Oral Contraceptive
Efficacy
63%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Note: Improvement significantly increases after 24 weeks.
Oral Contraceptive
Acne.org’s Real World Take
All oral contraceptives appear to clear the skin about the same amount. Some people report cessation of acne symptoms and others see partial relief. However, messing with hormones is messing with hormones and it’s best to proceed with caution. But if you’re looking to take the birth control pill anyway, one of the benefits is clearer skin.
Oral Contraceptive
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this medication. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one.
Used Drospirenone (Yasmin®, Yaz®)? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
March 10, 2013
Product used: Yasmin (Oral Contraceptive)
Cons:
No birth control pill, no matter how "weak" has worked for me acne-wise. They have all made be break through bleed, gave me worse skin, made me gain weight (this one included).
Try it, but don't expect a miracle. Stop if you start gaining weight or your skin gets worse (with Dr.'s approval, I guess.) Don't believe it when anyone tells you the bp doesn't make acne worse.
May 10, 2012
Product used: Yasmin (Oral Contraceptive)
Pros:
Clearer skin
Lighter/shorter periods
Not pregnant!
Cons:
Bad mood swings
Weight gain
Low sex drive
Depression
Lack of motivation
Before taking this pill I used sudocrem which cleared up my skin almost completely, when I started taking yasmin my skin became spotless! However, I immediately noticed an increase in my appetite and I generally felt down all the time despite usually being quite a cheery person. I carried on taking the pill for over a year until I gave up. I am a student at university and I'd lost all motivation and was convinced the pill was involved. Since coming off of it I have suffered terrible mood swings, irregular periods and quite bad skin breakouts. I wouldn't recommend this pill at all! It may give you clear skin but it's not worth all the other stuff, coming off of it isn't easier either!
April 24, 2012
Product used: Yasmin (Oral Contraceptive)
Pros:
- worked as a contraceptive
Cons:
- acne breakouts
- mood swings
- cravings
- heavy and irregular menstruations
- low sex drive etc.
Funny thing, I used to take this OC for almost ten years then had our baby and now my body can just not handle this one at all anymore. For improving skin, I can not recommend it anymore. My skin used to be ok before. Now my chin and jawline are full of cystic, painful pimples. I am tired and moody.
I didn't gain weight though...which is good.
The other side effects are even worse than the breakouts...not the BCP for me.
April 23, 2012
Product used: YAZ (Oral Contraceptive)
Pros:
Cleared up my acne - I have only 1 zit left!
Cons:
Makes me angry, depressed, suicidal.
Spotted all month
I don't even want to be around my partner, I cannot control my anger and it is ruining my relationship and it is like night and day being on the pill versus off. My friends and partner noticed a mood change and when I went off the pill I was extremely happy and noticed a huge change, but my acne came back :(
Don't do it. Try a different pill. Yasmin and Yaz are horrible for me in the mood department, I'm going to try Marvelon next to see if it reduces my acne and allows me to be sane. This is not worth it!!!!
April 9, 2012
Product used: Yasmin (Oral Contraceptive)
Pros:
Weight loss, acne control for the first two years, birth control
Cons:
Intense painful deep acne in the 3rd and ongoing years, poor circulation, always cold, intense mood swings and deep depression and anxiety, pain in the legs indicating possible blood clots.
Bottom line is I would STRONGLY advise finding another method of birth control/acne prevention, anything really besides this drug. Not only are there obvious possible side effects such as the blood clotting, but I could not believe the emotional roller coaster I was on while on this medication. I was seriously considering going to therapy for depression ad anxiety because I could not understand why I was always feeling so anxious and having weekly meltdowns for no reason. Since switching I have an actual appetite, I am remarkably happier, have less acne and a much warmer body temperature! I understand there are risks with each oral contraceptive you choose, I just highly advise otherwise especially if it's simply for acne prevention!
April 7, 2012
Product used: YAZ (Oral Contraceptive)
Pros:
It's better than Diane35 and Yazmin (DONT TAKE THEM!)
- I've run out of Pro's :S
Cons:
- Gained 5 kilo's in 10 months
- Migraines
- Constant Headaches
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Didn't really clear my acne
- Digestive problems
- Insomnia
- I had a day where I had one blurry eye
- Chest Pains
- Cravings
- Only felt good when I was on the sugar pills (GO FIGURE)
- I developed intolerance's to things too
So many more things!
I dont like to be negative but please look at different alternative's. I've done some research and the newer pills seem to have a lot of problems. I've tried everything to cure my acne and the only thing that seems to work is if I try to de stress as much as I can, drink heaps of water, limit alcohol, eat a healthy diet, take out dairy, exercise and try to eat foods that are easy to digest. My acne decreases and sometimes clears up completely whenever I've achieved a good balance of all of these things. From experience I believe that severe acne is caused by stress and diet ..... HOWEVER your acne won't clear up if you just de stress for one day - you have to add it to your daily routine. Back to this pill; i had so many different side effects from this. It's horrible. I've also don't a lot of research on this and theres heaps of side effects. People have even developed blood clots and died. I stopped it recently when I had a blurred eye for a day and then looked on the net and found a youtube video on somebody who became permanently blind from the Yaz pill. NO JOKE! OH and my friend was on it for 2 months and developed a clot in her leg. Luckily she's fine but what if she didn't pick that up? it could have travelled up to her lungs!! Anyways; good luck! i know how horrible it is to have acne but don't let it bother you - your going to find out what works for you, just keep on trying and monitor the effects.
March 13, 2012
Product used: YAZ (Oral Contraceptive)
Pros:
Cleared most acne within 3 weeks
Bigger boobs
Cons:
Vomiting
Constant anxiety and nausea
Horrible panic attacks
I can't explain how TERRIBLE this medicine made me feel. I'm on Welbutrin and Prozac, which have been successful in helping with my anxiety disorder and depression. I was prescribed Yaz after being diagnosed with PCOS to help with acne and excess hair. After staying up ALL NIGHT vomiting during the third week of taking the pill, however, I had to stop taking it. For a month after stopping, I had the worst panic attacks I've ever had in my life. I was suicidal and felt like I was never going to feel normal again. After a month I started feeling better, but if you have a history of anxiety or depression, be prepared just in case! From what I can tell, these are fairly common side effects.
March 8, 2012
Product used: Yasmin (Oral Contraceptive)
Pros:
I'm not pregnant!
Cons:
Terrible feeling of sickness most days
Always tired
Hormones went crazy
Weight gain
Spots in first month
Ive never taken such a terrible pill in my life. I've always had a very high sex drive with my partner until taking these pills. On the 7th day of the monthly break from taking the pill did my sex drive start to come back so I know it's definitely this pill. I'm a very strong minded person and this pill makes me cry about everything which is definitely not me lol. I'm moody, angry and my anxiety is sky high. Never ever again.
March 2, 2012
Product used: YAZ (Oral Contraceptive)
Pros:
Didn't get pregnant.
Cons:
EXTREME mood swings
Irritability
Depression
Irregular periods
Didn't lighten my period
Bad cramps
Nausea
Dizziness
Made my skin worse (acne)
It made me miserable,
and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
February 25, 2012
Product used: YAZ (Oral Contraceptive)
Pros:
no pros
Cons:
abdominal pain
vomiting
nausea
heavy periods
long periods ( i had it for 27 days)
headaches
back pains
lost of appetite
I will not recommend this product, i have never felt this bad in my life. It put me in the hospital for days.
Pros:
Cheap with RX plan.