Yasmin pill vs Levest pill

So I was prescribed the yasmin pill for my PCOS after being on desogestrel since I was about 14 for my periods. I’ve always had really really irregular periods, and bled very heavily. They would last for 2 weeks roughly and sometimes id have two in one month. In my particular case, I was told to take yasmin continuously, so all 3 packets in a row and then stop for a 7 day break, and start a new box. This has worked well for me i think (baring in mind i’ve only just started my 2nd box). At the beginning I had severe nausea, not to the point of throwing up but it was there constantly all day. I started taking the pill just before bed, so 11pm- midnight roughly and that seemed to help with the nausea. That was the side effect that has affected me the most, and since restarting after my 7 day break I am still experiencing nausea. I’m just praying it goes away after 1-2 weeks like it did before. Aside from that, my sex drive historically has been really high. I was down to do it whenever, and no issues whatsoever. Since being on yasmin, i literally could not think of ANYTHING worse than having sex with my partner. (it is nothing to do with him!!) I just have absolutely 0 sex drive, I can’t even get horny unless i really stick with it- so that’s been another big issue for me. I have also had quite bad acne since I was in school, and i’ve always struggled with it especially on my chin, forehead and back. I haven’t noticed a change in my acne yet but praying yasmin is able to clear some of it up! In terms of my PCOS management aswell, yasmin has made my first period during my 7 day break incredibly light, I hardly needed to wear a pad at all. I had cramps but nowhere near as bad as they used to be and it also seemed to completely stop around the 4 day mark out of 7. So if i’m being completely honest, my experience on yasmin so far has been okay- i’m struggling with the nausea and low sex drive but hoping as the weeks/ months go on my body will adapt to the hormones and i’ll be back to normal. If anyone out there is struggling with severe irregular periods and pcos symptoms I would recommend giving it a try and sticking it out for atleast 6 months to 1 year. for me personally my periods are so much easier to deal with, and i will do an update in a few months time to see if my skin and other side effects have cleared!

This is an update as I have now been taking Yasmin for over 10 months. I changed to this pill specifically because another pill gave me terrible acne that did not go away after stopping it and trying an old pill I had been on, nor when I came off hormonal birth control all together to test if that would fix things. I know a lot of people wonder how long it will take for Yasmin to totally clear up acne and for me it was between 5-6 months. I remember I had one terrible, cystic spot for a birthday gathering I was attending in July this year (hence this being seared in my mind lol) and after that my skin cleared up, practically nothing since. Truly the only downside has been the quite considerable hit it’s taken on my libido — my husband is not the most pleased about that aspect but saw how down I was with the bad skin so appreciates that this was the right decision, haha. Unfortunately I moved back to Scotland late summer and Yasmin is not provided here, so I will be changing to another pill. Now begins the test to see if my clear skin remains after I finish this final pack and go back on an old reliable pill I was on from years before that had no side-effects. 🤞🏻

Love this pill, I've been on it for nearly 10 years now and have noticed few changes and side effects. If anything, my skin is more clear and my periods are light (3-4 days instead of my usual 6-7). I feel more emotional than baseline but it does not bother my day-to-day activities.

This is the first pill I’ve been on and after being so scared to start it, I’ve generally had quite a good experience. The first few weeks were quite rough, really bad headache, moodiness and nausea but this went away with time. I used to find I’d have a bit of nausea when starting the pill after the 7 day break but I shorted this to 4 days and had helped immensely! My periods are so regular and really light with way less cramping, my periods only last about 3/4 days now when they used to be over a week. I haven’t had any weight gain or changes to my libido. Overall it’s been quite good to me, my only issue is I’ve definitely become a lot moodier - still nothing crazy but not quite like how I used to be. I also can’t tell if my anxiety has worsened or if that’s just coincidental. I’m thinking of trying a different pill to see if my mood improves but nervous incase I get other side effects that I haven’t on this! My only other complaint is hair loss, I didn’t even know this was linked until I read this page and saw one of the hormones might cause this. Didn’t have any issues at the start but in the last few months I’ve been noticing a lot more hair coming out in the shower and am now wondering if this is linked.

I used this quite a while ago, I do not notably recall any mood-altering changes (hence why I rated "poor" instead of "terrible" to be fair, since every individual is different). But I will list below effects from when I was actively taking it and afterwards: - Heavier and more painful periods. I already struggle with painful periods, but while using Levest, they became unbearably painful (OTC barely helped, sweating, dizziness & nausea due to the pain). - I subtly started gaining more weight, despite no lifestyle or dietary changes. - I believe I had increased bodily hair growth. - After a period of heavy and painful periods, I eventually stopped having my period altogether, despite the 7 day break each month. When I stopped using it altogether, my cycle didn't resume. At one point, I didn't get my period for half a year until eventually being diagnosed with PCOS. However, Levest did not mask my symptoms during use either, it felt like it induced them (weight gain, hair growth, cycle dysregulation). I read another comment on here on hyperandrogenism concerns - and this symptom also relates to PCOS. While the issue of "pill-induced PCOS" is controversial and unconfirmed, it's still relatively acknowledged that those predisposed to the condition may find that using certain birth controls can induce it when otherwise dormant (especially progestin dominant ones, such as Levest). Synthetic progestin is often structured very similarly to androgens, hence why the body may register it as such. I heard that more recent brands have improved upon its configuration, so it's less similar - but from experience, I would say Levest hasn't quite got it yet.

Before I started contraception, I used to feel horribly sad around four days before I started my period. I knew it was my hormones making me feel this way, and I felt powerless. Since starting Levest, that has gone! My skin feels clearer too, I still get the occasional spot but they don’t seem to get as bad as they did before. I get tender breasts and light crawling around a week before going on my break week, which is similar to before, but now my breasts don’t get as painful. My periods now are more painful than they used to be on the first day, but the cramps are sorted quickly with a big breakfast and paracetamol, with no pain after the first day. They also come on the same day each cycle, are shorter than before, and tail off quicker. I also get a headache for a day or two during my break week - in the first couple of months of taking Levest, the headaches were almost unbearable, lasting a up to three days, but have got less painful and last a shorter amount of time as each month passed. On month seven, the headache was only mild and only lasted a day, which I’m counting as a win. My breasts seem to have got bigger, and I’ve put on about half a stone in six months - which is neither here nor there really, but I do feel like I’ve changed shape more than putting on weight? Some of my jeans no longer fit, but they did when I was a similar weight previously… I may try a tablet with a lower dose of oestrogen after this box of pills, to try to eliminate the headaches completely if they don’t go themselves, but they are nowhere near as bad as they were at the start.

I am one of the happiest people you will ever meet, I’ve always been positive and upbeat and although of course I have down times like anyone I never stay down for long. Within 3 weeks of taking Levest contraceptive tablets I was like a completely different person and I didn’t know what was happening to me, I cried uncontrollable every day, I didn’t want to be here anymore and was actually thinking of ways I could end my life, I was waking up in the middle of the night with a dark pit feeling in my stomach and felt unbelievably low I didn’t know what was happening to me, then it clicked, the only thing I was doing differently to usual was taking the levest pill. I called the GP the next day and they told me to stop taking it immediately, within 4 days I was back to my usual self mentally then I came on the worst period of my life, like a slaughtered animal and so many blood clots. I’ll never take this pill ever again and would definitely warn others about taking it, who’d have thought a simple contraceptive pill could cause so much harm

When I first started levest It gave me bad acne around my chin and enlarged breasts and a slight change in mood but after three months I have literally no side effects and my skin is starting to clear, in fact I’ve actually lost weight on it. This pill suits me more than others I have been on.

I got switched from Maexeni to Levest due to medication shortages. Despite levest having few negative side effects, it’s caused vaginal dryness especially during sex. My sex drive has also disappeared and it is now very painful to have, which is obviously very frustrating (and embarrassing when hooking up with people), not something I had ever experienced before January this year. I’ve noticed this seems to be a very common side effect so beware. Safe to say I will be switching back to Maexeni asap!!!!

If you have androgenic hair loss this makes this worse. My GP put me on it to manage my periods when I had originally asked for HRT. The hair loss is severe and is seriously affecting my mental health

Since taking this pill it has regulated my period , I take it 21 days then have a 7 day break , i stop on a Saturday then I come on , on the Thursday and I finish on the Wednesday. It’s like that every month , but when I do stop taking them I get cramps and a bellyache and also runny stools , but soon as I start them again the pains subside and my stools become harder . I am finding a little more discharge than usual but I’ve heard that’s normal because of the hormonal changes . But overall I’d definitely recommend to anyone who fits the criteria 🙂

Ive been on 3 different pills and Levest was my long term. My skin got clearer and my periods have been much more managable (I used to be prescribed meds for pain control). However the main effect is decreased sex drive dramatically and just feeling 'meh' all the time very dampened emotions over everything. Not many highs not many lows just an overall feeling of meh.

Went on this pill to try and ease my intense cramps, but it made my periods much much heavier and I’m not sure its worth it.