Side effects

Desogestrel pill side effects

2.7

356 reviews

What Lowdown reviewers say

Data is taken from self reported Lowdown user reviews

33% somewhat negative

42% stopped periods

55% lost sex drive

43% no impact

45% no impact on skin

Cycle return

40% don’t know impact

Desogestrel pill

Desogestrel pill common side effects

Data is taken from self reported Lowdown user reviews

53% of Desogestrel pill reviewers reported tender breasts

44% of Desogestrel pill reviewers reported period like cramps

43% of Desogestrel pill reviewers reported vaginal discharge

42% of Desogestrel pill reviewers reported breast enlargement

38% of Desogestrel pill reviewers reported vaginal dryness


Data is taken from self reported Lowdown user reviews


Reviews

2.7

356 reviews

Filter reviews

Community reviews

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  2 weeks ago

Desogestrel pill  

I started taking the minipill about 6 months ago because of my really heavy and painful periods. And the first three months I still had my period, but it did get a lot lighter and less painful. The last 3 months I've had no period except for a week of spotting. My mood has become more stable, I used to become almost depressed before my period. I do however become nauseaus a lot faster especially if I'm stressed, I have lost 5 kg almost because of that. I don't think this is the best contraceptive, but I do like that it only contains one type of hormone and that I don't have my period anymore. But I'm not planning on taking it for a very long time.

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Somewhat positive mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
22 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  13th Aug 24

Desogestrel pill  

Started this pill as I had horrendous migraines on Rigevidon. Was excited to start the mini pill and to not have bleeds in between pills but was I wrong. The first 5 months I’ve had random bleeding- which I expected (but not for over a week straight) I’ve also been heavily dizzy, nauseous and have had 0 sex drive which has affected my relationship heavily.


Somewhat negative mood

3 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 8+ yr
32 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  6th Aug 24

Desogestrel pill  

Hugely helped with period pains (no periods!). Has evened out any emotional changes - I feel very stable. No nausea like with the combined pill. Lost weight (as well as boob!) but unsure if that's compared to when I was on combined pill or baseline.


Somewhat positive mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
18 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  17th Jul 24

Desogestrel pill  

I have only been on this pill for around 2 months however my side effects have been so drastic in this time period. My mood is unstable and I have become more irritable and quick to be upset, as for periods they have been irregular and my cramps have been the same if not worse than before i started contraception.


Very negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  16th Jul 24

Desogestrel pill  

it’s really good, like that there’s no estrogen and doesn’t make me feel like i’m going crazy. only annoying thing is the loss of sex drive but that’s something i work through with my partner


Decreased sex drive

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  30th Jun 24

Desogestrel pill  

This was my first time using a hormonal contraception method and was given this by my doctor to start with. I persevered for 3-4 months but experienced continuous medium break through bleeding that didn’t show any sign of stopping. At this point my sex drive had disappeared and I switched over to a combined pill which I now have a much better time with.


Decreased sex drive

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
25 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  26th Jun 24

Desogestrel pill  

This is the first time I’ve tried the mini pill after using the combined pill since I was 15 (until 18), the hormonal coil (18-22) and then experiencing my adult body for around 3 months with no hormones. After this contraceptive break, I fell pregnant and had a really rough abortion. After this experience I was terrified of this happening again and noticed my weight had increased due to pregnancy and my moods were really up and down in the last 6-8 weeks. After speaking to a doctor I got given this pill due to optical migraines and high risk of stroke. It was fine for the first few weeks and got used to it very quick, however, I noticed an insane decrease in sex drive. I never think about sex now and it’s really hard to get in the mood, this had led to me getting too in my head during sex and ruining it for me, a constant cycle!! Recently I’ve also became really irritable and short tempered which is very out of character for me. *Really important note* that I’ve not seen in many reviews!! After a quarterly checkup with the nurse she told me this pill is one of the worst for weight gain!! Saying that basically no matter how much of a calorie deficit you’re in/how active you are, you’re going to gain some weigh. Wasn’t informed about this prior to prescription. For context I was 69kg prior to taking this pill and in 6 months I’ve gained 11kg without changing my diet and increasing my cardio and general exercise. Apart from this the pros are no periods, very minimal cramps. I’m leaving this (very long) review to help anyone else who’s using this or considering it, like other reviews say, it really depends on you and unfortunately you’ll never know how these things affect you until you try. To help some sisters out, I’m now considering the copper coil as I’m missing having periods (sounds crazy I know) and really want a non-hormonal option


Somewhat negative mood

3 more effects

1 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  12th Jun 24

Desogestrel pill  

I have endometriosis and this is the only pill I’ve tried that has stopped my daily pain. After a couple of failed attempts at a coil fitting my doctor suggested the progesterone only pill and I wish I had started taking it years ago! It’s increased my sex drive, dramatically reduced my endometriosis pain, had a positive impact on my mood and hasn’t caused weight gain or acne. The two main side effects I’ve had are occasional spotting and nausea, I’m still only on my 2nd month of the pill so hoping these settle down soon.


Very positive mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 5 - 8 yr
23 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  12th Jun 24

Desogestrel pill  

This pill has been amazing for me, I went on it because of very heavy periods and it really helped with that, I would really recommend it. I have heard a lot of bad stories from friends about their (different) pills but for me I don’t think I’ve had any bad side effects or experiences with it and I’ve been on it for nearly 7 years!


Very positive mood

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
35 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  6th Jun 24

Desogestrel pill  

I completely lost my appetite for sex and became very irritable


Somewhat negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

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