IUB Ballerine vs Combined pill
Need help choosing? Speak to a doctor
IUB Ballerine ingredients
Combined pill ingredients
Main hormones in Combined pill
progestogen
oestrogen
What Lowdown reviewers say
Check out our latest reviews
Real life reviews from people like you
IUB Ballerine reviews
6 reviews
Used for 1 - 3 mo
30 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 23rd Jan 24
Bled for two weeks after insertion, ended up falling out halfway and had to take it out at the gynecologist. The ball design seems to not anchor it enough. Intimacy was painful and had spotting after.
Top side effects not reported
1 helpful
0 comments
Used for 6 - 12 mo
26 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 23rd Nov 23
This really works for me. I’ve been on the pill and has Kyleena for 6 years, but I feel more connected to my body. I had to remove it the second time I got kyleena up, cause I felt so depressed, and I feel it helped getting it out. With ballerina I don’t feel anything. There were heavy bleeding the first 3 months but then it turned to normal afterwards. I get a little crappy before period, but I can take a pill and then it is okay. I am really happy with this choice
Top side effects not reported
1 helpful
3 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
30 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 20th Nov 23
I had the ballerine inserted in September. My doctor had prescribed me a medication to soften the cervix, ponstan, and a numbing gel for the insertion. Insertion was a bit painful, I had intense cramp-like pains for probably 30 seconds in two bursts; once for measurement and then the actual insertion. It was over quickly and went smoothly. I had cramps for the rest of the day and they came in waves. I took the ponstan and used a hot water bottle. When I woke up the next day I felt normal again. I bled for a good stretch after I got it in. It was light, but persisted for about 3 weeks or so. Keep in mind I'd come off the pill (cerazette) so my body was definitely out of whack. I got my first period earlier this month with the coil in. It was very heavy, and a bit more crampy than usual. Nothing unbearable, but much heavier than the pill in comparison. It lasted about 6 days, with 3 days of very heavy bleeding. That being said, it was the best decision I ever made. My mood has stabilised, I feel less anxious day to day and much more energetic. I'm very happy with the Ballerine.
Top side effects not reported
1 helpful
1 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
30 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 23rd Jan 24
Bled for two weeks after insertion, ended up falling out halfway and had to take it out at the gynecologist. The ball design seems to not anchor it enough. Intimacy was painful and had spotting after.
Top side effects not reported
1 helpful
0 comments
Used for 6 - 12 mo
26 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 23rd Nov 23
This really works for me. I’ve been on the pill and has Kyleena for 6 years, but I feel more connected to my body. I had to remove it the second time I got kyleena up, cause I felt so depressed, and I feel it helped getting it out. With ballerina I don’t feel anything. There were heavy bleeding the first 3 months but then it turned to normal afterwards. I get a little crappy before period, but I can take a pill and then it is okay. I am really happy with this choice
Top side effects not reported
1 helpful
3 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
30 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 20th Nov 23
I had the ballerine inserted in September. My doctor had prescribed me a medication to soften the cervix, ponstan, and a numbing gel for the insertion. Insertion was a bit painful, I had intense cramp-like pains for probably 30 seconds in two bursts; once for measurement and then the actual insertion. It was over quickly and went smoothly. I had cramps for the rest of the day and they came in waves. I took the ponstan and used a hot water bottle. When I woke up the next day I felt normal again. I bled for a good stretch after I got it in. It was light, but persisted for about 3 weeks or so. Keep in mind I'd come off the pill (cerazette) so my body was definitely out of whack. I got my first period earlier this month with the coil in. It was very heavy, and a bit more crampy than usual. Nothing unbearable, but much heavier than the pill in comparison. It lasted about 6 days, with 3 days of very heavy bleeding. That being said, it was the best decision I ever made. My mood has stabilised, I feel less anxious day to day and much more energetic. I'm very happy with the Ballerine.
Top side effects not reported
1 helpful
1 comments
Combined pill reviews
2372 reviews
Used for 3 - 5 yr
26 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 days ago
Having used cilique for 6 years I have found it very reliable and never had any issues. However all of a sudden it’s not an available and don’t know what’s the next best thing. Doctors have prescribed Gedarel but I’m not enjoying the reviews.
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
27 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 1 week ago
I have been on so many contraceptive pills and am usually unfussy but cilique’s side effects were crazy - weight gain (5kg in 3 months), really noticeable facial hair growth and the WORST chin/hormonal acne. A real nightmare
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 5 yr
26 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 days ago
Having used cilique for 6 years I have found it very reliable and never had any issues. However all of a sudden it’s not an available and don’t know what’s the next best thing. Doctors have prescribed Gedarel but I’m not enjoying the reviews.
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
27 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 1 week ago
I have been on so many contraceptive pills and am usually unfussy but cilique’s side effects were crazy - weight gain (5kg in 3 months), really noticeable facial hair growth and the WORST chin/hormonal acne. A real nightmare
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 12 - 18 mo
18 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 1 week ago
I went on this one after a bad experience with a similar pill it’s okay. I kind of feel stuck on it because it’s a big improvement from the sickness I felt from the last pill but it’s still not great however I fear that if I change my pills again all those side effects will come back. I experienced HRT like symptoms from what i’ve seen they get better then they get horrendously worse it’s like a constant cycle.
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 6 mo
33 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
Took a while to realise that these were side effects of the pill. Already have a history of depression and anxiety but around 3.5 months into taking this my mood plummeted, I started to have increasingly awful problems with vaginal dryness, thrush and vaginitis. In hindsight I was also having an awful lot of headaches and some migraines, which I haven’t had an issue with for years. 10 days after stopping, every single symptom has gone!
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
43 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
I generally felt great with this pill. No mood changes and lost weight but unfortunately I had vaginal dryness which lead to regular thrush infections. I took a break from Yaz and the thrush infections stopped. I've just swapped to Zoely to see if this suits me better.
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 6 mo
37 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
I tried Drovelis to attempt to manage PMDD (severe mood drop on top of existing depression) and PCOS. After 5+ months, my sense is that it was absolutely helping with PMDD. I aimed to take it continuously to minimise any mood drop' and did so for 3 months at first. Unfortunately, I just would not stop bleeding - it was more than 'spotting', enough to get through 3-4 tampons a day, every day. Then I tried 2 months of allowing a break between active pills to see if encouraging a 'period' would reduce the breakthrough bleeding, but to no avail. I didn't even used to suffer heavy periods, so I'm genuinely gutted I couldn't seem to settle and stop bleeding on this, as it was great for my PMDD and had no other negative side effects (beyond breast tenderness and temporary breast enlargement in month 1-2). Doctor's advice was if it hadn't settled by almost 6 months, best to try something else (so now I'm starting Yasmin).
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
1 comments
Used for 3 - 6 mo
28 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 weeks ago
Been taking yacella for 6 months after not being on any contraception in years due to fears of side effects. Previously been on Loestrin 20 and Rigevidon both of which gave me horrible cystic acne and low mood. Dr recommended yacella as it has anti-androgenic progesterone and I have mild PCOS. So far it has been pretty good! I think my mood is unaffected, skin is great, sex drive unaffected. I have had some slight weight gain in more 'womanly' areas but nothing crazy. My breasts definitely have grown a lot and for the first few months they were quite sore but this has reduced to mild tenderness now. I do experience pain, especially lower back/pelvic, and am emotional during my 7 day break, however I suffered a lot with cramps prior to taking the pill so this is still an improvement for me. Would recommend, especially for anyone with hormonal imbalances like me.
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 12 - 18 mo
28 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 weeks ago
Having been on this pill for a year, I noticed that I hadn't felt like myself for a while. I found myself with persistently lower moods. Even during times of joy, the feeling felt dampened. This is the primary reason I decided to stop taking this pill; no contraception is worth losing yourself to! I am still in the early stages of being off this pill, but I feel relieved to have made the choice. It did make my withdrawal bleeds ("periods") very light. However, I do also think it completely suppressed my libido. I (being naive) thought that being on a low dosage pill, I might have fewer symptoms, but it just hasn't worked for me. I just wish there were more non-hormonal options out there.
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 5 - 8 yr
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 weeks ago
I was prescribed this pill as I struggled to gain weight therefore, I didn’t have a regular period. I never had any awful experiences with this pill other than after 3 years I started to experience reoccurring thrush. Once it was treated it usually went away until recently, I have been experiencing thrush almost every month always during the week before my break. It has become unbearable leading me to change to a different lower dose birth control instead.
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Women's health, reviewed.
Get the best women’s health info in your inbox
You are signing up to receive The Lowdown's latest findings and news in women's health. Your data will be used in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie policy
Slide into our DMs
Built by doctors and experts
Our tools are made by medical professionals for your peace of mind
Pharmacy services provided by Phlo Technologies Ltd. GPhC reg number: 9011171
When you click on some links on this site, we may get a small affiliate commission