I just wanted to update (even though nobody responded to this question) in case somebody experiencing the same thing stumbles upon this post via google (I know that's how I first found this site). Although my face looked like a cystic acne battleground for the first week of ortho tri cyclen, I can say now towards the end of week 2 that my skin has been healing and clearing. I am not noticing much more acne and if I have developed any they have been rather small and they clear quickly (know I've been using Epiduo this entire time, which I had been using for a few weeks prior to the BCP). I think my body is finally getting used to the hormones in the pills which is awesome, the only thing I still have to see is what happens when I take the week of sugar pills and how I react to that. But so far, my acne actually seems to be responding well to this BCP.

I am currently dealing with what I think is the ibo from switching to TriNessa (the generic form of Ortho TriCyclen) from Yaz. I really like what the pill does for my overall mood and sense of well-being, but the breakout has been terrible. I started doing the Regime a few days ago and simultaneously started the last week of active pills. I am seeing a lot of improvement, but don't know if that is just my body getting used to the pill. How is your skin reacting to the sugar pills?

I don't know if this is comparable, but I just started Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo two weeks ago. I got a few small cysts on my forehead that never surfaced, and are almost gone, and one or two minuscule spots on my chin. I got a brief jawline breakout, but it was isolated and went away quickly. So yes, I had an IB, but I'm still waiting to see results. Going to wait the full 3 months of course. Keep us updated on your progress!

I'm curious if some of the cystic spots along my jaw are from OTC Lo or from my immensely terrible clogged pore fest that is healing up now with BP..

In my case, I'm on the second week of the second pack. It's nothing major so far (*cross fingers*) but painful. I took OTC Lo back in highschool for 3 years and never had any issues. I'm hoping this is just the teething process and that it'll subside once I go into the third package.

My first "period" after the first pack brought with it many small zits along my hairline on my forehead (where I hardly break out). They healed up fairly quickly but of course left lovely red spots. Argh!

I'm curious if some of the cystic spots along my jaw are from OTC Lo or from my immensely terrible clogged pore fest that is healing up now with BP..

In my case, I'm on the second week of the second pack. It's nothing major so far (*cross fingers*) but painful. I took OTC Lo back in highschool for 3 years and never had any issues. I'm hoping this is just the teething process and that it'll subside once I go into the third package.

My first "period" after the first pack brought with it many small zits along my hairline on my forehead (where I hardly break out). They healed up fairly quickly but of course left lovely red spots. Argh!

OMG you're also on OTC Lo?! I haven't been able to find anyone on here who's using it! Please update! Also how was your initial breakout?

Hi! Not sure what I can say about it. You can ask me any questions though.

The initial breakout was just tiny spots, they went away pretty quickly. I'm pretty certain that it was the IB, because it couldn't have been anything else.

Basically, I went back on to birth control because my acne at the beginning of the summer was jut getting worse and worse and I was scared. I took Diane 35 in highschool for about a year until my doctor switched me over to OTC Lo. I just remembered how clear I was with these drugs and wanted to go back. So this summer, I actually started with Diane 35. But after I realised the acne was being caused more by the clogged pores from ocm than hormones, I wanted to switch off the Diane because I was a bit afraid of side effects I'd read about.

Sidenote... how much EASIER my life was when I didn't spend all my time researching things and getting obsessed with my skin (seriously, my crazy "ocd-ness" with my skin has just made it worse.

The transition to OTC Lo was painless, I've not noticed any side effects at all. The main side effect I got from Diane 35 was breast tenderness. They got bigger too, which was nice. Haha! But that didn't last with the OTC Lo.

Don't know if this helps at all but it's my story of how I got back on it.

If anyone is curious about my progress, I'm on like month 3 or 4 and I love this BCP. I don't ever break out. The only complications I have are mild constipation and the feeling of bloating week 2. I react fine to the sugar pill week. The IB was gone after month 1, so were the insane food cravings haha.

Dariand I'm so glad to hear this!!! I just picked up my pack of OTC and cannot wait to start next week. I am currently on the generic brand Tri-previferm and I think my first month freaked me out senseless!!! I switched to the brand name!

i was on tri-previferm and went from having clear, beautiful skin to acne, acne, acne.. i stopped taking it halfway through my first pack because i couldn't deal with it anymore. I'm thinking of switching to the name brand but I'm scared!!

I think everyone reacts differently to the hormones in the pill. In my case, I actually started out with pretty bad acne as a result of a past eating disorder (which usually increases androgens and lowers estrogens - hence losing your period) so I was looking for something that would bring estrogen back into my body and lower the amount of androgens I had. This is essentially what ortho-tri-cyclen does, so it works great for me. The root cause of my acne was a hormonal imbalance, or a lack of estrogen, so this pill had exactly the hormones I needed. Ortho is actually meant to help people with acne fix their acne because of the hormones it has in it, so it probably wasn't the best pill for you to start taking when you didn't have acne/a hormonal imbalance in the first place, just saying.

Hi everyone,

First of all, thank you for your account and your updates, Dariand. I'm crossing my fingers things will even out for me as well. I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen (regular, not Lo) from age 16 for hormonal acne; I am very androgenic, apparently, as I remember it developed at age 10, years before I got my period. So much fun!

I went off OTC and onto a monophasic pill (Lutera) in March 2013 simply to see if my body would react in any positive way- I'd heard that monophasics are better for some folks in terms of mood swings and weight/water retention. I'd like to stress that I was NOT experiencing these side effects noticeably on OTC, but I was curious to see if there was, in fact, anything that would change if I switched. My face was very clear with maybe 1-2 pimples weekly; oilyness higher than your average unafflicated person, but smooth and unclogged skin, mostly. I got too confident!

I switched and witnessed a slow downward decline. My face broke out more every month on Lutera- it just was not right for me. Otherwise, no side effects. So I went off it for about a month- again, just to see what would happen (I'm a scientist professionally- I love experiments I guess???). I broke out TERRIBLY and my sebum production exploded. I made an appointment at my Planned Parenthood clinic immediately and got a new prescription for my original, beloved, and much missed Ortho Tri Cyclen. I started taking that s#*! ASAP!!

So here I am about 12 days into the first pill pack. My cheeks and chin are very, very angry about the fluctuating hormone levels over the past few months. I am currently doing clay masks (Aztec bentonite clay + apple cider vinegar- excellent and not harsh for drying out little suckers), witch hazel toner, sometimes salicylic acid toner (nervous this is irritating my skin a bit), and 10% benzoyl peroxide cream on the mess of inflamed pimples on my cheeks. I use jojoba and hemp oils to moisturize, and did not have a problem with them, or any aforementioned topical treatments, before the great zit explosion of the past few weeks.

I will update on my progress. I hope to experience a leveling out and calming of the skin as some others have detailed here. I'm mostly terrified that my acne will never go away- aren't we all?- and it just brings me back to that sad place of being a pimply, quiet teenager.

Omg slypumpkin I too experienced the SAME thing you did on Lutera. That is an evil little pill that cause me to breakout and have oily skin when I never had that problem in the first place! And as soon as I pulled the plug on that and got off it my face has been breaking out even more since. It has been almost two months and my face is getting worse . I have been getting stuck with little white heads ever since. I was considering going on Ortho Tri Cyclen but now reading your experience Im scared to do so. I don't know exactly what to do at this point honestly I just want this acne to stop already! I hope you all find success!