i was on control pills for 4 to 5 years till i decided to have children. within 2 months of stopping the pills, i got pregnant(i was worried that i might have difficulty getting pregnant of staying on pills for too long), i got bad acne on my chill area within first few months of pregnancy, i got clear at end of my pregancy, and was clear while breastfeeding. however, few cycstic acne came back after i stopped breastfeeding, but it wassn't so bad, only 1 or 2 during period. then i went on to have my 2nd child, i only got 1 or 2 big pimples on my chin area during period, so i am happy, i don't have to go back to pills. i am staying home mom now, so maybe i don't have the work stress, that's why, anyway, th is is my story.

My husband and I wanted to start trying for kids last year - I got off Birth Control (cold turkey) at the end of September, and started taking Vitex. By early November I started breaking out in painful cystic acne on my chin - something that was kept at bay for many years thanks to Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo and Spirnolactone. We continued to try for a baby until the end of January when my skin was at its worst - painful cysts, pustules, etc. It was the worst acne I have ever had in my life. I got my hormones checked and everything was "normal" - low testosterone, perfect estrogen, progesterone, etc. The only thing that was slightly elevated was my DHEAS (male androgen) but it was still within normal range and could have been elevated from stress (from trying to conceive and the acne itself) My skin started scarring and it was a nightmare - i barely left the house for two months. If you do decide to go off BC - I suggest weaning off of it - and maybe you'll end of pregnant while doing so (with the lower hormone amounts) for me, I hit a crossroads in January and decided to do a round of accutane. I am currently 6 months into treatment and it's been great - my skin cleared quickly - but I am back on BC. ..So come February I will start to slowly wean off this time and not quit cold turkey. I also wont take Vitex - after doing a lot of research I've found this is a 50/50 herb - it can make things better or worse for some. Not worth the risk again for me. I also sggest a liver support supplement to help flush the body of the artificial hormones. If you have instagram you can check out my story there [Edited link out] hopefully weaning off will keep you from the nightmare I endured.

I found what worked for me! I went off cold turkey and had horrible cystic acne, so I went back on the pill immediately to kind of start over. After the acne cleared, I split my tiny pills into halves and fourths. For the first week, I took a whole, then half, then whole, etc. for about a week, then I only took the halves for maybe a little over a month. Then, I moved to the fourths, (and that first week alternated between halves and fourths). All this time, here's the vitamins I was taking that I researched and gave a try: DIM-plus, B-right (a B vitamin), Nettle leaf (in pill form), and NAC (a probiotic). After finishing all the bc pills, I've kept up with the vitamins and the cystic acne has not returned. I've now been off the pill for three months so I think it's been solved! Not sure if the weening off was the key, or the vitamins, or a mix of the two, but it worked for me!