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...

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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Anonymous

November 14, 2010

Pros:

* Cramps are much more tolerable and only last the first day of my period if I have any at all. When I was not on Ortho (BC), my cramps were debilitating (servere) for the first one to two days of my period.
* Cleared up my skin beautifully. With Ortho (BC), I have very rare, infrequent, and minor breakouts. Without Ortho (BC), my breakouts were moderate to moderately severe and continual. I had large, cystic, painful acne on a regular basis.
* Helps heal ovarian cysts.
* Lighter, regul

Cons:

* Tanks your sex drive. (Loss of frequent intamacy with my spouse)
* Can make you very nauseated when you take the first one to two pills with each new pack. Possibly b/c the hormone dosage is high.
* In my opinion, mood swings were much less off the pill.

I recommend this brand of BC. Especially if you have painful, moderate to severe acne, heavy, irregular periods, moderate to severe cramps, or frequent ovarian cysts. It should help tremendously. Do your research, and talk to a doctor. It does help prevent pregnancy, of course, but I would only recommend it for the other reasons, unless you are married, as I do not condone premarital sex.

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March 27, 2010

Pros:

No babies =)
Know when my period will be

Cons:

Acne is worse. I used to only have light acne and now it's like it's spreading all over my face...
I've considered just getting rid of Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo and using condoms just to get my skin back!

I was on the generic for 2 months and it worked great with no side effects. At the Health Department I started getting the name brand and after a month, I started breaking out like crazy on my chin and felt absolutely HORRIBLE with mood swings and got depressed and ended up crying all the time. I'm on my 4th month of the regular Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo and I've started taking Zoloft and feel great, so the only side effect I can see is my ACNE!!! I'm going to keep testing it I guess and maybe see if the regular Ortho Tri Cyclen and not the Lo will do a better job

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October 4, 2006

Pros:

Within 3 months of use it cleared my skin up a great deal.
Any breakouts that I have now are minor and clear up quickly.
Pretty cheap too.

Cons:

The first 3 months of getting used to it are difficult.
You bloat and have mood swings and feel generally gross. But that does go away and things begin to even out.

I was on OTC for about 8 years and then got off for 2 years. When I'm not on it my skin has regular breakouts. Not necessarily awful ones but often my face is red, irritated, and the zits--while sparse--are painful and sometimes large. I went back on birth control about 4 months ago and this time switched to the generic OTC called Tri-Sprintec. After 3 months my skin looks fantastic and I feel much more confident. It takes some time for your body to adjust and for your moods to settle down. But hang in there because when it starts to work it makes a huge difference in how you look and how confident you feel. With insurance my perscription is only $20 for a 3 month supply.

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Ashley

October 29, 2012

Pros:

Reduced acne
Increased breast size
Prevents pregnancy

Cons:

Breast soreness
Initial breakout
Slight mood swings during initial phase

I would recommend this for females suffering from hormonal acne. I was on depo provera for about two years and did not experience any negative side affects. About four months ago, I started to experience hormonal and stress-related breakouts (cystic acne around chin, jaw, and temples). I tried different topicals, diet changes, vitamins, etc. I believe that truly hormonal acne can be helped or reduced somewhat, but unfortunately not significantly with these methods. I decided to try Ortho Tri Cyclen after researching the the benefits of estrogen-dominant BC on reducing hormonal acne. I am on my second month of pills. I did experience a moderate breakout after starting the new BC. I don't know if this was a result of stopping Depo Provera or starting Ortho Tri Cyclen. I have seen gradual improvement since. Hopefully, improvement will continue. I have heard that it can take several months for your body to adjust to the hormones. In addition to decreased breakouts, my breast size has increased about half a cup so far. Since I was small to begin with, this is not a problem. However, I am still experiencing some soreness. Overall, the benefits definitely outweigh any minor issues during the first two months. Highly recommend for anyone experiencing hormonal breakouts.

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deardreee.

January 16, 2011

Pros:

- Over all skin clarity is a bit clearer.
- Losing some weight.

Cons:

- CONSTANT feeling of nausea.
- Some new zits / skin problems have formed.
- Either so starving you can eat anything, or so full you can't even think of food.
- Nighttime headaches.
- Morning vomiting.
- More tired / lazier.

I've only been on this pill for about a week or two so far, but I'll tell you it's been one hell of a time already. I always feel like I'm going to vomit .. and when I say always, I mean ALWAYS. Sometimes I actually do. Migraines at night when I'm trying to sleep always occur. You can only take this pill right after your evening meal, at a specific time. New pimples have formed, I guess I should use more makeup then planned when I go out now-__- Overall, this pill so far is HORRID, but we'll see how my body decides to react to it after week 4. Wish me luck.

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tplus

April 29, 2010

Pros:

Prevents pregnancy, regulates period

Cons:

Some people gain weight (I did!), helps with acne but NOT a cure

It is helpful and does its job by preventing pregnancy but should not be a cure for acne. Might help with acne but not cure it. Another side effect is weight gain, this is due to the fact that you are tricking your body into thinking you are pregnant so that you don't get pregnant in reality. When your body thinks it's pregnant it naturally begins building up a fat store on your abdominal region to prepare for the baby. Another thing many women don't consider when thinking about birth control is that fact that it can alter you psychologically. I switched to another birth control before and suddenly became very anxious, nervous, and depressed. I switched back and have been feeling much better, and back to my normal self. Not all birth control pills contain the same hormones and different hormones effect people differently, some having more chance of causing mental problems than others. While this can sound scary it shouldn't stop you from using birth control, just do your research and pay attention to how it effects you.

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Kris

November 11, 2009

Pros:

Increased breast size, helped clear acne, milder cramps

Cons:

Hair loss the first month I was on it, mood swings

I would recommend it but make sure it is not the generic version of ortho tri-cyclen, that stuff was horrible!

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Brittany

November 10, 2009

Pros:

Cleared my face up, Less Cramps, Made my breasts grow a little more, Can Enjoy unprotected sex with my boyfriend now.

Cons:

Tenderness in my breasts, a little more emotional then usual, slight nausea in the first week.

This is the first bc I have ever used, so far, so good. It has not caused me any problems at all.

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CLM0234

April 1, 2009

Pros:

No babies, Bigger boobs, clears acne, No weight gain

Cons:

None after you take the pills for a full 2 -3 months

This pills does help clear up acne it just takes some time. I have been using this pill for about 3 months now and at first it made my acne worse. But after 3 months my skin is clear and the plus side is I have bigger boobs as well. So it just takes time for your body to get use to this pill.

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Anonymous

January 26, 2009

Pros:

improves acne, fuller and firmer boobs, controls period

Cons:

only improves acne. does not clear it.

Ortho tri cyclen lo did not clear up my acne completely. I thought it didnt do much of anything because I still got a few pimples here and there but when i stopped taking it I started breaking out all over. I had actually forgotten how horrible bacne felt and realized the pill really did help. Im wondering if ortho tri cyclen will be more effective than the low dosage...

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