Progestogen-only / Mini pill and acne

The mini-pill has been a life saver for me. I’ve always struggled with combined pills, trying so many to control horrible periods and always having awful side effects. Since first trying the mini pill, I had spotting for about a week, and I haven’t had anything since, it’s been three years! The only side effect I have is that my skin is very sensitive and breaks out easily like it did before I started taking oral contraceptives, which started again about two months in, but it’s worth it for the benefits for me. No mood swings, no migraines, no bleeding, no hair loss, no weight gain, just a bit of manageable acne!

I have suffered with PMDD for years and Slynd has been a game changer for me- my PMDD has vanished completely! I’ve had very few side effects, literally some minor spotting at the start and a very slightly oiler hair. I’d say my sex drive is a little bit lower than before but not a huge difference. My skin is completely normal (other mini pills have given me acne but on Slynd my skin is as nice as always). The biggest positive impact has been on my mental health. I no longer get mood swings (unless I miss a pill) and my periods have completely stopped. I take my pills back to back (I skip the sugar pills) to keep my moods stable across the cycle. It’s such an amazing pill, I hope they will eventually licence this for PMDD so it can help lots of other women (slynd has the same progesterone as the combined pill Yaz which is licenced in the US for PMDD).

I switched to Noriday to stop the irregular bleeding and spotting I developed on Desogestrel/Cerelle. After eight years without periods on Desogestrel, I began having irregular bleeding at 40 — two periods a month plus spotting in between. Once I changed to Noriday, the chaotic bleeding stopped immediately, and the brain fog and fatigue also lifted. I suspect these symptoms were linked to perimenopause, and they’ve settled since starting Noriday. Ideally, I’d prefer no period at all, but having a predictable three-day period on Noriday is far better than the chaotic bleeding I had on Desogestrel.