Combination birth control pill vs Male condom

The pill was a great experience for me. I’d recommend it if you are someone capable of remembering to take it at the same time everyday. Also, I always know exactly when my period will be. Acne went away and no major side effects. The only potential negative is you have to deal with pharmacies and getting your prescription renewed regularly. I’m about to start a demanding job and am switching to an IUD for convenience.

I have pmdd and the progesterone in this pill is known to not be great for that, so take this review with a grain of salt. The first day I was a little nauseous and had some headaches but nothing that major. My boobs hurt for the first month and after that the pain started to subside. What got me was the emotional side effect. When I get pms I tend to get really depressed and anxious and I get extra sensitive to how people act around me. On Audra, every day of the active pills was like that. There was a point towards the end of the first pack where I felt so depressed that I could barely get myself out of bed. Things that wouldn’t bother me usually started causing mental breakdowns. I started avoiding people because I felt like everyone hated me and that everything I said was wrong. All of the feelings were similar to what I experience with my pmdd, but it can be very debilitating experiencing that everyday rather than a few days every month. The only relief I got was when I started the placebo pills, I felt like myself for the first time since starting the pills, and my roommate even mentioned I seemed happier all of the sudden, though I do think it’s made my period cramps last longer (I’m usually fine after day one but on day three I was still feeling slight cramps). The second month wasn’t as bad but I was still crying everyday about things that did not warrant me crying lol. I ended up talking to my doc and we’ve decided to switch pills because I don’t think I can deal with this anymore. The first two days being off were rough since I stopped in the middle of the second pack. I started crying hysterically about something the first night and then spent the next day feeling numb and lying in bed. But after that I had my period and I finally feel like myself again. Hopefully the next pill will work better.

I’ve heard this birth control is supposed to be helpful for acne, but I have been flushed since I started taking it and seen a couple breakouts, and I haven’t even finished my first pack yet. I have also been sweating profusely off and on since the second week of taking it. Those are the most significant side effects I’ve noticed. I did just have my Mirena IUD removed after my uterus tried to absorb it, so these effects could be related to that. I’ve been on many different birth control pills over the past 15 years and usually I have no side effects after the first month or two, so we’ll see.

No changes

Overall it's been great, but remembering a pill at a specific time is challenging for me

Condoms did not change any part of my period for me, no side effects of using this form of contraceptive and it has been effective in avoiding pregnancy as well as STDs.