken out like crazy. I never used to break out, ever. On top of that I've gained about 5 pounds in less than 2 months and I am so moody and bratty.

This is my first time experimenting with birth control pills and it has been so horrible that I will never take them again. If the lo will give me such bad side effects I don't even want to try the regular.

FYI: Dont' use lo for acne treatment. Even the ortho tri cyclen lo website says that there is no evidence of the pill helping acne.

I have been on Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo for 3 months, and have just started my 4th month. I feel like my skin has only gotten worse so far. Whereas before I always had the whitehead type of pimples, now I have these hard painful cysts that last for weeks and never really form a head. I know that you are technically supposed to wait 6 months before you see improvement, but many people on this message board have said that they see improvement right away.

I've been on Depo provera for two years with only one break when I couldnt afford the $60 refill on my prescription. And sinse then I have been breaking out like crazy.. all on my cheeks and a little bit on my chin. And not the little pimples but the fricken cystic pimples that hurt like hell and take forever to go away. So ..my point is.. I'm wondering if the depo is causing my skin to go haywire... and I want to switch to OTC regular.. but am a little nervous... so I was wondering if anyone could tell me if they had the same experience... also.. how long should it take me to get my period agian after being on depo?

i just started Ortho Tri-cyclen exactly one month ago, and so far here are my findings:

-i have had MORE breakouts then before i started using the pill, but my skin is softer and less oily in general then it was before
-i had some irregular spotting and my period was actually heavier then usual but lasted for a shorter period of time
-i have gained a couple pounds but i'm not sure if it was necessarily the pill that made me eat more
-didn't really notice any moodswings or emotional side-effects

Even though what i've experienced so far doesn't seem promising, I want to keep using the pill for a while and see what happens. Obviously you cannot expect something to clear up your skin completely immediately upon starting to take it, and i've heard somewhere that before your skin can begin to break out less, it has to expell all of the already-existing infection it has. (like when you start to take accutane it gets horrible first and better later on).

So i'm going to remain patient, let the pill take it's effect, and see what my doctor has to say in a couple months when i go for my physical. I, like everyone else here really want my skin to get better, i've tried proactive, tons of different face washes and systems, and payed hundreds of dollars for microdermabrasion and facails, etc.

Hopefully this is the answer for me like it has been for so many other poeple! As far as price i get it free from my university (Guelph) so that's always good.. Good luck everyone!

Hello all. So I was verrry nervous about trying birth control for my acne, but it was at the point where I was going to go crazy if something didn't work soon. So, I did try it. I am JUST started my second month TODAY and I have seen an AMAZING difference in my skin already. I am in shock with the difference I have already seen and can't wait to see what happens after 6 months of using it. My face was really bad, to the point that I would not leave the house, break plans, and even go to a drive thru somewhere to get a drink, rather than going into a store. Now, I can go in to a store and not feel like people are staring at me, which I'm sure they weren't to begin with but it sometimes seemed like they were because I was so self-conscious. If you have tried everything and nothing has worked, try BC. It could be worth it, it was for me. I am so much happier now. I have not gained any weight, as of yet anyways. Hopefully it stays that way. I haven't had any out of the ordinary mood swings or anything. I have been reading this site for a long time, seeing what people thought of taking BC and I want to write to people out there that were in the same position I was and let them know, it's worth a shot. It worked for me. I might not work for you but you don't know til you try, and like in my case, it could be worth a try. Goodluck to all of you struggling with acne. Write back if you have any comments or questions. Kepp smiling ya'll (:

Liz

I started taking ortho tri-cyclen about 3 years ago. I've always had oily skin so ofcourse I had the occasional acne breakouts. After I started taking the pill, I noticed immediately that my skin was clearing up. This fact was again proven when people who haven't seen me in a while comment about how much better my skin looks and ask me what I've been doing. I haven't had any other side effects. And I think it's great having a period that stays on just a couple of days, that is light and has no cramping. And to Anonymous CA, I have taken other bc that have not helped with my acne and I don't feel you are in any position to call others ignorant and my doctor has said that , through her experience, ortho tri-cyclen does clear up acne better than others and I think I'll listen to a professional over you because I can tell by reading your comment that you are in no way a doctor!

I went on OTC for acne and it worked for me. I had localized break outs on my chin, and they cleared up within 2 months of starting OTC. I went on TriSprintic(OTC generic) when it came out and it didn't work as well, so I switched back to OTC. My chin has cleared up, but I am breaking out now on my cheek, but I blame that on my experimentation with Pro-Active.

For some people it takes a few tries with different pills to find one that works with their body. I got lucky the first time with OTC which made my life easier in so many ways other than clearing up my acne.

And I'll pass on advice I got from my doctor (endocronolgist) - if the pill makes you nauseous, try taking it before bed. You'll sleep through the mild nausea.