Dianette pill vs Yasmin 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 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!!

I was really pleased for the first 3 months of taking Yasmin as my skin cleared up completely. However after a couple of years of taking it my anxiety increased and I started feeling depressed. I also had no libido whatsoever which affected my relationship. My periods became longer and heavier and more painful.

I have mixed feelings about Yasmin. I was on it for a long time and it cleared up the numerous spots on my back and gave me regular, light periods with no cramping. However, the last five or so years before I went off it, I found I had zero sex drive and significant vaginal dryness, which negatively impacted my ability to have and enjoy sex. My breasts also enlarged significantly, from roughly a B/C cup to about a D/ double D, a change that I have found uncomfortable.

I started yasmin about 3 months ago and since then my breasts have become really sore, and one of them started leaking discharge, which I had to visit the GP for. It also gave me these mild but constant headaches, so as per my GP's advice, I'm getting off this pill ASAP!

So torn about Lucette/Yasmin. They cleared up my PCOS symptoms so well- my skin cleared almost immediately after years of terrible acne; stopped extreme sweating and prevented excessive hair growth. My mood is brilliant compared to other pills which made me very depressed/strong mood swings. However, I have chronic IBS and extreme urinary urgency on these pills. I took a 3 month break and my symptoms cleared within 2 weeks so I know this is the cause. These symptoms aren’t talked about much so I wanted to raise awareness. It’s a tough balancing act between horrible PCOS symptoms and horrible IBS/bladder symptoms.

Used the Yasmin combined pill to treat acne. Was extremely effective. However, I've suffered with gastroparesis for 10 years and didn't realise it was caused by this contraceptive. I was really quite poorly for several of those years, unable to eat enough so was malnourished and my career suffered. I felt so nauseous every single morning. When I first started taking it as a teenager I would vomit every morning. I was prescribed domperidone and had numerous doctors appointments and hospital appointments over the years and no one ever mentioned my symptoms could be caused by the contraceptive pill I was taking. I recently missed a few pills and noticed an improvement in my symptoms, so stopped taking it. For the first time in over 10 years I experience normal hunger, don't feel sick all the time, and am able to eat a normal sized meal. I can't overstate how much of a transformation it's been for me.