Dianette pill side effects

I've given Dianette three stars, because there were a few positives while I used it, but ultimately it did more harm than good to my physical and mental well-being. I was first prescribed Dianette by my GP during my A Levels, because I needed regular contraception, and was told that this particular pill would help my hormonal acne. Happily, within the first three months, my skin was the clearest it had ever been since before puberty! And I hadn't got pregnant, so it certainly fulfilled its promises on that front. However, there were some undesirable side effects which eventually led me to come off the pill, and have made me quite wary of hormonal contraception altogether. I found that my appetite increased, to quite an alarming degree. I might have had a three course meal in a restaurant (for example), and then felt ravenous when I'd got home later that evening. Accompanied by this increased hunger was a sudden dip in my energy levels, and feeling "hangry". Coupled with this was some water weight, which made my body feel much bigger than it actually was, and I became very obsessed with exercise, diet, and body image, which meant I lost out on a lot of university-related fun and friendships. (N.B.: this might say more about my own issues around body image and self-esteem, but I feel it's something any women with E.D.s might want to be aware of.) I had some good life experiences while on this pill, but my persistent mood swings and depression ruined them. I had frequent irritability and angry outbursts, which affected ALL my relationships, and, I believe, contributed to my eventual dropping out of university. In spite of the negative effect on my mental health, I didn't find my libido to be adversely affected, but I did seem to be more prone than usual to Thrush. Which, as you can imagine, was something of a passion killer. It took me a long time to admit that maybe this pill wasn't great for me, because of the benefits to my skin and sex life (I was only 18, and having clear skin and being sexually active was still a novelty!). But on top of some existing issues I had, it ruined my life in a lot of ways.

I started taking Dianette a year ago when I had the copper coil removed. I had tried other pills in the past and suffered with acne because of them, so I was recommended this pill because of its skin-clearing properties. My skin has been amazing on this pill, I don’t get any spots at all. My mood for the majority of the year has been okay, maybe a bit more flat than normal but no wild mood swings. However last month I didn’t take a break between two packets of the pill because I was going on holiday and didn’t want my period. Since then, my mood swings have been really bad, I’ve been emotional and angry. I wouldn’t recommend doing that if you don’t have to, always take the week’s break! My boobs are definitely more tender, and have grown a bit, and I’ve put on a little bit of weight in general. I definitely have an increased appetite and lower sex drive.

I was on Dianette for 3 months. During that time, my face completely stopped getting oily, which meant the acne on my face decreased by a lot (however it gave me dehydrated skin as a result so I had to start using hydrating products). The biggest effect was with the spots on my back and on my buttocks - I didn’t even take the pill for the spots there but they went away completely. I did get headaches more frequently, a few times a week, my breasts also got a bit larger and much more tender but they went back to normal once I stopped taking the pill. My general mood got a bit more “flat”, in the sense that I felt a bit more irritable and less enthusiastic about things. All symptoms went away when I stopped taking the pill though.

I was put on dianette at 17 to treat painful periods and acne; I loved it! Had no side effects as far as I can tell, and it really helped with my pain and with my acne. Unfortunately my doctor wouldn't let me stay on it for over a year because of the blood clot risk? I've switched to 3-4 different combined pills since then and none of them have been as nice as this.

I was prescribed this due to PCOS and for the first few years it was great, helped to improve cramps and PCOS related pain. However I started to become very anxious, jealous and low in mood, I went to therapy for support but it didn’t help, went to the GP and they advised coming off the pill which I did however the next 6 months were awful… crippling anxiety, suicidal thoughts etc, GP advised going back on the pill to sort it out which seemed odd. Finally after 6 months I felt like a fog lifted, no anxiety etc and I’ve never had these problems since (it’s now been about 5/6 years).

Helped my oily cystic acne skin a LOT already and only been using for 2 months. Already feel less like a greasy chip pan. However during pill free week I’ve been getting horrendous uterine aching and cramping, feels so sore. Hoping it’ll settle

I was on dianette from 16 to 23 it cleared my acne up amazingly then I had a 9 months break ot came back full force now back on it for 6 months and still have acne hopefully it will fade last last time . I had no side effects apart from slight water retention and slightly bigger breasts . I don't feel like it impacted my mental health much maybe increased anxiety slightly

I had HORRIBLE acne so finally went on this pill when I was 18, (22 now). Although my skin had cleared up dramatically within about 6 months, I took a break during lockdown and my skin had a big flare up so am now scared to come off it. I don’t have a high libido anymore and I feel numb a lot of the time.

Really good experience. No negative side effects, easy to take, enjoying having more control over my periods and slightly less body hair.

My mental health deteriorated a lot. Contestant suicidal ideations and depression and anxiety. I was on this pill for over ten years and was told to come off it as it has strong side affects. I saw a massive shift in my mental health within a month of switching, however my acne flared up and my skin became very oily.