Combined pill vs Male condom

So I was prescribed the yasmin pill for my PCOS after being on desogestrel since I was about 14 for my periods. I’ve always had really really irregular periods, and bled very heavily. They would last for 2 weeks roughly and sometimes id have two in one month. In my particular case, I was told to take yasmin continuously, so all 3 packets in a row and then stop for a 7 day break, and start a new box. This has worked well for me i think (baring in mind i’ve only just started my 2nd box). At the beginning I had severe nausea, not to the point of throwing up but it was there constantly all day. I started taking the pill just before bed, so 11pm- midnight roughly and that seemed to help with the nausea. That was the side effect that has affected me the most, and since restarting after my 7 day break I am still experiencing nausea. I’m just praying it goes away after 1-2 weeks like it did before. Aside from that, my sex drive historically has been really high. I was down to do it whenever, and no issues whatsoever. Since being on yasmin, i literally could not think of ANYTHING worse than having sex with my partner. (it is nothing to do with him!!) I just have absolutely 0 sex drive, I can’t even get horny unless i really stick with it- so that’s been another big issue for me. I have also had quite bad acne since I was in school, and i’ve always struggled with it especially on my chin, forehead and back. I haven’t noticed a change in my acne yet but praying yasmin is able to clear some of it up! In terms of my PCOS management aswell, yasmin has made my first period during my 7 day break incredibly light, I hardly needed to wear a pad at all. I had cramps but nowhere near as bad as they used to be and it also seemed to completely stop around the 4 day mark out of 7. So if i’m being completely honest, my experience on yasmin so far has been okay- i’m struggling with the nausea and low sex drive but hoping as the weeks/ months go on my body will adapt to the hormones and i’ll be back to normal. If anyone out there is struggling with severe irregular periods and pcos symptoms I would recommend giving it a try and sticking it out for atleast 6 months to 1 year. for me personally my periods are so much easier to deal with, and i will do an update in a few months time to see if my skin and other side effects have cleared!

This pill severely increased my anxiety levels, I constantly felt like I was in a haze and I couldn’t regulate my emotions- I was constantly crying and overthinking every little thing. I lost my sex drive and was scared to socialise. I had intrusive thoughts that made me worry even more and I just wanted to stay at home all of the time, I was on the border of spiralling into depression. The first month was okay, I didn’t notice any symptoms and it did the job fine, but soon after the symptoms started to kick in. I gained weight which made me feel increasingly insecure and I had a larger than normal appetite.

This is the first pill I’ve been on and after being so scared to start it, I’ve generally had quite a good experience. The first few weeks were quite rough, really bad headache, moodiness and nausea but this went away with time. I used to find I’d have a bit of nausea when starting the pill after the 7 day break but I shorted this to 4 days and had helped immensely! My periods are so regular and really light with way less cramping, my periods only last about 3/4 days now when they used to be over a week. I haven’t had any weight gain or changes to my libido. Overall it’s been quite good to me, my only issue is I’ve definitely become a lot moodier - still nothing crazy but not quite like how I used to be. I also can’t tell if my anxiety has worsened or if that’s just coincidental. I’m thinking of trying a different pill to see if my mood improves but nervous incase I get other side effects that I haven’t on this! My only other complaint is hair loss, I didn’t even know this was linked until I read this page and saw one of the hormones might cause this. Didn’t have any issues at the start but in the last few months I’ve been noticing a lot more hair coming out in the shower and am now wondering if this is linked.

this is a test

me and my partner have always had problems with using condoms from durex, but now trying skyns condoms, i will never go back. They don’t have that weird smell and me nor my partner could even feel as if it was there! 100% recommend

I was recommended dretine and I've not looked back.

Potentially safe

You would need a lot of lube as it is not naturally liberated.

I have no problem apart from feeling friction more quicker then using without a condom.

I am happy using the male condom as it does not effect my hormones nor cause massive physical issues.

I like to use them because they don’t affect you / if you have had bad experiences with hormonal birth control in the past

My partner uses a male condom which comes with no symptoms as it is not harmonal. However, I struggle with intense ovulation symptoms that ranges from lower abdominal cramps to spotting in mucus. This started 3 years ago (age 25) and first occurred periodically but for the past year it has been almost every month. The mucosal spotting is not heavy and does not require pads. However, it use to last only 1-2 days but now it extends 3-4 days.

For me using condoms worked great and I had virtually no complaints during the years I used them.