Marvelon pill vs Microgynon 30 pill

I was recommended “marvellous” Marvelon by an NHS women’s health nurse when I was 23 and looking for a pill that would t leave me moody with breakthrough bleeding. 36 years later (!!) I’m still taking it. I now run it on every month so zero bleeding. Every few months I’ll skip a day to see if I still ovulate (and I do). After 10 years (age 33) I stopped it to conceive. Ovulated the first month (I get distinct ov pain) and resumed regular cycles immediately. I conceived 2 months later. After my second baby I had a Mirena which was fine but couldn’t get the little wire sitting there out of my head so had it removed and went back on Marvelon. So all up about 5 years off. Hairdresser noticed my hair thickened up (after loosing lots postnatal).again I noticed no side effects apart from no ov pain. I’m planning to stay on it until my early 50s or so and will then consider HRT options. So I’m very happy with my oestrogen topped up! I’ve had zero negative symptoms and am a very well, fit, optimistic and thriving GenXer!! Marvellous.

As someone who has never got along with hormonal contraception, I’ve tried many pills over the years and Marvelon is definitely one of the best. Sadly I have to come off this pill due to depression (which was non-existent before starting) but the other side effects were more manageable and gradual: tender breasts, nausea, acne. Really gutted it’s caused such low mood as I would have happily continued otherwise.

I was on Marvelon from the age of 14 until 30 when my GP took me off it. I really didn't want to to cover off it but as a smoker I had no choice. I was so lucky that the first pill I tried was perfect for me, no side effects except bad headaches for the first six months.

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

I was only the Microgynon 30 pill for just over a month and I had it quickly changed when I saw a significant change to my moods. I was constantly crying and feeling incredibly low and depressed. The pill had also given me migraines and headaches, which I would rarely get before the pill.