100% yes. I've been lucky enough to be clear on BC (Yaz) before, and if you've never been completely clear before it's just the most amazing feeling. It's nice just to wake up and know my skin is going to be clear. I also get extreme anxiety which can be partly attributed to my acne, so for me at the moment, BC is allowing me to not have hide myself away when my skin gets bad.

As for side effects, I'm on Yaz, and I haven't had anything too bad - I did take two in one day once by accident and spotted for three weeks, which was crappy, and sometimes I get a bit of nausea when I take it but nothing I can't handle. Also I seem to lose weight when on Yaz (around 4kg!!!) which I can't complain about either.

If you haven't tried it, I would recommend it.

4th month on Diane-35 and I still don't know if it's doing me any justice. My skin hasn't cleared up yet, I still have my hormonal breakouts on the jaw and cheeks, though significantly less (or none) cysts. I take Diane in combination with Androcur, which blocks androgens.

If you want somewhat faster results, bcp is not for you. It can takes months until you get clear (or it can also happen that you won't). Also there's a risk for heavy side effects which I, luckily, don't experience. But in case your acne is truly hormonal or you have PCOS, it can help a great deal - my period is not late anymore, I don't experience any pain in my abdomen when it comes, my mood is more or less in control. I feel calmer, though it's weird cause many women have the opposite.

Also, I think some types of acne are more persistent and hard to treat with any type of medication...

I think I'm just making myself more stressed - I'm becoming too worried about all the associated risks. At the moment I don't think it's for me... I think I'll try a month of a process like the regimen (with store bought products) and then add in bcp if it isn't showing improvement. If more people come across this thread, I'd still love to hear your opinions though! It would really help!

100% yes. I've been lucky enough to be clear on BC (Yaz) before, and if you've never been completely clear before it's just the most amazing feeling. It's nice just to wake up and know my skin is going to be clear. I also get extreme anxiety which can be partly attributed to my acne, so for me at the moment, BC is allowing me to not have hide myself away when my skin gets bad.

As for side effects, I'm on Yaz, and I haven't had anything too bad - I did take two in one day once by accident and spotted for three weeks, which was crappy, and sometimes I get a bit of nausea when I take it but nothing I can't handle. Also I seem to lose weight when on Yaz (around 4kg!!!) which I can't complain about either.

If you haven't tried it, I would recommend it.

That's great it worked well for you!

I've come across some other users here who also have had good experiences and results for their skin with Yaz. My doctor prescribed a new pill called Zoely but gave me info about Yaz and Diane too... I guess when/if I decide to use bcp I'll ask more about Yaz or Diane as they both seem better for acne than Zoely. (One of Zoely's most common side effects is acne... so that's a bit off-putting)

It's a good point about the anxiety - I do get quite bad anxiety at times and often it's my acne that contributes to it... So finding something that helped my skin would help that also - which would be great!

4th month on Diane-35 and I still don't know if it's doing me any justice. My skin hasn't cleared up yet, I still have my hormonal breakouts on the jaw and cheeks, though significantly less (or none) cysts. I take Diane in combination with Androcur, which blocks androgens.

If you want somewhat faster results, bcp is not for you. It can takes months until you get clear (or it can also happen that you won't). Also there's a risk for heavy side effects which I, luckily, don't experience. But in case your acne is truly hormonal or you have PCOS, it can help a great deal - my period is not late anymore, I don't experience any pain in my abdomen when it comes, my mood is more or less in control. I feel calmer, though it's weird cause many women have the opposite.

Also, I think some types of acne are more persistent and hard to treat with any type of medication...

I do think it would be a slow process to clear up on the pill... At the moment I've been seeing some improvements in my skin so the thought of going through an initial breakout, or things getting worse than they are now before they possibly get better, is really worrying me.

The 'benefits' you mentioned sound great though - I've never had a 'regular' or predictable cycle (13 days later than 'predicted' this time ) and I often have horrible cramps the first day or so. My doctor thinks there's a slight chance I could have PCOS or be starting to develop it... my testosterone levels were fine but I think I had low progesterone levels so I might have another blood test to follow that up...

Doesn't Diane block androgens on its own?

Either way, I hope what your doing works well and you see improvement in your skin soon!

Birth control has worked for me. It didn't completely clear my acne but it did control a portion of it. Mostly the ones on my forehead and inner portions of my face. I was on birth control for about 4 years (Diane 35) and just stopped last month. I started The Regimen last January 2013 while still being on birth control and I got clear in 10 weeks being on the regimen.

I decided to quit the birth control because in the long run I didn't want to deal with its side effects. I am sure other will disagree with this but that is just me. I am sure different people experience different things especially using different birth control pills.

If you do decide to give it a go, make sure you talk to your doctor about it and make sure you get the right one for you. Google helps too!

Birth control has worked for me. It didn't completely clear my acne but it did control a portion of it. Mostly the ones on my forehead and inner portions of my face. I was on birth control for about 4 years (Diane 35) and just stopped last month. I started The Regimen last January 2013 while still being on birth control and I got clear in 10 weeks being on the regimen.

I decided to quit the birth control because in the long run I didn't want to deal with its side effects. I am sure other will disagree with this but that is just me. I am sure different people experience different things especially using different birth control pills.

If you do decide to give it a go, make sure you talk to your doctor about it and make sure you get the right one for you. Google helps too!

Thanks for the reply - Good to hear it helped you

I think google is the problem for me haha - I've been researching different types and the two main pills my doctor has recommended (Zoely or Diane) and have been worried over the side effects. And I know I don't want to take it 'forever' just for my skin and so I'd end up quitting it because, like you said, I don't want to deal with side effects in the long run.

I'm not ruling it out though. It's definitely still an option. I just think I'll try a process like the acne.org regimen (only it'll have to be on all store bought products) for a little while and then add in bcp if I think I need something more for my skin.

How has your skin been since stopping Diane?

 

Birth control has worked for me. It didn't completely clear my acne but it did control a portion of it. Mostly the ones on my forehead and inner portions of my face. I was on birth control for about 4 years (Diane 35) and just stopped last month. I started The Regimen last January 2013 while still being on birth control and I got clear in 10 weeks being on the regimen.

I decided to quit the birth control because in the long run I didn't want to deal with its side effects. I am sure other will disagree with this but that is just me. I am sure different people experience different things especially using different birth control pills.

If you do decide to give it a go, make sure you talk to your doctor about it and make sure you get the right one for you. Google helps too!

Thanks for the reply - Good to hear it helped you

I think google is the problem for me haha - I've been researching different types and the two main pills my doctor has recommended (Zoely or Diane) and have been worried over the side effects. And I know I don't want to take it 'forever' just for my skin and so I'd end up quitting it because, like you said, I don't want to deal with side effects in the long run.

I'm not ruling it out though. It's definitely still an option. I just think I'll try a process like the acne.org regimen (only it'll have to be on all store bought products) for a little while and then add in bcp if I think I need something more for my skin.

How has your skin been since stopping Diane?

Luckily my skin has kept clear after being off it for a little over a month now. I did start taking zinc and vitamin d3 supplements when I stopped the birth control sort of as a preventative measure along with the skin care regimen I was already doing. So far so good. Keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way.