Patch vs Progestogen-only / Mini pill
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Overview
Rated 3.5
101 reviews
Weekly
Frequency
91% - 99+%
Effectiveness
Increased
Blood clot risk
None
Effect on fertility
Rated 2.7
1302 reviews
Daily
Frequency
91% - 99+%
Effectiveness
None
Blood clot risk
None
Effect on fertility
Patch ingredients
Main hormones in Patch
progestogen
oestrogen
Progestogen-only / Mini pill ingredients
Main hormones in Progestogen-only / Mini pill
progestogen
What Lowdown reviewers say
Benefits: What this contraceptive can help with
Acne or bad skin
Heavy periods
PMS and PMDD
PCOS symptoms
Period pain
Period pain
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Check out our latest reviews
Real life reviews from people like you
Patch reviews
101 reviews
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
22 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 31st Aug 24
After switching from the combined pill due to depression, I was interested in the patch as I could change it weekly instead of remembering to take a pill everyday. I started the patch and my periods became regular and my mood increased greatly, I do experience bad PMS but It is much better compared to when I was on the pill. I do get cramps sometimes between periods but nothing too bad. You can also use the patch to skip periods but I enjoy having a regular “cycle” and when I did use it to skip a period for a holiday I ended up spotting for a month! Overall the patch is great for me and I don’t plan on changing as it has helped my mental health so much.
Somewhat positive mood
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
21 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 24th Aug 24
Somewhat negative mood
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 7th Aug 24
It’s convenient to only change once a week. I’ve found when I’ve been on holiday if you are in the water it does loosen and sometimes come off in the water which is not helpful. I have experienced a lot of breakthrough bleeding very randomly but it has helped with my skin. My sex drive has basically gone it’s that low which I have struggled with but my mood and endometriosis pain during periods has helped
Somewhat positive mood
3 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
22 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 31st Aug 24
After switching from the combined pill due to depression, I was interested in the patch as I could change it weekly instead of remembering to take a pill everyday. I started the patch and my periods became regular and my mood increased greatly, I do experience bad PMS but It is much better compared to when I was on the pill. I do get cramps sometimes between periods but nothing too bad. You can also use the patch to skip periods but I enjoy having a regular “cycle” and when I did use it to skip a period for a holiday I ended up spotting for a month! Overall the patch is great for me and I don’t plan on changing as it has helped my mental health so much.
Somewhat positive mood
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
21 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 24th Aug 24
Somewhat negative mood
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 7th Aug 24
It’s convenient to only change once a week. I’ve found when I’ve been on holiday if you are in the water it does loosen and sometimes come off in the water which is not helpful. I have experienced a lot of breakthrough bleeding very randomly but it has helped with my skin. My sex drive has basically gone it’s that low which I have struggled with but my mood and endometriosis pain during periods has helped
Somewhat positive mood
3 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Progestogen-only / Mini pill reviews
1302 reviews
Used for 12 - 18 mo
44 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 1 day ago
It helped with my anxiety and insomnia. I definitely started sleeping better
Somewhat positive mood
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 6 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
I started taking the minipill about 6 months ago because of my really heavy and painful periods. And the first three months I still had my period, but it did get a lot lighter and less painful. The last 3 months I've had no period except for a week of spotting. My mood has become more stable, I used to become almost depressed before my period. I do however become nauseaus a lot faster especially if I'm stressed, I have lost 5 kg almost because of that. I don't think this is the best contraceptive, but I do like that it only contains one type of hormone and that I don't have my period anymore. But I'm not planning on taking it for a very long time.
Somewhat positive mood
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
27 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 weeks ago
The minipill gave me pretty bad acne, which took years to resolve after I gave up the pill. It also completely killed my sex drive.
Worse skin
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 12 - 18 mo
44 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 1 day ago
It helped with my anxiety and insomnia. I definitely started sleeping better
Somewhat positive mood
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 6 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
I started taking the minipill about 6 months ago because of my really heavy and painful periods. And the first three months I still had my period, but it did get a lot lighter and less painful. The last 3 months I've had no period except for a week of spotting. My mood has become more stable, I used to become almost depressed before my period. I do however become nauseaus a lot faster especially if I'm stressed, I have lost 5 kg almost because of that. I don't think this is the best contraceptive, but I do like that it only contains one type of hormone and that I don't have my period anymore. But I'm not planning on taking it for a very long time.
Somewhat positive mood
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
27 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 weeks ago
The minipill gave me pretty bad acne, which took years to resolve after I gave up the pill. It also completely killed my sex drive.
Worse skin
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
50 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 1 month ago
Most of my life I was on Mercilon combined pills which was the only one working for me after tried few in my early 20tis. Had them with some breaks . Later I tried mini pill for few months which didn’t work for me. Mostly because of painful red spots on my neck like acne. Now I am 50 can’t take combined pills and trying the progesterone pills. Tried 1 month Cerazette but stopped after 1 month. I didn’t want to eat Titanium dioxide . Now 2 months in I am on Zelleta. Having acne on my chin and around my mouth. Now have very bad numbness in my hands especially during the night . And some in my legs too . Finishing 2nd pack but coming of it now . Can’t feel my fingers. My hands hurt . It’s not menaupase or lower estrogen level as got this suddenly within days. Very low sex drive like I am switched off completely . Also mood swings with anxiety. I am done with desogestrel pills they are not good for my heath, never was. I am trying natural cycles with app next . And my period should be completely stopping soon with my age.Also, Didn’t have any period with these pills.
Somewhat negative mood
2 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 6 mo
22 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 13th Aug 24
Started this pill as I had horrendous migraines on Rigevidon. Was excited to start the mini pill and to not have bleeds in between pills but was I wrong. The first 5 months I’ve had random bleeding- which I expected (but not for over a week straight) I’ve also been heavily dizzy, nauseous and have had 0 sex drive which has affected my relationship heavily.
Somewhat negative mood
3 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
34 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 11th Aug 24
Hana has worked like a charm for me. I was a bit worried about starting it, as I had a horrendous experience with the combined pill, but my periods are heavy and painful, and I just couldn't stand it anymore. Not getting pregnant was a reason to start Hana, but I was mostly looking for period relief, and it really has delivered. At the beginning I had a few unusual periods - some shorter, some longer, and a bit irregular, but they were immediately lighter and less painful. After about 3 months, things had evened out, and now 2.5 years later, I can't even remember the last time I had a period, only that it lasted about a day or so and was so light I barely even needed a pad. My partner and I have had no pregnancy scares, and it works wonderfully for me. I think my mood is absolutely fine - it felt maybe a tiny bit flat at the beginning, but more because it was no longer fluctuating so much during my cycle. Now it's like I get to be at the end of the first week after my period, all the time. My main negative with starting Hana is that it really increased my appetite at the beginning - about 6 hours after taking it, I *had to* eat snacks. It felt impossible not to. This contributed to some weight gain, and while I've gotten used to the snack-attacks now and can manage them, I haven't been able to shift the weight, despite using methods of weight loss that have worked for me in the past. I can't say for sure if this is because Hana is making it harder for me to lose weight, or if it's just because I'm getting older. I am currently contemplating taking a break from Hana to see if I can lose the weight off it, but I'm reluctant to as it has had such a positive impact on my quality life. If you're also experiencing an increase in appetite, and want some advice, it really helped me to change the time I take Hana - I moved it to later, so that my craving hits much closer to dinner time, which is perfect. All in all, Hana has worked much better for me than I could've even hoped, and I would recommend trying it to see if it works for you.
Decreased sex drive
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
18 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 7th Aug 24
I've only been on this pill for two months so there's a chance this may calm down after the full adjustment period, but the side effects have been interesting. Most notably, my cycle has gone from around 35 days to 13 days, and I have been having a period every other week. The first two periods gave me hope because they were significantly lighter - to the point where I was questioning whether or not I should even log it as a period - and painless. However, the next three periods I've had so far have been gradually getting heavier and I'm getting more cramping. It's weird though because, for most of my period it's still quite light, but on around the second or third day, I do have a few hours where it's quite heavy and crampy, then it subsides again and the rest is light. I had spotting between the first three periods but that's stopped now. Other than the annoying cycle changes, I had a constant lingering headache for the first two weeks, I'm getting more acne than usual, and some vaginal dryness before my period. I don't know if this is worth staying on as I'm only on the pill to manage my painful and heavy periods. Current plan is to finish my three months' supply and take it from there.
Somewhat negative mood
1 more effect
1 helpful
0 comments
Used for 8+ yr
32 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 6th Aug 24
Hugely helped with period pains (no periods!). Has evened out any emotional changes - I feel very stable. No nausea like with the combined pill. Lost weight (as well as boob!) but unsure if that's compared to when I was on combined pill or baseline.
Somewhat positive mood
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
32 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 31st Jul 24
I am really happy with this pill. I have tried every type of mini pill available and can no longer take the combined pill for multiple reasons. I now have 2 days of spotting when I take the placebo pills. Less acne, although it wasn't severe it was noticeable. Now I just get a few spots every now and again. Other mini pills have had a negative effect on my mood, this one seems ok so far. I was hoping it would help with my excessive facial hair growth, doesn't seem to have made it any better but it's certainly not worse either (other mini pills I've tried have made it worse in the past). I have noticed my sex drive has reduced a fair amount but this doesn't really bother me and I can still get in the mood with a bit of effort. I may have had quite a high sex drive in the first place so believe it or not I see this as a bit of an advantage as my partner does not! I was on noriday before this and was still having unpredictable and heavy cycles, along with several ovulation and period pain and what seemed to be migraines related to particular points in my cycle. Also mood issues up to 10 days before my periods. I am absolutely thrilled that all of that has improved a huge amount. Not had a migraine since I've been on Slynd either. My pelvic pain is about 75% better and is now manageable and intermittent rather than constant. I'm hopeful that things continue to improve for me taking this pill. I really felt that I'd run out of options with hormonal contraception before I tried this having tried the mirena iud and depo provera in the past and not getting on with them at all. I like that this pill has a 24 hour window to take. You are supposed to take it at the same time every day but reading from the literature they have found that you can be upto 24 hours late taking it upto 4 times in 28 day pill pack and it will still be effective.
Improved skin
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
54 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 25th Jul 24
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
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