YAZ : Oral Contraceptive

it works, but use lots of moisturiser...

Very adverse skin reactions but baby free.

I would reccomend it to my friends who are suffering from PMS symptoms and acne. I am just thrilled with how wonderfully my skin has improved. It's surprising to hear of all the reports on how some have increased moodiness. My moods have improved, especially while I'm PMS'ing. This pill claims to help with that (PMDD). Overall, I'm very satisfied.

I'm switching to a generic oral contraceptive because Yaz really wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. I used it for 3 months. However, everybody reacts differently, so I'd still recommend it.

I have been taking yaz for 5 months along with Minocycline, which i have been taking for 7 months. I want to go off yaz because of some side effects but im afraid my acne will worsen. I do not know if the Minocycline alone will help my acne. Can anybody help me?

I am 28. I did a round of Accutane about 6 years ago. My results were amazing. I went zit free up until I started nursing school 1 1/2yrs ago. My dermatalogist decided my breakouts were stress related. About 3 mon ago I visited her again. My cystic acne was back along my jawline and chin and it was leaving awful scars. I have a Mirena IUD for contraception. She decided my breakouts were related to it or polycystic ovarian syndrome. She reccommended that I have it out and begin oral contraceptives. I visited with my gyno and he said i could do both. I decided to share so that i could bring attention to polycystic ovarian syndrome and IUD use and the relation to acne.

I started taking Yaz when I was 18 strictly for contraception purposes. I never really had acne before I started taking the pill, maybe a few pimples here and there but nothing like what I'm experiencing now. I took the pill for 5 years and the only real side effect I had was it completely eliminated my sex drive. I didn't realize this until I got off of it 8 months ago, and my libido came back full force. My body's making up for lost time I'd imagine hahah. While I was on it, my skin was pretty much immaculate so that was nice... Plus I never got pregnant so it served it's purpose. After being on it for 5 years I think my body got used to it. I started spotting in between periods, or having periods that lasted for 20-30 days.. NOT FUN. My boyfriend and I decided that after 5 years of artificial hormones, my body needed a break so I stopped taking them. My skin was okay for 2 months, it just got increasingly oily until around the 3 month mark and then BAM. ACNE. LOTS OF IT. MORE THAN I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. On my cheeks too, which I've never experienced before. 8 months later and I'm still trying to tame this beast, unfortunately it seems to be getting worse. I now have acne on my cheeks (primarily the right side), jaw, and chin. I've tried everything from oil cleansing to antibiotics. Moral of the story is... Yaz works wonderfully for some people while they're on it. But if you ever decide to go off of it you better buckle up, because it seems to be a long ride back to clear skin. I'm praying this pill hasn't caused irreversible damage to my hormones because it's already caused some scarring on my skin. Beware. The the risks do not (in my opinion) outweigh the benefits long term. If my 18 year old self had known what would happen, I would have chosen another route of birth control.

I initially went on Yaz after trying a few other birth controls to help control my ovarian cysts. Yaz is the only bc that doesn't make me nauseous, gain weight, or emotional which is great! Downside: HORRIBLE acne. I am 22 years old and I have never had acne this bad. I'm talking 6-7 cysts at a time, black heads, whiteheads, pustules, hyper-pigmentation and scars. The first 3 months were hell on earth. I went to my derm and got on Solodyn, retinol and BP. My acne only kept getting worse. Now it has been 3 months and it's starting to calm down. The only reason I stayed on it is because my doctor said I will really throw my hormones out of whack if I go off so soon. I will do 6 months more and then slowly get off it. My skin is getting better. It's really true what they say about the 3 month mark, like magic it started to disappear. I ordered The Regimen, I drink green tea and I take 60mg of zinc every day. If you take Yaz you NEEEEEEEEED to take zinc supplements. They have really helped. Overall, I do not recommend going on Yaz and I will be getting an IUD soon!

If you are going to try it- give it at least 4 months until you give up. I stuck it out through many embarrassing breakouts and now it works awesome! I don't break out hardly at all (also on the regimen). Try it!!!

I'm 20 and I've had moderate to severe acne on my back and chest since I was 14. I've tried a wide range of topical acne treatments and antibiotics - nothing put a dent in my body acne. It wasn't until I was older that I realized my acne must be hormonal, so I was put on Yaz by my gynecologist. I didn't see any improvement for the first three month, but the only negative side effect I experienced was mild nausea for a day at the beginning, so I stuck with it. At the end of three months my cleared up 80% on my back and 95% on my chest. Oddly, it didn't do much to improve my face acne. I've been on Yaz for a year and a half and my body acne hasn't gone away 100%, but the difference is significant and I've gotten a lot of self esteem back, (which anyone who suffers from body acne knows is a miraculous thing.) I would definitely give Yaz or some kind of birth control a try if you have body acne and have exhausted your other options.