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Oh yeah? Eh Better than being overweight. The pills don't make you crave stuff? I feel like I do...
that usually happens when you first start taking birth control pills. They increase your blood pressure which increases your appetite....On Yasmin I gained 10+ pounds....I looked round, my face looked chubby, I had a slight gut in my stomach...but now that I've been on the artificial hormones for 5 years I don't have those side effects anymore lol...haven't gained a pound on this pill so far..
Pack 3, Day 10
Day 2 Minocycline
I had a really crappy skin day today. And today I had to go to a event to meet a potential employer, thank god he wasn't there. But I still went and my skin looked TERRIBLE. I woke up this morning first of all, my body all tense, my chest full and heavy from the BCP, sore...It's the 2nd week woes, thought it couldn't get worse....The pimples on the left side of my face sort of turned into cysts. About 3 of them. And then inbetween my eyebrows formed a little cluster of pimples. Couldn't even cover them up with my MUFE HD, powder, and HD powder, which break me out themselves but I had to wear them. Just felt really awful today and looked it..so pale and ghastly...The BCP seems to be doing everything in its power to BREAK me out, not HELP my skin, because even the Mino isnt working so well.
So were very similar except that I have 383737373737272 scars
you're skin underneath looks beautiful! So be hopeful?
hah thanks...I guess I am..kind of...are you using any topical treatments? I think my Duac gel helps to fade scars more quickly because I'm a sucker at not picking, and they fade relatively fast for how OCD with my skin I am..
Oh my mom got one online it's something with an a. It doesn't help with scars but definitely kills the suckers(: I'll ask my doctor.
Betsy! Is that you in your pic? You're gorgeous! And your skin is flawless...you girls should post progress pics too of your skin...I feel like I have the worst acne on this board lol.
Pack 3, Day 11
Day 3 Minocycline
the string of cysts on the right side of my face look awful, as well as the breakout between my eyebrows...left side of the face is clearing a bit. This breakout from the second week has ravaged my chin area....my forehead is not breaking out as much as last month..
Here is one of my topics on acne face mapping..I find this interesting..
That is with loads and loads and loads and loads and loads of makeup 🙁 lol I'll post some only because I don't want you to think I'm on of those people that complain about stuff when they're skin is like near perfect lol it took me so much courage to post that 🙁
Ahhahhah its okay i put tons of makeup also and my pics would turn out good when its edited haha.
That is with loads and loads and loads and loads and loads of makeup
yes please do post pics, just of the problem areas you have~
the only reason why I'm doing this photo log to begin with is because first, I want people to see how bad the initial breakout is on this pill, and also, in a few months (when I'm clear *hopefully*!) I can look back through the months and be like wow my skin was horrible...
hey ladies, so I've tried my best to read all the entries and your progress. I sounds like there hasn't been progress, but horrible nasty breakouts for both of you 
I so badly want to scream and totally feel your pain!!!!! I don't even know where to begin. I'm surprised that you are still taking this form of birth control!! The initial breakout shouldn't be THIS bad. I'm telling you, the generic form of Ortho-tricyclen is NOT the same as the name brand! I took the generic form like you and I broke out in CYSTS EVERYWHERE!!!! Even on my lower back just like you have been describing. Omgosh it was soo painful everywhere! I can't figure out how to post my pics (in this reply) of this breakout I'm talking about. It was the WORST I had EVER seen my skin. Not even before accutane was it this bad.
I switched to the name brand ortho-tricyclen in February, and the hormonal acne STOPPED. NO MORE CYSTS. No more painful lesions on my back. I have been on it since and haven't seen a cyst or crazy hormonal acne (except foods that throw my hormones off like dairy). It all disappeared.
Please please please reconsider taking a different form. Yes, it does take a few months to work, but there's no reason to keep suffering. It's obviously not helping your hormones. I wouldn't say this if I hadn't been down that path, but I am speaking from personal painful experience. I saw your photos of what your skin looked like before, and it was not even moderate acne. If you tell me how to post pics in a reply like this (I don't want to upload them in an album) I will GLADLY show you before and after, and let you decide if you want to continue with this birth control.....
hey ladies, so I've tried my best to read all the entries and your progress. I sounds like there hasn't been progress, but horrible nasty breakouts for both of you
I so badly want to scream and totally feel your pain!!!!! I don't even know where to begin. I'm surprised that you are still taking this form of birth control!! The initial breakout shouldn't be THIS bad. I'm telling you, the generic form of Ortho-tricyclen is NOT the same as the name brand! I took the generic form like you and I broke out in CYSTS EVERYWHERE!!!! Even on my lower back just like you have been describing. Omgosh it was soo painful everywhere! I can't figure out how to post my pics (in this reply) of this breakout I'm talking about. It was the WORST I had EVER seen my skin. Not even before accutane was it this bad.
I switched to the name brand ortho-tricyclen in February, and the hormonal acne STOPPED. NO MORE CYSTS. No more painful lesions on my back. I have been on it since and haven't seen a cyst or crazy hormonal acne (except foods that throw my hormones off like dairy). It all disappeared.
Please please please reconsider taking a different form. Yes, it does take a few months to work, but there's no reason to keep suffering. It's obviously not helping your hormones. I wouldn't say this if I hadn't been down that path, but I am speaking from personal painful experience. I saw your photos of what your skin looked like before, and it was not even moderate acne. If you tell me how to post pics in a reply like this (I don't want to upload them in an album) I will GLADLY show you before and after, and let you decide if you want to continue with this birth control.....
ugh I feel like killing myself now.......ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh because I was so hoping after these long 2.5 months that this was just the initial breakout and I was determined to stick it out.....this is what is says online about the generic form
" The key requirement is that the active agents in generics are chemically identical and function the same in the body as brand-name versions, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
When I reached the company that makes TriNessa, a spokeswoman said there is no difference between TriNessa and Ortho Tri-Cyclen.
œTrinessa is made in the same facility and under the same protocol as the Ortho Tri Cyclen product. The only thing different with the Watson product versus the Ortho product is the tablet imprint which is used to identify the product,"
I really don't know what to do, I don't even know if my pharmacy carries the name brand and I don't know how to switch and I don't know how much more it will cost........so so confused......and my face is hurting right now from all the cysts. =(
by the way you post pictures by going to the "add reply" button at the top, in the reply box (above it) there is a little photo icon for adding pictures, enter in the URL.
If your photo is not already online, you can upload it on imageshack.com and then copy the url here
How much do you pay for the name brand?
I AM SO CONFUSED =((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( ahg I FEEL LIKE SCREAMING
Look @ this girls
All generic medications must have certain tests to compare them to brand-name medications.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) then looks at these tests to decide if the generic versions are equivalent to the brand-name medications and assigns a rating to each one. An "AB" rating means that the FDA has determined that a generic medication is equivalent to a brand-name medication. Tri-Sprintec and TriNessa each have an "AB" rating, meaning they should be equivalent to Ortho Tri-Cyclen.
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Mhmmm idk what to think....
What do you think cali?
I don't know. I was going to ask you..
the generics and the brand name have the same active ingredients, the inactive ingredients which might be different don't play a huge role in my opinion. My body has tolerated a lot..
I've been on generic forms before with no problem.
and all of us are breaking out, and even Katrina who was on the brand name was breaking out in the first 3 months.
and I can't afford a $50 brand name pill every month..
@y3rfd0g~ do you think maybe it was a coincidence you stopped breaking out when you switched from generic to name brand because you already went thru the initial breakout when u were on generics, and then when u switched that period was over? How many months were u on the generic form?
*trying not to get so stressed which causes more breakouts* DEEP BREATH
LOL your funny. Well what I'm keeping in mind is what you told me about how its the pill with the most initial breakout. People do say it keeps you clear but it just takes time. AS WITH EVERYTHING. I'm gonna stay on it and stay positive because my break outs are slowly diminishing.... And this pill is FDA approved after all.... My body just needs to get used to it... I find it slowly is.... I'm getting less nauseous and less breakouts... It just takes time but people do get clear.... I wonder how long she did it for? And I don't think it takes just three months for your body to get used to it... I'd say like four or five but I don't want to start a whole new pill and mess up my hormones AGAIN, it's just too much trauma to my body =\
Even though the FDA says they are the same (which they hypothetically should be) it's well-known that generic brands are not always as effective as name brands. Your body responds differently to the synthetic hormones. So, you would rather continue taking a cheap form of birth control and continue breaking out in cysts, than buying a birth control that will not cause the same harm? Your skin was considerably clear, compared to where you're at now. I do not believe that ANY medication should cause initial breakouts. That's just the company's scam to make you continue purchasing their product. How I wish I would have stopped so many medications the first sign of a breakout, because I STILL suffer the scars.
I'll try to actually post a log about my journey in the diet/holistic or maybe the hormonal treatment forum and include pics of my journey. I'll also include all the makeups, moisturizers, prescriptions, etc that I've tried and didn't work or made my skin worse. I don't know if I want to post more pics on the web (imageshack). Or you can look in my recent blogs (maybe gallery) because I've included past and present pics.
I'll just give a brief timeline of my acne and with birth control.
I've been on birth control (ortho tricyclen) since I was 12 years old. I'm now 22. I went off when I was 18 (2008) because I didn't like getting nauseated all the time. Broke out in cysts EVERYWHERE. Went on accutane in 2009 and back on the ortho-tricyclen low because it has less hormones. Acne cleared for the most part (cysts wise) but still had some breakouts post accutane.
Flash forward to September 2010. I started using proactiv's gentle formula (salicylic acid) since I was allergic to benzoyl peroxide. Around October 2010, I switched from my generic ortho-tricyclen (I honestly can't remember the name of it) to another name brand. I also switched shampoo to some Loreal kind. I erupted in cysts every where- forehead, jawline, neck, cheeks, and even on my back. In november 2010, my sister gave me Everyday minerals to wear, and my skin continued to go down hill!!
In January 2011, I found this site. I stopped using salicylic acid stuff from proactiv, I changed shampoos to an organic one, I changed makeup, I stopped washing my clothes and towels in detergent, I stopped eating caffeine and dairy, and I tried Dan's regimen. I told my doctor I wanted a prescription for the REAL birth control and none of this cheap crap. I was on the "bad" generic birth control for about 5 months and it NEVER let up.
So yes, evidently there have been many other factors that have TREMENDOUSLY helped my skin, but that birth control was just messing up my hormones like crazy. I just used the birth control I know worked in the past. I used it for 6 years without any cystic breakouts EVER. I've been on ortho-tricyclen for about 10 months now. After the switch, It took about another 3 months for the hormonal acne and cysts to completely stop. Everyone's health insurance is different, but I pay about 40 bucks for the birth control (compared to about 10 bucks with generic). My mom actually pays for all my medical right now, so I don't actually pay for it. You can just call your pharmacy or when you go to get your prescription, and just ask if they have the name brand in stock. It shouldn't be a problem to switch from generic to brand name (granted your insurance covers it).
Why don't you go back on the form of birth control that worked for you in the past? Was it Yaz?
I don't mean to sound like I'm going against you or anything I'm just curious with questions. Weren't you on a bunch of bc pills? That can mess up your hormones too? This is my first time on the pill. Why were you on it since 12?! I just don't want to give up because Im noticing a clearing... It's just that the second week i break out. But my body of course is getting used to the hormones so I'm like a teenager right now, I feel like it's normal for me to break out... I think an IB is okay in things. Accutane gives you an IB, even being holistic does too.... Most things do don't they? Especially the ones that work? I'm so confused and scared to make the wrong decision
So yes, evidently there have been many other factors that have TREMENDOUSLY helped my skin, but that birth control was just messing up my hormones like crazy. I just used the birth control I know worked in the past. I used it for 6 years without any cystic breakouts EVER. I've been on ortho-tricyclen for about 10 months now. After the switch, It took about another 3 months for the hormonal acne and cysts to completely stop. Everyone's health insurance is different, but I pay about 40 bucks for the birth control (compared to about 10 bucks with generic). My mom actually pays for all my medical right now, so I don't actually pay for it. You can just call your pharmacy or when you go to get your prescription, and just ask if they have the name brand in stock. It shouldn't be a problem to switch from generic to brand name (granted your insurance covers it).
Why don't you go back on the form of birth control that worked for you in the past? Was it Yaz?
I was on Yasmin but I prefer not to stay on that for the longterm because it is not the most trusted birth control brand.
Just looking over your acne history, you say you switched from generic OTC to another name brand and erupted in cysts everywhere, that can happen when you switch to different brands because not every brand has the same combination of ingredients, thus the "initial breakout period" that I and I'm sure Betsy doesn't want to go thru again if we switch//
Also....ok so just doing a little adding up here, you were on the generic OTC for 5 months, and then you switched to name brand OTC, and it took 3 months for the cysts to stop. That's 8 months total on OTC and its generic form where docs say a four to six month period to get clear on a given BCP. And you say you've been on the pill since 12, so maybe your hormones (as my hormones) take a longer period to adjust than most girls? I know my hormones will take longer than most girls because I was on highdose birth control pill just a few months ago. My body was used to this surge of highdose hormones for 2 years, and that's why my "before" pics look quite clear, because they were still regulated by my previous BCP Ortho Novum. So when I started this low dose pill OTC, my body has to TOTALLY readjust, it won't be as simple as other girls just starting BCP for the first time in their lives..............hm....
note, I've never had an IB in the past because I've been on trusty Minocycline all the time. I didn't take Mino with this one because I wanted to go the "more natural route." But now I'm starting it up again, so we shall see!