So many of you know I got a bad breakout when I stopped Yaz cold turkey and restarted only 2 weeks later. I powered through the first 3-4 months (was completely awful) and it seemingly got better - went from maybe 17 bad breakouts a month to 3 - and now here I am, on month 7, with the past 2 months getting worse again (last month was 5 breakouts, this month was 8, and there's still a week left). I know my body freaked out when I stopped and restarted the pill only 2 weeks later, but it doesn't make any sense for it to get worse again at this point. My doctor said hormone tests are pointless when on birth control, because the hormone levels will just show as very low. is that true? I'm still thinking of doing them. I'm also probably going on Spiro next month. But altogether I sticked it out with the pill because A. everyone says initial breakout is bad and then it gets much better than before. B. It was my miracle cure from 14 to 21 years old. C. I went off of it before starting this journey and my acne was worsening every month anyway. Now I'm wondering if I should even continue. One thing worth noting is that it went from my jawline and sides of chin to neck, body, chin, and forehead, those areas are not as bad for me as they do not scar as badly. But still, it seems like there's something wrong if it's getting worse again. I just need advice. I'm reluctant to spend $150 on a doc just to hear something I already know. Not to mention my gyno is always in such a rush it's like she isn't actually thinking that deep about my problem and is giving me standard answers to all my questions without considering my case individually. Please any advice appreciated.
Yaz and Yasmin clear me completely, but when I go off of them my skin goes crazy and becomes worse than it was before I started. After this happens it can take a long time for it to balance out for me. The first time I came off yasmin my acne got so bad I decided to take accutane. When my acne started coming back 2 years after taking accutane I decided to try yaz. I got off yaz because it makes my hair fall out (so does yasmin and spiro) and my skin became worse than ever. Every single pore on my face was clogged. Before taking the yaz just my nose and a few cheek pores were clogged. My skin has calmed down since then, but it took a long time, maybe over a year. I'm still clogged, but I don't think it's from that rebound breakout from yaz anymore. I think I just need to try other hormonal treatments or accutane again to help with that. Anyway, my point is that stopping the pill and restarting the pill could have messed up your hormones and they could take a long time to reregulate. You could also consider switching to yasmin which I've heard clears many up better than yaz (probably because of the higher estrogen). Spiro is great too if you can tolerate it, and it sounds like you probably will be able to since you don't sound like you're having any crazy side effects from yaz and yasmin which I was having. Just remain hopeful! I know it's hard. I'm about to try Belara (an anti-androgen birth control pill similar to yasmin), and just waiting for my next month of pills to start in two weeks feels like an eternity. Then there's the whole waiting 6 months for my hormones to regulate thing, and that's even harder. I understand. Just don't give up.
Yaz and Yasmin clear me completely, but when I go off of them my skin goes crazy and becomes worse than it was before I started. After this happens it can take a long time for it to balance out for me. The first time I came off yasmin my acne got so bad I decided to take accutane. When my acne started coming back 2 years after taking accutane I decided to try yaz. I got off yaz because it makes my hair fall out (so does yasmin and spiro) and my skin became worse than ever. Every single pore on my face was clogged. Before taking the yaz just my nose and a few cheek pores were clogged. My skin has calmed down since then, but it took a long time, maybe over a year. I'm still clogged, but I don't think it's from that rebound breakout from yaz anymore. I think I just need to try other hormonal treatments or accutane again to help with that. Anyway, my point is that stopping the pill and restarting the pill could have messed up your hormones and they could take a long time to reregulate. You could also consider switching to yasmin which I've heard clears many up better than yaz (probably because of the higher estrogen). Spiro is great too if you can tolerate it, and it sounds like you probably will be able to since you don't sound like you're having any crazy side effects from yaz and yasmin which I was having. Just remain hopeful! I know it's hard. I'm about to try Belara (an anti-androgen birth control pill similar to yasmin), and just waiting for my next month of pills to start in two weeks feels like an eternity. Then there's the whole waiting 6 months for my hormones to regulate thing, and that's even harder. I understand. Just don't give up.
Thanks! I've been on Diane 35 and Yasmin in my teens which I think did a better job than Yaz, but trying in it my 20's gave me bad side effects including shortness of breath and chest pains which was pretty scary so I had to stop. I really hope Spiro will work, though I'm scared of an initial breakout so I think I'm gonna start off with 25mg. I just can't believe that I've come this far only to feel more confused than ever about whether I'm doing the right thing or am on the right track. At least in my teens I knew I could always rely on the pill. I never experienced an initial breakout back then either even though I went on and off it a million times. Sigh.