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Which Birth Control Pill Have You Had Success With?

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(@melmel87)

Posted : 02/01/2013 7:51 am

I'm curious which birth control pill females have had success with for combating acne? I'm wanting to change mine because I believe mine actually is making mine worse. I'm on loestrin fe 1/20 (2 years), which from reading through some other posts seems it can make acne worse! I only breakout near my jawline and chin. I could go without washing my face and still wouldn't break out on my forehead or cheeks, which makes me think my acne really is just hormonal. I used YAZ when I was 17 but my mom had me change it because of all the lawsuits that were happening. I see my doctor on tuesday so just wanted some opinions prior to seeing her.

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(@aze)

Posted : 02/01/2013 11:48 am

I'd like to know the answer to this too! I just started yaz less than a few weeks ago (which apparently is supposed to help acne...) but has given me a serious breakout instead! And my skin wasn't too bad to begin with... did this happen to you when you first started taking yaz? Did you notice any other side effects?

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(@melmel87)

Posted : 02/01/2013 4:13 pm

I'd like to know the answer to this too! I just started yaz less than a few weeks ago (which apparently is supposed to help acne...) but has given me a serious breakout instead! And my skin wasn't too bad to begin with... did this happen to you when you first started taking yaz? Did you notice any other side effects?

I took it for quite some time and it didn't end up making my acne better or worse, but it can affect everyone differently. Breakouts are common when starting a pill, have to wait till like 4th month to know if it's going to help!

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(@green-gables)

Posted : 02/01/2013 10:44 pm

Loestrin uses norethindrone which is a medium andorgenic progestin, meaning it can increase acne. I believe the particular formulation you are using, 1/20, is also lower on the estrogen side, which doesn't help acne either.

Please see the list below in my signature.

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(@shannanigunz)

Posted : 02/04/2013 11:17 am

I'm curious which birth control pill females have had success with for combating acne? I'm wanting to change mine because I believe mine actually is making mine worse. I'm on loestrin fe 1/20 (2 years), which from reading through some other posts seems it can make acne worse! I only breakout near my jawline and chin. I could go without washing my face and still wouldn't break out on my forehead or cheeks, which makes me think my acne really is just hormonal. I used YAZ when I was 17 but my mom had me change it because of all the lawsuits t that were happening. I see my doctor on tuesday so just wanted some opinions prior to seeing her.

You are describing EXACTLY what I went through on Ortho Tri Cyclen BCPs. My skin is still trying to recover from breaking out all along my jaw and lower cheeks. Yet nothing anywhere else on my face. I know it's hormonal. I didn't even really have bad acne before starting the pill. Now I'm about to start my 5th month, just gotta get through this week...you know, hah. My skin does look better, but is still very sensitive. I do believe it is finally starting to clear though. It took a few months, and it happens slowly.

I started using salycilic acid acne medications (cleansers, toners), as opposed to benzoyl peroxide (except for spot treatments), and I noticed my skin liked that more. It used to be the other way around but my body chemistry has completely changed over the last few months.

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(@rjt623)

Posted : 02/04/2013 11:40 am

I am 32 and have been on Orthotricyclen or Orthotricyclen Lo since I was 19, only stopping when I wanted to get pregnant, then going right back on. I think it helped my skin when I was younger, but since my later 20's, I have been having stubborn and pretty severe acne all over my chin, sometimes my jawline too. I read that a monophasic pill might be better for hormonal acne...the same level of hormone throughout the month, versus a triphasic pill, where you're given a different level of hormone each week. I see my doc tomorrow and it's the first thing on my list to talk about. My fear is that she'll say to go off the pill altogether...she says you should be off 10 years prior to perimenopause, in case you have to go back on hormones for that...

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(@melmel87)

Posted : 02/04/2013 12:28 pm

I'm curious which birth control pill females have had success with for combating acne? I'm wanting to change mine because I believe mine actually is making mine worse. I'm on loestrin fe 1/20 (2 years), which from reading through some other posts seems it can make acne worse! I only breakout near my jawline and chin. I could go without washing my face and still wouldn't break out on my forehead or cheeks, which makes me think my acne really is just hormonal. I used YAZ when I was 17 but my mom had me change it because of all the lawsuits t that were happening. I see my doctor on tuesday so just wanted some opinions prior to seeing her.

You are describing EXACTLY what I went through on Ortho Tri Cyclen BCPs. My skin is still trying to recover from breaking out all along my jaw and lower cheeks. Yet nothing anywhere else on my face. I know it's hormonal. I didn't even really have bad acne before starting the pill. Now I'm about to start my 5th month, just gotta get through this week...you know, hah. My skin does look better, but is still very sensitive. I do believe it is finally starting to clear though. It took a few months, and it happens slowly.

I started using salycilic acid acne medications (cleansers, toners), as opposed to benzoyl peroxide (except for spot treatments), and I noticed my skin liked that more. It used to be the other way around but my body chemistry has completely changed over the last few months.

I remember trying ortho tri cyclen for about 2 weeks in high school and freaked out when my face started breaking out more, so my doctor put me on YAZ at my suggestion (which did not help, it may have controlled the cystic acne though), then I switched to mircette and then to my curent loestrin, none of them really helped my skin. I am super sensitive to hormones though, I was one of those babies born with acne on my cheeks from the surge of hormones from my mom... anyways, I am going to see my doctor tomorrow and have her do some testing and see what she suggests. My skin is great besides this breaking out around my chin and jaw! BP seems to be the only thing my skin can tolerate. Hopefully your BCP clears up your skin!

I am 32 and have been on Orthotricyclen or Orthotricyclen Lo since I was 19, only stopping when I wanted to get pregnant, then going right back on. I think it helped my skin when I was younger, but since my later 20's, I have been having stubborn and pretty severe acne all over my chin, sometimes my jawline too. I read that a monophasic pill might be better for hormonal acne...the same level of hormone throughout the month, versus a triphasic pill, where you're given a different level of hormone each week. I see my doc tomorrow and it's the first thing on my list to talk about. My fear is that she'll say to go off the pill altogether...she says you should be off 10 years prior to perimenopause, in case you have to go back on hormones for that...

Did your face break out a lot when you were pregnant? That's one of my fears lol. Yeah I see my doctor tomorrow too so hopefully they can figure this out!

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(@rjt623)

Posted : 02/04/2013 3:35 pm

I broke out when I first became pregnant...that first month, when hormones are going CRAZY. It wasn't horrible, but my skin was oilier than normal, so was my hair. Then it cleared up by the second month or so, and I actually had the best skin of my life during both of my pregancies! I even went without makeup in the hospital, my skin looked great. I guess my skin does well with pregnancy, once it gets over that first hurdle! Good luck with your appt tomorrow!

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(@michi31)

Posted : 02/06/2013 8:18 pm

Hey melmel you are just like me. I only break out around my chin. Never anywhere else on my my whole face. Birth control has made things worse for me in the past. Have you had your hormones tested? I broke out bad the first trimester of my pregnancy. Not as bad in the second . And i was the clearest of my life in the third. It was amazing for a few months

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(@melmel87)

Posted : 02/09/2013 8:13 am

Hey melmel you are just like me. I only break out around my chin. Never anywhere else on my my whole face. Birth control has made things worse for me in the past. Have you had your hormones tested? I broke out bad the first trimester of my pregnancy. Not as bad in the second . And i was the clearest of my life in the third. It was amazing for a few months

I don't know if my birth control really makes my acne better or worse, cause I will go for quite awhile without any major skin issues then I'l randomly explode on my chin. I do notice the more stressed I get, the worse my skin gets, so then I become more stressed, hah! I've only had my thyroid checked and it's always within the normal range. When I asked my dermatologist why I only break out in this area she said, "that's just where most adults get acne." lol.

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(@lillyrose7)

Posted : 02/24/2013 9:53 am

i break out a lot on my chin as well, but cheeks too. I think BCP pills generally clear you up depending on what you are on. I take this pill (belara) it compares studies with other pills - www.belara.com/fileadmin/user_upload/publications/Detail_Aid.pdf

I duno if its good, or not good, i broke out badly during my first month on it. But i dont know if its because i was playing around with topicals. Have since stopped. I was also really stressed. If that was my initial breakout, i would be happy because it wasn't too bad. I heard it takes 6-8 weeks to see results, but its ok and settling down so i hope it will clear. I took it a while back and never got a pimple my skin was so good, smooth like a baby. I just wish i had stayed on it because it would have stopped this scarring issue i have now. Not too bad but lots of red mark :( !!

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(@anewflame)

Posted : 05/28/2013 12:20 pm

I'm curious which birth control pill females have had success with for combating acne? I'm wanting to change mine because I believe mine actually is making mine worse. I'm on loestrin fe 1/20 (2 years), which from reading through some other posts seems it can make acne worse! I only breakout near my jawline and chin. I could go without washing my face and still wouldn't break out on my forehead or cheeks, which makes me think my acne really is just hormonal. I used YAZ when I was 17 but my mom had me change it because of all the lawsuits that were happening. I see my doctor on tuesday so just wanted some opinions prior to seeing her.

I've had incredible success with dianette. I took it for three weeks and was completely clear. But then I'm a classic case of PCOS-driven acne, and am particularly sensitive to male hormones whilst deficient in female ones - so I guess it may not work for everyone.

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(@green-gables)

Posted : 06/20/2013 12:20 am

Yaz/Yasmin/BeYaz, Belara, and Dianette/Diane-35 seem to get the best results.

Ortho Tri Cyclen is an old standby, but not as good as the ones above.

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(@meowza)

Posted : 06/22/2013 12:17 am

I had as best as luck as I could get with Diane 35. Helped my face quite a bit but it never completely cleared it up and didn't help at all with my back/shoulders/chest. On Yasmin now. However it was just on the news that Yasmin was directly liked to blood clots causing death in 23 young girls in my area. I'm prone to blood clots already so I am going to switch. Might try Tricyclin, might go back to Diane35.

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(@lillyrose7)

Posted : 06/29/2013 12:05 pm

 

I take Belara and i'm on my 6th month and my skin is almost 100% clear. I used to get cystic under the skin pimples on my chin. almost always mid and towards the end of my cycle. used to break out on my cheeks sometimes too, they always left red marks.

Now I have a few marks left over which heal but they dont bother me as much because i can cover with concealer etc.

im not 100% sure if its because i stopped a previous medication (glucophage) which my family and i suspected was aggravating my skin, because as soon as i stopped taking it my clean stopped breaking out.... the pill though has made my skin less oily, more soft and more 'normal' looking. Its a great pill for someone considering taking the pill to clear up acne, its fairly new though and some doctors dont know about it. I used to take diane 35, its good but i had side effects which were bad so i stopped.

the docs offered me YAZ or Belara and two of them were in favour of belara especially because i am so frightened of weight gain (i'm trying hard to keep my weight down) and as i suffer from PCOS it makes it doubly hard. But Belara is pretty good for acne clearance.

 

 

*my skin stopped breaking out sorry

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(@catvan)

Posted : 07/01/2013 3:13 am

Zoely! I'm not too sure where you are in the world, but I am in Australia and I've tried Yaz/Diane etc and while they have made my skin worse, they have also had horrible side effects such as mood swings and depression.
I started taking Zoely about a year ago, it cleared up all of the hormonal breakouts around the chin and lower cheeks. Took about 2-3 months to really notice the difference. I was really happy with it.
Unfortunately due to being prescribed Doxycycline for another reason, my skin went berserk recently and so I have decided to take Accutane - the Doxy had an adverse reaction with the pill (I think it does all pills), so I managed to get cystic acne for the first time in my life at 26 years old and unfortunately no contraceptive pill can fix that! But if your breakouts are not cystic, I would recommend this pill.
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(@melmel87)

Posted : 07/16/2013 7:37 pm

Haven't posted here in awhile, I stopped my birth control pill back in may which I haven't had any cystic acne since then, really only minor breakouts, but I do need a birth control pill. My doctor gave me a script for Trinessa. Anyone had success with this?

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(@amie-flowers)

Posted : 07/17/2013 2:09 pm

Someone, somewhere is going to say something about what I am about to say. But, my doc prescribed me Diane 35 last month (yes only a month) and already everything is getting on track. My skin isn't ridiculously oily anymore, I haven't had a break out or anything new popping up on my face in almost two weeks (and my period is scheduled to be here any day now) which always....ALWAYS, I will have all kinds of things popping up on my face around this time. I am usually bloated and full of murderous rage too by this time of the month. Not this month though! I have also lost five pounds in one week. I feel like my normal self again. I have been off of birth control for years (stopped to have my son) When I turned thirty things started going downhill fast (with everything that I mentioned above plus more) painful cystic things on my face, extremely heavy and painful periods that would lay me out for three days at least and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't lose weight the way I used to. On top of all of that, I could sit and eat and eat and eat and still wouldn't be satisfied. I have never been over weight, but my mid section has been bloated and a bit smushy for almost three years and no amount of cardio was helping me. I tried everything natural, quitting dairy, being a vegan, taking supplements, bikram yoga etc, withholding from everything that I loved and it only ever seemed to get worse for me. I hate birth control, but it was my last option and I'm telling you, I am for once happy and feel like my normal self. Diane 35 has been a godsend!

Yes there are risks and yes, they are scary, but I think if you live a healthy lifestyle, don't smoke, exercise, eat well and don't have any underlining health issues than it's not so bad. This is the second time I have taken Diane 35 in my life(when I was in my early twenties and now in my thirties) and I have never had any issues, health problems etc arise from taking this medication. So, to answer your question, I have had a great amount of success with Diane 35. I think it all depends on the individual who is taking it. I mean, I tried tri cyclen lo and it was horrible for me....I turned into a psychotic, angry woman and I was also gaining too much weight, I abruptly put an end to that stuff very quickly. It all depends on the woman :) Good luck finding something that agrees with you. It's hard to find the right one. But, when you finally do, it's amazing!

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(@ixc123)

Posted : 11/07/2013 4:48 pm

I was taking NOVIAL for 5 months last year. I always had acne, but I didn't take them for it.

Suddenly my skin was better than ever, but I never thought it was because of the pill.

I didn't have initial break out. In fact, in less than a month I had not new pimples. I was so happy that I didn't use make up anymore.

But.......... I stopped taking them because I was having migraine with aura. It was HORRIBLE.

Yes, my skin was absolutly clear,... but migraine was the worst thing in my life.

After that, my migraine stopped completely... And acne reappeared gradually

This year, about 5 months ago, my acne was the worst in my life because of STRESS, I was living the worst things in my life....

stress = hormonal desbalance.

So I decided to take a low dose pill called YASMIN, because topic treatments didn't work very well. I have 3 days taking them. Hope this pill doesn't cause migraines sad.png

PD: I recently discovered that the acne of my family (mother and sister used to have) is just hormonal. That's why the pill worked very well in just one month. My sister suffered from acne and now she doesn't have because she uses the contraceptive injection. So it is a fact.

So I think, if you acne is not HORMONAL the pill may cause you breakouts and make your skin worse because you don't need it. The only thing you're doing is causing a hormonal desbalance.

I didn't have initial breakouts, not even when I stopped taking them. So be sure what you're doing.

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(@vixxen)

Posted : 11/08/2013 2:56 pm

Yasmin made my skin super-clear but I had to stop taking it and had the mirena fitted due to endometriosis.. after that my skin hit its worst.

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(@ixc123)

Posted : 11/18/2013 5:41 pm

So this is my update:

I'm in the second week with YASMIN. This day I have no new pimples :). And I noticed that the general "texture" of my skin is getting softer.

Just like my first experience on birth control pills last year.

HOPE THIS DOESN'T CAUSE ME MIGRAINES!!!!!!!!

The only thing I don't like until now, I have brown discharge, it's a little. But it's very uncomfortable. I didn't have this with Novial. I was looking for an answer and they say it is because I need to be more precise taking this pill (at the same HOUR, every day)... when I was taking Novial, it wasn't necessary.

I will keep you informed.

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(@ixc123)

Posted : 01/10/2014 1:00 am

Good news!!!! Yasmin worked for me. I have no new breakouts anymore, and my scars are vanishing. The brown discharge is gone.

I feel great and beautiful again.

And.. I HAVE NO MIGRAINES!!!!!!!

SO HAPPY!

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(@madeleine24)

Posted : 01/10/2014 7:29 pm

I took Yasmin but I am far too sensitive to it, also it has a synthetic progesterone that is SUPPOSED to work as a diuretic but i'll tell you it didn't work for me because I had severe water retention!! No acne though haha. I stopped taking it in the end because I was an emotional b*tch and had IBS symptoms on it.

I am taking Loette now and am happy because my skin really is clearing up :). Some water retention but no way near as bad. It has half the estrogen (of yasmin)

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(@melmel87)

Posted : 05/06/2014 7:47 am

Just want to give an update to this old post, I have been using Trinessa since the end of last summer and my cystic acne stopped. The rest of my breakouts have been controlled with BP. I think it does make me kinda moody though.

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