Withdrawal or pull out method vs Progestogen-only / Mini pill

I had the implant for 8 years and it worked well. Took it out for 18 months and when I got it again I only tolerated it for two months due to severe mood impacts

I came off the combined pill around 4 years ago after trying many different pills and never quite feeling myself/having terrible clots in my periods on breaks. I'd been told by drs it was the only way to have safe sex from pregnancy and felt i had no choice. The good old fashioned pull out method has been my best friend ever since! Once i spoke to a very wise nurse who told me that i could try the natural cycle way or rely on pull out cleverly. Now i want to say that this isn't for everyone. I have been in a healthy long term relationship with someone i trust and with whom we communicate during all aspects of sex. Because of this we have been able to have all kinds of sex (including penetrative) without any pregnancy scares. My partner is a cis man and i a cis women, and the secret is FULL COMMUNICATION. If he is close to cuming he stops (NEVER ACTUALLY RELY ON PULLING OUT AS YOU CUM NO NO). It's about calming things down on his end when he thinks he'll climax. that means pulling out and moving to oral etc for a while before going again. Normlly this means i get a whole lotta love while he calms down so BONUS!! POSITIVES - I often cum first as it means i always get to cum as he can keep going and we are not relying on one way to have sex. I feel myself! We are more experimental and go on for longer. Its about trust so things feel more intimate, it has led to better communication and much better forplay. This means i cum more often. Knowing my own cycle and getting to know how my body and hormones work. Having sex slowly and sensually, with my pleasure and his both being taken into account due to the fact you can't just have full penetrative sex without thinking. NEGATIVES- he obvs can't cum in me. he doesnt personally feel sad about that. When finally he can't be in me anymore he has to cum using other ways to finish. It means it can be a bit stop and start (personally i think this is fun). You do have to be more careful. THIS IS DEFINITELY FOR PEOPLE WHO KNOW THEIR SEXUAL PARTNER WELL. ITS ABOUT TRUST. You can't just bang it out like in the movies haha! I do pregnancy tetss every 3 months just in case pre cum has snuck in (it's very unlikely this gets you pregnant especially if your partner is aware of this. but worth thinking about) Overall, Chefs Kiss - but i do sometimes miss he cumming inside me ! BUT WON'T GO BACK

Only used it on occasion and normally alongside another form of contraception. I don't really recommend it as it feel risky

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.

Had to stop after a month - constant headaches that turned into migraines every few days. Near constant bleeding for two weeks, cystitis and some swelling. I’m very sensitive to hormones and felt that even if I could get through the settling in phase this one wouldn’t work for me.

Feel like the mini pill has levelled out my mood after years of going literally crazy 1-2 days before my period. Having no periods is a welcome relief but I have experienced a slight drop in libido and some dryness which isn’t ideal.

Slynd started off great no period was a bonus, water retention went down. Then after 2 months it made me very irritable and my mood very very low. Within a week of stopping both returned to normal.

went on cerazette after trying out microgynon30ED and noriday (which both caused frequent irregular bleeding). My GP told me cerazette was fantastic for people who experience frequent bleeding on other mini-pills and often their periods stop. i started it back in late september 2025, and experienced bleeding every second week. fine, i thought, it’s just my body getting used to it! by november i was having just one period a month again! yay!! this was short lived however, as by december i was back to having it every 2nd week. in january i bled for 25 days straight. i was told that the first 3-5 months are expected to see changes in bleeding, so i stuck it out a bit longer. unfortunately the bleeding never stopped, and i continued to get my period now every week and a half, or sometimes even more frequently with only 3 days break in between cycles. :( it’s end of may now and have been on cerazette for 9 months. i am still bleeding every week and a half and honestly im sick of it. i have stopped taking cerazette now. hopefully there’s another one out there for me :(

I was on the depo shot for 22 years and really started to worry about my bone density as my mother has osteoporosis and I was also struggling to inject in certain bits of my stomach from scar nodules. So I swapped to the mini pill as its the same but with less side effects. I originally came to this site to read the reviews and as usual, people always tend to leave a review for the negatives. I can honestly say Ive had absolutely no side effects, my period still hasn't returned after being on the shot and I've actually lost weight. Hopefully someone needs to read this.

Not a good experience, lots of weight gain, more emotional/moody. cant wear contacts anymore

I was a bit more emotional my first 1-2 months on it but then I was fine. Completely took away my debilitating period pains, I get one very mild cramp about once a month and that's it. No side effects except for some constant spotting. I Googled it and started taking 2 pills instead of 1 and the spotting has since stopped. My weight, sex drive, skin, and mood are unaffected as of now (8 months of taking it daily)

I'm in months 2 and hoping things get a little better. Pro: No periods or period pain/endo pain! (HURRAY) And no weightgain (which i had on another pill) Con: I'm feeling down, sleep bad, hair loss, forgetful, spotting, BV, vaginal dryness, heart pains and rising anxiety. I want to give it a month extra or so but the side effects are getting me down. This is the 2nd pill I've tried this year. The first one was a combined pill but made my uterine lining super thick and that gave me massive cramps and hurt. So let's see but kinda sceptical.