Zoely pill vs Microgynon 30 pill

My psychiatrist put me on Zoely in August of 2024, I had recently been diagnosed with PMDD (pre menstrual dysphoric disorder) and was at a point in my life where if I didn’t find a way to manage the symptoms I was at breaking point. I’d been misdiagnosed with bipolar, major depression, borderline personality disorder and had been on a rollercoaster of treatments from ages 13-30. So I was hesitant to trust this psychiatrist and go on another potentially damaging rollercoaster of meds. Alas, after 3 weeks I noticed dramatic changes to my moods, I was balanced! I felt in control, grounded and sane! Obviously my period stopped and my cycle was no longer existent but this medication saved my life, my relationship, my mental health and gave me back my life! The only negative side is my low to zero sex drive, that’s been tough but I’m navigating it now, my partner doesn’t feel desirable because I don’t want sex.. like ever but we are both just happy to have a peaceful life without the ups and down. It seems like a fair trade to me. So very grateful for this medication.

I was put on zoely to treat symptoms of perimenopause. It actually made my symptoms worse. I took it for 1 month and found I had more frequent night sweats and hot flashes, my mood felt unstable and erratic, insomnia was worse also. I constantly had spotting every day for the month and then no period. My exhaustion was even worse than it had been before starting it. I've stopped it now and feel better already after 6 days.

I was on this pill just shy of a month. I was bloating on the first day of use. I noticed the first week my mental state was horrible very agitated, flat and no energy. I did notice after the first few weeks my skin was definitely clearing up. I get hormonal acne. I had reduced hair loss (from endometriosis) and no ovulation pain. 3rd week in I started to get a sharp pain in the calf. Subsided then came back worse. So decided to stop taking it all together because leg pain wasn't worth the possibility of a blood clot. Three days off the pill the leg pain completely disappeared. Definitely was not the pill for me. Cons- Low mood Low sex drive Joint pain Sore lower back Constant bloating Extreme calf pain Insomnia Nausea Chest hypertension Pros- Clearer skin Less hair loss No ovulation pain

Began taking this when i was 14 when i got my first boyfriend and I am now 18 so it is very hard to determine or remember what things i suffered with prior to the pill and what increased while on it. One thing i can say is my skin has never been more oily in my whole life, regular bumps on my forehead which i don’t recall ever having. I can only put this down to hormones/the pill, i’ve tried antibiotics, thousands of pounds worth of skincare, changing shampoos, stopping vaping, bettering my diet, replacing makeup brushes regularly (im talking fortnightly!) and so much more and nothing seems to even touch the sides. cystic acne bumps on my back which seem to worsen in the winter/autumnal months. I have been seen to by uncountable doctors and a dermatologist who have all simply told me to wash my face with a cloth lol (wish i tried that one!!???). I have found my skins got worse through the years but now it’s totally uncontrollable, skincare does not even seem to touch the sides which also convinces me it’s something to do with my contraception. Have found myself very snappy and irritable 24/7 i feel very low… nothing major is happening in my life to be making me feel like that and it’s getting draining. booking another doctors appointment tomorrow to consider changing.

It went smoothly in the start. No side effects other than weight gain. Slowly the mood startet to be affected. I startet to swear more and react more angrily towards situations and people around me. Felt almost like I was a child and could not contain myself. My husband told me I had to get of because I was horrible to live with. The anger subsided when I stopped

Granted I havent used it for long, i've only noticed positive side effects that I was happy with (Stopped periods, Larger and tender breasts, Better skin) however, I have been having some worse mood swings from time to time, though personally I find that has been managable. So far, I have not been made pregnant after corrcet and consistant use, the pill being my only form of contraception too. Perhaps I just got really lucky with the pill!

I used Microgynon for several years, as advised by my GP from the age of 15. I remember feeling very, very miserable at times and very angry and having a feeling of 'this is not me, this isn't who I am.' After taking the pill for nearly 10 years, I started to experience chronic stomach pain which would result in me being hospitalised every 7-8 months over a 5 year period. The first time I was admitted, I genuinely thought I was going to die. I had never experienced pain like it and was taken to hospital by ambulance. I was under a specialist for gastro problems, had multiple tests multiple times to try and find the cause of my flare ups. I would be put on a morphine drip once admitted and after a few days of tests would be discharged. The cycle repeated itself like this for the next 5 years, each time the pain being worse and eventually on my last hospital admission, blood in my vomit. I had ultra sound scans, blood tests, x-rays, MRI scans, CT scans, biopsies taken from my stomach, a camera that I had to swallow to monitor my digestion, blood and urine samples taken in the dark and sent off to a specialist lab in Cardiff to see if I had an auto immune disease, discussions on could it be cancer? Could it be another rare auto immune disease that was incurable? I had Oramorph prescribed to me at home to take as and when I had a flare up as when I was admitted to A and E each time, this is what I was given. I nearly lost my job working in a primary school due to time off and not really having an explanation in a formal diagnosis as to what was causing this issue, going through a disciplinary each time. Every time I was admitted to A and E, I would be asked if I was on any medication and every time I said 'just the pill'. I asked several health professionals several times, if this could be the cause of my reoccurring pain? I was told each time, no the pill can't do this to you, you would have pain more often. It was the suggested that it could be psychological, basically was it all in my head as tests all came back with nothing. I felt worthless. It was NEVER suggested to me that I should stop taking it to see if it changed anything. One day I decided to stop taking it. This was 5 years ago now and I have not had another episode of chronic stomach pain since. I had follow up appointments with my specialist who said 'it was as rare as hens teeth' for the pill to have caused this but he agreed and truly believed that it had been the cause of my reoccurring, 5 year battle, with chronic and debilitating pain. From being given the pill from such a young age, and a lack of education as to what is in it and what it actually does in order to work, I look back and can't believe what my body went through. Not just with the hospital admissions but with the constant bombardment of hormones that made me feel depressed, angry and at times despondent, all the time being told these feelings are 'normal' side effects. Treat your body with kindness and think about what you are expecting it to tolerate.

What they don’t tell you and should, is that if you have had a pregnancy effected by Hyperemesis Gravidarum, is that you may not be able to tolerate estrogen. It doesn’t apply to everyone, but sadly, it did apply to me and I had to come off them very quickly, because for me, it was exactly like being pregnant again, I was throwing up around the clock.

Didn’t like being on this pill. Caused vaginal dryness to the point where sex hurt. Libido on the floor, so low!!!

Apart from the vaginal dryness and loss of sex drive, i’m happy with this pill as it did not have any really negative side effects for me, plus it grew my breasts which i liked.

main thing for me was the super low sex drive. filling this out, interested to also see sweating a lot as an option. As I do sweat a lot, very easily so very interested (and hope) that is a side effect as looking to change/come off.

I am using microgynon to manage endometriosis. Before starting I was having significant pain, nausea, and depression due to the pain. I am taking this pill without breaks, so not having periods is really helping reduce my endo symptoms. I have had a lot of mood problems with other pills, but if anything my mood is slightly better. I think it was just that my endo pain was so bad it was making me feel really low. I am still having some breakthrough bleeding with this pill, but much less than other pills.

This was the absolute perfect pill for me. I had no side effects other than slightly sore breasts in the first couple of months.