Hi everyone,

My acne: Mild/Moderate, adult-onset, mainly on sides of nose and between eyebrows, with a ton of closed comedones on my cheeks. Occasional painful large pimples on cheeks from those comedones. 28 years old.

I have finally accepted that I need to give birth control a fair shot for my acne. I have been told by more than one dematologist that my adult-onset acne is due to hormones, and topicals will only help so much until I go on birth control. After a year of using retinoids (Epiduo, Differin .3, Veltin, Retin-A Micro .4) my skin is only WORSE and more congested with comedones.

I just finished my third week of Ortho-Cyclen. I chose this BCP for these reasons:

-I am very succeptible to side effects from BC... I've been through many and had to discontinue early to intolerable side effects, from horrible acne to depression to blood sugar issues. I was on Ortho-Cyclen for 2 years from 15-17 (I'm 28 now, so that was a long time ago, and before I had acne) and I don't remember any unmanageable side effects because slight weight gain and larger breasts.

-I know that the noregestimate in this pill is low-androgenic. I chose Cyclen instead of Tri-Cyclen because the fluctuations of triphasic pills tend to make me really moody. However, I included Tri-Cyclen in this because it's a similar formulation.

-I found that the newer, low-dose pills are worse for my acne.

The first week I got excited because my pimples looked like they were clearing up. Now the comedones in my cheeks are turning to painful large pimples, and I have at least 1 or 2 at a time. I feel discouraged. I am looking for people's success stories or input. Has anyone had IBs on these birth controls, or seen success from them? How long did it take? I have searched through these forums, which has been helpful, but i am looking for more answers. I know I "need to wait 3 months" but I feel like I've been battling this for so long with no success. Professionals don't seem to be very helpful.

Thank you SO much. Long time lurker on this site