Microgynon 30 pill vs Gedarel 30/150 pill

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.

After taking the contraceptive pill for the past 15 years and being told it’s perfectly safe, I found out at the beginning of this year that I have 3 tumours on my liver as a result of long term usage of the pill. This week I underwent major surgery and had a liver resection to remove the biggest tumour, which at over 7cm was at risk of haemorrhaging. I’ve got two other smaller tumours which will hopefully shrink now I’ve come off the contraceptive pill. I hope my story highlights that hormonal contraception is NOT SAFE!

I have been able to live my life fuller due to the less horrific and heavy periods - now I only have 4 periods a year and it’s now in my control

I was initially prescribed GEDAREL 30/150 to treat acne when I was 15. I have been diagnosed with clinical depression since age 14 which is managed with SSRIs. I can confidently say that GEDADAREL has not had any effect on my mood, but it should be noted that I have been on SSRIs for the entire time that I used it. It also drastically improved my acne which was an absolute miracle at that age. The only other side effect I noticed was larger and more tender breasts. I have always had light periods and I didn’t notice much of a change to my periods on the pill. I remained on it continuously until age 19. I took a break for around 9 months, during which time my acne returned. Went back on it age 20 when I got into a relationship and was on it continuously until the start of this year (age 23). I stopped using Gedarel because I am currently celibate and single and I haven’t had any severe issues with acne, so it feels unnecessary to pay for contraception. When I need contraception again I will definitely go back to Gedarel.

This pill has been amazing for me. I've been on and off for several years and can confidently say this pill completely clears my hormonal acne - where other treatments have not worked. No negative side effects either!

Only side effect I've noticed is increased acne

More agitated for the first month. Very tender breasts and they grew a lot but have gone back down a bit since. Periods are heavy but only for 2 days then finish on the 4th day which is much shorter than before. Cramps are very bad on those 2 days tho. My contacts get sooo dry but after 4 months the other side effects calmed a lot.

Overall had a very negative experience, especially with my mental health. I had severe anxiety. It works for lots of women, but not for everyone.

I was put on this pill for suspected endometriosis and I felt extremely dizzy 24/7 on it to the point where I couldn't go out. I was having multiple panic attacks a day because I'd never felt like this before. I had to stop it because it was affecting my ability to work and felt back to normal again 24 hours after taking the last pill. As the first pill brand I'd ever taken, it put me off hormonal contraception for life as it nearly lost me my job and the side effects were 100x worse than my endo symptoms. I haven't had a single panic attack since and it's been over a year since I stopped it.

It did control my periods making them regular each month. I was hoping it could control my heavy periods due to perimenopause and adenomyosis. I tried continuous pill taking with this and it does not work. After or nearly at finishing a blister pack, my body just starts bleeding like I'm on a period, so I have to give it a 4 day pill-free bleed. I'm happy that the periods are regular and 4 days long per month, but not happy that the periods are so very heavy still, in the first few days. I started feeling anemic even though I take iron supplements, so I was forced to take tranexamic acid during the 4 day bleed to reduce the bleeding. Tranexamic acid works but it always gives me a bad headache. So basically I feel unwell all through the 4 day bleed - either I'm bleeding profusely and low on iron, or I'm taking tranexamic acid and not bleeding profusely but have a bad headache all day while I'm taking tranexamic acid. So for that reason it's not an ideal pill though does improve things a bit. I'll also add, the first month I was on this, I felt unusually fatigued all day, falling asleep at my job, wanting to sleep 10 hrs at night, etc. I also had severe stomach cramps which could not be alleviated even if I took the pills just before bed - I'd just wake up middle of the night from the stomach cramps too. And it gave me bad flatulence, like IBS, for hours after I take a pill, farting all the time. And I had loss of sex drive and vaginal dryness too. I switched to Gedarel 20/150 for a lower estrogenic dosage to reduce all those side effects but then I started spotting pretty much a couple days after starting that, so this means the estrogen wasn't high enough to control bleeding. So I went back on to this Gedarel 30/150 and thankfully I seem to have regained myself and all the side effects were gone. So I stuck with the Gedarel 30/150 for 2 months already. My body got used to it, all side effects gone, no more vaginal dryness, low sex drive, stomach cramps. The heavy periods during the pill free days however, are not great as I described above... and also the fact this pill doesn't seem to work for continuous pill taking regime for me as my body always wants a bleed at the end of a pack... Not sure why.

I take this continuously, running packets together with no break. I haven’t had a bleed in years and my acme has reduced. I don’t have a period and improves my skin. What’s not to love! No negatives!

This is the best pill I’ve been on (aside from Dianette) and it doesn’t adversely affect my mood as much as other pills I’ve been on.

It did it's job as a contraceptive. I have been using a combined contraceptive since I was 17 to help with my periods and acne- I didn't even have a boyfriend at the time. I had been on it for over 10 years and last summer was the last straw. I developed an ectropian cervix which is where the cervix kind of swell I guess is the right term but basically the cells that are on the inside of the cervix come visible on the outside of the cervix. This caused lots of spotting and bleeding during sex which was obviously a huge red flag. I had been back and forth to the Dr's and felt dismissed most times, then jt came to my smear test. I was of course very apprehensive and bled during the procedure. I was referred to coloscopy 2 years ago and I am still waiting for that referral. My smear came back clear. However I was so worried and anxious and when I asked at the Dr's, I was told to still keep the referral. This then leads me onto my next major side effect. Since being on the pill I have been prescribed anti anxiety medication. 2 different brands for about 5 years. I experienced headaches and a complete loss of sex drive, which now coming off the pill has only just started to return a year later. I was miserable. I was a different person completely. But each time j felt completely dismissed by my GP bar one. I came off it last year after being very emotional and decided enough was enough. I had got married in the April and decided that getting pregnant was not a complete disaster so it no longer served its purpose. It has been the best thing I have ever done for my body. It has knmy been since coming off it, how much I have realised it effected me, both physically and mentally.