Oral Contraceptives
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Oral contraceptives, otherwise known as birth control pills, are also approved to treat acne. They work by regulating male hormones in the female body. Less male hormones normally lead to less acne. 

Oral contraceptives contain an estrogen component (ethinyl estradiol) that is combined with progestin hormones, such as drospirenone (Yasmin® or Yaz®), norgestimate (Ortho Tri-Cyclen®) or norethindrone (Estrostep®). 

Oral contraceptives are taken once a day with a meal. Make sure to take the pill at the same time every day.

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October 25, 2010
Product used: Yasmin (Oral Contraceptive)

Pros:

Skin is totally clear.
Hair is thick, despite horror stories of thining hair on yasmin.
No noticeable weight gain.
Regular, short periods.
Effective contraceptive.
When the odd spot comes it tends to go quite quickly.

Cons:

My skin did get worse for the first two months of taking Yasmin. It took a few weeks to get used to this pill. To start with I had mood swings, and I felt a little bit sick at times. It was worth continuing with as after three months my skin was so much better.

I am 25 years of age and, unlike so many poor teenagers, my skin had never been bad before. Last November (just in time for Christmas!) my skin went totally bonkers. Large, red bumps appeared on my forehead. They started like little pimples but eventually they spread into angry sore patches. I had general spots on the rest of my face and nothing seemed to make them go away. My face became very sore to touch and unsightly, which affected my mood and I found it hard to do my job with confidence (I am a teacher). A month later things were not getting any better. I went to the doctor after Christmas who said it was just hormone induced acne. He put me on Yasmin and gave me a topical solution (Zineryt) to calm the redness. The first thing I did was google 'Yasmin Acne' and there were plenty of bad reviews online, which made me feel rather disheartened about starting my first pack. However, I took the doctor's advice and thought I would give Yasmin a try. Having now been on it for ten months, I have to say that I am very glad that I did. At first, my skin did seem to get worse. It may have been a reaction to starting a new pill, or simply the fact that my skin would have got worse whether I had been taking a pill or not. I did experience some initial side effects, such as a fuzzy feeling in my head, and the occasional sicky feeling, but these were short lived after a few weeks. Gradually my skin began to clear up, and then suddenly it got better very quickly. The redness and the lumps seemed to fade, and spots became far less profound. My skin is now clear and smooth (touchwood). The deepest acne has left a bit of scarring on my forehead, but it can be covered with a little bit of powder. For me, it seems to have really worked. My advice to anyone who is thinking about trying Yasmin is to give it a go for at least five months before you make your mind up. Do stick with it if you decide to give it a go. I am so glad I did.
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May 9, 2011

Pros:

1.CLEAR SKIN
2.BREAST ENLARGED
3.LESS EMOTIONAL

Cons:

None that I have come across

I had been taking LoEstrin24Fe off and on for two years and it didn't cause MUCH noticable problems until after taking it a year, I was overly emotional, I broke out in cyst like acne on my jaw line and left scars behind from the severe acne. I knew I needed something different because my body was not wanting it. I switched to Ortho Tri-Cyclen LO two months ago and I have never felt better. I am not as bloated as I was, my face is acne free, it is also healthier (creamy looking), and my breast grew a whole cup size. The first month my boobs were tender but after I finished my cycle it went away. Overall I give this birth control a FIVE!!!:))
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February 12, 2011

Pros:

Protection
Cleared Mild Acne
NO weight gain
NO nausea, bloating, stomach pain
NO mood swings
NO decrease in sex drive
NO spotting

Cons:

No cons

Like ALL birth controls, this pill takes at LEAST 3 months for your body to get used to it. I started this pill 9 months ago and have had NO problems. I have tried Loestrin 24 Fe which gave me horrible stomach pains, YAZ which made me have major mood swings, and Seasonique which made me spot every month. This is the first pill I have had success with. Please remember every girl's body is different with different levels of hormones released. With that said, not every pill will work for you. I WOULD recommend this pill to anyone and everyone. Try it for at least 3 months. If you have some weight gain, work out a little more & problem solved. If you have acne, watch your diet. Know your body and what you put in it. Know the active drugs and hormone levels in this and all pills before you take a BC. Take note of what seems to work and what doesn't. Bottom line.... I love this pill. Good luck :)
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June 20, 2011

Pros:

- Breasts are fuller. Amazing.
- Break-outs clearing up quickly.
- Skin feels more youthful on face.
- Eyes seem whiter, healthier
- Appetite suppressed.
- No nausea.
- I feel happier/younger. Feels good.

Cons:

- No Bad Side Effects (So Far) New User. Still on my 1st pack.
- Felt somewhat sleepy the first few days on the non-placebo pills. Perhaps just body adjusting?

I'm still only on the first pack but straight away I noticed my face clearing up very fast. My skin on my face seems more glowing and youthful. It's like a little dose of the fountain of youth, for me this is amazing! I have breakouts of adult acne on my neck, super ugly ones, that are hideous and big boil types that are red and leave really big dark scars, and now they're all going away. Every little bump is going away too. My face seems to be glowing, my eyes seem whiter. My breasts feel very full now, and have since the 2nd day on the blue pills (the first non-placebos) which is a good thing too. It's as if someone did a rewind on the clock of aging, and I am getting back skin elasticity and breast fullness which I feel like I had lost the past 10 years. I'm 41 years old, and although I look quite young and act quite youthful, I was feeling the loss of the estrogen as is natural at my age when the little gray hairs first start appearing and the androgen hormones go up and we start to notice little whiskers, and thing we never had before, and especially break outs on the neck. All of which is very annoying. This happens when our estrogen starts to drop. But, with these pills I feel great and am hoping that I continue to. My real reason for starting these pills was to remove this terrible adult acne from my neck and to keep from getting pregnant. So far, it's better than I anticipated. It's clearing up very fast, and no side effects to complain of.
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February 22, 2011

Pros:

*Skin Clearing*
*Bigger Boobs*
*Feel Happier*
*No Cramps*
*Lighter Periods*
*Regular Periods*

Cons:

*Possibly bigger appetite, but not affecting my weight*

I love Ortho Tri Cyclen! I've only been on it for two months, but my skin looks about 10 times better and it's improved since day one. I started it for acne and because I had super irregular periods. I love knowing exactly when to expect my period and I love that I have no cramps, and my periods are lighter and shorter. My boobs have also gotten bigger (maybe a con for some, but for me that's a pro). Also I just feel happier in general, although that could just be a self esteem boost from my skin clearing up, who knows. I completely recommend trying Orthotricyclen, but it's easy to tell from reading these reviews that it affects everyone differently. I would recommend sticking with it for at least a few months though, so your body has time to get used to the hormones. Good Luck! Hope The Pill helps you like it has been helping me!
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February 4, 2011

Pros:

Not pregnant
Face cleared up
Lightened my period

Cons:

Moodiness
Bloating
Appetite change
Remembering to take it everyday

I only took this for 2weeks works alright. At first my chin had broken out soooo much the first week omg! But I was ok with it because I was on my period so it was normal for me to get like a few pimples. So I didn't stress out about it. However because I get very hormonal and my mood swings are high on my periods, the pills like doubled it! My bf suffered so much one minute I'm yelling at him then crying, then like very sex crazed. Then after my period I was back to normal. My face cleared up nicely feeling soft too. Although my appetite changed. I started to like pig out and bloat like crazy! I'm underweight but still it is not normal for me to eat this much. I wonder what other surprises will this bring. These contain too much hormones for me to handle.
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February 3, 2010

Pros:

really didnt get any side effects at all. i was scared because of everyones bad reviews but i realized how rare they really are, i have a clear face as it is, this didnt make me break out, i didnt change my diet and i didnt gain weight (i eat a ton!) i didnt have mood swings really, yelled at my brother one time but im pretty sure that was all me. =)

Cons:

i did get nauseous. the first 7 white pills went by smoothly, once i hit the blue pill in the second week i started waking up feeling gross. it was a bad nausia... it was just like "well this kinda sucks" and usually it went away after a few minutes. it lasted a few weeks but went away. the first month is the worst but that wasnt even that bad.

do the five count. if you're reading reviews, most of them are complaints. remember those are rare, i was worried but turns out its more of a placebo effect (you expect bad to happen so it does). the five count is where you do you research, and if theres a complaint that bothers you... see if it occurs five time in other reviews, if so move on. the only complaint i got on this was breast enlargment.... to be frank, woman carry their boobs for mens attention... and im nearly positive no man will say "DAMMIT your boobs are bigger.... ugh" so overall this pill is good. also nausia, that will happen with any pill because your body is getting used to the change in estrogen. although, some pills dont deserve the 5 count, if you see a complaint that says "i got pregnant on this pill" either they messed up real bad or that really sucks. that would stop me in my tracks and move on to the next contender. bottom line is, this is an incredible pill aside from an occassional rare complaint, for the most part the reviews are in favor. i was scared at first but i wouldnt change now that i know my symptoms are extremely mild. i recomend it.
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January 17, 2011

Pros:

Worked first time around, but not 2nd.

Cons:

Can only use for a few months before you grow immune

Used this before my wedding and it worked beautifully to clear up my skin. Took 2-3 months to see results. Went off it at 6 months on Derm's recommendation so that I wouldn't build up immunity. Tried it again 8 years later and it didn't work at all.
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May 1, 2011

Pros:

breast enlargement
lost weight
cleared acne
lighter periods
less cramping

Cons:

felt a little sick first couple days but didn't last very long

doctor recomended the pill to me and I'm very glad she did. face is more clear, hair looks shinier, regular periods, very light/no cramping, lost some weight and my breasts grew. I feel more confident and healther. my doctor gave me the pill for free which was nice because I hear tri-cyclen is pretty pricey.
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January 25, 2010
Product used: Yasmin (Oral Contraceptive)

Pros:

- I didn't get pregnant, but that's only because I literally felt my libido die when I started taking it.
- Fractionally bigger breasts that hurt to touch, so they were surely useful.

Cons:

- No sex drive. At all. As in, it took care of the only reason I was taking a contraceptive in the first place.
- I broke out. Not just a little. My face was clear before I started, and two weeks later my cheeks, jawline and around my mouth turned into a warzone.
- Weight gain. I had bigger boobs, but then again, I had bigger everything despite zero changes in my diet or exercise patterns.
- Thrush. Enough said.
- Horrible, horrible breakthrough bleeding. I FELT like I was bleeding t

Okay, I know I sound really, really negative, but going on the pill did nothing for my skin. I was taking it as a contraceptive, and it worked beautifully because it made me feel so self-conscious that I didn't want to have sex. I retained so much water that I felt like a bag of pudding, and I am still struggling to get rid of it. The state it left my skin in absolutely broke my heart. Please, for the love of all that is good, if you are taking a blind guess that your acne is hormonal, have some tests done. Don't go messing with your hormones if you don't have to, because nobody deserves to go through the pain of feeling like their body has turned against them and that they have lost control. Months later I am still trying to find the love I had for myself before I started taking this pill. My skin is slowly getting back to normal. Don't get me wrong, this absolutely does work for some girls, but it works for girls whose acne is hormonal. Mine wasn't. I cleared it up for the most part with zinc supplements, a good diet, exercise and lots of water, and this set me back a thousand steps. Now I have to start again. Just know what you're getting into before you put all of your hope into it. Don't mess with your hormones if you don't have to.
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