Morning after pill vs Progestogen-only / Mini pill

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Morning after pill

£From £0.10/day

Progestogen-only / Mini pill

£From £0.22/day

Overview

Rated 3.4

28 reviews

Once after sex

Frequency

97 - 98%

Effectiveness

None

Blood clot risk

None

Effect on fertility

Rated 2.7

1293 reviews

Daily

Frequency

91% - 99+%

Effectiveness

None

Blood clot risk

None

Effect on fertility

Morning after pill ingredients

Main hormones in Morning after pill

progestogen


Progestogen-only / Mini pill ingredients

Main hormones in Progestogen-only / Mini pill

progestogen

What Lowdown reviewers say

39% no impact on mood

29% no change

68% no impact

71% no impact

62% no impact on skin

Cycle return

50% in 1 month

32% somewhat negative

43% stopped periods

50% lost sex drive

44% no impact

47% no impact on skin

Cycle return

38% don’t know impact

Benefits: What this contraceptive can help with

There are no benefits that are recognised in scientific research or guidelines for this contraceptive

Period pain

Try it now

£From £0.10/day

Try it now

£From £0.22/day

Check out our latest reviews

Real life reviews from people like you

Morning after pill reviews

28 reviews

Morning after pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
33 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  15th Apr 24

Levonelle One Step pill  

All good, easy and convenient.

Read more

Increased sex drive

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Morning after pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  21st Feb 24

ellaOne pill  

I used the emergency contraception pill when someone ejaculated inside of me to avoid pregnancy and it was useful.


Gained weight

0 helpful

1 comments

Morning after pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
28 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  15th Feb 24

Levonorgestrel pill  

For those emergencies where me and my partner haven’t used a condom or had sex during my ovulation period, I’ve been used the morning after pill which has most definitely been very effective for me. I don’t really experience any excessive side effects but what I do notice every time I take this medication my period is comes a week later than normal and it can be much heavier at times with more clots , and the periods are very painful.


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Morning after pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
33 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  15th Apr 24

Levonelle One Step pill  

All good, easy and convenient.


Increased sex drive

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Morning after pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  21st Feb 24

ellaOne pill  

I used the emergency contraception pill when someone ejaculated inside of me to avoid pregnancy and it was useful.


Gained weight

0 helpful

1 comments

Morning after pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
28 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  15th Feb 24

Levonorgestrel pill  

For those emergencies where me and my partner haven’t used a condom or had sex during my ovulation period, I’ve been used the morning after pill which has most definitely been very effective for me. I don’t really experience any excessive side effects but what I do notice every time I take this medication my period is comes a week later than normal and it can be much heavier at times with more clots , and the periods are very painful.


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments


Progestogen-only / Mini pill reviews

1293 reviews

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
54 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 day ago

Slynd pill  

I was put on Slynd to control heavy bleeding caused by perimenopause and blood thinners , I am so happy that my periods are much lighter. I am able to leave the house without concern of bleeding through my clothes. I do get frequent headaches and feel bloated, but I was told that the bloating should subside after a few months. overall, very happy with this birth control pill!


Somewhat positive mood

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
33 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  5 days ago

Noriday pill  

I got pregnant whilst using Noriday i was on Yasmin but because of migrains with aura i decided to change the docs put me on Noriday and i never had any problems what so ever appart from the fact i got pregnant lucky i still had regular periods so i knew straight away i was deverstated i felt let down by the pill and i couldnt trust it anymore sex hasnt been the same scince im now on the implant and ask men to use condoms cause im paranoid contrception will let me down again.


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
18 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  2 weeks ago

Desogestrel pill  

I have only been on this pill for around 2 months however my side effects have been so drastic in this time period. My mood is unstable and I have become more irritable and quick to be upset, as for periods they have been irregular and my cramps have been the same if not worse than before i started contraception.


Very negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
54 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 day ago

Slynd pill  

I was put on Slynd to control heavy bleeding caused by perimenopause and blood thinners , I am so happy that my periods are much lighter. I am able to leave the house without concern of bleeding through my clothes. I do get frequent headaches and feel bloated, but I was told that the bloating should subside after a few months. overall, very happy with this birth control pill!


Somewhat positive mood

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
33 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  5 days ago

Noriday pill  

I got pregnant whilst using Noriday i was on Yasmin but because of migrains with aura i decided to change the docs put me on Noriday and i never had any problems what so ever appart from the fact i got pregnant lucky i still had regular periods so i knew straight away i was deverstated i felt let down by the pill and i couldnt trust it anymore sex hasnt been the same scince im now on the implant and ask men to use condoms cause im paranoid contrception will let me down again.


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
18 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  2 weeks ago

Desogestrel pill  

I have only been on this pill for around 2 months however my side effects have been so drastic in this time period. My mood is unstable and I have become more irritable and quick to be upset, as for periods they have been irregular and my cramps have been the same if not worse than before i started contraception.


Very negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  2 weeks ago

Desogestrel pill  

it’s really good, like that there’s no estrogen and doesn’t make me feel like i’m going crazy. only annoying thing is the loss of sex drive but that’s something i work through with my partner


Decreased sex drive

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
30 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  2 weeks ago

Cerazette pill  

I had breakthrough bleeding every day for almost 6 months starting from the day after my first pill. Sometimes heavy like a period but mainly spotting but it never stopped. Eventually the nurse advised it’s probably not for me and told me to stop taking it. It gave me no other negative effects but I thought that was negative enough!


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
21 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  2 weeks ago

Norgeston pill  

I would bleed for 4-6 days every 14 days with cramps the whole “period”. I seemed to feel every emotion much more intensely and felt rather negative a lot more than usual. I was also very bloated a lot.


Somewhat negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
29 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  3 weeks ago

Cerazette pill  

Since beginning this pill I have been strictly observing my weight and other side effects. Other birth control methods were unsuitable for me as I experience migraines. So far, I have had minimal side effects and have not noticed any impact on my mood or weight. I have had some small spots appear on my chin, I feel my breasts have gotten a little bit bigger (but I have actually lost weight since starting cerazette). I have had irregular bleeding/periods as the hormones are settling into my system, which has been annoying for myself and for my partner but better than the alternative, which is the point in taking the pill anyway. So far I'm happy to have chosen Cerazette and hope this will continue.


Worse skin

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 month ago

Desogestrel pill  

This was my first time using a hormonal contraception method and was given this by my doctor to start with. I persevered for 3-4 months but experienced continuous medium break through bleeding that didn’t show any sign of stopping. At this point my sex drive had disappeared and I switched over to a combined pill which I now have a much better time with.


Decreased sex drive

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
25 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 month ago

Desogestrel pill  

This is the first time I’ve tried the mini pill after using the combined pill since I was 15 (until 18), the hormonal coil (18-22) and then experiencing my adult body for around 3 months with no hormones. After this contraceptive break, I fell pregnant and had a really rough abortion. After this experience I was terrified of this happening again and noticed my weight had increased due to pregnancy and my moods were really up and down in the last 6-8 weeks. After speaking to a doctor I got given this pill due to optical migraines and high risk of stroke. It was fine for the first few weeks and got used to it very quick, however, I noticed an insane decrease in sex drive. I never think about sex now and it’s really hard to get in the mood, this had led to me getting too in my head during sex and ruining it for me, a constant cycle!! Recently I’ve also became really irritable and short tempered which is very out of character for me. *Really important note* that I’ve not seen in many reviews!! After a quarterly checkup with the nurse she told me this pill is one of the worst for weight gain!! Saying that basically no matter how much of a calorie deficit you’re in/how active you are, you’re going to gain some weigh. Wasn’t informed about this prior to prescription. For context I was 69kg prior to taking this pill and in 6 months I’ve gained 11kg without changing my diet and increasing my cardio and general exercise. Apart from this the pros are no periods, very minimal cramps. I’m leaving this (very long) review to help anyone else who’s using this or considering it, like other reviews say, it really depends on you and unfortunately you’ll never know how these things affect you until you try. To help some sisters out, I’m now considering the copper coil as I’m missing having periods (sounds crazy I know) and really want a non-hormonal option


Somewhat negative mood

3 more effects

1 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 8+ yr
51 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  24th Jun 24

Cerelle pill  

Overall it’s excellent and all positive, no periods at all and steady mood


Very positive mood

0 helpful

0 comments

Contraceptive alternatives and comparisons

Compare the Morning after pill with other contraceptives

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