Cilest pill vs Yasmin pill

The first few years on this pill were okay, my skin cleared up and I had regular, light periods. My mood has been consistently low though, whether that was entirely due to the pill I'm not sure, the last few years have been stressful for everyone. The worst side effect I had was periodontal breakdown - I didn't know birth control pills were linked to this, but if I had, I probably would have stopped taken this pill sooner. I now need to spend loads of periodontal treatment.

I've been using this pill since I was 17. I took a break for a progesterone only implant for a year which didn't work for me so I've moved back to cilest. This has worked as well as contraception can I think. Minimal side effects while my acne is much better. I take it until I break through bleed (about 10 weeks) to keep my endometriosis and adenomyosis at bay. It does the best any treatment at the moment can. I would note I have previously been told by my NHS GP that Cilest has been discontinued. At the advice of a pharmacist this isn't true, it's just simply more expensive than other pills so I have been able to continue using this pill.

I began to get thrush very badly to the point the itching was excruciating. I would then get water infections which twice led to developing kidney infections. Before this pill I had only ever had cystitis and thrush once or twice and they weren't that bad and would go away quickly. On this pill, I was in a constant state of having thrush, a water infection, both. It was horrendous to the point I could barely leave the house. Nothing worked to treat it until I found Optibac probiotics for women which would keep them at bay somewhat but the only thing that really helped was stopping taking this pill and taking these probiotics. I cannot explain the impact this had on my life and the pain caused by having these conditions chronically.

I was reluctantly put on the Yasmin pill by my GP as I wasn’t coping with previous contraception pills. I didn’t have a good experience with Yasmin. I was spotting very often and got regular nausea and headaches, so in total, was on it for about 2 months before I decided to come off of it

I tried Yasmin due to the positive reviews and experiences of friends. Unfortunately, it just goes to show how individual birth control can be, as I didn't get on well with it, unlike my friends. I went on it hoping it would clear my skin up, but sadly my skin got a lot worse- really nasty cystic acne on and around my chin/mouth. I also had extremely sore boobs the whole time- the point where I couldn't even lift my arms above my head and i had to wear a sports bra 24/7 due to the pain. It also made my IBS intolerable and it was just generally unpleasant experience. I wanted to share my experience as I'd heard such positive things about it, but it just wasn't for me. I'm now on the Evra Patch and I absolutely love it.

Had thrush about 4/5 times when only on it for 4/5 months, along with the thrush swollen labia and very dry, also developed acne when I’ve never had it before, but used duac to sort that out still breakout now and again which has never happened to me before. I will be changing pill again, only good thing was that by breast grew

It works better for me than others

Initially, I had little to complain about with the pill. My skin became clear after a few months and my breasts increased a cup size. HOWEVER, I had always felt more ill and generally tired on this pill, emotionally I also felt very static. Not depressed or unhappy but I could not feel my emotions as normal. My doctor advised me to switch from a 7 day break every month to a 4 day break as the guidelines had changed. This increase in the pill caused my breasts to get even bigger and very very sore. My doctor found multiple cysts in both breasts, I explained that I thought this was due to the increase in the pill I was taking but they said they would drain the cysts rather than me coming off the pill. I decided to come off the pill to see if it would decrease the cysts and they went completely of their own accord within a month of coming off the pill. I lost a lot of hair and my skin got worse but I have never felt better in myself, more healthy and happy since coming off. I will not go on any form of hormonal contraception again.

I got prescribed the combination pill due to recurring endometrial polyps. I'm pretty happy with this pill, it took me 3 months to adapt to taking it with frequent mood swings, irritation and sore breasts in the beginning, but once I got past that I really saw the benefits. My hair had been progressively thinning for 3 years before I started this medication, let me confirm that as soon as I started taking this it went away like magic. My hair is thicker and my hairline is barely visible now, it's so much thicker and I'm thrilled. No pregnancies on this pill either so it does work. I do still have tender breasts from time to time and some light cramping but I still feel it's worth taking. 9/10 recommend.

This pill has been awful for me. I went on as had really bad irregular periods but i have seen no change except bleeding in between, extreme abdominal pain and hair loss. I have also seen my skin which is normally clear be breaking out all the time. I am only speaking of my experience

I swapped to Yasmin after trying so many and I felt like I’d struck gold! My skin improved loads (but must also note was under a dermatologist as well) but my skin has continued to be really clear My mood is a lot better provided I run the packets back to back - do find my mood plummets whenever I have a 7 day break but only do this once every 3-6 months I do get headaches but unclear if it coincides with Yasmin but GP is requesting I stop due to this however I’m reluctant due to have good this pill has been!

This is the third pill I’ve tried and I’ve finally found one I want to stay on. I lost weight, my skin cleared up, my bra size has gone up in cup in 3 months, I’m much calmer on this pill I’m someone who is neurodivergent which causes me lots of anxiety and this pill has made me a lot more optimistic and relaxed. Only been on it 3 months if anything changes I’ll update!

I was on this pill for a few months and it was mostly fine. HOWEVER I realised later down the line it was giving me chronic IBS-like symptoms. I’ve never had IBS before but as soon as I started this pill I started having digestive issues, I was either constipated or constantly needing the toilet. Also major nausea especially after eating. It got really quite bad towards the 3 month mark, and was affecting me every single day. It gave me major anxiety about eating so I lost a lot of weight. Finally connected the dots and came off it and the symptoms gradually went away. There are studies that have linked drospirenone to IBS and symptoms like these so it makes sense now! Otherwise, I had very little issues with this pill. It didn’t majorly affect my mood or sex drive. My breasts grew very slightly but no tenderness. Other annoying side effects were occasional thrush and random patches of dry skin. I could cope with that but not the constant nausea and sh*ts😭 so I’ll be avoiding drospirenone at all costs from now on!!