Patch and acne

I don't like it. It makes me feel sad, like full-time pms. I've cried most days on it. I get headaches and I never used to. My friends say I don't seem like myself. My sex drive is lower. I was spotting for the first 6 weeks. Pluses are decreased risk of pregnancy, being able to skip a break and less heavy period/breakthrough bleeding so iron levels are easier to control. It's easy to use and so far has stayed on well (we'll see if this is still the case in summer). I like that if I wanted to stop using it I can remove it myself.

I think I’ve nearly tried every possible contraceptive pill there is out there. I really had high hopes when first started the patch. It was really convenient not having to take a pill every morning and the patch would stay on really well even in the shower/pool when on holiday. Easy enough to hide too! After a couple weeks I noticed lots of little bumps under my skin particularly in my jaw area. This would then quickly turn into really painful acne and take a long time to heal. I seen a massive difference in my skin when having patch free days compared to when I was on it. Unfortunately had to stop it due to how badly my skin reacted to it whilst on it.

After switching from the combined pill due to depression, I was interested in the patch as I could change it weekly instead of remembering to take a pill everyday. I started the patch and my periods became regular and my mood increased greatly, I do experience bad PMS but It is much better compared to when I was on the pill. I do get cramps sometimes between periods but nothing too bad. You can also use the patch to skip periods but I enjoy having a regular “cycle” and when I did use it to skip a period for a holiday I ended up spotting for a month! Overall the patch is great for me and I don’t plan on changing as it has helped my mental health so much.