Loestrin 30 pill vs Microgynon 30 pill

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!

This pill was pretty seamless for me. It did not affect my moods or skin. My periods were very light, lasted a few days with little to no cramps. My libido suffered significantly and this symptom worsened as time went on which is the reason I switched to a non-hormonal method. Other than this, it was a great option for me.

I have endometriosis and adenomyosis and was put on microgynon by my gynaecologist. I was happy at first because my severe and constant pain disappeared (and only reappeared during my period, and even then it was only 10% of the pain I used to experience. However, the negative side effects unfortunately didn’t make the lack of pain worth it. My mental health (which was already quite terrible as I suffer from OCD and anxiety) crumbled. I was depressed and had CONSTANT mood swings. I was irritable, always in a bad mood and snapping at my husband. I also felt like a zombie, unable to focus on anything and feeling so disconnected and dissociated. I also put on water weight. I’m a small woman who runs a lot, so it was definitely linked to the pill. After doing some research, I asked my doctor to switch me to Eloine, and so far it’s been AMAZING. My mood has stabilised and I honestly feel the happiest and most connected to the world I have in a long time. I think Eloine has balanced out my endometriosis-induced hormonal imbalances and I feel amazing. For context, I’ve tried 4 types of combined pill: microgynon (androgenic), cimiszt (less androgenic), millinette and femodene (also less androgenic). I’ve also tried the mini pill cerazette and I was on the implant for 1 year. All of these made my mental health crumble and I spent 8 years of my life (18-25) battling with deciding between having bad mental health or having endo pain. Don’t try microgynon!!!!! And do research into the different types of combined pill. I never researched and just took what the dr gave me. The Lowdown really helped me research!

It gave me constant headaches so I stopped taking it after a month.

Just very negative mood

This contraception affected my mood severely. I would feel sad and cry most days for weeks on end (not just PMS) without a reason. My breasts were also very swollen, lumpy and painful. My sex drive was also somewhat decreased. I was only taking it for 2 or 3 months but the symptoms were so bad that I couldn't stand to take it any longer to see if my body would adapt.

I didn't have any side effects with this pill other than it caused me to develop hormonal acne. When I started the pill and for the first 6 months my skin was clear, but then after that my skin got worse and worse, and I eventually realised the pill was the cause (because it contains levonorgestrel).

I've been on this since I was 17 (20 years). Generally it's been fine. I had a break once for a couple of months as Dr recommended it and found I was emotional and had awful irregular heavy periods, which put me off stopping it again. Have been getting migraines before periods recently, which may be related. Hard to tell, as I've been on it for so long and I can't find much info online on the effects of long-term use.

Honestly not the worst pill on the market. I tried a lot of pills and other sorts of contraceptives and I won’t say this one was the worst. It’s totally bearable but I couldn’t imagine using it long term. Period was perfect but other than that I lost motivation and was quite moody.

I started the pill to help regulate mood and lighten periods. It helped with periods but made my mood so much worse. By the end of my 3 month trial I was struggling with suicidal thoughts that hadn't been there at all before I started the pill. I can't believe how negatively it affected me.

I went on Microgynon due to painful periods and while being on it my periods became a lot less painful and became lighter as well. I feel like my boobs get more sore than they used to - this is more noticeable if I take the pill without the 7 day break. But overall I’ve got on really well and love that it’s such robust contraception (with condoms) as well as helping my periods