Vaginal ring vs Progestogen-only / Mini pill

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.

I suffer with PMDD, making my periods a very awful time for me due to how depressed I feel. I was on the combined pill before, but found this was worsening my emotions and making me feel horrendous. The ring was an idea my GP suggested, thinking that because the ring is a gradual release, that stays in your body for the duration you don’t wish to bleed, it would affect me less. This is absolutely what’s happened and I’m much happier on the ring. I’ve never had any problems with feeling it, I’ve noticed a few reviews stating they bleed through when taking it back to back and from my experience this is the case with most contraception. I wouldn’t recommend if you want to take back to back as you do bleed through.

Gave me extreme depression. I was on this pill so long that I didn’t even realise it was the pill giving me the depression, when coming off it I felt a weight lift off my shoulder. My thinning hair went away and my mood improved so drastically. It did make my boobs bigger which was the only good side effect but I’d rather be happy. Would recommend cerazette as an alternative to anyone who has mood issues and frequent bleeding on noriday

I’ve been using Desogestrel for over 6 months now it’s the first pill I tried as I didn’t like the fact that the combined pill affected your blood pressure. I struggled with heavy periods, cramping and always hated when my period came around as I had to use heavy flow tampons/towels continuously for 5-6 days. Since going on the pill I haven’t noticed any unusual side effects I take it in the evening at about 9pm I wouldn’t recommend it if you have spot prone skin as I didn’t originally I haven’t noticed a difference other than small breakouts before my period is due however I know it can make others worse if you already have spots. It hasn’t changed my weight at all however it does increase your appetite so as long as you keep on top of it stay active and eat healthy it shouldn’t affect you either. I’m very sexually active with my partner and so far we have had no pregnancy scares and we don’t use condoms. Overall the pill has made my periods much lighter I tend to either not bleed or bleed very little and I no longer have any cramping. It does cause breakthrough bleeding occasionally so if you want to stay regular I wouldn’t recommend this pill. I’m really happy with my decision to go on this form of contraception,

The side effects I experienced on this pill were awful. I can’t take estrogen so have limited options. My mood dipped, and I had the worst breakouts of my life. Giant painful spots all over my chin which tanked my confidence, and I was bleeding almost constantly. Changed to Slynd after 3 months and can’t recommend that pill enough!

This pill has been a game changer! I can’t tolerate estrogen, and I had previously been taking Zelleta which was causing near constant bleeding and my skin looked horrendous. I started taking Slynd in April 2025 and my periods are lighter than without contraception, and my skin has almost completely cleared up. I still get some spots around my period, but that was normal for me before contraception. I haven’t noticed any other side effects 9 months into taking it. My periods were irregular the first 3 months, but now are normal every 4-5 weeks.

I used zelleta for 2 months within a few days of starting the pill my period started it lasted for 3 weeks with heavy bleeding then it stopped for 5 days the started again for 3 weeks and stopped for 3 days then started again for 3 weeks when I phoned the doctor they said it was normal when I told them I was using 1 to 2 pads in an 1 and a half they said it was normal I then stopped the pill in December my period started lasted 5 days and stopped now my next period is due to start. I would not recommend to anyone.

Completely ruined my skin and gave me awful acne after already suffering with it for years. Also gave me horrible headaches and migraines. Would never recommend this to anyone.

Been on Desogestrel for just over 3 months now, started October. Had a good run with no side effects until 6th Jan and have been spotting ever since with no sign of it stopping. Told by nurse it can take 3+ months for body to get used to it. Also have a big increase in spots on face, majority chin and neck but can be all over which is really annoying. Lower back pain and some cramps experienced also. Unsure how long I’ll leave it before asking GP to change as spotting everyday is a little annoying.

Was put on zeletta 5 weeks ago had one normal period 2 weeks later, then 2 weeks ago I started heavily bleeding a week later it became even heavier especially at night where i get intense cramping and fill a pad or tampon every 1-2hrs losing significantly large blood clots, several phone calls to doctors who claimed "its normal" on zelleta then prescribed me tranexamic acid 4 days ago which has not helped at all the large blood clots, cramping and heavy bleeding still continues so today 2 weeks later my doctor has asked me to stop and up dosage of tranexamic acid. I also noticed a breakout with large spots on face that ive never had! Very low mood and loss of motivation crying over the most smallest of things! This pill has ruined me this past 2 weeks and wreaked havoc on my body hoping now ive stopped the bleeding and cramping will ease, I honestly wish id looked into this more before started but was told it was the same as the last brand cerelle (which I had no issues with) so started to take. I have never experienced anything like this and its really taken a toll on me.

Hi everyone, I’ve been on Cerazette since October. Before that I had a Mirena coil, but I was bleeding constantly and had it removed after 10 months. First month on Cerazette was great period on time, only 4 days. Since then it’s been a mess: weeks of spotting short breaks a few days of bleeding then spotting again now spotting again with very sore breasts, which feels like another period starting My GP says to wait 6 months for things to settle, but I was told the same with Mirena and it never improved. I can’t use other hormonal methods and coils don’t suit me, so I’m really stuck. This constant bleeding/spotting is physically and mentally exhausting, and it’s affecting my relationship too. Did anyone actually see improvement on Cerazette? If yes, how long did it take? Or did you eventually have to stop? Thanks for any honest experiences.

I felt satisfied until I came on here and realised my symptoms might be to do with this pill. I had a baby 14 months ago and have recently felt awful - low self esteem,anxiety, back pain, bad skin, weight gain, bloating, headaches, migraines... The list goes on. I thought it was part and parcel of having a small human but I'm starting to think it might be because of the noriday. In terms of my periods this is the best mini pill I've tried which is why I've still given it 3 stars. They're shorter and not too heavy or painful so an improvement for me. But due to the other symptoms I might have to look at an alternative. Maybe the dreaded coil.