Nortrel 7/7/7 birth control pill vs Junel Fe 1/20 birth control pill

the combo pill helped get my period back to its normal cycle after spotting for 3 years on nexplanon. i definitely feel like i have retained some water weight in my stomach, arms, and face. i also have more acne than i did when i was on nexplanon. the last symptoms im dealing with are more anxiety and more sweat on my feet and palms. i’m open to trying different combo pills but i think im going to stay on this one for a year to feel the full effects/symptoms.

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.

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.