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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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April 2, 2013

Pros:

anti-baby

Cons:

-Acne, need I say more?

I took this pill last year, hoping to make my skin perfect. (I'm a bit of a perfetionist) My skin was always clear, every now and then would get the odd cystic pimple. I took this pill in order manage that, made my skin SO much worse. I'm still dealing with it 8 months later, my face has been ruined because of this pill. Biggest mistake I could of ever made, I cry about it at times. I hate this pill. Please consider other options before taking contraceptives, trust me.
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March 13, 2013

Cons:

- Major cystic breakouts
- Moody
- Weight gain

I had moderate acne prior to taking this birth control. It wasn't until the second week on the pill that my face started to react drastically. I started to get cystic breakouts all over my face: a lot along the jawline and also on my cheeks, where I never had acne before. My face was bright red and it was noticeably bad (my mom, who never comments on it, even asked me why my acne had gotten so bad). After two months on the pill, I decided to stop taking it because I could not handle it anymore. My face immediately improved and a week after I stopped taking it, I started taking Vitamin B5 and the vitamin Beta Carotene. It's been about 6 months now and my skin is perfectly clear! To begin with, I was very skeptical about taking this birth control or any birth control, because of all the side affects and how unnatural it is. I suggest looking up the vitamins I mentioned and trying those first! Unless you're willing to bare through 8 months of severe acne, I wouldn't try Ortho Tri-Cyclen!
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February 5, 2013

Pros:

nothing

Cons:

nausea
bloating
messed up face-got more scars
mood swings
depression

It's not worth it and I've been on this pill for two months. My face has never been worse. I'm so sad and am going to try yasmin next.
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July 27, 2012

Pros:

Lighter periods
Protection against pregnancy (obviously)
Cleared up forehead

Cons:

Cystic acne on chin
Small breakouts elsewhere
HORRIBLE mood swings
Period twice in one month

I was on Lutera for almost 5 years before I went off of it due to it giving me horrible cystic acne on my chin. After 6 months of being off of it my skin finally cleared up but I wanted to go back on a birth control that would not give me such bad hormonal acne. My doctor initially recommended OrthotriCyclin Lo but my pharmacy ended up giving me the generic version Tri Sprintec. I got through my first pack and stopped taking it. I took the first pill on the Sunday after my period and a week later I had a painful cyst on my chin that healed with a scar. That's not even the worst part. What really threw me off was the fact that I got my period twice in one month with the second period being the heaviest, most painful period I've ever had in my life. To go along with the full week of pain, I also turned into what my best friend later described as, "a raging hormonal psychopath." I'm going back to my doctor do discuss the side effects I experienced and hopefully can get on a pill that won't have such a negative effect on me.
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July 1, 2012

Pros:

regulated period, easy to use packaging

Cons:

horrible breakouts

I originally went on Ortho Tri Cyclen to clear my moderate acne and turned it into moderately severe. It took a real toll on my self esteem. I took this pill for 2 months hoping to see improvement but it got so bad that I had to quite taking it. It's mainly the first 2 weeks of each package that did me in because of the higher amounts of estrogen in those weeks. I think my body is just really sensitive to excess amounts of estrogen. If you're like I am, I'd probably switch to Lo-estrin or ortho tri cyclen lo. I don't doubt it works it just didn't work for me.
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February 10, 2012

Pros:

No weight gain

Cons:

Severe Facial Acne
Tender Breast
Breast enlargement
Abdominal Cramping
Nausea

I have been on this medication for two weeks and have experienced the worst facial acne ever! As a woman with larger breast for mine to get any bigger is frightening; as well as, the breast tenderness I have experienced. It has actually curbed my appetite a bit though.
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December 9, 2011

Pros:

-Didn't get pregnant.
-My skin was beautiful while I was on it
-I actually lost weight

Cons:

-Anxiety
-Horrible irritability
-When I decided to stop taking it is when my acne started
-Unbalanced my hormones

I wasn't on the medication to help acne. But once I went off of it. I messed my face up. I'm still trying to get it back to normal and it's been over a year
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November 23, 2011

Pros:

Only $10 with health insurance

Cons:

Unbearable nausea
Headaches
Stomach cramping
Constipation
No noticeable change in acne

I got on this in the hopes that it would help my acne. I have hardly ever had acne except for the occasional breakout and then suddenly got a major flair up back in June (I am 19). Please note that when they mention that the pills may cause "pregnancy symptoms", they mean it. I had the absolute worst morning/afternoon sickness accompanied with occasional headaches, stomach cramping, and constipation. To top it all off, my acne didn't budge. My doctor said that the sickness and other symptoms were due to the fact that this pill distributes different levels of hormones every day, kind of going up and down like a sea saw. This tends to make some women sick, apparently. It didn't work for me, but it might work for you. For me, it was hell. I would rather my worst period than this stuff.
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November 3, 2011

Pros:

Pregnancy Prevention

Cons:

Break outs!
Pimples!
Break outs!
& More Pimples!!

So I've been on this pill for only 2 weeks, the first week was amazing, my skin cleared up. I had light acne to begin with. About 3 days ago I started noticing all these little bumps all over my face. I mean like alllll ovvvveerrr. I thought it might of been an allergic reaction to something I ate, but now it's just getting worse! I have never had so much acne in my life until now! I'm not even exaggerating its really bad my whole face is covered in acne. & there are days when all I want to do is lay in bed. Someone please tell me is this going to get better? Should I stay on it for a while longer? Does anyone else have the same problem? Help ;/
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October 28, 2011

Pros:

No babies

Cons:

Unspeakable mood swings
Acne breakouts
Tired

I have never had a problem with any birth control prior to taking Tri Sprintec. I have been on Yaz, Ortho Tri Cyclen, and Seasonique with zero side effects or problems. I started taking Tri Sprintec because I lost my insurance coverage and needed something cheaper than Seasonique. My doctor prescribed Tri Sprintec because of it's price. To put it simply.... it sucks. From day one my acne increased. I have light acne, with flare ups around my period but this stuff made new pimples appear DAILY for the entire two months I was on it. Maybe I should have given it longer to work itself out, but after two months of breakouts I couldn't take it anymore. I've been off of it for nearly a month and my face is just now recovering. This stuff was terrible.
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