Ethinyl estradiol / norethindrone for Acne User Reviews (Page 2)

• JNV...
• September 1, 2014

"When I first started this medicine, I would get headaches and feel super sleepy within the first 5 minutes of taking it. But those side effects subsided as I got to my next pill pack. Probably the worst part of this medication is that it caused me to have more and consistent acne than before (which is one reason why I wanted birth control in the first place). Along with acne, Microgestin Fe 1/20 caused the skin above my upper lip to darken (known as melasma). It wasn't too noticeable at first, but as summer went on, and with more sun, it got worse. It was effective as a birth control and good with period regulation, but I wasn't pleased with the negative side effects at all, so I have recently switched over to Gianvi."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 24, 2012

"I'm 22, and this is my first time being on birth control. At first, I liked it because it regulated my period, and I went up a cup size, but that's the only positive experience I've had with this pill. I'm bloated around my midsection (I'm 5'6" and 107 lbs, and I look 2 months pregnant because of the bloating), my cramps are just as bad as they were off the pill, my breasts hurt so bad, and the biggest thing of all that I hate is that my face went from being flawless to severe acne EVERYWHERE! The pill is also expensive."

• Anonymous
• January 7, 2010

"I used this product for bad periods, but it ended up helping my acne a lot. I have had bad acne since middle school, and no topical treatments seemed to work. It was pure luck that I found a solution that helped two problems. The only issue I have is the price. I had to stop taking it because even with my insurance I could not afford it. I now take a generic form, Microgestin, and my acne has worsened again. It just depends on the person whether or not this product will work."

• KLM...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 12, 2016

"I've also never left a review for anything in my life, but reading these responses was a lifesaver for me, so I need to pay it forward. I have been on NuvaRing, Yaz, and Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo over the past 15 years, and my skin has been pretty much flawless my whole life (I'm 29). In April 2016, I told my doctor I wanted to switch to whichever birth control had the lowest dose of hormones, as I figured that was just the healthiest thing to do. After a week on this garbage, I started having horrible cystic acne with whiteheads on my chin and some on my jawline. My diet and exercise routine are super solid. I don't eat dairy or gluten. I'm not on any other medications. So it's pretty obvious the Loestrin FE is the culprit here."

• Loe...
• August 19, 2010

"I just started Loestrin about one month ago. Before I started taking it, I had no problems with acne. Most recently, about two weeks ago, I began having the worst breakout of my life-cheeks, chin, forehead! I thought it was from my use of makeup, but now that I have read these posts, I definitely see it is from the pill."

• Han...
• February 5, 2016

"Lo Loestrin was a miracle for my face. I struggled with acne as a young teenager, and it eventually cleared in time, but when I went off to college, my stress level skyrocketed. I got switched to Lo Loestrin and haven't had a zit since then. I have combination to oily skin type, and I have noticed a big difference in the amount of oil on my skin! It's even helped even my skin tone out! Love, love, love this brand!"

• KAT...
• January 10, 2015

"First time taking birth control, and as soon as I started taking this pill, I immediately broke out. Under my chin, I had constant pimple after pimple show up. It's been a month in, and I still have breakouts!"

• Yol...
• January 19, 2013

"I've taken Lo Loestrin Fe for about 2 and a half years now. I am very prompt about taking it every day at the same time. I never forget to take it. I rarely had acne before I went on, but I do still normally, as before the pill, get an occasional zit, nothing too bad. My period is off every other month, though. Sometimes it's 3-4 days, and other times just 2 days. My period prior to the pill was heavy and a full 7 days, so that's why I first got put on the pill."

• ste...
• September 19, 2011

"I started Loestrin 24 a few months ago and was nervous about some side effects I've always heard of from the pill. I was nauseous for only the 1st week, and only got my period for 2 days and had zero cramps even though I used to have to take 3 Advil for the 1st 3 days of my period. No weight gain, only in my breasts (grew a cup size). However, this pill made me break out horribly. I've always broken out a little before my period, but while on this I got multiple huge cysts on my chin and under my nose before my period and my cheeks, which have never broken out before, were breaking out as well. Really no side effects, but the acne was enough to make me go off of it."

• Han...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 11, 2014

"This birth control was great for the first year. After about 14 months of being on this, I started to get horrible cystic acne. I have tried every face wash, herbal remedies, acne pills... EVERYTHING, and it has not cleared up. My face is always red and inflamed when I get a breakout, and it is all around my chin (hormonal acne). I am asking to switch at my appointment this week."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 31, 2014

"My doctor wanted to take me off of Beyaz, and I was switched to this; the pill was effective, never spotted. Sometimes, the period was extremely heavy, and other times it barely lasted 3 days. Mood swings were crazy, and my chin has been broken out for the entire 5 months. No matter what I use (soap, acne medication), it will not go away."

• Anonymous
• August 13, 2011

"I had been taking these pills for about 6 months, and my periods were great, skin was perfectly clear. Then I got off of them, and now I'm back on them, and my entire chin has broken out. I'm only on the 3rd week of restarting them, so I hope it goes back to the way it used to be. Maybe it's just the hormones going crazy for now. I don't know."

• Bro...
• March 10, 2017

"I have been on Microgestin 1/20 for about 4 months now, and it has improved my acne immensely! Before this pill, I tried everything to get rid of my acne and spent so much money on different kinds of acne face wash and stuff like that. When I finally decided to take this pill, I was scared because I read all these reviews, and none of them were very positive. But for some reason, for my skin, it has highly improved my acne, and for the past 2 weeks, I have not gotten a pimple on my face, and it is also slowly healing my scars too. The first 2-3 months, it is hard to see results and takes a little bit of time to really start getting into your system. Along with clearing up my acne, it has also taken away my very bad cramps from my period."

• All...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 13, 2016

"OMG! During middle school, I had acne, and I started taking birth control pills at a young age for my cramps. I want to say my ninth-grade year and have been taking Junel Fe consistently since the age of 20. I did not think anything of it, I thought my 'childhood' acne was gone, and BOY WAS I WRONG. Once I stopped taking Junel Fe, my acne was back like it never left. So I did some researching, and in fact, it was my birth control that was preventing me from having acne. I was happy but sad at the same time because I do not want to be on birth control for the rest of my life. So once my yearly package ran out, I spent months trying to find an alternative and failed :( Junel Fe is the only thing that works for my acne."

• A N...
• May 8, 2015

"This birth control pill has negatively impacted my life. I am currently suffering from cystic acne, constant bloating, depression, and mood swings. My appetite has increased, but the most notable thing is just how badly I feel. I've been on this pill for 4 months. My hope was that everything would balance out, but it still has not, and it literally feels like this pill is killing me."

• Anonymous
• February 19, 2012

"I have been on Loestrin for about 2 months now, and I am not satisfied with the results so far. I got on this pill to regulate my periods because I am 18 and wouldn't have a period for about 5 or 6 months apart, and the pill has somewhat regulated that, but my acne is absolutely horrible. I never had big problems with acne before, just little breakouts here and there before periods, but now I have horrible acne on my cheeks, and it's left brown spots behind. I am going to either get off the pill completely or change to another if it doesn't get better within the next 2 weeks. I have also gained 5 pounds and gone up a cup size."

• Anonymous
• March 17, 2012

"I started taking this 7 months ago. I take it to control my periods and to help with my skin. I was taking Estrostep, which worked great, but due to price, switched to this. It has made my skin break out severely. I used to get a pimple or two around period time; with this, I keep getting cystic acne that takes weeks to go away. I would not recommend this if you are prone to breakouts."

• Anonymous
• December 17, 2011

"I have been taking this birth control for a little over a year now. I have never had very heavy bleeding on my period, but once on Loestrin, my period is nonexistent. I noticed my acne getting worse after about a month. I have never had more than a few pimples here and there before, but now I have huge cystic pimples all over my cheeks, chin, and forehead. This is the worst my acne has been, ever! I have been going to a dermatologist for about 6 months, and my acne is not getting any better. I am switching to a different birth control once talking to my OBGYN. I have heard good things about Ortho Lo, so I am going to ask about that."

• Anonymous
• September 27, 2011

"Within the first month, I started getting incredibly emotional, moody, breast tenderness, and spotting. Not to mention, my acne is out of control. I usually get only one or two pimples, but now have seven huge ones on my face. Switching to Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo... hope it makes my acne better."

• emi...
• July 1, 2016

"I was prescribed Gildess Fe 1/20 after a couple of years of being on Nexplanon (the 3-year arm implant) to help regulate my extremely irregular periods and random outbreaks of terrible acne. I'm 22 and have never had bad acne ever until I got the implant taken out and my hormones went psycho. I was literally all over the place emotionally and physically. However, while I have only been on this pill a few weeks, it has literally helped tremendously. My skin is almost completely cleared up and my period-so far-seems back to normal. The only downside I'm experiencing is increased hunger almost all the time and a lingering tiredness that no amount of coffee seems to eliminate. Hoping these side effects minimize after prolonged use. Thumbs up!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 11, 2012

"When I first went on this birth control about 2 years ago (in hopes of curing my migraines my doctor thought may be hormonal and fixing moderate acne), I went absolutely crazy. It made me have HORRIBLE mood swings, and I found myself in a terrible mood all the time for no reason (crying about stuff I never cried about, snapping at people, etc.). I had never been that way before this pill. My first period on this pill was ROUGH, I was extremely depressed and emotional and just wanted to cry in bed. The pill did seem to help with my headaches, although it never helped at all with my skin. It made my periods way lighter and less painful, which was a perk. My advice is to stick with this medicine for a long time and wait out the pain."

• Suz...
• November 1, 2015

"My doctor prescribed Junel for acne, and I immediately noticed a difference. I was so hesitant to go on a pill, but I honestly couldn't be happier. I wish I had done it sooner because now I'm paying to correct acne scarring."

• Lis...
• July 21, 2015

"I never break out ever (only when I was a teen). I always got compliments for my skin, and this has made me break out. I've been getting lots of leg cramps too and spotting all over my cycle. Emotionally, I'm about the same. I've never taken birth control, and I think from my experience on this it's not worth it."

• Jul...
• February 12, 2016

"I've always had terrible, oily skin, so my doctor finally put me on Loestrin. It took my skin a couple of months to stop breaking out, but now it is near perfect! I even have people complimenting me on my skin now, which believe me would never have happened before. It also has completely stopped my period, and I now only have mild symptoms."

• Ups...
• December 31, 2015

"Why would you prescribe someone with acne this medication to clear it up if it only makes it so much worse? I had a few pimples and blackheads, and now I'm covered in all sorts of acne, including cystic and whiteheads all over my face. I've cried a lot and have been so embarrassed, and I'm just now realizing from these reviews that it's a trend to have horrible acne from taking these pills. No idea what I should do about it now, except to spread the news to people that are thinking about taking this pill to not waste your time. I and apparently so many others have suffered."