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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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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shiranami

March 15, 2010

Pros:

i never got pregnant by accident!

Cons:

did nothing for acne, gained weight, extremely decreased libido

i took tricyclen for 15 years because it was the only hormonal acne treatment on the market until yaz and the like came out. well, it did nothing for my acne whatsoever but i stayed on it for the BC effects. after going off it before switching to yaz, my breasts were firmer, i actually had a sex drive, and i lost about 13lbs.

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vapor-trail

March 9, 2010

Pros:

* improved acne
* regulated periods

Cons:

* weight gain, uncontrollable appetite

This might not be the same for everyone, but I've been a skinny girl for my entire life and still gained a good 10 pounds on this stuff, even after completely overhauling my diet, going to the gym and lifting weights three or four times a week, and drinking lots of water and black coffee every day. I even had to keep a bunch of cottage cheese stocked in my fridge just in case I woke up hungry in the middle of the night (which I did most nights). The day that my second period after quitting Ortho started, my appetite went back to normal just like that and I lost all the weight I gained and more over the next month without even trying. On the bright side, Ortho did motivate me to make a bunch of lifestyle changes to ward off the weight gain. I completely stopped drinking soda and started eating more whole grains, vegetables, and animal proteins, and I got lots of exercise and built up some muscle. I had a ton of energy and felt great overall, even though most of my clothes were uncomfortably tight. My skin was never better, too. After a few months, though, I finally got sick of fighting with my stomach and stopped taking Ortho. My skin turned back into pizza until I finally discovered the magic of Acne.org Treatment and talked to my doctor about Alesse, a low-estrogen BC pill, which hasn't caused any horrible side effects in the month so far that I've been on it. So, like, I'll probably review Alesse later. Bottom line: Ortho Tri-Cyclen made my face purty, also made me fat. I personally wouldn't take it again (and I went on it twice with the same outcome both times), but your results may vary.

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LeslieTM

March 5, 2010

Pros:

-Larger Breasts

Cons:

-Gained weight
-BAD acne, cysts
-Moody
-Depression
-Changed appetite
-When I got off my period was worse

I took this because at the time I had no health insurance and this pill is free from Planned Parenthood. Only stayed on it for little over a week because I did not like the side effects it gave me. One thing I did enjoy was my breasts got noticeably bigger, I'm tiny so it shows. However I gained some water weight and my acne was worse. I broke out in cystic acne all over. I noticed I was in a bad mood and more emotional. I felt depressed and withdrawn. I quickly got off this pill.

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Sophie

February 24, 2010

Pros:

-no side effects AT ALL
-prevents pregnancy
-larger breasts

Cons:

-skin is neutral: neither worse or better (this isn't really a con, its so-so)

Before I went on the pill, I read the review just before mine. I was scared sh*tless because of the terrible reviews and then I read that review, made me feel better. So i went on it, surprising absolutely NO SIDE EFFECTS what so ever, which is a good thing. However there aren't any benefits that I wanted. Overall I'd say this is a SAFE PILL to go on if you don't want to experience side effects.

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krystal

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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Kristen

January 29, 2010

Pros:

bigger boobs, no kids, no weight gain

Cons:

not helping with acne, which is mainly why I choose this birth control

I posted about a month ago, giving this a 5 rating, because the first month my acne was really subsiding. But a little after I posted my review my acne started to creep up on me again. I fringin jinxed myself! anyway, I'm still on the pill because beside the face not clearing, it serves its purpose. But I've decided to use Dan's regime on acne.org to fix my acne. Maybe the pill would have worked if I waited til the third month was completely over, but I just couldn't wait it out. Hope this review helps.

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Jessasaurusrex

January 29, 2010

Pros:

I think it cleared up my acne (can't be sure since I do other things to treat it) but it definitely did help if not eliminated my acne. Also it was free at Planned Parenthood.

Cons:

Broke me out really bad at first.

My skin has gone from moderately severe to light. I believe it's because of birth control. My acne is almost completely gone. Give it time and don't get discouraged if it breaks you out at first because in the end it did wonders for me.

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Sophie R.4

January 27, 2010

Pros:

slightly bigger breasts...at first

Cons:

worse acne, weigh gain, bloating, tiredness

i was hopeful to start this as it was my first birth control pill, my mild acne flared up within the first 2 weeks but i stuck it out. unfortunately it only got worse and after the alloted 3 months i switched to YAZ, which i have been on for 2 weeks and my skin has already started to improve. also no weird mood swings or deperssion that alot of people have claimed to have. good luck, but try yaz.

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freshfighter64

January 22, 2010

Pros:

Prevented pregnancy. Made breast bigger.Covered by most insurance companies.

Cons:

Weight gain, mood swings, break through bleeding.

This was the first birth control pill I was on. The first month I gained 15 lbs. I didnt gain any after that but still many years later I still can not get down the weight I was before taking this pill. On the plus side my breast did go from a B cup to a C cup! I didnt ever really see a major difference is my skin either. Only after trying other birth control pills did I see a difference.

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