YAZ : Oral Contraceptive

OB/Gyn stuck me on this because of my skin. It hasn't done anything yet. No improvement after 7 weeks. I want clear skin for when I finally see my long distance sweetheart--it's possible I might look decent again by our date, but if I do, I'll be too dry to have much fun. I can't pin down my periods anymore. I've had two this month and they last much longer than they should. I also have breakthrough bleeding more days than not. I think it may also be affecting my mood. I am extra grumpy and emotional.

The depression and side effects of feeling like I was losing it wasn't worth the clear skin.....and I was willing just to do about anything to clear up cystic acne! Not worth it for me. Regular Yasmin bc much better choice for me.

After I went off the pill a few years ago I developed really bad, painful cystic acne all over my jaw and cheeks. It was a constant struggle with tons of products, diet and lifestyle changes, etc but nothing helped. It took about 2 years of this until I realized I had to go back on the pill. I went on another one before Yaz which did not make any difference, and after 5 months started Yaz. It took about 4 months until my skin was completely clear. So be patient and it will work for yoy too. I've seriously never been happier with my skin. As for other "effects" of Yaz, the first couple of months my mood was just volatile and I was a bit irritable and resated to everything but that passed. I now feel stable and rarely get mood swings. Also didn't gain any weight nor did my boobs grow (unfortunately)

I've had cystic acne on my chin appearing like clockwork a week before my period and I would spend the rest of the month attempting to get rid of it, just for it to leave a scar and another one to appear the next month. This gets rid of cystic acne very fast, within a week at the least but if you're still having problems I suggest cutting out dairy for the 2 weeks before your period-- It worked for me and I was amazed. I got changed off of Vestura to Nikki and it still works for my face. However, I have had TERRIBLE mood swings and headaches. Before I realized it was the medicine, I could not go 3 days without crying my eyes out. I'm going to ask my derm to go back to Vestura because I can't go Nikki for much longer, so if you get put on a generic and you notice changes in mood and general feeling, ASK TO BE SWITCHED TO ANOTHER GENERIC. It will save your life.

*** 02/2017-- I'm leaving my original review from July 2016 at the bottom. I went off Yaz in September 2016, and that time it was for good. I never had any mood problems while taking Yaz, but when I stopped taking it I developed full-blown Panic Disorder. I'm talking about panic attacks everyday, and the constant feeling like something bad was about to happen. My heart rate was a constant 110-120 beats per minute. My life was hell for 3 months until December when it started to go away. DO NOT go on this medication, it SUCKS. I almost had to drop out of my last semester of nursing school because of it.*** July 2016- I do not have PCOS, but I have elevated DHEA-S (twice the normal limit) and slighty elevated Cortisol. I went on Yaz after Ortho Tri Cyclen and 50mg Spironolactone stopped working for me. I've had no bad side effects or adverse reactions. It cleared 95% of my breakouts. I also have a history of migraines with aura. I only had 2 of these migrianes, and they were 5 years before I started Yaz. I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 because when I tried to go off it, I had the WORST break out imaginable. I quickly went back on again.

I am hesitant to give it 4 stars because I think it might be becoming less effective in helping my acne. I am 19 years old and I have suffered with acne since middle school and I haven't actually tried to get rid of it until I graduated high school. My skin is very oily and I get blackheads and white heads in my T-zone. The first 2-4 weeks my acne definitely got worse but it started clearing up after about the 3 month mark and all was well for another 3-4 months. My acne never fully went away but it was significantly better, and now it's slowly starting to get worse again :( I do think it is a good pill because I think back to before I took it and oh my goodness my face was MUCH worse.

I've been on Yaz for 4 1/2 years and it really does work -- totally eliminated body acne and my face is pretty good, not perfect, but nothing that can't be remedied with a few applications of benzoyl peroxide. I tried going off it though, and I was so greasy and acne started showing up in bizarre places. I'm back on it now but hoping I'll outgrow my acne by the time I actually want to get pregnant? Maybe I'll have other things to worry about at that point?

I've had acne since my teens and it got worse in my early twenties. Breakouts were concentrated on my jawline, chin, and neck. My dermatologist informed me it was hormonal and prescribed Yaz. The only side effects I experienced were leg cramps in the lower part of my legs and sore breasts when I initially started the pills. I saw a major improvement after using it for 5-6 months. I rarely had breakouts and if I did get a pimple it was relatively small and controllable. Painful cystic acne had disappeared. After 1.5 years of use I stopped and my acne is at is worse 5 months after I discontinued it. I just started taking the pill again this month. The pill does the job exceptionally well but it requires you to take the pill consistently and forever. This is going to be a problem for those who want to get off the pill. I was told by my pharmacist that there is a placebo pill available for those who want to get off the pill; I forgot the exact name she told me but I think the name started with a "D". I will have to discuss it with my dermatologist.

After years of painful hormonal acne and trying all the creams in the world I went to my doctor and she prescribed Yaz (my first BCP). Within the first 3-4 weeks of use my skin already had begun to clear up and calm down with less angry breakouts and pimples that weren't as deep under the skin. The only thing is that my body did not like it one bit! I had severe nausea the whole time I was on Yaz (only a month). And when I say "severe", I mean SEVERE. I also started to feel quite lethargic since starting it. It was so bad that I have now changed pill. I don't know if this will happen with everyone or if it was just too strong for me. Despite this, it did wonders for my skin :) I would recommend this for those with severe to moderate acne but side effects always vary between women. If the side effects such as nausea, tiredness and any emotional changes (no emotional changes for me so far) are too much to deal with, it is so not worth staying on. Get on a different one!

I went on this birth control after I had a bad reaction to a generic brand of loestrin fe 24. My Gyno recommended it since the generic would be free under my insurance. Worst mistake ever! I never had skin issues. The occasional breakout during my period or from stress. Well the fillers in the generic brand did not work well with me body at all. So I made my first appt to the dermatologist (I'm 25) to see what the heck I could do to get my skin back to normal & she suggested yaz, being it's FDA approved to help with acne. Once I started yaz the first month I broke out even worse! Cystic pimples on my jawline and by my mouth! It was horrible. My dr told me I needed to give it time & it was normal so I stuck with it. The 2nd month my skin cleared and looked decent. Well now I'm on the 2nd week of my 3rd pack & I wanna flip sh*t on my dr for telling to stick it out! My face has never looked this bad. I feel so self conscious & cry to my fiancé. I also have had some stomach issues & problems wearing contacts since starting yaz. Stressing from it does not make it any better! I decided to stop taking the pill TODAY. I don't know if I wanna go back on any bc. I want my hormones to balance out back to normal! Hopefully this clears up soon before the holidays. It's hard to deal with painful cysts on your face when you never had acne before! So my suggestion to anyone going on this; do not do it! If anything get your hormone levels tested before choosing any birth control to find the perfect one for you.