Ethinyl estradiol / levonorgestrel for Endometriosis User Reviews (Page 2)

• Ish...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 3, 2012

"I know I'm still on my first pack and onto week 9, but I've been nauseous, bloated, very moody, and depressed for most of this time. And honestly, that would be bearable, but 20 days of moderate to heavy bleeding with full-on cramps that make me want to curl into a ball and cry has pretty much made me homicidal, and I now hate all men. I wish I were exaggerating, and if it wasn't for my fertility hanging on the line for me giving this an honest shot, I would've stopped after day seven."

• Anonymous
• May 13, 2010

"I have experienced daily pain of endometriosis for a number of years now. This medication has allowed me to have more energy, as my energy is no longer taken by managing my pain. I do experience bloating in the third month, but that's a minor side effect I can live with."

• Jea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 21, 2020

"My endometriosis was diagnosed 2 years ago. 1 year ago, I started experiencing pain during my ovulation too. My doctor recommended Aviane because it has few side effects. The first weeks, I experienced mild headaches and nausea, but the symptoms didn't bother me. I'm regular, but I didn't have my period during the 1st month of taking the pill. By my doctor's recommendation, I would only take hormones and not the placebo pills at all for 3 months. After a few weeks, my period came, more days than usual with a lot of pain. It wasn't abundant, but it wasn't spotting either. The pain during ovulation was not reduced, the headaches are the worst, and the breast pain is bad. I have mood swings, not depressing (anger episodes), and I had the worst vaginal infection ever, something very strange for me. With this coronavirus around, I was unable to see my doctor. I decided to stop taking the pills, in my case, the pain is worse than before. Maybe the pills need more time to adjust, but not thanks."

• Anonymous
• January 1, 2011

"I have been taking Seasonique for 2 months to stop the continual cramping from endometriosis and the heavy period. The first month and a half, I didn't have a period, but I have been bleeding for 2 weeks straight, this is my 15th day of bleeding and horrible cramping. I did have energy at first, and that was nice, along with the almost non-existent cramping until I started bleeding. I had sex last night, and it hurt. I have also experienced hot flashes (the doctor said that this isn't because of this birth control), and I am 36. I have had heart palpitations, weight gain, anxiety, and major mood swings at times."

• Ton...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 12, 2020

"The first 3 months on Portia, I had water retention, low appetite, nausea, and lost some weight. But the pill immediately stopped my period. I am taking Portia for Endo. I've been taking it for close to a year, and it works great! It keeps all of the symptoms away, and I have had no acne or major weight gain."

• Bee...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 12, 2020

"I was on the Seasonique pill for about a year. I would not consider myself someone with depression, but I do go through bouts of sadness like everyone. Seasonique caused me to become horribly, horribly depressed. I would lay in bed and stare at the wall for hours. I couldn't will myself to get up at all. I started having extremely bad suicidal ideations that I couldn't snap myself out of. The final straw for me was during the off time of the pills where you get your period. I passed a blood clot the size of my fist. It was extremely painful, and I almost passed out. I have never, ever experienced this before, and never experienced it again after I got off Seasonique."

• Poo...
• May 29, 2010

"I'm on my third week of my first month of Seasonique. Cons: Heavy breasts, which come and go, but the sensitive, hurting nipples are what drive me crazy. It's been a bit better in this past week. The first couple of days, I had really mild nausea, but that's long gone. Pros: My complexion cleared up significantly, my acne has severely decreased. Unlike other month-to-month birth controls, I don't feel bloated or heavy. My appetite has increased (this is good because I need to gain weight and previously had very bad eating habits)."

• min...
• July 11, 2010

"I'm 40. I have endometriosis for the last 15 years. I had an operation once. I resisted using birth control pills after the operation, and they grew back. I had a second operation, then I had shots for a year to stay in menopause; then I started to use Aviane. Now I don't have terribly horrible pains anymore. I'm happy with the result, but I gained a lot of weight even though I do work out. But I prefer weight instead of pains. I think I still should thank Aviane."

• Anonymous
• September 26, 2011

"I started taking this a month ago for endometriosis and cysts, and so far I am miserable. 'Back in the day,' I used to have no problem with birth control, but after the birth of my boys, I now struggle with bad side effects (mostly mood related). I am not sure if this is because of my age (40) or if my hormones have changed (maybe both). I had the worst cramps of my life 4 days into my first pack, and I bled for 14 days straight and even now continue to have cramps. I also have *very* noticeable depression-but again, I am prone to this, so I think the pill just makes it worse. I also noticed today I have gained 3 pounds, and I am a hardcore marathon runner-so I know it has to be from this pill."

• Jil...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 3, 2018

"This BC has literally been a lifesaver. I have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), endo, and PMDD (and at one point used this as birth control) and had an incredible decrease in symptoms. No weight gain, no loss of sex drive, no mood swings, my acne cleared up, my anxiety calmed, and depression was more manageable, and I never had a pregnancy scare. I switched to Orsythia for about a month and had to switch to Lutera as a medical necessity due to my negative reactions with Orsythia. I cannot say enough good about this pill."

• ant...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 14, 2020

"I started this pill as I was told I had endometriosis, and this would help with the pain. For the first few months, it was great and helped with my pain. About 4 months in, I was told I have dermatitis on my face. This has lasted nearly 2 years now. It's horrible, and I rely on steroid creams to control the flare-ups. I've also realized I'm angry and moody for no reason at all. I've just started to break out around my mouth and chin area, which I never had before. I gained 10 kg in the first year, and now I fluctuate, but all up I've gained 14 kg. Will definitely be changing."

• Jai...
• March 24, 2016

"Effective for birth control and less painful periods, but holy moly, no, no, no on depression and acne. I've been depressed before, but this birth control made me have thoughts of suicide for the first time in my whole life. I felt like crying for no reason every day, I thought life would be better for everyone if I weren't here anymore... I stopped taking it for 2 weeks, and for the first time in months, I feel like myself again. I feel like my head isn't on sideways, and I feel better. More energy, happier, no crying... My face broke out like crazy, and I've always had normal skin. Not worth it for me. I'd rather take a few days off every month due to painful cramps than be crazy and pimply."

• Anonymous
• March 2, 2011

"I started Seasonique in September of last year. The first 3-month pack worked awesome for me, my acne cleared up, my cramps from endometriosis diminished, and I only had 1 period in 3 months with no breakthrough bleeding or spotting. However, in week 5 of my second pack, I started spotting, and a week after that, I was bleeding like a regular menstrual cycle. Also, my cramps became more severe, and I developed tremendous pain in my lower back. I have been bleeding for the past 6 weeks since I first noticed the spotting, and my cramps have come back in full force. After reading some of the reviews on this website, I feel a little better, but I suppose my case is a rare and extreme reaction because I haven't seen anything too close in comparison."

• Ree...
• November 1, 2013

"I took Lybrel or the generic equivalent Amethyst for many years. In the first years, I found it worked very well for me, and I loved it. I never had a period! Then I needed to take NSAIDs regularly for osteoarthritis, which caused constant breakthrough bleeding along with endometriosis symptoms. Whenever I discontinued use of the Lybrel to keep my lining from becoming so thin, my periods were debilitating and extremely heavy. Just started on Reclipsen with hopes of better results. I recommend this pill for anyone who does not regularly take any meds that can cause blood thinning."

• nat...
• June 26, 2017

"I realize that everyone is different. I have never written a review for a medicine before, but felt compelled to share my experience with LoSeasonique. I found it helpful to read reviews from women who had similar experiences. I only lasted six weeks on this pill. Because space is limited, I will just list the symptoms: horrible hair loss, severe acne (I'm 42 and had clear skin), depression and anger, and lastly, very heavy bleeding. I ended up weak and tired from all the blood loss. It was dark blood, with increasing clots. After six weeks, I had to stop. After four days, the heavy bleeding subsided. This pill may work for some, but if you had similar side effects, you are not alone."

• Hor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 18, 2023

"Started taking Levlen about 6 weeks ago, horrendous experience with it, immediate weight gain, depressed, and where I would have a heavy period for 1 week a month, I've had a constant period for the past 6 weeks with sore boobs. I spoke to the doctor who changed around the dose, and the bleeding seemed to get lighter, but I still have it. I've zero sex drive with it and moody all of the time. I will be stopping this pill, especially after reading all the other experiences with it also."

• Anonymous
• December 1, 2011

"I've been on 4 different birth control pills in the past 2 years, and LoSeasonique has given me the best experience. I have a pretty bad case of endometriosis. I've been on LoSeasonique for almost 5 months now, and my first period was a breeze. I had cramps for only one day (usually 3-5) during my period, which only lasted 4 days. My only concern is that when I first started LoSeasonique, I started getting awful migraines every day from the minute I woke up to the minute I went to bed. Luckily, after about 3 weeks, these went away. I get spotting every so often, but nothing that's unmanageable. I also noticed that my bloating has almost completely gone down."

• Vic...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 9, 2018

"I was diagnosed with endometriosis and put on Levlen to help reduce the length and pain of my periods. I would have periods that lasted over a month, they are now drastically shorter. They are also much lighter, and the pain is much better. I would need to take Advil multiple times a day, but now I can usually go without it. I've been on it for about four years, and from memory, I didn't have any side effects when I first started it, although I think it took a few months to really start working effectively. I know other people have said they got bad cystic acne, I used to break out during my period, but I have found it is actually now much better, however, I still do get a bit. Also, being able to skip periods is really great."

• Lou...
• June 17, 2014

"I've been on Aviane for almost a year now, but recently started taking it continuously because of the terrible breakouts and mood swings/depression I was having on a monthly basis around when my period would start. Pros: continuous method (for me) works well at delaying periods and not dealing with the negative, no weight gain (Sprintec made me put on a lot of weight), easy to use, milder cramps, breasts went up from C's to D's, lighter flow, prevents pregnancy. Cons (with normal use): major depression-like symptoms for 2 weeks of the month, breakouts (I can usually keep them under control), enlarged breasts, feeling tired before period week."

• bly...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 12, 2015

"This medication has been great for my endometriosis and ovarian cysts. The only downside is that now I have to go off of it because I have developed hepatic adenomas (uncommon benign liver tumors) that are caused by the long-term use of estrogen (I've been on it for more than 5 years)."

• Jas...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 11, 2014

"I've been on Levora for three years to help with my endometriosis. I've gained weight, but most women do while taking any type of birth control. I used to have really bad acne, now I only really break out during my period. Also, my period is lighter and shorter. Every woman is different, and our bodies aren't going to be the same as another woman taking the same birth control."

• Adr...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 23, 2019

"Been on Alesse for 3 years, have a bit more acne but no hair loss. I’ve had a really good experience, no spotting if I take it properly and at the same time every day, was only ever nauseous the first 3 days on it ever, know a lot of people on this pill who have had pretty good experiences!"

• Lad...
• June 12, 2017

"I've been on this for 8 months, and I'm still adjusting. I started last November, and in December I spotted the entire month. My doctor told me to take half the placebos to flush out my system. I missed Christmas Eve and Christmas, it was so heavy and painful. The worst 2 days I've ever had on my period. Round two wasn't so bad, with the exception of one day. I'm halfway through my 3rd package. I've been breaking out like crazy and getting random cramps and bladder infections as I normally would before my period, but I still have another 45 days until placebo week. I might check with my doctor again soon because my body doesn't seem to want to cooperate with this drug. I'm only on this to treat endometriosis. I'm not sexually active."

• Anonymous
• December 8, 2009

"It helped in the beginning. The first 6 months were great. I started cramping more after each period, though. And now I have pain every day, even when I take my pill. Still worth a try, plus it's nice not to have that many periods."

• Cla...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 15, 2019

"On Chateal for endometriosis and my sex drive disappeared, my acne exploded, and I normally have clear skin. I have diarrhea all the time, every day, and my boobs are constantly sore. Not pregnant, but I'm only on month two. I want to change, but Planned Parenthood in my state doesn't offer free or cost-effective appointments, so I'll be trapped taking this for a while."