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

This is the first birth control I have ever been on. I wanted the low dose combination pill to lower the risk of blood clots and other things. When I first started I really had no bad side effects at all. My period is way lighter than it was being off of the pill and it lasts only a few days. Sometimes I bleed a little more sometimes a little less or barely at all some months. My breasts have definitely gotten larger but I had smaller breasts to begin with so I don't mind the growth. I have a history of migraines but they were more frequent off of birth control and the only time I get migraines now is during the placebo week mainly. The one thing about the pill that has not been good is the weight gain. I am certain it is from the pill even though doctors tell you the combo pill cant make you gain weight. Before the pill I was 129 pounds and for the first couple of months I didn't notice any weight gain. Until about halfway through about 6 months in, I weighed around 144 pounds. Now I am a year in and the weight keeps going up and I am now about 167 pounds and my BMI is in the overweight category. I am so self conscious and depressed about my weight gain. I don't know if the weight gain will ever stop. I don't want to change pills because this works well for me otherwise but if you get on this pill, please be aware it may cause a ton of weight changes.

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.

Five stars because it saved my life. I have zest for life and do not intend to kill myself, but my PMDD turned me into a threat to my own safety for two out of every 3.5 weeks. I was so miserable that I wanted to be euthanized. Yaz makes me feel normal again, treat people normally again. The downside is some bloating, breast tenderness, and what little libido I had is gone. Additionally, since starting the pill I am prone to uncontrollable and unprofessional bouts of weeping when I do not feel like I need to cry. This is highly frustrating but better than living with PMDD. Generic version does not control my PMDD symptoms, brand name for me only.

wasn’t strong enough for me, caused breakthrough bleeding, mood was terrible

Yaz hit me like a freight train. Only lasted a month. Anxiety, panic, isomnia, dizzy spells and nausea and loss of appetite, and oh my god I peed like every 30 minutes, and felt my bladder was filling back up as it was emptying. A lot of pelvic pressure. I was tested for UTIs and got to a point where I made ultrasound and urologist appointments for my bladder, I had no idea what was going on. I did end up finding out I have a small bladder, so the diuretic effect of Yaz just hit me very hard. Do not recommend. The anxiety and insomnia hit hard and two weeks after stopping everything is normal, but those anxious thoughts at night needed ongoing cognitive behavioural therapy to get through.

I think Yaz has gotten a bad rap in the past, but for me it was totally fine. It was a great choice for me at the time and I experienced no major side effects. I would recommend this to others.

Ive been using birth control for so long that im not sure whats what. I am now worried about longer term effects of the pill and the fact that my natural cycle has been disrupted. Knowing what i know now i think i would have stopped taking hormonal birthcontrol a long time ago.