Dianette pill vs Gedarel 30/150 pill

I've given Dianette three stars, because there were a few positives while I used it, but ultimately it did more harm than good to my physical and mental well-being. I was first prescribed Dianette by my GP during my A Levels, because I needed regular contraception, and was told that this particular pill would help my hormonal acne. Happily, within the first three months, my skin was the clearest it had ever been since before puberty! And I hadn't got pregnant, so it certainly fulfilled its promises on that front. However, there were some undesirable side effects which eventually led me to come off the pill, and have made me quite wary of hormonal contraception altogether. I found that my appetite increased, to quite an alarming degree. I might have had a three course meal in a restaurant (for example), and then felt ravenous when I'd got home later that evening. Accompanied by this increased hunger was a sudden dip in my energy levels, and feeling "hangry". Coupled with this was some water weight, which made my body feel much bigger than it actually was, and I became very obsessed with exercise, diet, and body image, which meant I lost out on a lot of university-related fun and friendships. (N.B.: this might say more about my own issues around body image and self-esteem, but I feel it's something any women with E.D.s might want to be aware of.) I had some good life experiences while on this pill, but my persistent mood swings and depression ruined them. I had frequent irritability and angry outbursts, which affected ALL my relationships, and, I believe, contributed to my eventual dropping out of university. In spite of the negative effect on my mental health, I didn't find my libido to be adversely affected, but I did seem to be more prone than usual to Thrush. Which, as you can imagine, was something of a passion killer. It took me a long time to admit that maybe this pill wasn't great for me, because of the benefits to my skin and sex life (I was only 18, and having clear skin and being sexually active was still a novelty!). But on top of some existing issues I had, it ruined my life in a lot of ways.

I started taking Dianette a year ago when I had the copper coil removed. I had tried other pills in the past and suffered with acne because of them, so I was recommended this pill because of its skin-clearing properties. My skin has been amazing on this pill, I don’t get any spots at all. My mood for the majority of the year has been okay, maybe a bit more flat than normal but no wild mood swings. However last month I didn’t take a break between two packets of the pill because I was going on holiday and didn’t want my period. Since then, my mood swings have been really bad, I’ve been emotional and angry. I wouldn’t recommend doing that if you don’t have to, always take the week’s break! My boobs are definitely more tender, and have grown a bit, and I’ve put on a little bit of weight in general. I definitely have an increased appetite and lower sex drive.

I was on Dianette for 3 months. During that time, my face completely stopped getting oily, which meant the acne on my face decreased by a lot (however it gave me dehydrated skin as a result so I had to start using hydrating products). The biggest effect was with the spots on my back and on my buttocks - I didn’t even take the pill for the spots there but they went away completely. I did get headaches more frequently, a few times a week, my breasts also got a bit larger and much more tender but they went back to normal once I stopped taking the pill. My general mood got a bit more “flat”, in the sense that I felt a bit more irritable and less enthusiastic about things. All symptoms went away when I stopped taking the pill though.

I originally went on the Gederal 30/150 combined pill because I had irregular periods and acne. This pill was recommended by my doctor to specifically help with acne. I really liked this pill, I didn’t feel like I experienced any side effects and it really helped clear up my skin. I still got the occasional spot but my skin was so much better. I also liked the ease of being able to chose if/when I got my period by continually taking the pill or having a 7 day break. My periods were super regular and would typically start 2 days after starting the 7 day break, and they would last 5 days with 1-2 heavier days in the middle but mostly very light. I didn’t notice any mood changes. Unfortunately, after about 7 years on this pill I had a few migraines with auras and was told by my GP that I had to stop taking this pill due to the risk of Stroke. I am now on the mini-pill which I am experiencing some negative side effects with.

I originally went on the pill to help ease period pains and I had already tried micrgogynon which made me feel nauseous. Getting used to the pill defo made me feel nauseous in the mornings a little but quickly went away. I have not had any serious side effects other than an increased emotional sensitivity and breast tenderness. My periods are a lot less heavy but thicker consistency? I'm not doubled over in pain anymore but I still take painkillers on my period. I would defo reccomend!!

My GP started me on this pill to help with perimenopausal symptoms (mainly insomnia and brain fog but to a lesser extent mood swings). For these, this pill has been a game changer and after only a couple of months, I feel like myself again. The only negative is that I've noticed a quite marked weight change and have gained around 3kg, most of which I think is water weight as I have gone puffy all over my body despite being an active person who spends a lot of time in the gym and has an active job. So I'm hoping this settles down after a couple more months, if it doesn't I think I'll try switching to another pill.

I used to be on this for years before having my two children and so I went back on but I’ve decided to come back off and try the copper coil instead of hormonal contraception. I remember when I came off I felt like I’d come back to life, as though I’d sort of been numbed when I was on it. I’d been on various types of hormonal contraception for over 20 years so I don’t think I’d noticed it happening to me over time until I came off. But having now had a few years off contraception altogether going back on I can really feel it this time. I had been losing my baby weight but that stopped when I started the pill again, I suspect it’s bloating and water rather than actual body fat. My sex drive has plummeted to basically nothing and I just don’t feel like me.

I was prescribed this pill after having no success with Rigevidon. I didn’t take it for contraception but for my PMDD. Gaslit myself into thinking that this pill made my moods more stable but in fact in made me way more emotional and often times hysterical. Caused me to have a migraine every week when I previously didn’t have any. Made me pile on weight. I wish I’d never taken it.

This pill helped me with physical aspects such as less acne, lighter and regular flow, decreased cramps etc however mentally it really didn’t work for me my brain felt so foggy I lost all motivation and had no attention span anymore, I became really restless and couldn’t focus on anything which was never something I struggled with in the past.

Used gedarel 30/150 for 3-4 years and never had any issues with it. I’ve never found a pill that can help my atrocious period cramps so can’t judge it based on that but everything else was great :)

I went on this a few years ago to stop my cycle because I suffer from severe PMS symptoms/PMDD. I remained on it for a year and experienced no side effects. I came off of it because I wanted to attempt to solve my problems naturally and holistically. Unfortunately my mental health became worse and I decided to go back on it. I have now been taking it for a week and am experiencing some mild side effects this time, but hopefully they will settle down.

I was initially prescribed GEDAREL 30/150 to treat acne when I was 15. I have been diagnosed with clinical depression since age 14 which is managed with SSRIs. I can confidently say that GEDADAREL has not had any effect on my mood, but it should be noted that I have been on SSRIs for the entire time that I used it. It also drastically improved my acne which was an absolute miracle at that age. The only other side effect I noticed was larger and more tender breasts. I have always had light periods and I didn’t notice much of a change to my periods on the pill. I remained on it continuously until age 19. I took a break for around 9 months, during which time my acne returned. Went back on it age 20 when I got into a relationship and was on it continuously until the start of this year (age 23). I stopped using Gedarel because I am currently celibate and single and I haven’t had any severe issues with acne, so it feels unnecessary to pay for contraception. When I need contraception again I will definitely go back to Gedarel.

This pill has been amazing for me. I've been on and off for several years and can confidently say this pill completely clears my hormonal acne - where other treatments have not worked. No negative side effects either!