Femodene ED pill vs Microgynon 30 pill

I started this pill as a stronger alternative to the previous contraceptive I was using (Marvelon), as I had been experiencing breakthrough bleeding. I also have pcos so was looking to mask my symptoms (heavy and irregular periods, PMDD, acne among others). I had nausea, continued breakthrough bleeds even with consistent use, vaginal dryness, and headaches. I ended up switching back to Marvelon after 4-5 months.

I changed from Lucette after being on that for around 4 years, my sex drive was low. Changed to Femodene which was meant to improve that and also help with acne which is what i also needed. My skin flared up massively, my sex drive didn’t change, my moods awful, i seemed to hate everything and everything and became very snappy with people. I started to dislike my job, and also created issues between my partner and I because of the mood I was in. I was fine on the first packet, had my week break and then started the second packet but went downhill from there.

I was given this pill when I was 15 and didn't really know any other options for hormonal contraception. I didn't really notice any negatives for the majority of the time - I was on the combined pill for about 9 years altogether and did switch pills towards the end at one point but it's hard to remember why now as it was so long ago. I think it was because I was struggling to lose weight and also had little to no sex drive. I didn't have enough knowledge of hormones and contraception side effects at that time to know if it was my pill or other factors causing these - I wish I knew what I know now about this topic!

Was on combined pill from around age 16 to 19 with no major issues apart from a bit of weight gain (and bigger boobs) ,until I became very depressed which seemed to clear up when I came off the pill. Difficult to say if it was the cause. Had a break for a while and then tried taking the combined pill again around age 24. Unfortunately this time it made me very sick for the first few days every month to the point of vomiting multiple times. I switched to the progesterone only pill and have never looked back!

Originally went on the contraceptive pill to control and ease very painful and heavy periods, it helped and made my periods regular and easier to deal with. However, around 12 months in I began having regular migraines with aura which are dangerous when using this pill, it was an amazing pill other than that major side effect I had no emotional affect because of it.

General side effects were minimal but had constant spotting that didn't improve over time. Switched to a different pill (Yasmin) and spotting stopped immediately. Switched back to microgynon due to other bad side effects from Yasmin and spotting again within 4 days. Time to continue the search...

Was on the mini pill and it completely wrecked me. I use this to manage endometriosis. It works well for that purpose. My mood is stable. My adhd has improved bd im responding to medication better (compared to the mini pill). So far, im extremely happy with the pill - who knew being a functional human being is pretty great??

I was given the combined pill as my first ever contraception. It was great in terms of regular periods, lighter periods, convenient to use, not invasive to have etc. However, whilst using it, I had migraines every single time I was menstruating, sometimes with aura and were extremely debilitating. This ultimately meant I had to come off the pill, and I didn’t realise until around a year after being off the pill that my migraines had nearly stopped completely, and when I did have them, they weren’t nearly as severe. Other than debilitating migraines (which may not be the case for everyone as I did experience them before going on the pill), the combined pill was amazing in all aspects.

On this for about 14 years, taking a few short 6 months breaks. Only in hindsight can I connect the dots on some side effects including eczema (many people go on the pill for acne, it has a drying effect so you can imagine for someone with dry skin it makes it worse) and recurrent UTIs. These symptoms became pronounced when going on and off the pill in my 30s. Dryness and loss of libido when trying to go back on it again recently was unmanageable. Sex drive and sensitivity completely disappeared. 6 weeks later I am working it out of my system and sensitivity and libido is slowly coming back. I would also question the role the pill has played in depression and anxiety over the years. I have no evidence for this but can only say that coming off it I have never felt more peaceful or like myself. Since I have fairly light periods and no other menstrual or health issues except eczema I would say going on the pill was the wrong choice for me in hindsight and have since educated myself on my hormones and am using natural cycles.

While it was brilliant to stop my period, I struggled with the moodiness and lack of sex drive. I wasn’t motivated to exercise, while I loved going from a B cup to a DD cup the rest of my body grew too. Headaches and migraines frequently which isn’t ideal either.

I went on this pill to manage my extremely heavy periods. I've loved having lighter and shorter periods and my skin has been great, but decided to come off the pill after ~3 years as I started getting very anxious. I've found since coming off that my anxiety levels have been a lot lower.

I started this birth control as my very first form of contraception. I was put off by the thought of breakthrough bleeding on the mini pill, so my doctor put me on microgynon without much thought. The first month was fine, although very quickly I started to get terrible headaches which continued until I stopped taking the pill altogether. After around the first month I vaguely noticed i’d be in a bad mood all the time - I was either very snappy and grumpy, or my emotions were very ‘muffled’ and I didn’t feel much of anything. It’s very hard to describe, but I wouldn’t feel happy or excited - i’d just feel low and ‘nothing’ all the time. I didn’t enjoy hobbies I liked before, and I wasn’t interested in anything. I think the craziest side effect I randomly realised was that I felt way less affectionate towards my boyfriend. I wasn’t interested in being cuddly with him, kissing him, ect. Honestly it’s the main reason I wanted to get off microgynon. Along with the headaches and mood, my sex drive disappeared completely (and I naturally have a very high sex drive), i’d experience brain fog all the time, and I felt immense fatigue. I’m diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome so I assumed it was just that, but the tiredness I felt was nothing like i’d ever felt before, and I feel much better now that i’m off the pill. I’d be too exhausted to even get out of bed, and if I did manage to go outside i’d feel faint and dizzy. The positives were that I didn’t get pregnant (we didn’t use any other form of contraception and didn’t use the pull out method, although I did take a pregnancy test every few weeks to be safe), and I was able to control when i’d bleed. I’ve always had extremely painful periods where i’d throw up and almost pass out from the pain, but the bleeds were very light during my breaks and the cramps were tolerable. I would take the packs continuously for 3 months and then have a 4 day bleed, and didn’t have any cramping or breakthrough bleeding at all. Altogether I found microgynon to be a good form of contraception, the side effects were enough for me to come off it.