Patch vs Combined pill

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Patch

Add your Patch review

Combined pill

£From £0.16/day

Overview

Rated 3.4

131 reviews

Weekly

Frequency

91% - 99+%

Effectiveness

Increased

Blood clot risk

None

Effect on fertility

Rated 2.8

2784 reviews

Daily

Frequency

91% - 99+%

Effectiveness

Increased

Blood clot risk

None

Effect on fertility

Patch ingredients

Main hormones in Patch

progestogen

oestrogen


Combined pill ingredients

Main hormones in Combined pill

progestogen

oestrogen

What Lowdown reviewers say

36% no impact on mood

34% lighter periods

49% no impact

49% no impact

51% no impact on skin

Cycle return

39% don’t know impact

31% somewhat negative

47% lighter periods

46% lost sex drive

48% no impact

43% improved skin

Cycle return

36% don’t know impact

Benefits: What this contraceptive can help with

Acne or bad skin

Heavy periods

PMS and PMDD

PCOS symptoms

Period pain

Acne or bad skin

Heavy periods

PMS and PMDD

PCOS symptoms

Period pain

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Add your Patch review

Try it now

£From £0.16/day

Check out our latest reviews

Real life reviews from people like you

Patch reviews

131 reviews

Patch  
Used for 8+ yr
22 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  16th May 26

Evra patch  

I loved being on the patch. It was so convenient. My periods were still really heavy but I could push them to once every two months before breakthrough bleeding would cause me to take the patch off and have a period. I’d have pain on the first day but nothing ever as bad as I used to have before. I was solely on the patch to help with irregular/painful periods. I switched bc I wanted a more subtle birth control.

Read more

Increased sex drive

0 helpful

0 comments

Patch  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  4th May 26

Evra patch  

I’ve not noticed many side effects other than weight gain / breast growth. Periods are extremely regular almost down to the hour of the day i’ll get it, lasts three days total and before birth control i would have had very bad cramps i’ve noticed they’ve minimised significantly. Now ive only some cramps on day two which is easily solved by Ibepopfen


Gained weight

0 helpful

0 comments

Patch  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  20th Apr 26

Evra patch  

I’ve been on the patch for around 6 months, it’s causing periods every 2 weeks even though I’m using it correctly. The only positive is it’s easy to use and hasn’t caused weight gain.


Somewhat negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Patch  
Used for 8+ yr
22 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  16th May 26

Evra patch  

I loved being on the patch. It was so convenient. My periods were still really heavy but I could push them to once every two months before breakthrough bleeding would cause me to take the patch off and have a period. I’d have pain on the first day but nothing ever as bad as I used to have before. I was solely on the patch to help with irregular/painful periods. I switched bc I wanted a more subtle birth control.


Increased sex drive

0 helpful

0 comments

Patch  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  4th May 26

Evra patch  

I’ve not noticed many side effects other than weight gain / breast growth. Periods are extremely regular almost down to the hour of the day i’ll get it, lasts three days total and before birth control i would have had very bad cramps i’ve noticed they’ve minimised significantly. Now ive only some cramps on day two which is easily solved by Ibepopfen


Gained weight

0 helpful

0 comments

Patch  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  20th Apr 26

Evra patch  

I’ve been on the patch for around 6 months, it’s causing periods every 2 weeks even though I’m using it correctly. The only positive is it’s easy to use and hasn’t caused weight gain.


Somewhat negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments


Combined pill reviews

2784 reviews

Combined pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
16 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  today

Yasmin pill  

Very sore breast. Loss of sex drive. Breast enlargement. Weight gain.


Somewhat positive mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 day ago

Gedarel 20/150 pill  

this pill was very good the first time i was on it around 3 years ago and i didn't feel much change in myself apart from being able to control my PMDD symptoms which was a positive. i tried some other pills and then got settled back on this and have been for just over a year. i find that this time round my sex drive is very low & i have very little interest in sex or anything of the sort. i also dont feel 100% like myself, not necessarily depressed but just not like me. i feel almost numb and i am very insecure about myself and my body image. i do struggle with mental health issues outside of the pill but i feel like i have periovuously been on pills that dont make me feel this way & the low sex drive is having an all round impact on how i feel towards myself. i take this pill for 3 months and then have a break. i like that i can have control over my breaks and it has also made my periods 3-4 days instead of 6-8 days. i am currently looking to change my pill to soemthing different as i no longer think this is working for me. i do believe that trying pills is so important to find what works for you so please don't be afraid if you're wanting to try this pill.


Somewhat negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
26 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  4 days ago

Zoely pill  

The first weeks were fine, after that i got mood swings for 3 weeks. I either felt absolutely nothing, or was annoyed, angry or sad. When the moodswings stopped, i started getting headaches everyday. I'm now noticing hairloss too. I've almost been 3 months on this pill and have been terribly bloated everyday. I am getting off this pill.


Very negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
16 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  today

Yasmin pill  

Very sore breast. Loss of sex drive. Breast enlargement. Weight gain.


Somewhat positive mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 day ago

Gedarel 20/150 pill  

this pill was very good the first time i was on it around 3 years ago and i didn't feel much change in myself apart from being able to control my PMDD symptoms which was a positive. i tried some other pills and then got settled back on this and have been for just over a year. i find that this time round my sex drive is very low & i have very little interest in sex or anything of the sort. i also dont feel 100% like myself, not necessarily depressed but just not like me. i feel almost numb and i am very insecure about myself and my body image. i do struggle with mental health issues outside of the pill but i feel like i have periovuously been on pills that dont make me feel this way & the low sex drive is having an all round impact on how i feel towards myself. i take this pill for 3 months and then have a break. i like that i can have control over my breaks and it has also made my periods 3-4 days instead of 6-8 days. i am currently looking to change my pill to soemthing different as i no longer think this is working for me. i do believe that trying pills is so important to find what works for you so please don't be afraid if you're wanting to try this pill.


Somewhat negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
26 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  4 days ago

Zoely pill  

The first weeks were fine, after that i got mood swings for 3 weeks. I either felt absolutely nothing, or was annoyed, angry or sad. When the moodswings stopped, i started getting headaches everyday. I'm now noticing hairloss too. I've almost been 3 months on this pill and have been terribly bloated everyday. I am getting off this pill.


Very negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 8+ yr
34 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  3 weeks ago

Rigevidon  

I was on rigevidon for years before children and never had any side effects. I stopped it when I wanted to get pregnant, and got pregnant the first month of trying (which was two weeks after stopping the pill, before I’d had my first period but when I could tell I was ovulating!). I restarted it after having my children and it made my periods much lighter, less painful, and reduced my cyclical bowel movement pain that I am pretty sure is endometriosis. Annoyingly I had two migraines with aura this year, so have had to stop taking it! Trying to be brave and have the hormonal coil placed.


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
18 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  24th Jun 26

Gedarel 20/150 pill  

was put on this pill after getting lots of infections (thrush, utis, etc) on “Levest” because it is a lower dose 20/150. this has made me much more body conscious, think i gained weight within 2 weeks of being on this pill, i am extremely emotional and hormonal all the time and my sex drive is completely gone- why bother taking the pill as a form of birth control if i now don’t even feel like having sex!!! i do not reccomend


Somewhat negative mood

3 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
18 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  24th Jun 26

Levest pill  

Lost some weight, went up a cup size, felt the same as I did before going on BC. Struggled with recurring thrush and UTIs due to the strength of the pill and now no longer take.


Increased sex drive

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
21 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  22nd Jun 26

Eloine pill  

I enjoyed taking Eloine, I had a few side effects when starting but they eased apart from excessive sweating which is one of the reasons why I’ve stopped taking it. I would definitely recommend to someone looking for a combined pill that’s low oestrogen and anti-androgenic.


Very positive mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
41 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  21st Jun 26

Zoely pill  

I was put on this by a private menopause clinic to help my migraines WITHOUT aura which got really awful after 2 years off the pill. It initially made me feel in a great mood, although from the first night I had body aches all over, my joints cracked constantly and I got wicked acid reflux everytime I took it, I had to taken 4 antacids a night. Then I started getting migraine with aura almost everyday, was seeing visuals all the time, felt nauseous and my mood I would describe as hyper, my sleep went out the window. I had night sweats constantly, my skin went dry as a bone and was flaking off, and my hair loss was bad. The clinic told me to remain on it after I complained at 6 weeks. I went to my gp who told me to cease immediately, due to stroke risk with the aura, which I did. Following coming off I felt like a I had a flu, and my mood tanked. Was absolutely horrendous for 3 weeks, before my body and brain recovered. Eventually have gone back on POP which is not perfect, but is not the hell of Zoely!


Somewhat negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 8+ yr
31 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  19th Jun 26

Femodette pill  

been on femodette for nearly a decade to control my endometriosis and it’s been fantastic. i used to take it with breaks and had minimal cramps from the endo. i now take back to back and have only had one instance for breakthrough bleeding. it’s been so long that i can’t say for sure the impact on mood, weight etc.


Gained weight

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
33 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  19th Jun 26

Qlaira pill  

Improved pain endomyosis symptoms at the expense of mood. Still had issues with breakthrough bleeding but periods were better.


Somewhat negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Contraceptive alternatives and comparisons

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