Ashlyna and Sexual Dysfunction: What Users Say

• Ash...
• August 15, 2019

For Birth Control "I’m surprised how varied everyone’s comments are on here about Ashlyna. I truly think that birth control can affect everyone differently. This pill has been life-changing for me. I have an occupation where it is really inconvenient, and I have limited time to change my tampon, and also period cramps, even minor, would affect my job performance and attendance. After taking this BC, my boobs are now enormous. I’ve been taking it for four months. I had light spotting for a few weeks when I missed a pill, but now I don’t bleed at all, and I skip the placebo, so I don’t get a period at all, which is amazing. My first month or so, I felt a little nauseous, my boobs were sore, and I was moodier. All of that has gone away, and my only side effect is that my libido is a lot lower."

• bir...
• February 15, 2020

For Birth Control "Ashlyna was my first experience with birth control, and I was looking forward to having my period every 3 months. The first 2 months on the pill, everything was great! Some mood swings, but no spotting, maintained my weight, and no change in skin quality. But about 2/3 into the pack, I started spotting daily. Along with the several weeks of spotting, my sex drive decreased drastically. During the placebo week, my period was relatively normal and lasted 3-4 days. When I started my second pack, it was similar to the first, where I was completely fine for about 1.5 months, then the spotting started again. However, after 2 weeks of spotting, I began to bleed heavily to the point where I would fill pads/tampons within a few hours. I also passed blood clots every day. Obviously, this was concerning, and I made an appointment to see my doctor ASAP! That will be in the next week or two. I have never stopped taking the pill and have been on schedule every day for the past 6 months."

• Gia...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 2, 2019

For Birth Control "I tried Ashlyna as my first-ever birth control to stop my oh-so-frequent and annoying periods and to just have more control over my body. The first 6 weeks on this pill went pretty well besides some nausea. However, once I hit around the end of the 6th week, the breakthrough bleeding began and hasn’t stopped since (I’m now almost three weeks away from finishing the pack). It really sucks because I feel more out of control of my body than ever before. A lot of women in the reviews talk about a lack of sex drive, but for me, mine never went away, which I wish it did because the breakthrough bleeding makes it virtually impossible for me to have sex. All in all, this birth control has really put a downer on my overall life and I’ve never been more exhausted and annoyed. I’ve been bleeding every day for almost 5 weeks, and I can’t wait to get off this pill."

• Sha...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 7, 2019

For Birth Control "Absolutely did not like Ashlyna. I was on it for 6 months. I spotted constantly, sex drive dropped, acne did not get any better, and my emotions were all over the place. I felt down all the time, and it wasn’t until stopping the pill altogether that I’ve noticed how much happier my body is off of it!"

• Meg...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 25, 2019

For Birth Control "The birth controls I had tried were causing migraines during my placebo. So naturally, I asked for the knockoff of Seasonique, so if I were to have migraines, they would at least be every month instead of every 3 months. I experienced, for the entirety of my time on this contraceptive, “breakthrough bleeding” (according to the OBGYN nurse), but really I would describe it more as hemorrhaging chunks. It also caused a loss in sex drive, which I didn’t fully realize until I switched to something else. Absolutely do not recommend this contraceptive."

• Nan...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 22, 2019

For Birth Control "After getting my IUD removed, I wanted to switch back to the pill due to complications. I didn’t get nausea with this pill like I have with others, which was nice. It did cause me to gain about 15-20 pounds. I also had a low sex drive with Ashlyna, being a young woman who had always had a very high sex drive, it was really weird to me. I also got pretty bad acne with this pill, painful hard bumps. It did its job as far as preventing pregnancy, but personally, I didn’t like it due to side effects. Every woman is different, it might be worth a try."

• Ste...
• February 22, 2018

For Birth Control "I'm a 31-year-old female who started this BC mainly for easier periods as my tubes are tied. My periods are so heavy that I bleed through a thick pad and super or ultra tampon every hour. At first, Ashlyna seemed okay. Well, now I'm on my third package set of it, and today is the day I quit these pills! With my first pack, I bled the whole damn time. My period 'placebo' week was horrific, more than my normal horrible periods. I ended up going to the ER because I bled through over 80 tampons in a week. One week. And I was clotting so badly. My GYN said hang on, it'll get better. Well, after 6 months of being on it and literally only having one week of no spotting the entire time, I'm done! Here are the side effects that happened to me: weight gain of at least 15 lbs in 6 months. Always exhausted. No sex drive. I also have never had a yeast infection or bacterial infection until being on this medicine. Everyone gets affected differently, so this is just my experience."

• Cri...
• November 14, 2018

For Birth Control "25-year-old here. I have been taking Ashlyna for close to a year now to help with my iron deficiency. Let me say this: I absolutely love getting my period every 3 months. That is the biggest pro of this BC. In addition, my period has decreased to 3-4 days now (during the first 2 batches, it was around a week of bleeding a lot). Now for cons: 1) I have definitely noticed a decrease in my sex drive. My vagina has never been so dry during intimacy, and I have become very upset and frustrated with this. 2) CRAMPS. I get random cramps during the months that I don't have my period. These cramps become more frequent and painful the closer I get to my period date. I also get sudden and painful cramps when I am becoming aroused in intimacy; this has NEVER occurred until I began to take this BC. Additionally, during my period, I have 2-3 very, very heavy days where the cramps are the most painful."

• hbo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 31, 2018

For Birth Control "I'm 43 years old and was looking for fewer periods per year. Since I've had no issues in the past, a hysterectomy would be considered 'elective.' Well, no issues till NOW. Three doctors and one urgent care visit later, I'm still bleeding. It's been two months nonstop, to the point I've now become anemic. Extremely fatigue and no sex drive. I feel like I'm losing my mind and that no one understands how incredibly bad this is for me. Now I've got another appointment with yet another doctor and hopefully she'll be able to get this under control. Seriously explore ALL your options, and if you can avoid this medication... DO SO. PLEASE save time and frustration. DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICATION."

• Ala...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 27, 2018

For Birth Control "I came to Ashlyna from Depo, which also gave me horrible side effects. Ashlyna has given me abnormal spotting daily for months. I get killing migraines that last for days, even with medication. I originally gained 20 lbs when I first started taking it. I've been on it for a year, and I'm done. I get horrible mood swings and cramping like I've never had before. I no longer get periods at all, but still the spotting and horrible pain. I have no sex drive whatsoever. I have had 2 bacterial infections while being on it, I never once had one before. This sounded great at first, but it honestly isn't worth it if I have to be in pain all day."

• Syd...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 19, 2018

For Birth Control "This medication made me incredibly depressed and down, uninterested in life, depressed, and very anxious. I had no sex drive. My vagina was completely dry. It was an awful experience for me. I had to stop taking it and switch to another generic due to these side effects because I was at the lowest I had ever been."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 18, 2021

For Birth Control "About 7 weeks into my first pack, I started spotting for 2 1/2 weeks, which then turned into a full-on HEAVY period for another week. My doctor said to stay on it, things should level out. During the 7-week placebo pill, nothing happened. Went several more weeks with no period, then a 3-day period. Followed 3 1/2 weeks later with another 8-day period. I've had the worst acne of my adult life with Ashlyna, causing huge, painful pimples under the skin that will not go away. My husband says I am moody. Definitely low libido. I'm going to try one more 13-week pack after I finish this one. If things don't level out, I need to do something different."

• Mom...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 31, 2018

For Birth Control "The pros for me are that I have not had a cycle since taking Ashlyna. The downside is I have put on a lot of weight and have no sex drive and am very moody. I'm switching because this weight gain is too much for me to bear."

• Rac...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 10, 2018

For Birth Control "I've been taking this for almost 9 months now after being on a pill where I got my period every month for about 2 years. It worked fine at first, no spotting or weight gain (I think this was due to being on a different pill for so long). I did notice a slightly decreased libido, but it wasn't too bad. My first period on this was TERRIBLE, the next was better but still not as easy as my old periods. It had been worth the slight discomfort for only 5 days every 13 weeks, though. However, this month I've started spotting about two weeks before I'm due for my period. If it doesn't stop, it's just not worth the money for me (my insurance only covers 2 packs a year, so the other six months I have to pay a total of $440). The packaging also isn't the best, but if you rip the months apart, it helps."

• Sab...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 1, 2016

For Birth Control "I'm going on my 3rd week taking this, and for me, it has caused, in the first week or two, a lowered libido (sex drive) and vaginal dryness. And I'm 16! Even when I'm with my bf and I'm turned on, I'm not even really wet at all, and this causes irritating and painful sex unless you have lube. Before this, I had no problem getting wet. This is the first birth control I've ever been on, so I don't know if all this is supposed to go away after a couple or few months, but honestly, I don't think it's worth it. I've also been experiencing breast tenderness (usually in the morning, it feels like I'm going through puberty all over again, lol), perhaps a little bit of breast enlargement (which, hey, I'm not complaining about), and a bit of mood swings."