Reviews

Combined pill reviews

2.8

2767 reviews

Combined pill has an average rating of 2.8 out of 5 stars from a total of 2767 reviews when used as a contraceptive. These are self-reported reviews where users of Combined pill review their satisfaction with this contraceptive and any side effects they feel they experienced whilst using.
The combined pill is very common and the most frequently reviewed method at The Lowdown. It contains two hormones - oestrogen and progestogen, and can help with acne and heavy or painful periods.

Daily

Frequency

91% - 99+%

Effectiveness

Increased

Blood clot risk

None

Effect on fertility

Combined pill

Reviews

2.8

2767 reviews

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Community reviews

Combined pill  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
31 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  today

Zoely pill  

Honestly the best of all of the pills I’ve taken. However, after 18m on this I’m going to come off it and go back to natural cycles due to the following - loss of sex drive, constant and I mean constant headaches, generally feeling a bit ‘flat’ and tired all the time. I also have heavy limbs which is a weird side effect. That said, Zoely did not have any negative implications on my skin, weight, appetite and I don’t get mood swings- in fact I just feel a bit too flat overall so perhaps If mood swings are an issue it might suit you! But I’ve gone the other way

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Somewhat negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 8+ yr
32 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 day ago

Gedarel 20/150 pill  

Regular and shorter period (4 days) and light flow. It made my skin perfect and my hair a bit thinner. I gained a lot of weight while on it and it was impossible for me to lose it, no matter how much I worked out or what diet I was doing. If I could go back I wouldn’t start using it, as in my case I only needed it for contraception.


Somewhat negative mood

3 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
21 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  4 days ago

Rigevidon  

Within the 1st month, I had terrible mood swings; I become angry and irritable towards my parent. I seemed to calm down but then pick back up again in the next week. From withdrawal from this, everything was ok, apart from having a few pains and it also made my periods light. I didn’t have any symptoms of nausea or vomiting but I did gain a bit of weight and had breast tenderness (i dont know if my breast got bigger). By the 2nd month, I ended up feeling really low and had quite dark thoughts; my headache got worse and I was crying a lot during the day/night. Because of this I’m no longer taking this pill.


Somewhat negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

1 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
35 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  5 days ago

Ovranette pill  

I was extremely anxious. I would be extremely jittery and uncomfortable in my own body each day I took it. I was very emotional by the evenings and tired from being so anxious..


Very negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 5 - 8 yr
35 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  5 days ago

Yaz pill 🇺🇸  

I felt my best on Yaz. I had lots of energy, my mood was always good. But I got over 10 UTIs a year. I was on so many antibiotics. I couldn't get to the bottom of it. We looked at everything with my Dr. Only when I went to treat my reoccurring dry eyes it clicked. The week after I switched pills from Yaz, I havnt had a UTI since. I spent years suffering and countless antibiotics


Very positive mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
29 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  6 days ago

Mercilon pill  

I have PCOS and PMDD. It did help with mood swings and cleared up my face acne, however it made me put on weight quite a lot so I decided to stop it in the end as it was becoming really hard to move around


Somewhat negative mood

3 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
27 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  2 weeks ago

Drovelis pill  

If you gave up looking for any birth control because of the side effects, give Drovelis your last chance. I could not believe that such a pill exists anymore, given that every other pill made my face go full baboon's behinds. I have to take some contraception because of endometriosis. I'm taking it continuously without withdrawal days to stop my period completely. My symptoms are non-existent and my ovarian cysts have even shrinked so much they're not visible on the ultrasound anymore. From time to time, spotting occurs, sometimes not stopping for weeks. In that case, it's time to take a withdrawal period and let the uterus clean itself. I do this 2-3 times a year. The period cramps are noticeable but manageable. The biggest downside I am struggling is often reocurrence of candidiasis which is extremely uncomfortable, but given the circumstances it's the best thing I could ask for. I'm trying to manage with probiotics and autovaccines but to no avail.


Very positive mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
19 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  2 weeks ago

Gedarel 20/150 pill  

Started on Gedarel due to having suffered with Pmdd for a long time , was fine at first mood was abit better , but then I noticed I felt numb and couldn’t feel any emotion , was irritable and angry all the time , also gained a lot of weight despite being very active , cramps got very bad during the withdrawal bleed and I feel like this has completely changed me as a person - would not recommend


Very negative mood

3 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
23 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  2 weeks ago

Drovelis pill  

I have switched to drovelis due to extremely low mood caused by previous combined pill (ethinylestradiol and gestodene pill). I was extremely depressed after 4/5 months of the previous pill and It felt like my mood was artifically altered so I quickly realised It's the pill which prompted me to changing the pill. Drovelis has been wonderful despite some intial issues with at times intense breakthrough bleeding around the 3 and 6 months marks. These days I do not experience any breakthrough bleeding or any issues. I very strictly adhere to the pill regimen and it works wonderfully for me. I forgot about my intense period cramps I have been dealing with ever since i was 16.


Somewhat positive mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
40 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  2 weeks ago

Yasmin pill  

This pill made me feel terrible. Severe weakness, lightheaded, buzzy inside, made me feel like I was having low blood sugar episodes on occasions where I thought I was going to faint pass out. Gave it a good three months and had to come off it. Felt so much better. It did start to clear up cystic acne though but I just wasn’t functioning well on it!


Somewhat negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill FAQs

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Combined pill benefits

Some of the benefits that are recognised in scientific research or guidelines for this contraceptive

Acne or bad skin

Heavy periods

PMS and PMDD

PCOS symptoms

Period pain

Combined pill ingredients

Main hormones in Combined pill

oestrogen

progestogen

Combined pill alternatives

Contraceptives that work in similar ways, or brands that have close or exactly the same hormonal ingredients

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