Vaginal ring vs Progestogen-only / Mini pill

Have used the ring for a year. In terms of admin it’s an absolute dream. Put it in and set a reminder on my phone to replace in a few weeks. Been absolutely fine for my moods and body and skin, no obvious changes. I take it back to back and have a breakthrough bleed every 3 months. However after about a year on it I’ve developed hormonal post nasal drip, which is driving me absolutely nuts because it’s constant. It’s like I’ve got hayfever. So I’m going to try stopping and see if this resolves. I’m gutted as it was such an easy contraception otherwise.

This has been one of the worst experiences of my life. It killed my mood completely, I never felt worse about myself and had worse mood swings. Low libido, feeling ugly, body pain... overall, never again.

I had a terrible reaction to this unfortunately, despite my optimism. Main symptoms were intense nausea that caused me to not eat for several days, insane anxiety with some panic attacks (especially as I slept) and some depressive thoughts. I took sick days from work believing it was the flu. I thought there is no way birth control could cause these side effects. After a call with my GP, we suspected it could be the ring. I tried to stick with it but on only day 14, awake at 5am due to recurrent panic attacks, I took it out. The next days were perfect. I ate all the food I could and was so grateful for a restful night's sleep. The difference in how I feel is night and day. I understand that this reaction is probably rare but this is what happened to me.

A couple of months after starting Slynd I noticed a lot of hair in the plug hole after showering. I have fine but dense hair, so it took some time to realise just how much I was losing. I estimate I lost in a day what I previously would have lost in a week. The hairline behind my ears receded 2-3cm but otherwise I shed all over my head. My hair is now very thin, pony tail barely there, and my scalp is very visible if I wear my hair back. I think I have lost 2/3 of my hair at least. It is still falling out at the same rate a month after stopping it.

I was on this mini pill for just over a year after switching from the combined pill. It slowly affected my mood to the point where my mood was constantly flat and I didn’t feel excited about anything. My libido was also very low. I felt a massive difference after stopping. Positives were I didn’t have periods often (every 6-8 weeks) and not much period pain. The 12 hour window to take the pill was also helpful when I sometimes forgot, as some other mini pills have shorter windows.

I’ve had no serious side effects and the ones I’ve had are very minimal and don’t affect me

i have definitely noticed good and bad side effects just after a month of taking this mini pill, one of the good ones is i have lost weight without changing my diet or physical exercise, as well as an increased sex drive and enlarged breasts! (a positive for a smaller chest sized girlie like me) however i have also experienced negatives such as very drastic mood swings that change rapidly, as well as uncomfortable vaginal dryness and more bloating than usual. i am also spotting quite frequently but not heavy whatsoever, i only have to use a tampon a day to prevent the blood from ruining my nice underwear

I have been on this contraception since I was 17 and I am now 35. The contraception has done what it said it would do and provided me with a very low risk of pregnancy. During that time I had no scares or worries that i was pregnant. Whilst being on this pill I have had no bleeding for over 5 years. Prior to that the bleeding was very minimal and infrequent. I have suffered with hornmonal (neck and jaw) acne throughout the whole time I have been on this pill. I have had frequent lower back ache and stomach cramps. I have suffered with normal to severe anxiety which has fluctuated throughout the years.

I started taking desogestrel for Endometriosis symptoms, I was having a lot of fatigue and thought I would try altering my hormones. I saw on the packet that the pill contained lactose but after a google search I was fairly confident that it was a low enough level to not affect me too much (I have had quite a lot of gut symptoms due to Endo and eliminated a few foods, lactose was one of them). After being on the pill for 3 months I was sure that the lactose has been causing some significant side effects, including less control over my bowels. Through an e-consult, I requested a version of the pill that didn't contain lactose. It turns out that there is not one single oral contraceptive pill that does not contain lactose! This is unbelievable to me and I believe there should be more awareness of this.

I think this is the best mini-pill I have taken so far as it has very little side effects for me personally speaking. Made my periods a lot lighter, almost non existent which is great for my endometriosis. Mood wise it didn't have much of an effect either, other mini pills made me sad or depressed. Its frustrating its not free on the NHS in the UK but you can buy it over the counter after you have consulted with a pharmacist. Worth a try if other mini-pills didnt agree with you.

Expect to bleed for up to 2 months while you shed your uterine lining (TMI, but you asked!) but if you stick it out, it will transform your life. My lower belly is flat, my skin improved massively, my moods are stable and my brainfog is gone too (though this could be blue light sensitivity/food intolerance-related). Try this if your experiencing massive spikes in estrogen levels around your ovulation, dangerous mood swings, or can’t take estrogen for whatever reason. Lifesaver!

It's stopped my period completely which is great, not that i had bad periods to begin with but it was definitely convenient. i've become quite irritable since being on cerazette and just overall heightened negative emotions. in the first couple months i had lots of nausea but that went away pretty quickly. overall it's been an alright experience, not bad but not amazing

This is my second time using Cerelle and I’m about a month into it. The first time, about a year ago, I decided to stop using it because I was constantly bleeding. However this time round my periods seem to have stopped all together.