Combined pill and improved skin

My worst side effects have been the mood swings, I am crying a lot more for no reason than I ever did before, it definitely has made me more emotional. My period has gone from being 3 to 4 days to being 1.5 / 2. My breasts become really sore and hard before and after my period. I don’t feel as sexually active as before and I experience dryness more regularly than normal. My skin is completely clear with the pill. Everything bad is / has been fairly manageable, not ideal but haven’t had any pregnancy scares.

I was on marvelon for 5 years and it really worked for me. Unfortunately I developed severe migraines in my pill free week so I had to stop taking it. But it was the best pill I ever tried.

Before I started contraception, I used to feel horribly sad around four days before I started my period. I knew it was my hormones making me feel this way, and I felt powerless. Since starting Levest, that has gone! My skin feels clearer too, I still get the occasional spot but they don’t seem to get as bad as they did before. I get tender breasts and light crawling around a week before going on my break week, which is similar to before, but now my breasts don’t get as painful. My periods now are more painful than they used to be on the first day, but the cramps are sorted quickly with a big breakfast and paracetamol, with no pain after the first day. They also come on the same day each cycle, are shorter than before, and tail off quicker. I also get a headache for a day or two during my break week - in the first couple of months of taking Levest, the headaches were almost unbearable, lasting a up to three days, but have got less painful and last a shorter amount of time as each month passed. On month seven, the headache was only mild and only lasted a day, which I’m counting as a win. My breasts seem to have got bigger, and I’ve put on about half a stone in six months - which is neither here nor there really, but I do feel like I’ve changed shape more than putting on weight? Some of my jeans no longer fit, but they did when I was a similar weight previously… I may try a tablet with a lower dose of oestrogen after this box of pills, to try to eliminate the headaches completely if they don’t go themselves, but they are nowhere near as bad as they were at the start.