Gianvi birth control pill vs Junel Fe 1/20 birth control pill

I feel like I've tried every birth control out there. Pills, patches rings, IUDs - with the exception of depo, you name it, I've tried it. But Phexxi has been a game changer for me! I never felt "whole" on hormonal methods or the IUDs, but with Phexxi I don't have to deal with hormonal side effects and I only use it when I need it. Super easy to use, not messy, and I feel like myself again!

Love that I can use Phexxi only when I need it. I do not like adding hormones to my body. I really love the lubricating effect, makes for even better sex!

Phexxi works great — if you actually use it. Oops! My kid sister used Phexxi for about a year either by itself or along with condoms when she was ovulating. Then one time when she and her boyfriend were staying in my apartment for a family wedding, they picked me as the designated driver and the two of them had way too much to drink. They were all over each other in the car on the way home. Which was kind of cute but then when we got back to my place she wanted me to help her insert her birth control. I took her back to their bedroom and started getting her out of her clothes and I was like why don’t you just skip using it if you’re not in the middle of your cycle, and then she showed me her period tracker on her phone. Yep, not a good time to skip using protection, but still … She passed out while I was reading the instructions on the applicator, so I just was like whatever, I’m not doing this. I got off the rest of her clothes and woke her up and said I would tell her boyfriend she was ready. She didn’t even ask if I had inserted her Phexxi. The walls in my apartment are thin, so I heard the entire “discussion” when he couldn’t find their box of condoms. She was too drunk and horny to say no. She had no idea she was about to try to conceive. And yes, she became a mommy that night.

This birth control really helped with regulating my moods but did make me gain weight significantly even when working out more because of major appetite changes be aware. My skin cleared up a lot and after 3 months haven’t had one breakout related to hormones. My first 8 months my breast grew 2 sizes with about a 8 pound increase in weight, my second round after taking a 6 month break my breasts did not change size but i did gain the 8 pounds back again after losing about 15 in the break period. I stopped getting my period and do not have even spotting when taking the iron pills. Lastly my sex drive almost disappeared and i find getting wet a challenge when i’ve never had that problem. My experience is about 50%-50% positive to negative.

All things considered, I’ve experienced minimal negative side effects while on Junel Fe 1/20. It does seem to have affected my mood and sex drive somewhat, so that’s worth considering.

Junel was great for the first 6 yrs on it. After that, the side effects started snowballing. Gained 10lbs, dryness, and my sex drive vanished to the point I became borderline asexual which ruined my relationship and contributed to our breakup. It also made me angrier. I didn't realize it was the cause of these things and stayed on another 5 yrs until it triggered weekly/biweekly migraines when I used to have 1 or 2 a year. When I came off, the migraines stopped. However, my body had become so dependent on Junel it destroyed my body's ability to regulate my hormones. Hormonal pills cut off your brain and reproductive system's connection so my brain didn't know how to do it's job anymore and I struggled very badly and almost went to the hospital. I regret ever staying on for so long. I would not stay on any hormonal method more than 5 years in the future. My libido also has not come back after 9 months.