Ocella for Birth Control User Reviews (Page 4)

• Anonymous
• January 9, 2010

"I've been on Ocella for about 8 months now, and it's been decent, but I am looking for a new birth control. I'm 26 years old and have used several different pills before, including Alesse and Lo-ovral. I found out I am allergic to synthetic progesterone (norgestrel and alike) in virtually every birth control available, which is why I switched to Ocella. Ocella has done the job as far as preventing pregnancy, but I have had mood swings bad enough to start taking Wellbutrin, I've gained some weight, and my sex drive is terrible. The mood changes and the huge sex drive decline are the reasons why I will be changing again. I'm also worried about all of the warnings on Yaz/Ocella/Yasmin and the high incidence of strokes associated."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 25, 2022

"I was super scared to take birth control because of the side effects, and I’m glad I made the decision to hop off of it when I did. I was on Ocella for 5 days and had to stop because it completely changed who I am. I stopped going to the gym, had to skip classes, and almost lost vision in my left eye (it felt like there was a line of blurriness). Additionally, even though it was only 5 days, for my past two periods off of it, I have experienced the worst anxiety/depression I have ever felt in my life. This feeling has been going on for 5 days now, and it’s only getting worse. Although it was nice not having to deal with breast pain/cramps, the side effects were not worth it in the long run."

• Anonymous
• October 22, 2011

"My doctor prescribed me Ocella last year, and I remembered it made me feel horrible, but not the exact reason why. My vagina is always dry no matter how excited I am, and sex is horrible. I noticed that when I wasn't having sex! Now that I'm having sex regularly, my libido is really low. I think it's too much estrogen for me. Overall, most days I just feel sick, and my period was just light spotting, so I guess that was the only benefit coming from week-long periods."

• Lov...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 9, 2017

"I started taking Ocella due to complications with a ruptured ovarian cyst. I'm on my 10th day of taking it, and I still have my period. I've been getting chest pain and rapid heartbeats, I have absolutely no sex drive, and I have been experiencing the worst migraines of my life. I will not recommend this pill to anyone."

• Cou...
• June 14, 2017

"I was prescribed birth control about 6 years ago due to complications from ovarian cysts. The very first one I tried was Loestrin 24, which made me incredibly nauseous. I then tried a couple of other ones, but they all made me nauseous as well. Finally, I was prescribed Ocella. I felt pretty good on it. Didn't notice any weight changes. My skin looked AMAZING. I would just get bad migraines/nauseous/sick a day or two before my period and some days randomly during the month. It wasn't until I STOPPED taking Ocella (or any birth control... long story/not sexually active at the moment) about 6 months ago that made me realize how much better I feel off of it. I feel like a new person. My mood is 10x better. Sex drive is back. Only downside - my skin."

• Sco...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 14, 2017

"I've been on birth control since I was 16, now 22. I've tried 3 birth controls before Ocella. All previous ones had breakthrough bleeding, mood swings, and one gave me out-of-control yeast infections. That's when I switched to Ocella: zero acne, I skip my period, no breakthrough bleeds, no weight gain besides 3 pounds and a little bloating every so often. Best part: no pregnancy scares for the last 2 years. Love the protection and stability it's supplied! I will say I've experienced intermittent anxiety on it, might try another kind if it continues. Hope this helped. Worth a try, it's kept me safe, happy, and acne/pregnancy free."

• Iha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 5, 2015

"The only reason I didn't rate this pill a 1 is because it did clear up my skin, which is initially why I switched to Ocella. I was on BeYaz for 3 months and loved it, and when I learned my insurance did not cover it, I quickly had to switch to a similar generic birth control, which I thought Ocella was always compared to BeYaz. So let me just say it did wonders for my skin. HOWEVER, within a week of taking the pill, I noticed a huge change in my mood. I was really sad all of the time, especially at work. It only went down from there. After 5 weeks on Ocella, I had an anxiety attack at my boyfriend's house, and the following week I experienced the heaviest depression I have ever felt in my life. I had horrible thoughts, felt hopeless and down."

• Nic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 23, 2021

"I just started taking this drug about 4 days ago. Was on YAZ before. Did this because it was free for me. I honestly enjoyed YAZ, and it was good. Just heard this was the same thing... But yesterday, I have never experienced the worst mood swings of my life. I never have had so much anxiety about the dumbest things. I just took it a couple of minutes ago and then was thinking about why my heart was beating so fast. Come to these reviews and realize it’s this awful pill that has never made me feel so mentally dysfunctional. Will be tossing these awful pills out. For your own safety, I do not recommend. I’m normally a very happy person, and these pills have definitely made me overthink my whole life and obtain not even an hour of sleep because I was jittering the whole night... Typically, I sleep 9 hours and fall asleep right away in less than 10 minutes. WORST EXPERIENCE WITH A PILL EVER."

• Ash...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 20, 2021

"I took it for a week, and the first couple of days were fine, but by around the third day of taking Ocella, I started to feel extremely irritable. Every little thing would make me super upset that usually I wouldn't get so upset over. I also felt super anxious and depressed. It's like every ounce of positive feeling and self-love has disappeared out of my body. I stopped after a week because it is not worth feeling this way. I know it can affect everyone differently, but I personally have had a bad experience."

• Syd...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 6, 2015

"I'm writing this because as I do more research to try to find a new BC, I realize most people leave bad reviews! I had been on Ocella for almost 10 years when my doc recently told me it's known to cause blood clots. Until then, I had otherwise a good experience with it. I think the most noticeable things I can remember are slight dryness and a decreased sex drive. But no emotional turmoil or headaches - which is what I'm facing now. I miss Ocella!"

• Kat...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 6, 2021

"I was on birth control for over 10 years. First Yaz, then Ocella. I was on Ocella for about 7 years. After I quit 2 years ago, it has been a nightmare. I got horrible acne, stomach problems, PCOS. I have celiac genes but didn't have celiac until I quit this medication, which activated my symptoms. It has been 2 years since I quit, and I am still sick from this medication. I have horrible acne scarring all over my face, and I am lactating since quitting, even though I've never been pregnant. I've gone to many doctors, and the only solution is to get back on birth control pills. I do not recommend this medication."

• Cle...
• January 1, 2017

"Was an effective form of birth control and cleared up my acne spectacularly; however, I started getting horrible migraines during the week I was not taking the hormones. My hands and left side of my face would go numb, I would get nauseous, and I would be incapable of doing anything but lie there because I could not fall asleep because of the pain."

• Hat...
• April 20, 2011

"I have been taking Ocella now for about 6 months, and in those months, I have experienced some weight loss as well as clearer skin. However, I also have found that I have absolutely no sex drive. I am only 21, and before taking Ocella, I had enough sex drive for me and other people, but now nothing."

• Anonymous
• October 21, 2010

"I've been on Ocella for two days, but for those two days, my doctor advised me to take a double dose (two pills a night) for these first 2 nights. So far, I've had bad nausea, dizziness, headaches, and been extremely tired. I hope that when I start a regular dose, these side effects will go away."

• Anonymous
• October 16, 2009

"I've been on Ocella going on almost a year, then boom - it's no longer generic. $35 bucks a month! Or $90 if you buy 3 months (and that's with insurance), all in a matter of three months from when I last refilled my prescription. Very upsetting. Only one manufacturer for it, so it is now a brand. I'm not sure if this all works under your insurance and what they cover, but that was the reason I was given for the increase. Now I'm nervous about switching to something else because that's just outrageous to pay, especially in this economy. $15 bucks for 3 months' worth was nice, hopefully, having to switch doesn't cost me elsewhere. Other than that, I think this is a great birth control and would continue to use it if I could afford it."

• Nik...
• January 15, 2016

"I started BC because I had severe headaches, nausea, and dizziness when on my periods. I never had heavy bleeding or clotting... but I would get so dizzy I would be close to fainting if I was on my feet too much. The doctors simply said it could be my hormones changing and prescribed me Ocella. I haven't noticed any weight gain or anything. It regulated my pain and dizziness during my periods. However, after 4 months, I've been very nauseous and have had severe headaches and stomach pain. I could be coming down with something, so I couldn't say it's 100% from the pill. Overall, it's worked great for me and definitely alleviated my pain during menstruation."

• Anonymous
• February 7, 2010

"I would say this is an okay medicine. It works wonderfully at preventing pregnancy. I've been on it for a year and the only problem I've run into is horrible mood swings and depression the entire sugar pill week. Otherwise, I've had shorter periods, lighter periods, but pretty bad cramps."

• Anonymous
• January 6, 2012

"20 yr old, been on Ocella for over a year. Just today switched to Apri, Ocella made me gain weight and go up a bra size. I went from a heavy, long period with no pain to an extremely painful, short period - not worth it. This pill also made me moody and depressed."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 1, 2019

"I just started Ocella about 3 months ago. I like it so far, but I’m not sure how much it’s working so far, just because I’m not far into the journey yet. My first period was very light. Not much cramps, but I did have some, and when I did have cramps, they were horrible. My mood has been good, besides when people irritate me, I get moody. I also have another pill I take, and I don’t know if it interferes with Ocella or not. My acne has cleared up a ton, but I do get random pimples."

• Ros...
• April 8, 2019

"I started using this as a purchase recommended from Nurx (20 years old). Also, doing some research, I figured this would be great considering I had a horrid experience with Lo Loestrin Fe, which gave me terrible anger and mood swings, huge cystic acne, which the doctor said would help with my acne. Now, switching to Ocella, I don't see a difference besides I'm not getting as many pimples, but I still am getting a new painful pimple every day, which is so frustrating. Not sure how I feel; it has been almost 2 months now, and I am now starting to bleed on and off. I am very disappointed."

• Anonymous
• June 2, 2011

"I have been on Ocella now for over 2 years. Like many of you, I was taking Yasmin and it was switched, and I wasn't told but noticed it before I took it. I called my pharmacy just to make sure this was the right medicine, and it was. I haven't had any problems except for one. I have a low sex drive. I'm 26 years old, and I honestly thought my body changed after having 2 children. I did not know this was a possible side effect. Other than that, I love it. My periods are regular, lighter, and come on time. I have no cramps, and my skin cleared up. I was also not aware of Ocella switching to a name brand drug."

• Lin...
• January 6, 2010

"I use Ocella, and my only complaints are that I am moody occasionally, and my periods are heavier, and I get very bad cramps, which I never used to get. I actually lost six pounds in the first month I took it, but it didn't really clear up my face completely, just a little. I would recommend this birth control."

• lpw...
• January 19, 2012

"I was on Yaz before and did just fine on it. They switched me to Ocella four months ago and said that it was the same, but I am having such a hard time on it. I bleed heavily, cramp, and have migraines for at least 10 days. It knocks me off my feet to where all I can do is stay in bed all day. I have to use double protection when on my period. I bleed so much the first month that I almost had my husband take me to the ER. I instead started taking iron pills to help me recover from my period. With all the scare on blood clots in the news, I just called and asked my doctor to switch me to something else. The other thing was that I have zero sex drive, and I can't lose weight."

• Anonymous
• May 31, 2009

"Ocella is a good birth control medication. For the four months I've been taking it, my only complaint is the multiple periods of breakthrough bleeding, bloating, and nausea. I'm sure weight gain would be on my complaint list, but you just have to maintain a really good diet and exercise whenever you can. But it's great."

• Mar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 23, 2018

"I have been on Ocella for a few months now. Overall, the experience has been good. I am experiencing more cramps and an upset stomach than my previous BC. Although that is not fun to experience, I have no complaints about mood swings, weight gain, or depression. Overall, I am pleased with the medication."