IUB Ballerine vs Combined pill
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£From £0.16/day
Overview
Rated 3.6
10 reviews
Every 5 years
Frequency
Over 99%
Effectiveness
None
Blood clot risk
None
Effect on fertility
Rated 2.8
2670 reviews
Daily
Frequency
91% - 99+%
Effectiveness
Increased
Blood clot risk
None
Effect on fertility
IUB Ballerine ingredients
Combined pill ingredients
Main hormones in Combined pill
progestogen
oestrogen
What Lowdown reviewers say
Benefits: What this contraceptive can help with
There are no benefits that are recognised in scientific research or guidelines for this contraceptive
Acne or bad skin
Heavy periods
PMS and PMDD
PCOS symptoms
Period pain
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£From £0.16/day
Check out our latest reviews
Real life reviews from people like you
IUB Ballerine reviews
10 reviews
Used for 6 - 12 mo
19 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 20th Apr 25
Have had the ballerine iud for 7 months and it’s a great change from my last contraception (bar implant). Wanted something that wasn’t hormonal and this was the best choice. Insertion was painful but cramps were gone after an hour or two. Periods have been very irregular still (late, heavy bleeds & spotting for days after), hoping/expecting for them to go back to normal around now since i’m 6months+ on. Other than that no issues & i recommend this over anything else ive tried.
Worse skin
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 5 yr
Lowdown user
🇬🇧 UK
• 18th Sep 24
Somewhat negative mood
2 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 5 - 8 yr
Lowdown user
🇬🇧 UK
• 16th Jul 24
I had my IUB inserted in March 2019. I didn't have any pregnancies before. The insertion of the device was the most painful experience of my life, almost passed out and threw up at the doctor's office, it was a really intense sharp pain. I also had very intense cramps for 2 days after insertion, no pain killers helped. I suppose that's what being in labor feels like, I constantly had an urge to push. After this, everything was fine, the device is reliable and comfortable; and I am using it for more than 5 years now (obgyn said I can use it up to 6 years if it works well). During these five years I had increased bloodflow and sometimes mid-cycle spotting because of the device, but nothing too bad. Overall, I would recommend.
Top side effects not reported
1 helpful
0 comments
Used for 6 - 12 mo
19 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 20th Apr 25
Have had the ballerine iud for 7 months and it’s a great change from my last contraception (bar implant). Wanted something that wasn’t hormonal and this was the best choice. Insertion was painful but cramps were gone after an hour or two. Periods have been very irregular still (late, heavy bleeds & spotting for days after), hoping/expecting for them to go back to normal around now since i’m 6months+ on. Other than that no issues & i recommend this over anything else ive tried.
Worse skin
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 5 yr
Lowdown user
🇬🇧 UK
• 18th Sep 24
Somewhat negative mood
2 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 5 - 8 yr
Lowdown user
🇬🇧 UK
• 16th Jul 24
I had my IUB inserted in March 2019. I didn't have any pregnancies before. The insertion of the device was the most painful experience of my life, almost passed out and threw up at the doctor's office, it was a really intense sharp pain. I also had very intense cramps for 2 days after insertion, no pain killers helped. I suppose that's what being in labor feels like, I constantly had an urge to push. After this, everything was fine, the device is reliable and comfortable; and I am using it for more than 5 years now (obgyn said I can use it up to 6 years if it works well). During these five years I had increased bloodflow and sometimes mid-cycle spotting because of the device, but nothing too bad. Overall, I would recommend.
Top side effects not reported
1 helpful
0 comments
Combined pill reviews
2670 reviews
Used for 1 - 3 mo
15 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 1 day ago
I have been on this pill for about 2 months and already have had a far better experience then I had on my pervious on.How ever the only think I have really noticed a difference is my appetite has increased quite a bit .surprisingly I was preparing myself for my sex drive to completely change and lose it all but it has actually been somewhat the same
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 6 mo
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 days ago
Overall a good experience. Main side effects were becoming more irritable and increased body odour
Somewhat negative mood
2 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 6 - 12 mo
23 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 days ago
It is great overall, but I spot every month on days 14-19 like clockwork. I like the pill so I am hesitant to switch.
Improved skin
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
15 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 1 day ago
I have been on this pill for about 2 months and already have had a far better experience then I had on my pervious on.How ever the only think I have really noticed a difference is my appetite has increased quite a bit .surprisingly I was preparing myself for my sex drive to completely change and lose it all but it has actually been somewhat the same
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 6 mo
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 days ago
Overall a good experience. Main side effects were becoming more irritable and increased body odour
Somewhat negative mood
2 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 6 - 12 mo
23 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 days ago
It is great overall, but I spot every month on days 14-19 like clockwork. I like the pill so I am hesitant to switch.
Improved skin
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 5 - 8 yr
27 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 days ago
I’ve been on this pill for many years. As a positive side effect, it helped with my acne, which makes sense as I used to have high testosterone levels. However, over the past few years I’ve started getting night sweats during the break week and noticed an increase in my blood pressure.
Improved skin
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 6 mo
18 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 5 days ago
Took this pill for around 4 months and it was really good, only issue I had with it was that I was getting pretty bad headaches around my period which I'd only started having since going on this pill. I switched to a different pill to try and stop this issue but had a very negative experience with mood swings and it made me realise that Gederel is actually a very good pill and helped with my mood and anxiety - makes the headaches worth it😂
Somewhat positive mood
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
18 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 5 days ago
This is the 3rd pill I've tried and unfortunately since being on this one I've had horrible mood swings and been more emotionally down - I'm normally quite a happy bubbly person but this pill has made me quite miserable and leaves me feeling as though I'm not in control of my emotions.
Very negative mood
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 6 - 12 mo
30 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 1 week ago
Hormonally numbed me. Kept me very flat with no fluctuations in moods at all. Improved my skin but led to continuous cystitis that often spiralled into kidney infections
Somewhat negative mood
2 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 5 yr
18 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
VERY mixed emotions about Yasmin. I've been on it for ages, and I'm still on it. yes the boobs grow a lot. at the beginning my mood changes were crazy I thought I was losing my mind. Anxiety and depression symptoms surfaced (mostly anxiety - intense panic attacks), when I didn't have issues with it prior. They're still there but after years of dealing with it I don't notice as much as I used to. I have noticed that water retention is a big issue, as well as increased appetite - it's much harder to lose weight on the pill compared to off it. I also have an extremely lower libido, like crazy low. My skin cleared so fast and i had really bad dermatitis around my mouth and nose, not to mention hormonal acne on the rest of my face - now i get pimples almost never. Also please please be careful when drinking if you've newly started the pill, it made me a lightweight overnight i swear. Also I skip the sugar pills most of the time, only having my period about 3 times a year which is FANTASTIC
Somewhat negative mood
3 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 5 yr
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
Very negative mood
2 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
41 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
I am one of the happiest people you will ever meet, I’ve always been positive and upbeat and although of course I have down times like anyone I never stay down for long. Within 3 weeks of taking Levest contraceptive tablets I was like a completely different person and I didn’t know what was happening to me, I cried uncontrollable every day, I didn’t want to be here anymore and was actually thinking of ways I could end my life, I was waking up in the middle of the night with a dark pit feeling in my stomach and felt unbelievably low I didn’t know what was happening to me, then it clicked, the only thing I was doing differently to usual was taking the levest pill. I called the GP the next day and they told me to stop taking it immediately, within 4 days I was back to my usual self mentally then I came on the worst period of my life, like a slaughtered animal and so many blood clots. I’ll never take this pill ever again and would definitely warn others about taking it, who’d have thought a simple contraceptive pill could cause so much harm
Very negative mood
0 helpful
0 comments
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