Okay so long story short:

Skin was beautifully clear and . now recently I'm breaking out AGAIN. Im so upset and low about it.

I'm considering trying a BCP again, either that or Accutane.

Thing is I don't know which to enquire about- I know I need a high/medium Oestrogen andlow Androgenic pill but the one that is highly touted about here is Dianette...HOWEVER I've learned that it has a high risk of deep vein thrombosis and sadly my mum has this so I don't wanna increase my risk with that. But if I have to I guess I would.

I don't know I'm so against shit like this but I'm so not wanting my skin to get inflamed again. I'm so unhappy right now its not cool.

anwyay thanks for reading.

I know it's been nearly a month, but just in case you're still looking for a pill...

I was the same as you - i.e. I wanted a low/anti androgen and mid-high estrogen pill, but Dianette was a no-go. Yasmin is anti-androgen - have you tried that? (I didn't personally get on with it - and I get on with most combined pills.) The last one I tried was Zoely (your GP probably won't have mentioned it as it's quite new, therefore expensive). It's low androgen and has bioidentical estrogen (which is supposed to be better for the body than synthetic). It's being marketed as the new BCP for acne with lower side effects (due to the bioidentical hormones). My acne started clearing up after being on it for 3 months - but then I had to come off it as my blood pressure shot up (not sure if the pill caused it or it was something else). If I can go back on any pill, it'll be that one I'll try again.

Hope that helps.

Hey, thanks for the reply. I'm still weighing out options and stuff..really considering a retinoid but I do still think a BCP will help. Zoely sounds very promising, I looked it up too! Did you have any noticeable side effects? Also, how is your skin now?

should they have this in the UK?

I'm in the UK - so yes they definitely have it in the UK. But because it's quite new it's expensive for the NHS vs. the older pills, which is maybe why your GP hasn't mentioned it to you. My GP hadn't heard of it but was happy for me to give it a go, particularly when he read that it was bioidentical oestrogen.

If we assume Zoely didn't cause my high blood pressure (!) then I had no side effects whatsoever. In the first three weeks my skin seemed to be getting a little better, then I had the 7 day break and it went to pot again. I remember my GP telling me when you have the withdrawal week estrogen drops quite a bit - and I get spots when my natural cycle drops in oestrogen - so (with his ok) I ran the next three packs back to back and definitely saw a difference in my skin. Other people commented. Then I took my blood pressure and it was sky high, and that was the end of Zoely for me! (I should point out that I have had high blood pressure for the past couple of years, on and off, so it probably wasn't caused by the pill - but obviously I had to stop taking it.)

I stopped taking it back at the end of March and within two months my skin was back to how it was before. No worse, no better.

That's great they have it in the UK. I'm going to talk to my doc about it the next time I see her. The only thing is I haven't been on a BCP for 4 years :/ so I am also dubious still you know.

Have you been on any others before?

It sucks that you had to come off it but i presume your doctor wont be too happy trying other combined pills because of it. Are you just trying to control your skin through a skin regimen now?

That's great they have it in the UK. I'm going to talk to my doc about it the next time I see her. The only thing is I haven't been on a BCP for 4 years :/ so I am also dubious still you know.

Have you been on any others before?

It sucks that you had to come off it but i presume your doctor wont be too happy trying other combined pills because of it. Are you just trying to control your skin through a skin regimen now?

What's worrying you about trying the BCP again? is it the potential side effects?

I'm 41 and have been on combined pills for about 19 years in total. I started it when I was 16 because I had super short cycles and terrible periods - and stayed on it for years as I didn't have any bad side effects. I started off with microgynon, then switched to femodene and marvelon. I also took a low estrogen pill (maybe mercilon?) but had painful breakthrough bleeding for three months. During that whole time I still had some chin acne - mainly huge 'blind' cysts that hung around for ages. So I saw the pill as something I took for my crappy cycle rather than my skin really - although I did try Dianette for a while but it didn't do much. Meanwhile my dr also tried me on various antibiotics which made no difference.

I had to stop taking the pill when I was 35, due to high blood pressure (not caused by the pill). I then had a perfect 28 day cycle, but my skin was terrible and I had really awful PMT. That's when I realised the pill was doing something for my skin - I just didn't know it because I hadn't seen my 'pill-free skin' for so many years. So once I got my blood pressure down I was keen to go back on it again. I tried yasmin but it made me feel really sick and I was really moody. I didn't want to do dianette again because of the scare stories. I was referred to a dermatologist who prescribed spiro, which also made me feel really sick. She also tried me on a couple of antibiotics which worked this time around - but they made me ill, so I had to stop them.

Then last year my periods started messing around a bit - I had a few 16-18 days cycles again, and terrible PMT for most of the month - and my skin took a further nose dive. I suspect it's because I'm now in my 40s, and my hormones are changing a bit. I was desperate to go back on the pill and Zoely was my last hope really. I went on it in December last year and just as my skin was starting to get better, my blood pressure went up to ridiculous levels and I had to come off it!

So yeah, now I am trying natural supplements because I don't have much choice! Luckily a lot of the supplements for high blood pressure and anxiety (which I also have) are also good for skin. I'm trying saw palmetto as a sort of natural dianette, but I've been very moody since I started taking it. Although the pill does help my skin, it doesn't clear it up completely - so I don't think I have purely hormonal acne. Plus my hormones tests have always been normal.

I think, when it comes to the pill/different types of pill, it's largely down to trial and error.

Hmm the thing worrying me the most about it is taking the patience to try pill after pillito find the right one although that Zoely sounds very promising...I just wonder if my doctor would be dubious because of the price. Its either that or Dianette.

But also if I do go on BCP again and it does work I'll prbably never ever want to come off it..because my skin will be bad after it too and that's been the case for everyone.

So its a scary risk for me.

Did you find you had acne even before you started with the BCPs?

I have heard about Saw Palette being good for skin, I have never tried it myself what dosage are you taking?

Hmm the thing worrying me the most about it is taking the patience to try pill after pillito find the right one although that Zoely sounds very promising...I just wonder if my doctor would be dubious because of the price. Its either that or Dianette.

But also if I do go on BCP again and it does work I'll prbably never ever want to come off it..because my skin will be bad after it too and that's been the case for everyone.

So its a scary risk for me.

Did you find you had acne even before you started with the BCPs?

I have heard about Saw Palette being good for skin, I have never tried it myself what dosage are you taking?

Well there are only really three pills indicated for acne in the UK: Dianette, Yasmin and Zoely. As you can't take Dianette, you'd only have to try two at the most to see if they worked. Yasmin also has a reputation for blood clots, and is banned in some countries - so you'd probably have good leverage with your GP to try Zoely.

Yeah, the problem with the BCP is that it isn't a cure. I guess only Accutane is, potentially (although even that isn't permanent for some people it seems). Everything else, antibiotics, BCP, just keeps acne at bay until you stop taking it or finally 'grow out of it naturally'.

I'm taking three natural anti-androgens. Spearmint tea and nettle tincture, which are fairly mild. And saw Palmetto 320mg standardised extract from Holland & Barrett. If you decide to try it, it needs to be the standardised extract. I'm also using Origins 'Spot Treatment' pads which have saw palmetto and salicyclic acid in them. Hair loss research suggests that saw palmetto works topically as an anti-androgen - and so could also potentially work topically for acne.

Just a point that might be worth bearing in mind. I noticed that you use sun cream everyday (and guessing you live in Scotland?). Low vitamin D can make acne worse - and using sun screen all the time means you make no vitamin D from the sun.