Loestrin 30 pill vs Yasmin 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!

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.