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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May 31, 2007

Pros:

breast growth, clearer skin, and weight loss

Cons:

nausea, occasional light-headedness, mood swings

i've always had a problem with heavy periods since i inherited the flow from my mom, and having to wear two tampons at once isn't very comfortable and the subconsious feeling is terrible during school. so my periods have been lighter since i started taking ortho tri-cyclen and my skin looks noticably clearer and brighter. another plus is my breasts have grown noticably within 2 months from a C to a D
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May 17, 2007

Pros:

Breast growth.

Cons:

Weight gain,cramps, its made me break out more only there small and i dont get large ones anymore.

If you want to have larger breasts go for it. But my face has not improved its gotten worse and if my face does not improve by this month (currently on second month) I am going to stop taking them. Plus i went from a size 0-1 to sizes FROM 3-5. i am 15 years of age and i am in highschool.
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April 29, 2007

Pros:

No pros yet! I dont't think Ive been on it long enough.

Cons:

Weight gain, but it went away after the first month. Really depressed and bad break outs in the first week/row of the pills.

Ive been taking OTC lo for one month and a week now. I'm on it for moderate acne but it made my acne worse. I break out in the first week of the pack but supposedly it can take about 3 months before it starts working...gets worse before it gets better i guess!? I'm going to stick with it and after 3 months if my acne is still worse then I am going on accutane!
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April 9, 2007

Pros:

cleared my skin while i was using it

Cons:

no sex drive, depression, and HORRIBLE AFTERMAT

THE AFTERMATH OF YASMIN 28 IS MAKING ME SEVERLY DEPRESSED I NEVER USED TO BREAK OUT UNTIL I STOPPED TAKING BIRTH CONTROL. NOW I CANT GET MY SKIN TO CLEAR UP I HATE THE THOUGHT OF HAVING SOMETHING UNNATTURAL IN MY BODY.
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February 15, 2008

Pros:

Great skin! no pregnancy, short periods

Cons:

moodiness, migraines, low sex drive

I love that OTC helped my skin, I was on the lo dose version and never had a single pimple. The migraines were unbearable, the first day of my period and the last day, I would barely leave the house. I didn't realize it was due to the pill until reading the other reviews. I also just stopped taking it and my skin is AWFUL. I am hoping it gets better after things regulate. After reading some other peoples reviews I am hopeful that this terrible acne is just temporary. I was on OTC regular dose for about 3 years, then switched to Lo after a few month break. I had breakouts inbetween but about 2 weeks after starting the pill again, no more breakouts. I am trying to figure out if the migraines and low sex drive are worth the good skin? I almost think it is. Confidence or feel better? I feel bad leaving the house with this skin.
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March 5, 2007

Pros:

I haven't experienced any kind of side effects.

Cons:

Hasn't done anything for my acne and hasn't helped to lighten or shorten my period and I still have cramps.

**ORTHOTRICYCLEN LO** Because of the low hormones, you don't get many side effects. It's perfect for preventing pregnancy, but if you're trying to clear up acne or improve your period, I'd use regular OTC.
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February 8, 2007

Pros:

Work well. no mood swings no side effects

Cons:

has not done anything for my acne

Use it for birth control not for acne cure.
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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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March 6, 2012

Pros:

Clearer skin
Skin less oily
Not pregnant
Slightly larger breast

Cons:

Having to rememeber to take it daily.

I'm using OTC to help clear my face and so far it's been doing a great Job, I don't have any weird symptoms so far and I'm on my second pack.
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July 13, 2009

Pros:

No Acne, no mood changes, bigger boobs, lighter periods

Cons:

....

I was lookin 4 a birth control pill 2 stop acne an keep me from gettin pregnant an this worked... i like it it did make me sleepy but i didnt have a problem with it because i liked 2 sleep.
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