So I was onOrtho Tri Cyclen for about a year and a half. Shortly after I started taking it my skin broke out like crazy and I had about a 2 and a half to 3 month adjustment period till my skin switched to being incredibly clear. Unfortunately, since birth control I also started getting serve migraines that would usually end with vomiting, horrible cramps and lower stomach pains, after a year of being on it with no change in exercise or diet I also gained 10 pounds. In general I felt awful on it and decided I couldn't take it anymore. The only two positives of the birth control were not getting pregnant and having pretty much perfect skin. Before BC my skin naturally yo-yoedbetween pretty clear, and medium bad with the occasional really nice skin lasting the least amount of time. Anyway, the first month off of bc my skin remained nice and clear, I got my period normally and didn't notice any other major shifts. The second time I got my period my skin broke out badly all over and pretty much hasn't gone back to clear since. The acne is now pretty much all over but small under the skin bumps that won't come up and are just annoying. I was really hoping that eating well, drinking a ton of water, and taking vitamins, (both on the birth control and off) would have made a difference but I guess my hormones are more powerful than healthy living. I've made an appointment to see a derm which was also difficult since I had a hard time finding one that takes and is fully covered by medicaid. Is there anything other people with a similar situation have started taking that has worked for them? I'm not really against taking things orally but I don't want to take anything hormone altering anymore nor anything with serve or crazy side effects.
While it sucks right now, it's good that you are able to pinpoint what causes your breakouts! I've tried everything including 2 types of bcp and have been fumbling round in the dark for 5 years now.
I think you have 3 options:
-Get back on Ortho because you knowit works (not favourable for you).
-Try another type of bcp your derm can prescribe you that has anti-acne attributes and see if you find less side effects, eg yaz, diane 35, (also perhaps spiralactone if you know of it).
-Or, try some of the more naturalhormone balancing... things, for lack of a better word. Like herbs such as vitex agnus castus, evening primrose oil, B5 etc (give it a google or even see a naturopath if it is financially do-able)...all of course while using whatever topical your derm prescribes you at your appointmentif you don't want to take any oral hormonal drugs.
Keep in mind that whatever you choose to do it may take a little longer to get clear than it did the first time you used ortho, your body is essentially readjusting twice as you have stopped the pill, and now are tackling the issueagain.
with how annoying it's getting to cover up acne again I honestly am at the point of considering going back on birth control. I really would rather not but at this point I want something I know will work. Not the same one because of all the other problems but I am will to try one of the others that are also recommended for treating acne. I guess now my question is what is a birth control that's good for treating acne but also has a low known bad reaction response?
I remember being prescribed Desogen (containing the progestinDesogestrel and estrogenEthinyl estradiol), which was what the nurse described as the "least amount of hormones possible" for someone just looking to clear up acne.
It worked like a charm and I stayed on it for over 2 years, but like you I began having side effects like mood swings/depression and decided to go off it. However I want to say that for more than a year I felt just fine ANDmy acne completely cleared up, which was such a relief at the time because I had been dealing with it for several years by then. My acne wanted to come right back after going off the pill but while taking it I had learned enough to start preventingmy breakouts naturally by then.
So I guess what I'm saying is I think birth control is a great temporary treatment for acne, but like you and I have experienced, it's important to be aware of the possible long-term side effects.
Everyone is different so I don't think I could say for sure that the same pillwould be a good option for you, but I thought I'd share my experience.
So just an update on my skin. The left side has started to clear a bit, the right side has stayed the same and my forehead has gotten worse. Oddly I've been out of state with my bf for half a week and my diet hadn't been that good. So I'm wondering why any of my acne is even clearing up? I should be getting my period next week around Thursday and usually this is around the time I would get a few break outs normally. My skin has also gotten super dry and a bit flakey by my nose and mouth. Derm appointment can't come fast enough.
Also I look up the Spiro. Sounds promising andlow side effects are good.
It's interesting that you don't want to take BC but you would take Spiro. While some forms of BC pills are proven to treat acne, "spironolactone as an acne treatment is considered an off-label use, which means it's not FDA-approved." It usually works according to most derms, but the side effects of thatdon't sound as good to me either.
When I switched BC methods from pill to IUD my skin freaked out for about 4 months. I refused to take antibiotics or put them on my face after talking to my gyn about it. So I went to a term and it turned out my acne was not as much related to hormones as it was to my skin becoming dry as I got older. So he suggested to wait a little more. After the 4 months of actual hormonal issues, it started clearing up and now that Im hormone balanced its completely clear.
I don't really want to be on anything but I just don't feel like I can have clear skin naturally. I've had acne that comes and goes at random despite everything I've tried. I eat really healthy most avoid dairy and gluten, take vitamins that are supposed to balance female hormones, drink a ton of water plus a cup of lemon water and I still get the breakouts randomly. I'm just tired of it and I want skin that's consistently clear and managable. My mom had really bad skin from teen to late adulthood so maybe it's genetic but I'm just tired of nothing working but the birth control.
To be honest at the end of the day even though you aren't keen on going back on birthcontrol, if your skin is getting you down enough and interfering with your life to such a point there becomes a time where rectifying the mental effect of acne outweighs the possible health effects of birth control, ya know. 
I ain't sayin you should get back on Ortho, because I know myself how shitty the wrong bcp can make you feel, but everyone's body is made up differently so it may take some trial and error to find the best pill regardless of what people say caused them the least problems.
Best of luck and I hope you will get clear soon!! xx
So she ended up giving me Yaz. Idk if it's really what I want because I've heard stories about Yaz giving people a lot of problems and after using the ortho I'm a bit scared to take it. Has anyone else had problems with other birth control but done well on Yaz? Has it helped you with acne? Also why does the Yaz suggest it's best to take at night since I took the other one normally in the daytime?
I ended up not taking it after thinking about it for a long time and realizing I don't want to take it for acne since I will eventually have to come off it regardless. I'm almost 24 and I know I don't want to be on birth control forever. I tried talking to my regular doctor about it, she gave me cleotin T gel and told me to use condoms. Idk if the gel is really gonna help my skin almost seems worse since I started using it. Maybe it's one of those things that gets worse before it gets better? I would possibly like to try Spiro since it sounds safer than birth control though there can be side effects. Has anyone switched from birth control to this or any other more long term options? Since I've been off since October and my breakouts start mid-late November I kinda want to wait it out to see if it gets better since my skin has gotten this bad before and I was able to fix it though not permanently. I'm seeing a Derm the 28th for yet another opinion. Wish me luck since the acne is really making me feel disgusting.
Ended up seeing a new Derm who pretty much told me I should be on Spiro if I don't want birth control since my acne is hormonal and prescribed me the 50 mg. Ironically I was considering asking for it but am a little scared because I've heard some people say it makes their hair fall out? Since my body was sensitive to birth control I'm a little scared about starting at 50mg. He was even saying I could go up to 100 but I don't want to go from nothing to that. Please share what you know about Spiro.
I was supposed to also get a gentler retina but found out at the pharmacy the retina wasn't insurance covered and would have been $150 which I can't cover. The pharmacy guy said he would call my Derm to see if they would send over a different one that would be covered. Side note I now feel like I have a mini anti-acne store in my cabinet what with the unused birth control pills, the Spiro, the cleotin t gel, and the doxycycline.
Also if I end up not going the Spiro route is it still ok to use the cleotin t gel with an oral antibiotic? Can oral and topical antibiotics be used together or does the weaken or make them develope resistance?
Figured I'd update since its been a while. So while my skin has improved somewhat. Forehead is almost completely clear and cheeks aren't as bad as they were. I unfortunately had to stop taking all oral medications. I started have abdominal pains about two weeks ago which didn't go away along with some other stuff my doctor now thinks I probably have an ulcer. 
so I'm pretty much off medications while I wait to find out if I have the bacteria for h. Pylori. Idk if this is from all these different meds or stress idk. Sigh anyway I guess I'll update again soon.