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Hey ladies!
I was wondering who else's problems actually become so much worse after quitting diane 35? I started taking this pill at the age of 15, when I heard from a friend it was a magic anti-acne pill. I was so vain by that time, so I wouldn't rest until I would get it from my doctor. By that time my acne was very mild and had oily skin. She gave it to me and it worked pretty good on me!
After I stopped taking it at the age of 18 I broke out so bad! I couldn't figure that I would ever had so much acne. My period never came back.. went to the gyno after 8 months and she said I suffered from pcos. At my weight and my period history (very normal) this was a bit odd. Also, no one in my family is suffering from such issues.
I am still convinced that diane 35 did this to me. Feel so bad that I ever took it. Who else had the same problems with this pill? Sure, it works like magic while you're on it, but once you come off it, you turn out to be a complete mess!
By the way.. after being diagnosed with pcos I had to start take it again to get clear. Two years later I switched to a much lighter pill which I'm still taking. I still have acne.... Not nearly as bad as it used to be, but still acne prone at the age of 23.
I have had this same issue, although I possibly had worse acne before than you. Although I have never been diagnosed with PCOS, I have had a cyst on my ovary and suspect this condition plays a role. Things got bad in my mid 20s and I went on Accutane to clear up the acne, and went on Diane to maintain, as Accutane is notorious for not working on hormonal acne for women long term. I stayed clear for many years whilst taking Diane. Came off it last year to try and get preggers and had THE WORST breakout of my life, which I am still recovering from (requiring a second course of Accutane to do it). Alas.
However, I do not think the Diane caused me this problem, because I had it before the Diane. In fact, I am back on it and thankful that at least I know what to do to get back to clear. The clarity I had on Diane was a miracle for me, and I am just hoping it will work as well this time.
Diane has been accused of a lot of things over the years - mainly blood clots and heart issues, but, to my knowledge, there are no reports of it causing PCOS. In fact, as in my experience, it is quite useful for controlling this problem and its side effects (like acne).
So, although I AM NOT A DOCTOR, I would guess that PCOS is an underlying condition for you that was controlled by the Diane until you went off it, and then it went haywire. I barely had acne in my teens as well, so the fact that you didn't have it as bad before is not necessarily an indication that the Diane is responsible. Hormonal acne issues usually surface around age 20ish for women.
However, I will be interested to see if others have had experiences with this. Maybe there is some connection that just hasn't surfaced yet? Curious.
woow, I'm so sorry to hear all that! Must be hard... also having problems getting pregnant? Or aren't you not allowed to get pregnant now you've taken accutane again?
I know they said pcos was not a side effect, but I figured because diane 35 completely fights androgens, they might 'fight' back after you come off. I've read on other acne blogs that people would also get this problem when coming off yasmin/diane 35. Not necessary with pcos but with the acne...
Another girl in the hollistic forum advised me to so a naturpath to help me get off birth control. I would love to come off it, but I'm too scared that thing would happen to me again. I don't wanna go and waste my life over stupid hormonal problems...
Birth control worsened my acne permanently to moderate acne. I would never recommend it as once you get off it gets worse. It was a permanent effect for me personally.
This is quite a generalization and just so people don't get freaked out, I should point out that it's definitely different for everyone. I've been on three different types of birth control and I went on and off the first two types a couple of times. My acne (mild-moderate cystic) did not really get much better when I was on them and definitely did not get worse after going off them. These two types were relatively low dose I think - Alesse and Minocin. I'm on Diane 35 right now and I think it's a bit of a different story with this one since it's stronger. But those lower dose ones, tons of people go on and off them with no long term effects on acne whatsoever.