Yacella pill vs Loestrin 30 pill

Initially I thought that Yacella was suiting me, I had no noticeable side effects, I was able to take it straight away and not have any nausea etc. It was only after a year I noticed how much thinner my hair had become since taking this pill and also had affected my hair texture (I have naturally curly hair and on this pill it was getting straighter). I decided to come off Yacella and since my hair has started to return to its natural texture and thickness. Ironically I went on Yacella as it’s meant to prevent hair loss, even encourage hair growth!

I have had a good experience with the Yacella/Yasmin pill - I think this is partially informed by better mental health and external factors because when I have been on the pill previously during a poor mental health period in my life I found it made me feel even more depressed. The only time I have experienced violent mood swings is when I took it without any breaks for 5 months, and then when I did take the break I was very emotional and irrational, so I now prefer to not go more than 2 months without taking a break.

I've been on Yacella for 4 months now. I got switched to Yacella due to issues with acne. I can say it cleared up my acne and made my skin look lovely and bright. However, the changes to my hormones really weren't worth it. Yacella has made me incredibly paranoid. I developed anxiety so bad that it effected my day to day life and my relationships. It also made me incredibly depressed, which also had a huge impact on my wellbeing. Due to the impact it has had on my mental health, I decided to stop taking it. It may work for some but losing my sanity for the sake of good skin was not worth it at all!

Although taking it on time was a bit of a chore. It was the best method I ever used. After a couple of years it stopped my periods entirely which was great and any bleeding I did have whilst on this pill was very minimal and over in 3 days or less. It cleared up my skin beautifully and I never had any issues with it which was a relief as I had to try many different pills to find this one. I stopped taking it for a bit because although it had no negative impact on my mood I did feel like it dulled the highs and lows of my emotions a bit and I wanted to see what I would feel like off it. Sadly, while I was on that break they discontinued this pill. I am so sad about it. Currently back on the hunt for an alternative and it's not going well. Really wish they'd bring it back!

Context: I was put on Loestrin in 2014 as an attempt at controlling my endometriosis. I'd had a tubal ligation a few months prior so wasn't using it for birth control. Within a month of starting it I wound up in the ER with severe abdominal pain. When I say severe I mean it felt like a cross between gallstone attack and labor pain. A CT scan showed that my small intestine was severely inflamed and the docs said it looked like Crohn's disease. I was given antibiotics, steroids, potassium, and pain meds and it started to get better. Two weeks later I was back in the ER again with the same symptoms and was asked if I had recently made any changes to my diet or taken anything new that could have caused it. I never even suspected it could be the pill until I realized that was the only change I'd recently made. I stopped taking it and started researching and found that there is a link between hormonal birth control pills and intestinal issues and Crohn's. My gyno said it was a very rare side effect and agreed I shouldn't take it anymore. Lo and behold, I don't have Crohn's and haven't had any issues since, nor have I bothered with trying to control my endometriosis with any kind of hormonal birth control after such a miserable experience. It's just not worth it.

Overall I thought this pill worked really well for me however for years didn’t realise that my dwindling sex drive was due to it. This actually caused ongoing difficulty between myself and my partner as we slowly mis-matched in drives which could be upsetting and confusing for both of us. I’ve been with my partner over 8 years and knew it wasn’t because I wasn’t attracted to him. Coming off the pill has confirmed that as I’m nearly a year off and am very nearly back to what I was like pre-pill which is amazing. I had to stop taking it because of supply issue and moved to Yasmin as after researching a lot it seemed most similar. I reacted so badly to that one though it finally gave me to push to stop using contraceptives (apart from condoms) and I’m so glad!

Great pill had no issues, very sad its been discontinued, have found Gederal 30/150 to be next best thing but not as good.

Can sometimes be difficult to take them at the right time, making them less effective. Slightly inconvenient to have to keep collecting new packs every 3 months.

I found this combined pill great. I had no side effects to note other than lighter periods when I took the break.

Absolutely devastated that they've discontinued Loestrin 30. Mission to find a new pill that works for me as well as this one did. Worked well for my moods although in hindsight, at times felt a little lost and like my mood was dull for periods of time. Weight gain was an issue but skin was great, my skin was fairly clear before starting it and there were barely any problems while on it. BRING IT BACKKKK!!!! it was perfect for me.

Worked much better for me than my previous pill, less menstrual cramps, lighter periods and better mood. However, the acne I have got from using this pill is awful! Painful, cystic spots around my jawline and chin.

Devastated this pill was discontinued, it was the best one I have ever been on!! Was changed to another pill which I tried out for 9 months and have to change as it was dreadful, bring back Loesterin! I miss it.

I moved to this pill after being on Rigevidon for severe period pain, when I was on Loestrin my skin was a lot clearer, it helped a lot with period pain and I did not notice major mood swings. However since coming off it I realised when I was on it I was a completely muted version of myself, nothing really excited me and I felt like I lost the passion for life. I have seen someone else describe this on here which is interesting. This has really put me off wanting to use hormonal contraceptives but it’s the only thing that helps my bad period pains unfortunately.