Yasmin pill

Yasmin pill-review-id-92bb021e-a657-4339-b675-b254344fe45e

Very sore breast. Loss of sex drive. Breast enlargement. Weight gain. 

Yasmin pill-review-id-d52c90ea-a90f-4c54-91be-168bc435a953

overall this pill is pretty great. on the website there is a lot of negative reviews and i have not shared many. i began this pill in year 10 to clear my acne. i didn’t have terrible acne but i was pretty self conscious about it especially when most of my friends didn’t get acne like mine and i covered it up with concealer and foundation which isn’t good for my skin. my experience with my doctor was extremely positive, he told me that i could either continue a stronger acne cream (which didnt work for me and only dried my skin) begin the pill or take accutane. unlike many of my other friends who were forced to take the pill or some kind of contraceptive, i chose to take the pill and he even let me research which one i would take and we then discussed together which would be suitable for me. in the first couple of months, i stopped breaking out when i had periods and my acne began clearing up very quickly which boosted my confidence a lot. in month three, i began to have stomach cramps when i wasnt on my period so i told my doctor and he said i should try taking it at night and after food which seemed to help. i also began skipping my periods which obviously stopped cramping on and before periods. he also told me it could just be my body reacting the the changes so im not saying this is the solution for everyone. about halfway through year 11, i no longer had any visible pimple and it was mainly just my skin texture that needed improving, but i felt much more confident especially as i moved to a new school in year 11 and was surrounded by new people and a new environment. my skin was so good that by the end of year 11, we went on a school trip to heron island and i didn’t cover my acne at all. while my main issues were fixed, i experienced much more discharge, not in amount but every day i had discharge which made me feel a bit unhygienic down there but i didnt want to stop or switch the pill as it had improved my skin so much. now i have been on it for almost three years i find that this issue has been improved which is a plus for me but it was uncomfortable around the halfway mark where it peaked. i do reccomend this pill besides the low reviews, but i do think that the first couple of months i experienced changes (the cramping) that only reduced by letting my body get used to the medication. this is just my experience and not medical advice :)) thanks yazmin :b 

Yasmin pill-review-id-36b42fb4-4ffe-450a-85f7-ae61932956fc

Rigevidon

I wish I hadn’t had to stop it! I stopped due to migraines with aura, but being on rigevidon was great for me, and I had no side effects, and my periods were less painful, less heavy, and reduced endometriosis pain. 

I was on rigevidon for years before children and never had any side effects. I stopped it when I wanted to get pregnant, and got pregnant the first month of trying (which was two weeks after stopping the pill, before I’d had my first period but when I could tell I was ovulating!). I restarted it after having my children and it made my periods much lighter, less painful, and reduced my cyclical bowel movement pain that I am pretty sure is endometriosis. Annoyingly I had two migraines with aura this year, so have had to stop taking it! Trying to be brave and have the hormonal coil placed. 

Rigevidon-review-id-59f9fad8-bec6-40c6-935d-757da50f9b16

I was on this pill for my periods as they were very irregular and acne and in the beginning it worked very well but after a few months I had intense break through bleeding and I was basically on my period for months. My acne cleared then got worse, I gained alot of weight and I started having horrible migraines 

Rigevidon-review-id-1de9e3ea-3bc4-400f-be90-1f3b279bab3f

Rigevidon-review-id-19d25a7a-c501-45e3-8664-68a1e60fcb0f

Eloine pill

I have been taking for a month now and I was TERRIFIED after trying rigevidon when I was 16 (I’m 24 now). I have PMS (I believe PMDD) so I got to the point where I was desperate for help. My acne, fatigue and low moods were just too much for life and I needed to do something about it! 

The first couple of weeks I felt a tiny bit nauseous (no where near as bad as rigevidon which I assume is bc of the lower oestrogen in Eloine) and I got some night sweats which have calmed down also after a couple of weeks. 
I have also experienced some slight fluttering anxiety and heavy chest when I wake up (I take it at 11pm due to my schedule) which isn’t ideal but as someone who used to be extremely anxious I haven’t found this particularly overwhelming or affecting my life. It hasn’t been through the day so I believe it’s because of the time I am taking it but not a major issue. 
I have insatiable hunger but again, as someone who didn’t eat much and had low appetite (especially the week leading up to my period) this has had a majorly positive effect on my life, I’m fuelling myself more which is probably also helping my fatigue and mood in itself! Regarding weight gain, I have had no water retention type of weight gain from it, any weight gain will be due to eating more bc of the hunger but personally I have not noticed any gain yet. 

However, PMDD wise, it has changed my life so far. The week I usually feel down and sleep 14 hours I didn’t even realise that week had passed (I’m taking it continuously without the placebos). No acne, no low moods no fatigue, I just finally feel normal 🙏🏻  

If you’re looking into this for PMS and PMDD that is becoming too much, I would honestly give this a go. As someone who had awful nausea with rigevidon, it took me two years to get the courage to try another but I’m so so happy I did. I used to spend the PMDD weeks struggling and my normal weeks recovering, now every week is just normal 

Eloine pill-review-id-8c43e915-6f8c-4ea5-a045-3879baea9d7b

I am currently still taking the Eloine combined pill. I am experiencing dizziness and finding it hard to work. I also have very severe back pain. Struggling with PMDD this was the option my GP offered to me and it definitely made it feel worse. I am very low on energy and suffer with an achy body every day. 

Eloine pill-review-id-39c91473-b767-4a07-972d-020a7a1c68ba

I enjoyed taking Eloine, I had a few side effects when starting but they eased apart from excessive sweating which is one of the reasons why I’ve stopped taking it. I would definitely recommend to someone looking for a combined pill that’s low oestrogen and anti-androgenic. 

Eloine pill-review-id-08a1add1-1c79-4528-bcf6-2981bb6c04ff

Microgynon 30 pill

I first started using microgynon aged 19 (it was the first pill offered to me when I wanted to go on the pill) and aside from weight gain, I didn’t really have that many side effects and got on well with it. I stopped using I when I was 22 after a break up. I then went back on it aged 25 and had a totally different experience. I didn’t gain as much weight the second time round but my breasts did go up a cup size which was annoying as none of my nice bras fitted me anymore!! I experienced period like cramps constantly, enough to need to take painkillers sometimes. At first I ignored it but after a few months of being in constant low level pain I couldn’t take it anymore. I have now switched to Yasmin after the pharmacist suggested it may be due to the type of progesterone in microgynon causing the cramps. 

Microgynon 30 pill-review-id-1e603e45-7ffa-408b-a4e0-41b5716f5f63

I continue to have recurrent UTIs, having stopped taking the pill 5 months ago. I also have a frequent burning sensation even without having a UTI. This impacts my day-to-day life.

A week after starting to take this pill, I started having recurring UTIs triggered by sexual activity. I stopped taking the pill 6 months in for this reason, but still have constant issues. Aside from the recurrent UTIs, which have impacted both uni and work lives (I have to miss days due to the pain), I also get a frequent burning sensation with no trigger, which causes general discomfort in my day-to-day life. Due to the massive negative impact this pill has had, I am now extremely wary of any form of contraception and wish I had never started taking microgynon in the first place.

Microgynon 30 pill-review-id-fe5ba85d-e286-4a06-82e5-49ceeefb44b3

I’ve been on this pill for many years. As a positive side effect, it helped with my acne, which makes sense as I used to have high testosterone levels. However, over the past few years I’ve started getting night sweats during the break week and noticed an increase in my blood pressure.

Microgynon 30 pill-review-id-99bccc63-151c-479b-b34d-a6f06c0d3924

Cilique pill

I gained weight and felt more irritable when taking this contraception 

Cilique pill-review-id-52817f46-9490-4a71-8486-2b90b2f2825c

switched from levest bcos of skin, didn’t really help my skin at all i think i experienced more breakouts on it than when i was on levest, made my boobs bigger but also i feel like it made my cellulite worse?? also was bloated a lot. sex drive went down like crazy 

Cilique pill-review-id-84f46914-6941-4572-b1f8-84b7f05589aa

I have stayed on the pill for so long as it has helped get my acne under control as well as my period, I regularly took it bsck to bsck for 2 months at a time if I needed o and had no issues 

Male condom and body hair increase

How our community feel they have been impacted by body hair increase on the male condom

Data is taken from self reported Lowdown user reviews

Reviewers that reported body hair increase as a side effect

Male condom common side effects

Vaginal dryness

Vaginal discharge

Thrush

Tender breasts

Cystitis

Possible the male condom side effects

Best selling Male condom in the UK

Top contraceptives for sale in the UK

Top 5 types of contraception for women

Order online now

Not sure yet? Speak to a doctor

Women's health, reviewed.

Get the best women’s health info in your inbox

Explore reviews

The legal stuff

Get involved

Get help

Built by doctors and experts