I was switched to Ortho-Cyclen when I began spotting on my old pill. I've been on it for about 2 months now and wouldn't recommend it, but every person reacts differently. I had numerous side effects: Acne worsened, increased insomnia, increased headaches, nausea, vaginal dryness and therefore painful intercourse, long period (lasted 9 days instead of the 7 you would think from the "off" week) and loss of mental clarity. This is the first non-low dose BC pill I've taken. I'm not sure if it was just too much for me or if the drug itself just was not a good fit for me. The generic Sprintec is nicely priced, though, compared to Loestrin 24, which I used to take and has no generics yet. I'm hoping to switch back to my old pill - loved it!

I just stopped taking Yasmin and I feel like my body has just been freed from a cage. It was the worst experience of my life, causing general malaise and headaches (that was the fun part) - and resulting in a liver tumor (the not-so-fun part). Apparently (and admittedly) these liver adenomas occur in a small percentage of the population, but hey - when it happens to you, the global statistics somehow matter less. Just a word of caution to all prescribed this pill (I was recommended it due to PCOS issues): READ THE LABELS, READ UP ON THE SIDE EFFECTS, and LISTEN TO YOUR BODY WHEN YOU ARE NOT FEELING 100%. DO NOT LET YOUR DOCTOR PUSH YOU INTO TAKING THIS.

I was on Yasmin before I got married for period regulation. I went off of it as I quit my job and didn't have insurance. I recently got a 'script for Yasmin, but when I ordered it online, received the pills in a yellow pack (ordered through Canada) versus the green and purple from what I was used to.

I had a fantastic experience with Yasmin before, but want to be sure that I am taking something that is good for me. I don't know about this yellow pack...could it be that this is the way Canada packages it? Also, this time around, I took one pill late by like 12 hours and ended up starting the most horrid period I have had. Intense cramping, had to be in bed most of the time, advil didn't even touch it, medium flow. Thank goodness that the cramps have stopped (after 6 days) and I only have slight bleeding now. What gives?

Anyone else have any experiences like this? I have been reading a lot of conflicting reports out there. It seems like this is the safest one in terms of homornal invasiveness to a person's body...but I am not a big pill popper. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I am 18 and i was on Ortho Tri Cyclen for about a year..after which i noticed my mood swings were incredibly huge, and i was becoming unbearable to be around. My doc. then switched me to the tri-cyclen lo's, but my period was still heavy and long..ive recently been switched to yasmin..i hope it goes well! also, i am a very petite girl, but i noticed about 15-20 pounds of weight gain when i was on OTC and the lo's, which is strange because i have a very high metabolism.

I don't know if this will clear up your skin or not but here is an example of a very effective oral contraceptive. I asked a woman to go to bed with me. She said "No."

I was on Ortho-tricyclen for 2 years and it did NOTHING for my skin. Nothing was better nothing was worse. Now I'm on Ortho-cyclen and still no results. Clearing my skin wasn't why I went on it but it would have been nice if it would have prevented those nice monthly break-outs! Follow up: Nov. 2006 - I am still taking oral contraceptives and it still doesn't do anything for my skin. I am under the belief that it DOES actually work for some people, and others it just doesn't. Very hit or miss, if it works for you, that's great! But it doesn't for everyone.

This destroyed my adrenal glands---It caused severe anxiety and horrible nausea after about 5-6 months. My hair became dry and thin. The worst pill I have ever had.

never really seamed to affect my skin, one way or the other, but then again, my acne has always been constant regardless of the time of the month.

I am using the new pill yasmin. I have noticed that I have pimples appearing on my face.That is something that I haven't had a problem in, and I have also noticed that I'm having severe hair breakage. I would not recommend this pill, but it probably would not have that same effect on everyone.

I've had acne since I was 11 years old and I am now almost 19... it still hasn't let up a bit! I've been on Accutane twice, once when I was 12 and once when I was 14 because my acne was so severe. The Accutane is what cleared up the majority of my acne, and now I am taking Yasmin in addition to erythromycin (doesn't work as well as Dynabac), clindamycin wipes and benzoyl peroxide face wash. But wait... I STILL have small amounts of acne. I'd say the Yasmin has little or no effect on my acne... but gotta love the predictable periods.

My 4-start rating applies only to Yasmin. I have been on 5 different birth-control pills, and Yasmin is the only one that made a difference in my skin.

Had success with Ortho Tri cyclen in the past, but heard that Yasmin might work better and help with weight... well, did not have positive effects that Ortho Tri had on skin and made me unbearably irritable- appetite increased, was eating like a pig to the point that other people noticed- but didn't gain an ounce... asked doctor to switch me back to Ortho-Tri... gained 2 pounds eating less, but my skin feels softer already. Noticed that it seems to make my feautures more feminine.. maybe that is because testosterone is lower, but notice it more on this particular brand.. however, am having headaches more often.

Sadly, no little pill to date can regulate my hormonal levels enough to help my raging mood swings muchless my infected face. :)

I tried Orthro tri Cyclen for acne as well as back up birth control, and seemed to get little results with the acne cure. i did start to get melasma-- the skin disclorations you can get from the pill and pregnancies. My health insurance stopped covering the tri cyclen and they gave me a pill which made me break out in tiny rash-like bumps all over my face and chest and the acne was worse as well-- AND it made me really depressed. It was called orthro tri nornyl or something like that. (something with an "N"). I went off of that and stayed offf of any for a year and my brown spots finally started to fade. I recently have had major acne break outs and have tried many methods and decided to try the pill one more time. i paid full price for the tri cyclen cuz at least it didn't make me depressed or gain weight, but in just two months I see that the brown spots are coming back in full force! And i wear sunscreen, hats, and never sunbathe! So beware! you may get brown spots in addition to the acne not going away.

After a horrible, ineffective Accutane experience, I gave up on dermatologists. My stomach could no longer handle constant antibiotics, and none of the prescription creams worked. Accutane was my last hope, and the acne came back after I stopped taking it. Over the counter benzoyl peroxide helped enough to make me feel like I was doing something about the problem. I thought I was hopeless--but since I have recently gotten married and went on the pill (ortho tri-cyclen) my face is almost clear! I have been on the pill for almost 4 months. In my experiences, the pill has minimal side effects, especially when compared with accutane. I would beg a friend to try the pill before trying accutane as long as their doctor says they are ok to take it.

I have tried a lot of different acne products, including various topical and oral antibiotics, ie. erythromycin, clindamycin, as well as Retin-A, and Differen gel. The only thing that really cleared my skin has been ortho tri cyclen. My skin isn't absolutely clear all the time, but since I started using it (4 years ago), I've actually had some clear skin days, which is something I never experienced before. I think this would be most effective for people who notice a pattern in skin condition surrounding monthly cycles. For me, my skin always seems to be clear up right before my period and ortho tri cyclen helps keep my hormones regulated the rest of the month.

I have never had acne nor pimples until I tried othro tricyclen which broke me out terribly. I have tried everything to clear this acne up from Proactiv, Murad acne kit, prescription pills from the dermatologist, over the counter drugs, cool confidence and am still looking to try anything else to see if it works. Please can anyone give me some advice. I am off that horrible pill for over 2 years and still have terrible acne. Please advise....

I got on ortho to prevent endomitriosis and also gained weight! I have changed to Yasmine and feel 100 times better! I haven't gained any weight and I have only normal mood swings.

first off, im only about to turn 19. ive been on two different oral contraceptives so far. however, i dont use it for acne, i have a perfect complection, and i dont use it for birth control, im still a virgin. i have endomitriosis. the only treatment is birth control. i tried cylessa and i bled for 7 weeks straight. not on and off, it wasnt heavy, but every day i bled. then my gyn put me on otc, what a mistake. my weight shot up 15 pounds in less that 2 months. i couldnt even fit in my clothes anymore. i broke out all the time. and the mood swings, terrible!!!! i hate otc. now im about to start yasmin. hopefully it will help me lost my water weight and clear up my dreadful complection.

When I started using TriCyclen it made my skin WORSE than it was to begin with. I never had acne until I was taking this pill and then I stopped using it. It is horrible! I am now on Alesse and see a difference.....

Didn't do a thing for me personally.

The new YASMINE 28 bcp has been great controlling my oil/shine and has cut my cystic acne completely! As soon as I go off(I am bad at remembering to take everyday so at times I have gone off for a month to start a fresh cycle) the big fat painful cysts under the skin which takes days/weeks to go away come right back. A plus is I haven't noticed any weight gain. I've heard it helps you lose weight but I haven't noticed that. I suggest trying it over OTC!

It helps some. My skin is always worse when I'm not on the pill. But the pill is definetly not "the cure."

great for avaoiding babies, bad for clearing skin. did nothing at all for my skin (and with mild acne I was a perfect candidate). i actually think it made my skin worse.

I thought birth control pills would clear up my skin but they did nothing but make it worse!!!

Made absolutely no difference and I tried 2 that were made to be just for acne with birth control only as a side effect.

they've definitely made a difference

I have been on birth control pills for over three years and I have yet to see a significant change in my skin. I have had moderate acne since I was 12 and have tried just about everything and nothing has worked.I don't think the pill does too much to clear up acne. I wish it did.

These worked wonders on my face but I gained weight as a result of the pill.

With ortho tricyclene - fewer cysts, but many more clogged pores (bumpy skin), especially in the last week of the three week pill cycle. If you decide to go this route, be aware that birth control pills can cause depression. Monitor your mood while you are on the pill. You might want to ask a friend if they notice any changes, because depression changes the way you look at things, and you might not notice it in yourself.

I have never had any real problems with zits or acne but ocassionaly I would get a zit or something. But once on the pill, I noticed my skin got a lot better (and it wasn't bad). I never get zits. I also have a lot of friends who claim that the pill totally cleared up their faces. The thing that you have to be careful of though, is that as it clears up your face, you are also prone to sunburn, so wear sun screen.

It is my understanding that almost all oral contraceptives reduce acne outbreaks. I am in my late 20's and my skin rarely breaks out anymore, but I will get the occasional zit and this seems to happen more regularly when I am not taking oral contraceptives. I don't think that young girls should go on "the pill" for this reason however..there are so many other medications available for people who don't need to be on the pill! It is a great side effect for people already taking it though.