Ethinyl estradiol / levonorgestrel and Bleeding: What Users Say (Page 4)

• 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."

• Bex...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 31, 2015

For Birth Control "I've been on Seasonale for two years. It's the first birth control I've ever taken, and I love the results! My periods are shorter and less crampy. I'm also no longer a hag during PMS because PMS doesn't exist for me anymore. :) I do occasionally get breakthrough bleeding, but that's definitely my own fault for taking a pill a few hours late. My main complaint is that I cry way more now-watching cheesy commercials and when I'm mad-and that I've gained weight. Every time I restart my new pack, I'm starving all week and want to eat everything in sight. My boobs obviously got bigger too, but I'm not complaining there. Still a thumbs up from me!"

• Ore...
• August 12, 2017

For Birth Control "I was on this pill since the end of April, and everything has gone downhill since then. I bled for 21 days straight, then the bleeding stopped for about two weeks. After that, I bled every day for the remaining two months, up until the sugar pills. Once I started a new pack, everything went great for the first two weeks. However, I started bleeding AGAIN midway into the third week. It was at that point that the remaining patience I've had for this pill was lost. Yeah, this birth control truly does prevent pregnancy because it prevents you from having sex in the first place due to the never-ending shark week. :( I'm switching to a stronger pill because this is my FOURTH month on birth control, so I should not be bleeding this much."

• Cut...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 24, 2014

For Birth Control "I was quite nervous about taking this pill, because I have had such a bad experience with the shot. I'm on my 11th day of taking Lutera. I started on them the first day I received my period... and I've been bleeding ever since... very heavy at that, not a very happy camper. I have never bled this long."

• Cut...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 24, 2014

For Birth Control "I was quite nervous about taking this pill, because I have had such a bad experience with the shot. I'm on my 11th day of taking Lutera. I started on them the first day I received my period... and I've been bleeding ever since... very heavy at that, not a very happy camper. I have never bled this long."

• JLT...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 26, 2020

For Birth Control "I have gained an unwanted 20 pounds in 1 year after being on this pill and am struggling to lose the weight. I did not experience this kind of weight gain with other birth control pills. Breakthrough bleeding was more common with this birth control pill too. I will be stopping!"

• Anonymous
• July 11, 2009

For Birth Control "Fantastic experience. 9 months on Seasonique and never had breakthrough bleeding. Slight appetite increase, but no acne or crazy mood swings. My last 2 birth control pills gave me insane mood swings. My fiancé is thrilled with my choice in Seasonique."

• car...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 11, 2018

For Birth Control "This medication is awful. I immediately started with breast tenderness/soreness, then came joint pains and massive headaches. Then there were sharp pains in my lower abdomen that would last about ten seconds, and I would have them throughout the day. I’m barely 19, healthy, and have had regular periods for the past two years. I just wanted something to help cramps, and it sounded like a dream when my gynecologist told me I’d only bleed 4 times a year! I just finished my second month, and I’ve been bleeding for 6 days now! I’m not even supposed to be bleeding! I’m not even talking about spotting, I’m talking about HEAVY bleeding. Before I started this medication, my periods were light/regular and only lasted 5 days MAX. This is one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made, the side effects are not worth it. I’d rather get my period every month than deal with this. Don’t get on this medication."

• Cas...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 21, 2019

For Birth Control "Worst. Cramps. Ever. I started taking this to get control over my period, but now I bleed for 2 weeks at a time, which is insane, and it's HEAVY bleeding all 12 days! The cramps are so bad it'll make me stop what I'm doing and curl into a ball because of so much pain! I'm 5'2", 130 lbs, and am fairly active."

• 7...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 7, 2020

For Abnormal Uterine Bleeding "Alesse was the first birth control I ever took. I was 18 and had been having horrible periods. Constant, painful cramps and heavy flow. My gynecologist suggested Alesse to make my period lighter. I bled for over a month! Not spotting. Full-on heavy bleeding with horrible cramps. I eventually stopped and decided to deal with my period. At least I knew when it would end."

• Kan...
• October 14, 2014

For Birth Control "This is the only birth control that has ever gotten my cycle regulated for a long period of time. Usually, I will switch medicines only to have it regulated for 3-4 months, then everything goes haywire again. With Lutera, I have no breakthrough bleeding or spotting, no headaches or body aches, and no weight gain. I love this birth control. Before I was on this, I was very anemic from an abnormal period (bleeding 2-3 weeks out of the month), but now I don't even have to take my iron supplement. Also, I am not pregnant, so it works there, too, which is good."

• jn2...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 22, 2018

For Birth Control "I was forced to switch to this brand after CVS gave me this instead of my normal prescription. I took this for two months and refuse to ever use this birth control again. I’m not new to birth control, as I’ve been on it for four years due to extreme periods. My first month on this pill was fine. The second month I missed one pill, which has happened numerous times throughout my years on the pill. I did what the normal process is and took two in one day. The very next day I was cramping extremely, all the way to my placebo week (2 weeks). I was extremely tired and almost seemed like I was bleeding through. Not to mention, my acne on this pill was insane. I know every woman is different, but this dosage seems to be off compared to the name-brand version."

• Anonymous
• November 2, 2009

For Abnormal Uterine Bleeding "I am on my second, three-month pack of LoSeasonique, and I am seriously contemplating stopping the birth control. My first three-month pack, around week six, I started bleeding. This lasted about a week, and I thought my body was adjusting. Since then, my face has broken out - I have never had acne problems. I am now on week four of my second cycle of pills, and I am now bleeding lightly again. I am experiencing the worst cramps I have ever had in my life. All I do is sleep, and I am still exhausted all the time. I can't even get myself to do normal activities like grocery shopping."

• jas...
• March 21, 2014

For Birth Control "This is the first type of birth control that I have been on, and it has worked out great. I have been on Lutera for 9 months now and will be going back to have my doctor refill the prescription. The first month I experienced some mild headaches and irregular bleeding, nothing serious. My breasts have gotten a little larger, my period shorter and lighter. All is good so far!"

• Ale...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 26, 2020

For Birth Control "I've taken Vienva for 6 months and am about to change my prescription. My symptoms include constipation, bloating, uneven skin texture, back pain, large clots in my period, and the most irritating, an increase in breast size. They have become so large and heavy and sagging over the span of my time on this pill. I've also had next to no sex drive. Typically, I would get dark brown clots for 2-3 days before my period started, and then my regular period would still be mostly clots."

• You...
• March 27, 2019

For Birth Control "I started this when I was 16. I was terrified hearing all the side effects. The doctor I had said I could skip my first period. (But after going to another doctor, it is highly not recommended to do that, apparently). The second month I had breakthrough bleeding that turned into a 21-day period. This time I was the angriest, nastiest person. I went to the doctors at 12 days and said to wait longer to see if it would stop. Then on the 20th day, I went back as it hadn't stopped, and he put me on 30 ED. This stopped my period almost immediately. Throughout this month that I stayed on Levlen 30, I had severe depression. It was very, very bad. I changed back to 20 ED. I haven’t skipped a period yet as I’m too scared to, but I would 100% recommend. I have been very sexually active in this time, and I have not had a pregnancy scare. I don’t use condoms as I trust my pill. I have had no side effects on this one other than slight mood swings and a little bit more emotional. No weight gain. This pill is very, very good towards me."

• kek...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 28, 2020

For Birth Control "I switched from Microgestin FE to Larissia. Microgestin FE gave me terrible anxiety and depression and made me feel like I was an alien in my own body. Switching to Larissia, I definitely had some cramping, breakthrough bleeding, mood swings, and acne during my first 2-3 packs of this pill, but after a couple months, all of those symptoms went away. My first pack, I could tell that my boobs were bigger, but that went away as well over time. I haven’t gained any weight on this pill (I was actually hoping that I would) and have less acne than I did while on other pills. I would recommend this to a friend."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 5, 2018

For Birth Control "I took Alesse 28 for three months, and it worked. I never got pregnant, and Alesse cleared up my mild acne. But the side effects legit made me feel like I was crazy. The mood swings made me question my sanity. I would always lash out at my boyfriend randomly and be angry at him even though he did nothing wrong. I hated him so much for no reason. I lost my sex drive, my vagina was always dry, and so it would cause my vagina to bleed and hurt after sex, and I became really depressed. I stopped taking Alesse for a month now, and my boyfriend told me that my attitude and mood are normal and back to the way I was before taking Alesse."

• Anonymous
• November 17, 2009

For Birth Control "Have been on Lybrel for 1 year now and get periods, breakthrough bleeding, spotting, and cramps. I used to have a normal 28-day cycle, and my period was 5 days, it was very regimented. Now I have periods randomly that last 7 to 10 days. I was hoping to stop my periods, but this obviously does not work for me."

• Aua...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 9, 2018

For Birth Control "I had been on Levora for about ten years when my pharmacy switched to Portia. I was told it was the same thing (generic version), but my experience says otherwise. I took it for about two weeks when I started noticing I was VERY gloomy/sad/easily triggered. I wasn’t as resilient as I normally am. I also started bleeding during sex and was so disturbed by it I almost fainted (I never bleed during sex and basically got my period out of the blue). I would NOT advise anyone to take Portia - the gloominess/hopelessness feeling I got from taking it is enough to make me quit oral birth control altogether. I’m really struggling to find a solution."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 28, 2018

For Birth Control "I do not recommend this pill. I’m officially getting off it today. I have had nothing but issues with it. The first three months, I was experiencing “spotting,” although I’m not sure what they consider spotting because this was a lot. Then it ended for about 3 weeks, then spotting reoccurred. So I was told to go off the pill for a week to let my body do its thing and then go back on. Did that and was fine for about 3 weeks, and now I’m back to spotting. It’s like instead of getting my period once a month, it’s like I’m not getting my period once a month. Every 3 weeks, I get a break, and then it’s back to bleeding. It’s not fair, and it’s not something I recommend."

• taj...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 4, 2016

For Birth Control "An incredible birth control. Do not be turned off by people saying they bled or spotted for weeks or months - this is only because it must be started at a specific point in your cycle. It stopped my period for three months without any spotting until it was finally due. My only complaint is that the bleeding lasted a few days longer than usual, but that is it. I didn't even experience the horrible cramps I previously did. An excellent birth control I recommend for both regulating/stopping your period and as actual birth control."

• UT1...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 28, 2016

For Birth Control "I have been taking Seasonale for almost 3 years now. I'm 21 and pretty healthy. When I started, I had breakthrough bleeding for about 3 weeks and a little nausea. Before Seasonale, I had 8-day heavy periods and would get pretty bad cramping. With this pill, I have a very light period once every 3 months, no cramping at all and no other symptoms. I have had no weight gain, rarely any breast tenderness, and it prevents pregnancy, so I can't complain too much. My ONLY problem with this pill is that it gives me acne in waves. I'll go a month with very little acne, then for a few months have lots of breakouts, some of them painful. I never had any acne prior to taking the pill, but now I do. Otherwise, I highly recommend this pill."

• Ab2...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 2, 2017

For Birth Control "I currently have Nexplanon implanted, and when I got it in, I had light periods for 4 months straight. Since I only went on birth control to stop my hellish periods, this wasn't ideal. My doctor put me on a normal pill birth control (3 weeks of the pill, 1 week placebo). During the placebo week, my horrid periods were back, so I told my doctor and that's when she prescribed me Ashlyna. I've been taking it for a month so far and everything has gone great. I've actually somehow managed to lose weight, there hasn't been any bleeding at all, and my mood seems to have improved (I used to get depressed during my period). Everyone responds differently to medications, but I would recommend Ashlyna."

• JH3...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 3, 2014

For Birth Control "A couple of years ago, I took Lutera for a year and didn't have too many problems. I stopped taking it, then re-started 6 months ago. This time was bad. My mood was off - little things would make me super aggravated or want to cry, while 'better' days made me extremely happy and hyper. I also had on-and-off dryness down there - pretty uncomfortable, especially sex-wise. The worst part was the 2-week periods I got on this pill. For five months straight, I had my period for half the month, with cramps, lower back pain, irritability, and heavy bleeding. The gyno kept saying it was my body adjusting, but after the fifth month of this, I'm taking a break from birth control for a month and then switching to another pill."