Vaginal ring vs Combined pill

Things started out really well. No side effects and I didn't take ring breaks so no periods. My skin got less greasy so I got fewer spots, and I had 3 months blissfully free of painful period diarrhoea. Sadly after 3 months I started to get breakthrough bleeding every day and minor versions of my old period symptoms like back pain, cramps, and digestive upsets started to flare up. I tried removing my ring but that just made it worse and within 4 hours I was having a bad time on the loo and put a new ring in just to make it stop. The new ring helped, but now I feel kind of trapped having a constant mini period all the time with no alternative since the only pill that worked for me in the past has been discontinued, and progesterone only contraceptives have never agreed with me, so nothing else seems as convenient as the ring. All in all, bit of a mixed bag.

Switched to the vaginal ring after using the pill. When first trying it I could feel some pressure in my lower abdomen but this feeling passed after 1 day and havent had it again since using it. The first 2 periods I had were shorter but heavier than usual but after each period (basically the break week) each period got lighter and my 3rd period was lighter than my usual. Apart from that no other side effects - the above ones I experienced I would say linked to my body adjusting to a new contraception (similar to the pill where they tell you the first 3 months you may experience some side effects). I dont feel as moody as when I was on the pill and the great thing is I dont need to remember to take something everyday so the peace of mind is an additional benefit.

I've been using the ring for almost a year now and so far it's been working rlly well for me. I pretty much forget it's there when it's in and its rlly easy to change. It's the first hormonal contraceptive I've used so I was extremely apprehensive about it but slowly I've got used to the idea and now it's just a normal part of my routine. The side effects I've experience are minimal and very manageable. A slight decrease in sex drive particularly a couple of months in, and a very slight increase in weight but both are managable and Ive gotten used to. My periods are really regular and I have very little period pain which is great. I would really recommend giving this method a go, overall I'm very glad I did.

I tried Drovelis to attempt to manage PMDD (severe mood drop on top of existing depression) and PCOS. After 5+ months, my sense is that it was absolutely helping with PMDD. I aimed to take it continuously to minimise any mood drop' and did so for 3 months at first. Unfortunately, I just would not stop bleeding - it was more than 'spotting', enough to get through 3-4 tampons a day, every day. Then I tried 2 months of allowing a break between active pills to see if encouraging a 'period' would reduce the breakthrough bleeding, but to no avail. I didn't even used to suffer heavy periods, so I'm genuinely gutted I couldn't seem to settle and stop bleeding on this, as it was great for my PMDD and had no other negative side effects (beyond breast tenderness and temporary breast enlargement in month 1-2). Doctor's advice was if it hadn't settled by almost 6 months, best to try something else (so now I'm starting Yasmin).

Been taking yacella for 6 months after not being on any contraception in years due to fears of side effects. Previously been on Loestrin 20 and Rigevidon both of which gave me horrible cystic acne and low mood. Dr recommended yacella as it has anti-androgenic progesterone and I have mild PCOS. So far it has been pretty good! I think my mood is unaffected, skin is great, sex drive unaffected. I have had some slight weight gain in more 'womanly' areas but nothing crazy. My breasts definitely have grown a lot and for the first few months they were quite sore but this has reduced to mild tenderness now. I do experience pain, especially lower back/pelvic, and am emotional during my 7 day break, however I suffered a lot with cramps prior to taking the pill so this is still an improvement for me. Would recommend, especially for anyone with hormonal imbalances like me.

Having been on this pill for a year, I noticed that I hadn't felt like myself for a while. I found myself with persistently lower moods. Even during times of joy, the feeling felt dampened. This is the primary reason I decided to stop taking this pill; no contraception is worth losing yourself to! I am still in the early stages of being off this pill, but I feel relieved to have made the choice. It did make my withdrawal bleeds ("periods") very light. However, I do also think it completely suppressed my libido. I (being naive) thought that being on a low dosage pill, I might have fewer symptoms, but it just hasn't worked for me. I just wish there were more non-hormonal options out there.

I was prescribed this pill as I struggled to gain weight therefore, I didn’t have a regular period. I never had any awful experiences with this pill other than after 3 years I started to experience reoccurring thrush. Once it was treated it usually went away until recently, I have been experiencing thrush almost every month always during the week before my break. It has become unbearable leading me to change to a different lower dose birth control instead.

This pill had a severe negative effect on my mental health. Physically I felt better as it alleviated PCOS symptoms but worsened my depression.

I don't like being menopause at 20's

Yasmin was the best pill for me. I have PCOS and it completely took care of my symptoms like acne. I also had very stable mood and positive mental state with this pill. My periods were light and I used to skip them 3 packets in a row and have only maybe 4 withdrawal bleeds per year. When I tried to extend it to 4 packs, I would often start to get light spotting so I think 3 packs non-stop was optimal for me.

I'm 43 and was suggested Qlaira because it has a supposedly more safe estrogen component. I've always had slightly elevated sensitive CRP and during the use of Qlaira it did drop to nothing so that was a positive finding. I had no bloating or weight gain. I would get breakthru bleeding on the active pills usually a week before my actual withdrawal bleed, which would last approx. 5 days. So all in all I was bleeding approx 12 days per month. And because you can*t skip the placebo pills on Qlaira, I found it was too much bleeding days compared to non-bleeding days. Another major side effect and the reason I wanted to stop using Qlaira was complete loss of libido. I felt almost repulsed by the idea of sex and I had trouble getting aroused. Altho my natural libido is quite low to begin with, Qlaira took it to completely new levels of zero. Hence why I stopped it after 6 months.

I have been taking the Eloine pill for 10 months now and it has been pretty good. Not much has really changed for me which is great. My periods are the same (if not lighter) , my skin has stayed clear and I haven’t lost or gained any weight. The only thing I have noticed a change in since taking Eloine is a slight increase in anxiety and being more emotional than I used to be. However, these aren’t too extreme and are manageable. Overall i’m very happy with the Eloine pill 😊

I was put on Rigevidon October 2023. I thought everything was fine until my boyfriend started to ask why I was constantly making arguments and being moody. I am never usually moody, so in my experience, I would say that my mood swings definitely came from this pill. I had a complete loss of sex drive also, didn’t want to do anything literally ever. However, a main reason for going on this pill was because I have always suffered from excruciating period pains. I have no faults when it comes to using this pill for period pain as my cramps became pretty much nonexistent. As someone who also suffers with extreme irregular periods, this pill made mine completely regular and light, which was so much more manageable. My advice is, if you’re looking for a pill to prevent pregnancy whilst you’re having sex, this one probably is not the greatest choice, just due to a decline in libido. However, I would absolutely recommend it for anyone who struggles with bad cramps/pains, it has been the only thing that has helped me.