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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Used Oral Contraceptives? Rate It:

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July 9, 2011

Pros:

Skin was flawless on the last 2 weeks from the higher dose of hormone.

Cons:

New breakouts almost daily on the first 2 weeks (the lower doses)

I tried this birth control a few months ago for my hormonal acne.. As I mentioned, the last two weeks were amazing but the first two weeks were not. I took it for 4 months, hoping it would level out.. but alas, it never did. Everyone is different, though.
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July 9, 2011

Pros:

Helps keep acne under control
Helps prevent unwanted pregnancies

Cons:

Intense mood swings
Breast soreness

Overall, this is a good birth control for acne. My doctor told me it is one of the birth controls that has been proven to help acne, which I see is true. I was on this specific birth control for three years. I stopped taking it because any birth control is not the best thing for a womans body. Six months later my face was out of control with acne. I tired so many different things to clear my face, but nothing was working. Finally, I got back on this birth control and my face has greatly improved. Unfortunately my face has not gone back to the complete acne-free clearness it was, but now that I am used to having acne it is nice to have something keep it under control.
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June 30, 2011

Pros:

None.

Cons:

So dizzy couldn't stand up
Extremely nauseous
loss of energy
sadness
no motivation
expensive

I could only take three of these pills before I had to stop completely. I realize that you can't judge birth control in 3 days but this pill really jacked me up. I had heard so many good things about it for acne that after months of debate I finally decided to give it a try. Well...it didn't work out as expected. It made me extremely nauseous even with doing everything the doctor recommended (such as taking it at night and with food). It also made me extremely moody, dizzy to the point of not being able to stand up, faint feeling, and I had a loss of energy and appetite. Not only that, but in the three days that I took it, my face got worse. I hope this works better for you than it did for me... oh and did I mention that it's $50.00??
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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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June 17, 2011

Pros:

*no babies

Cons:

*yeast infections
*breast soreness after 3rd pack
*worse menstrual cramps
*no improvement with acne
*spotting (even after 3 months)
*mood swings at beginning week of changing hormones

I posted a review over 2 months ago about this contraceptive. I've currently been on it for almost 5 months now and feel that I'm more eligible to post a legit review. So the first few months I experienced no side effects but no benefits either. Around my 3rd pack I was experiencing breast pain, spotting, extreme mood swings. I'm now at the end of my 4th pack and my acne is the same, except that I now break out on my chest/back at times,this pill hasn't helped it one bit, which I don't understand...Oooh, and more importantly it has made my cramps worse. I already suffer from really bad menstrual cramps and thought birth control was supposed to help. I'm contemplating waiting out another month (5th pack) but am not sure yet. My body just doesn't seem to be adjusting. My gyno want's to switch me to Yasmin.
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June 16, 2011

Pros:

No acne, Regular periods, not getting pregnant(Duh! Lol)

Cons:

Very hard periods, cravings

I've been on this pill for about 5 months now. At first I got pretty bi cravings though I ate a lot more at first I didn't gain weight. I haven't noticed any more or less mood swings but come my time of the month, I get intense PMS. I didn't get my period at all when I didn't take the pill and if I did there would be no PMS at all. But since on the pill I get painful cramping and just over all sick feeling. I'm thinking of switching birth control method.
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June 8, 2011

Pros:

My moderate acne COMPLETELY went away. Lighter periods, a lot less period cramping (I used to have severe pain).

Cons:

I'm always hungry when I take it, after the first year I had gained 10 pounds, and then could not manage to lose the weight.

I ended up going off of the this medication a month ago because of the weight gain/always feeling hungry. Since then, I did lose about 6 pounds, and my appetite has been a lot more normal. However, my acne is already back (I had forgot how bad it was). I'm afraid that cystic acne will return, and I will probably go back on ortho tri-cyclen as soon as I can get into the doc for a prescription. I had a fair amount of scarring and redness from acne breakouts in the past and over the past year or so it finally started to fade away and I was finally comfortable going out in public without makeup on occasion. (I used to NEVER go out without foundation on, even on a quick tirp to the grocery store or fast food drive through) I'm on the fence between trying out a different BC that will hopefully work on my acne and won't cause the appetite problems, but am afraid that if a different birth control doesn't work I will end up with more scarring.
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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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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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April 8, 2011

Pros:

Clears acne
Regular, predictable periods

Cons:

Can get a bit expensive for name brand, depending on your insurance, but it's worth it!!

I've been taking Orthotricyclen (off and on) since I was about 17 years old. I'm 30 now and it's the ONLY BC that I will take. I love it! I'm not sure where all of the negative reviews are coming from, but everyone's body is different. I will add that Orthotricyclen is NOT a generic brand and I have never known it to cost any LESS than $20 (copayment) for a 30 day supply. So those of you who claim to have received Orthotricyclen at $10 and even FREE?? You may want to double-check and make sure that you have not received the GENERIC version of Orthotricyclen which is called TRI-SPRINTEC or something of that nature. I usually have moderate acne, but when I'm on Orthotricyclen, my skin clears up wonderfully. Whenever I go off of it, my skin will stay pretty clear for about 8-12 months and then my acne will start to come back, until I start the pill again. My periods are always very regular with this pill. My period usually lasts for 5-7 days when I'm not on the pill, and there's no change in my period length when I'm on it. I also love that I can tell exactly when my period will start by where I am with the pills. By the time I take the last "active pill", my period is there with in 24 hours. All in all, I love this pill. It sucks that it's getting a bad rap, because it really does clear my acne up better than anything else that I have ever tried. But like I said, everyone's body is different. Just please be sure that it is actually Orthotricyclen that you are having issues with and not the generic brand.
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The right dermatologist can make a big difference to your patient experience and the success of your acne treatment plan. Here are the steps to find a dermatologist who is a good fit:

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