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Need some encouragement!!! I started OTC a little over 3 weeks ago and I'm getting more cysts on my cheeks and jaw. I know everyone says you need to wait it out at least 3 months but I could just use a little motivation of stories of success after an initial breakout. I'm also using differin which should have some to do with an initial breakout too. I'm on BC because I can't have a period without it so I need the extra hormones because my body doesn't produce enough. Just a little background. Please leave any encouragement!
Some pills will break you out more than help. My daughter was originally on a generic version of Yaz and it didn't bother her skin but bothered her stomach big time. We switched to a lower androgen BC Sprintec. This has really helped her skin, and she only minimal side effects at the beginning.
If you absolutely don't have to be on birth control I wouldn't start now. Once you go off, your acne may return worse than before, at least it did for me. I was on OTC as a teen with mild-moderate acne, it didn't help me. Then I got cystic acne and went on Diane 35, that helped but when I went off I got terrible cystic acne. I'm 100% not saying that will happen to you but you asked for personal stories about bc and acne. If you decide to stay on bc, be sure to taper off- don't quit cold turkey, in order to give your body time to adjust. Alternatively, I've been researching progesterone cream and wild yam for hormonal acne. I don't have personal experience with these yet, but have read some good reviews. Bottom line, if your acne is mild, perhaps you should try topical and/or natural herbs before bc. 
Check out Green Gables post on good/bad types of bc for acne.
Well, monitor closely if it seems to get worse. Sometimes a pill just isn't the right fit (e.g. with the type of hormone used in the pill) and the break outs may not ever cease or the skin's condition improve. My break outs did get worse, although they weren't horrific. In the end the depression and anxiety the pill during my second month on it that made me decide to go off of it. Perhaps you will improve on the second pack! Best of luck
i took OTC and it didn't help my moderate acne even after being on it for 7 months so then my gyno gave me Ortho-Cyclen (OC) and after the 3 or 4 pack, I was finally clearing and side effects from the OTC diminished. I like bc pills with the same amount of hormones every week. I think they're better for acne so if OTC doesn't work after the 4 or 5 pack then switch to OC and you will clear if you struggle w/ hormonal acne. try not to use that differen topical daily, maybe do it every other day cus it can end up making things worse. topicals alwaaays made my skin worse which is why I ended up going on Accutane twice. when my skin cleared from the OC, I wasn't applying anything on my face. I just use a soap free cleanser and cetaphil moisturizer and that's it. Be gentle on your skin is what I have learned girl! Good luck; take care!!
True! Thank you for your input! I will traveling to Spain for the semester so I'm planning on taking it over there for a few months and then evaluating when I get back whether it is helping or making it worse! I really hope it helps as I will be traveling a lot.
Sumisee already said it, but more and more I get messages from people commenting that Ortho Cyclen (which keeps your hormones stable through the month) is a much better choice for acne than Ortho Tri Cyclen (which varies the hormones).
It makes sense anyway, because for most hormonal acne sufferers, it is the CHANGES in natural hormones that trigger our breakouts...at ovulation (when testosterone spikes), leading up to your period (when progesterone spikes), etc. OTC was developed as a "Tri" to mimic natural hormone fluctations while still preventing pregnancy. I think it has had success with acne because its source of progestin is low in androgens, but the "Tri" fluctuations still mess people up. Ortho Cyclen, or another "mono" pill with a low androgenic progestin, is a better choice overall.
yes. some woman do clear up on ortho-tri-cyclen. it was one of the bc pills that was FDA approved to alleviate acne so just give it some time. take it for about 4 months and if you see no improvement then switch to ortho-cyclen and you will clear up. Don't worry; its no big deal so just have patience sweetie. good luck to you!
Thank you so much! My doctor also gave me samples for Beyaz that she said to switch to if OTC is continuing to worsen my acne in a month or so. I don't know anything about Beyaz...any information about it and acne??
It's in the list I made. BeYaz is just Yaz with folic acid mixed in.
Do you know what the folic acid does?
It's just a vitamin. When the patent expired on Yaz (meaning that other companies could make cheaper generics), Bayer Pharmaceuticals dropped in folic acid and re-patented the new formula as BeYaz...personally I don't see the point, you can get folic acid much cheaper as its own vitamin.
I was on Alesse for a month and it broke me out like crazy on top of giving me terrible side effects. I know they say wait at least 3 months for the BC side effects to taper off but I just like there was something wrong with my body so I switched over to Diane 35 the next month. It didn't really break me out - usually during the 3rd week of the pack I start breaking out a little, but with each month it's less and less severe. I'm in my 4th month now and my skin seems to be getting better and better! I have a lot of comedonal acne (due to wearing makeup like allll the time) and Diane's getting rid of a lot of those too! I had some other side effects but none were as bad as Alesse and my doc said that Diane seemed to be the right pill for me..
I think you can usually tell when something is suitable for you or not. I would try the Yaz samples your doc gave you. Do you get any other bad side effects from OTC or is it just the breakout?
No I have been really happy with OTC other than the breakout. I've spotted a lot but it's my first month so that's normal. I'm definitely going to watch it carefully and if it continues to get worse in a month I'll switch to Beyaz. I want to give it a fair shot and not keep switching up my hormones but it's good to know that sometimes certain pills just don't work for people so I'm very happy that I have a back-up to switch to if it just gets worse.
No I have been really happy with OTC other than the breakout. I've spotted a lot but it's my first month so that's normal. I'm definitely going to watch it carefully and if it continues to get worse in a month I'll switch to Beyaz. I want to give it a fair shot and not keep switching up my hormones but it's good to know that sometimes certain pills just don't work for people so I'm very happy that I have a back-up to switch to if it just gets worse.
No I have been really happy with OTC other than the breakout. I've spotted a lot but it's my first month so that's normal. I'm definitely going to watch it carefully and if it continues to get worse in a month I'll switch to Beyaz. I want to give it a fair shot and not keep switching up my hormones but it's good to know that sometimes certain pills just don't work for people so I'm very happy that I have a back-up to switch to if it just gets worse.
No I have been really happy with OTC other than the breakout. I've spotted a lot but it's my first month so that's normal. I'm definitely going to watch it carefully and if it continues to get worse in a month I'll switch to Beyaz. I want to give it a fair shot and not keep switching up my hormones but it's good to know that sometimes certain pills just don't work for people so I'm very happy that I have a back-up to switch to if it just gets worse.
>I was on Alesse for a month and it broke me out like crazy on top of giving me terrible side effects. I know they say wait at least 3 months for the BC side effects to taper off but I just like there was something wrong with my body so I switched over to Diane 35 the next month. It didn't really break me out - usually during the 3rd week of the pack I start breaking out a little, but with each month it's less and less severe. I'm in my 4th month now and my skin seems to be getting better and better! I have a lot of comedonal acne (due to wearing makeup like allll the time) and Diane's getting rid of a lot of those too! I had some other side effects but none were as bad as Alesse and my doc said that Diane seemed to be the right pill for me..
I think you can usually tell when something is suitable for you or not. I would try the Yaz samples your doc gave you. Do you get any other bad side effects from OTC or is it just the breakout?
No I have been really happy with OTC other than the breakout. I've spotted a lot but it's my first month so that's normal. I'm definitely going to watch it carefully and if it continues to get worse in a month I'll switch to Beyaz. I want to give it a fair shot and not keep switching up my hormones but it's good to know that sometimes certain pills just don't work for people so I'm very happy that I have a back-up to switch to if it just gets worse.
What was your breakout like on Alesse?
On Alesse I started breaking out on my forehead which I had never had before. I was also getting a lot of little bumps on my cheeks and around my chin and usually when I get little bumps it sort of happens like gradually, not within 2 days kinda thing. And nothing really ever improved, the breakout only got worse and worse and none of them seemed to be going away?? It was pretty terrible, and I knew it wasn't just a "purge".
So my acne is the worst it's ever been on Ortho Tri Cyclen and I'm on my last week of the 2nd month. I've also been traveling a lot and wearing makeup so that doesn't help but I am having problems with cysts on my cheeks which have never happened before! I'm also breaking out around my mouth which usually doesn't happen that much. My acne has really gone to severe since starting OTC. Do you think it would be a good time to switch to Beyaz after this month?? Or would I just break out more?!
HELP PLEASE!!!!
I would recommend you switch to Beyaz...I think near the end of the 2nd month your initial breakout should have subsided. Your body has hormonal imbalances, right? Since you mentioned you can't get a period without it because your body can't produce enough. Maybe OTC's not the right kind of pill for you because it's triphasic, so you're taking a different amount of hormones every week of your pack which is typically bad for people who have hormone-induced acne. Beyaz is monophasic so each pill has the same amount of hormones and is good for those with hormonal acne because it helps stabilise your hormone levels.
Beyaz might come with an initial breakout, but I really think your prolonged breakout is due to triphasic nature of OTC. Another option is Ortho Cyclen, which is just the monophasic version of Ortho Tri Cyclen, if you want to stick with the same brand or whatever.
Hope things work out for you!
So my acne is the worst it's ever been on Ortho Tri Cyclen and I'm on my last week of the 2nd month. I've also been traveling a lot and wearing makeup so that doesn't help but I am having problems with cysts on my cheeks which have never happened before! I'm also breaking out around my mouth which usually doesn't happen that much. My acne has really gone to severe since starting OTC. Do you think it would be a good time to switch to Beyaz after this month?? Or would I just break out more?!
HELP PLEASE!!!!
Please switch! I had the exact same thing happen to me with OTC. I'm nearing my period now, my first month off OTC (after two on) and it's a lot better!
Like Tatii said, definitely go for monophasic, the tri-phasics just don't seem good for acne sufferers.