Microgynon worked pretty well for me. The most noticeable thing was that my periods became shorter, and the blood was very thick, dark and clotty. I had some other mental health stuff going on over the 2 + years of taking it (and we were in lockdown for some of it!), so hard to say if it genuinely affected my mood. I was never able to run packs together - I would always spot and then bleed after 2-3 days.

It took me not too long to get back to a regular cycle, and for the blood to become red and fresh again. I had some vaginal spasming and cramping one month but after that not too bad.