Patch vs Combined pill

Overall good, so far effective. But my periods are a lot heavier and a lot more painful. Tender breasts for at least half of the month and random cramps throughout the month even when I’m not on my period.

I got pregnant twice in 3 months…

The Evra patch has been a good choice for me so far, and it’s my first time on birth control! I would say the only downfall is around the edge of the patch gets dirty from adhesive, and that it’s nerve racking to swim a lot in fear it will come off! I went on vacation and was nervous but I used a tagaderm to keep it on when swimming!

I've loved Lucette for control over my periods and it largely got rid of my acne. My boobs got bigger which I loved too because I felt better proportioned. I think I gained some weight in my midsection, I didn't mind that for the other benefits it gave me but also could have been due to age. I think I had more discharge and would wear dailies for comfort. I wouldn't have come off it but was told I shouldn't have been on it in the first place due to having a history of migraine with aura that wasn't picked up earlier.

I’ve been on Yasmin consistently for 13 years and have never had issues. I remember the first 1-3 months of taking it I did have a bit of nausea but after that, no side effects. I know I am one of the lucky few, but I really love this pill. I never have any issues and never period pain, I have great skin, no weight gain or libido loss. I haven’t changed brands because of how amazing it has been for me.

Such a shame my body didn’t like it because my brain definitely did! I have felt so much happier in the 6 weeks I’ve been taking this (compared to years of being on Microgynon) BUT I have had thrush 3 times in those 6 weeks!!! It caused a lot of vaginal dryness which led to thrush :(

I first started using microgynon aged 19 (it was the first pill offered to me when I wanted to go on the pill) and aside from weight gain, I didn’t really have that many side effects and got on well with it. I stopped using I when I was 22 after a break up. I then went back on it aged 25 and had a totally different experience. I didn’t gain as much weight the second time round but my breasts did go up a cup size which was annoying as none of my nice bras fitted me anymore!! I experienced period like cramps constantly, enough to need to take painkillers sometimes. At first I ignored it but after a few months of being in constant low level pain I couldn’t take it anymore. I have now switched to Yasmin after the pharmacist suggested it may be due to the type of progesterone in microgynon causing the cramps.

It’s made my skin worse, my anxiety is terrible, I am a lot more emotional and I feel worse. It did make me periods go from 11 days to 3 days though which was the point of me going on it.

I started Femodene when I was 16 for my acne, this was for my face and bacne/chest. I found it worked well for me however I did get the odd “hormonal” spot on my face when coming back onto the pill. When it comes to day to day though, I won’t lie everything felt numb. I had no excitement anymore, no motivation, I felt grumpy and tired and 0 sex drive. I felt alone but had people all around me. From being on it for so long I couldn’t remember what I was like before so have nothing really to compare it to. I train in the gym 4-5 times a week and I found I wasn’t seeing as much progress as I should have been as well.

It seems with this I lose and gain weight easily, overall loose weight I don’t have much appetite and I’ve lost a lot of breast fullness which is a shame

I think it caused decidual cast both times years apart. They passed both times when stopping the pill. Once didn’t feel it. Second time excruciating pain.

A week after starting to take this pill, I started having recurring UTIs triggered by sexual activity. I stopped taking the pill 6 months in for this reason, but still have constant issues. Aside from the recurrent UTIs, which have impacted both uni and work lives (I have to miss days due to the pain), I also get a frequent burning sensation with no trigger, which causes general discomfort in my day-to-day life. Due to the massive negative impact this pill has had, I am now extremely wary of any form of contraception and wish I had never started taking microgynon in the first place.

i gained a lot of weight (10kg), i am depressed, no libido