User Reviews for Tarina Fe 1/20 to treat Birth Control
Tarina Fe 1/20 has an average rating of 4.9 out of 10 from a total of 105 reviews for the treatment of Birth Control. 26% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 36% reported a negative experience.
Reviews for Tarina Fe 1/20
"Life changing in a good way. I'm sorry to all of you who had terrible side effects. This is the third pill brand I've been on and by far the best. I'm not taking it to prevent pregnancy though. I suffer from terrible PCOS that left me sick for over a year. We are talking extreme anemia, constant nonstop heavy bleeding for months on end, fatigue, crippling cramps, weight gain and no sex drive. Taking it 4 months now (note I take nothing but continuous active pills to level out my hormone imbalance) and I have experienced zero bad side effects. I'm healthier than I've been in years, weight loss, glowing skin, thriving sex drive, no cramps or endless painful periods. It's been a real lifesaver."
"Sooooo... I’ve tried every kind of birth control known to (wo)man. Implant, IUD, the worst — depo, mini pills, combo pills, 7 different pills to be extract. Tarina was the latest. I have now been off of it for 10 days. I’ve shed pounds & water weight, I’m no longer a short fuse, I can think straight again, I’m not stuttering over my words anymore, I don’t go into full blown rage out of nowhere, I don’t want to eat 24/7, my face has cleared, my hair isn’t coming out in clumps. I truly thought depo was the worst, but now it’s a close second to Tarina. Avoid this BC at ALL COSTS. Unless you want to be a rude, angry, bloated, bald, bloated, pimply cow. It is the WORST. Oh and I bled ALL THE TIME."
"This is far superior to my last pill. I do still suffer from depression and anxiety, but it has not totally mutilated my sex drive like my previous pill did. It is effective and the side effects are tolerable. I've been on this pill for about a year and have been skipping the inactive pills so that I do not have a period, and it has worked! As far as pills go, I highly recommend Tarina. To whoever is reading this: know that all comments, including mine, are personal reactions to this pill (really this applies to all meds). Don't be scared off of getting the help you need, because everyone's bodies and habits are different, thus rending different results."
"I've been using this for a little over 3 years now, and it's the best birth control I've used. Other brands have made me gain weight or amplified my mood swings, but this one has solved all of my problems including: heavy and irregular periods (used to bleed through the heaviest overnight pad on the shelf every 4 hours for 7-11 days and now I only bleed for 5 days and can wear smaller pads and tampons without worrying about leakage!), body acne, I experience less intense cramps and mood swings, and of course no babies. The only negative side effect I've noticed is vaginal dryness. Compared to other birth control pills and when I didn't take them, it's significantly drier down there, but the benefits totally outweigh the negatives for me!"
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"Was on this BC for 6 months, and it was the first pill I had taken for a long period of time. Cleared my acne miraculously, got a lot of comments about how clear my skin was! I did however gain a little weight (like 5lbs) and was incredibly moody. I don’t typically cry very often, but this medication made me burst into tears at the slightest thing. My periods became incredibly light and would last for a day if that. Never had any other issues."
"I GOT PREGNANT!!! I took the pill every single day at 8am. 5 months in -- PREGNANT. Also -- I felt emotionally crazy and would randomly bleed the entire time I took the pill. Could not possibly be more disappointed. I feel less hormonal pregnant than I did on that "birth control" pill."
"I have been on this pill Tarina FE 1/20 for almost two years now. I have never been on a pill where I still felt like myself. The first few months I was on it, it took some time for my body to handle the hormones and some nausea, but afterwards I was fine. I also lost close to 15 lbs when starting the pill, I will say the only bad thing about it was not having a big appetite, the longer I was on it however, that changed. I also have my period regularly on the sugar pill week, and experience no side effects to it anymore. I love this pill/form of birth control, I have never been on a form of birth control where I didn’t feel overwhelmed with emotions, Tarina Fe on the other hand has allowed my mental health to remain as was, even while on it. I’m happy, feel energized, and I will never go back to another form of pill or birth control ever again."
"I started taking Tarina Fe 1/20 for lighter, shorter periods. So far, I've bled almost every day since I started taking this (2 months ago). I've noticed a bit of hair loss, eczema breakouts (which I haven't had this badly in YEARS), depression, mood swings, decreased sex drive, increased appetite and weight gain, and I can't sleep at ALL. I'm done taking this as of today, and I don't intend to touch it ever again! The only slight upside was I went up a bra size, but my chest hurts all the time now so that's a 50/50 win regardless. I would not recommend even trying this!"
"I'm 26 and have been taking this for about 5 years. I didn't experience side effects Besides some light spotting at first. I gained about 8 lbs in the first 6 months but I dont know if they're related. It did increase my cup size though. I barely get a period anymore and it's very light. If anything, this has worked so well that i'm afraid to try any other forms of birth control. This drug is actually prescribed to treat acne so i'm surprised to see a review saying it caused it. I get maybe 3 or 4 pimples a year and my skin is clear besides some mild oily tzone/chin. I didn't give this a full 10 because it is annoying to have to remember to take it at the same time every day. I definitely recommed this pill."
"It’s going to be 1 year in December that I’ve been on Tarina. The first 6-7 months were great. I’d get my period when I’d get to the brown pills and I had lighter periods which is a big thumbs up from all the heavy periods I had prior to being on birth control. These last few months have been a bit odd. I haven’t had a period and I can honestly say YES I’d love to have my period. It’s been about 3 months that I haven’t had one. I’ve taken pregnancy test and take the pill every day on time. My hair has thinned out. I don’t break out. My sex drive is great. No dryness. I do get emotional here and there. & I’ve actually lost 17lbs. I don’t know how to feel about switching just so I can have a frequent period."
"The Tarina Fe 1/20 was the first birth control pill I’ve gotten on. It wasn’t too bad. All though I gained around 10 or 15 pounds after being on it for a year (recently just started the Blisovi Fe pill), it did clear up my acne pretty good. But I would get very emotional at times where I would literally tear up for the slightest thing then become moody the next second. My period was only 4 days instead of being 7 days and I would get cramps but they weren’t too bad and my periods weren’t too heavy but not too light. Also my sex drive didn’t decreased! Hopefully this helps someone! :)"
"I have been taking this Tarina Fe 1/20 pill for 4 months now. My periods have definitely become a lot lighter since taking the pill. They were irregular for the first two months but the last couple of months they have been normal and are lighter than they used to be. The pill has caused me to gain some weight (about 5 pounds) since I started taking it. This all happened within the first month and my weight has stayed the same since. The pill does cause some random cramps. But it does everything it’s supposed to do."
"I’ve only been taking this birth control for about 2 and a half months, but it has already significantly decreased my acne. I used to get 5-7 pimples a week and now I have none! I decided to take this after having had horrible pain due to an ovarian cyst and often small little pains during ovulation. So far, I have not had any pain and my period is incredibly light-almost as if I don’t have one. I was afraid of possible weight gain, but none has happened. This birth control works so well for me."
"I’ve been on this Tarina Fe 1/20 pill for 1 month and wow... I’ve experienced chest, back and under arm pain. Mood changes that consisted of sad, anxious, a little depressed and extremely PARANOID. My period was about 2 days late and I couldn’t tell if it was spotting or just a lighter period (TMI: my period was dark brown). I gained weight in my arms, mid belly, breasts and thighs. I had some acne on my forehead that was red-white heads and some red dots on my chin. Again, TMI, my discharge was thick and milky white and came in large amounts daily. It’s definitely not my favorite pill, but I hope this helped anyone."
"I’ve been on this pill since I was 17, I’m now 23 and all of a sudden this pill is giving me a spotting period that lasts 4 days and then a week goes by and I’m good then I’m on my period then a week goes by and he next week spotting, and so on. I’ve even tested it going off the pill and my period went back to normal. But every time I go back on I spot, no period, period, no period, spot and so one and so forth. I don’t know what to do."
"Horrible. I'm on my second pack. I used to be a happy person and in love but with this birth control, I feel emotionally unavailable and irritated all the time. I'm no longer happy with the things that made me happy, I've had yeast infections, depression and anxiety. The periods never stopped and the cramps are horrible. I wouldn't recommend it."
"I started taking this birth control about 5 months ago and I’m not too sure about it. My face has been breaking out more, compared to the other pills I have taken, my periods are extremely light, cramps and back pain every month, mood swings and headaches. I do not recommend this birth control at all, there are definitely better options for you."
"For me this Tarina Fe 1/20 is the ABSOLUTE WORST PILL EVER I just got off of it after 2 whole years starting when I was 16 years old. Before taking this pill I was happy and skinny with minor depression and anxiety that I've had my entire life and as soon as I went on this pill and everyday for the last 2 years I've had the worst depression EVER. I cry everyday and I have anxiety attacks, everything makes me cry and I had such bad anxiety I was diagnosed with tachycardia because my AVERAGE HEART-RATE WAS 150. I still have acne and cramps just not as bad. I got hives from heat exposure, bloating, spotting, no sleep, chest pains, muscle spams, dehydration, vaginal dryness . literally every negative side effect but ENHANCED ."
"I started this birth control 6 months ago. In that short span of time I've had THREE yeast infections. I've never had one before and I have no idea what could of caused it other than this birth control. Only other downside is my period cramps are extremely worse than they were before I started the pill. Before it was 3-4 days of regular bleeding, with cramps on the first day. Now it lasts 2 days, barely any bleeding but the most painful cramps I've ever experienced. Whenever those two days come around I have to stay home and normally take pills to sleep through it. That's how painful it is! Other than that everything else was fine."
"I'm 5'5 150lbs normally. I was diagnosed with Endometriosis and PCOS within a 2 month span. Suffering with intense pain between cycles and fluid was in my lower abdomen according to an MRI. Tarina Fe is not the best when it comes to mood swings, but it's worked for the endometriosis pain and now my cycles are light to nonexistent. It is big on water retention which causes weight gain. I wasn't sweating well during my workouts and not peeing as much water as I consumed which scared me for awhile. The effect was my abdomen would bloat, I wear waist beads so I notice it more. No amount of diet change and exercise worked to get that 10-15lb fluctuation down. I spiked at 167lbs. Doctor thought I was going in on hamburgers or something for awhile. When I stopped the birth control for a one month period (after 6 months on it) the weight fell off like melted butter. Once I started back its creeped up again. My skin has cleared up a bit. I haven't noticed any pigmentation problems."
"I've taken this pill for about 2 weeks and so far. My acne has cleared up significantly, I've actually lost weight but my breast size went up by a cup size and my moods have evened out a lot. My boyfriend noticed the difference immediately."
"Before I started Tarina Fe my weight would fluctuate between 94-96 pounds. When I started my first month I started eating a lot more and I got very emotional. Now on the 3rd week of the 2nd month I finally hit 100 pounds, my boobs are sore and I’ve also been extremely sleepy on both packs."
"I am starting my second week of being on this pill (this is my first time trying any forms of birth control) and it has given me bad acid reflux, nausea to the point where I threw up some blood one morning. I'm mostly taking this pill to clear up my acne and so far it has gotten worse. I have not experienced any spotting or bleeding.I have experienced some random cramping. It has so much side effects and I'm not sure if its worth it :/. My sex drive has increased but oh lord I am so sensitive about everything."
"Personally I didn't have any issues with this birth control pill, actually the only brand that I would prefer now, after testing out some other brands. I was on the pill for 3-5 months and didn't get pregnant. My periods came regularly during the sugar cycle. After taking 2-3 sugar pills, my light periods, compared to my heavy periods when I wasn't on the pill, would last 3-4 days until I would be back on my active pill. The only negative outcome would have been the small emotional outbreaks that I had, of me crying over the stupidest things. As well as, for me, during intercourse, my vagina seemed to be very abnormally dry, that was no fun."
Reviews may be edited to correct grammar/spelling or to remove inappropriate language and content. Reviews that appear to be created by parties with a vested interest are not published. This information is not intended to endorse any particular medication. While these reviews may be helpful, they are not a substitute for the expertise, knowledge, and judgement of healthcare professionals.
Learn more about Birth Control
- Antibiotics and Birth Control Pill Interactions: Fact or Fallacy?
- Birth Control and Alcohol: Do They Interact?
- Birth Control Guide
- Birth Control Pills - Breakthrough Bleeding
- Birth Control Pills - Periods
- Emergency Contraception: What You Need to Know
- Grapefruit and Birth Control Pills: Your Questions Answered
- Hormonal Birth Control Methods (Non-Pill Options)
- Missed your birth control pill? Here's what to do
- Non-hormonal Birth Control Methods
- Permanent Birth Control Methods
Medicine.com guides (external)
More about Tarina Fe 1 / 20 (ethinyl estradiol / norethindrone)
- Check interactions
- Imprints, shape & color data
- Side effects
- Dosage information
- During pregnancy
- Drug class: contraceptives
Patient resources
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"I have been taking Tarina for almost two weeks and I’ve experience zero side effects. My period was shorter (only 4 days instead of 7) and lighter, I had no cramps, my acne is subsided, and I feel completely normal almost to the point where I was wondering if it was even working. I read so many terrible/scary reviews about this birth control but the few that were good kept me willing to try it. I know not everyone’s bodies are the same and I may be one of the few who have a positive experience, but I just wanted to come on here and say that I love it! hopefully someone reading this will find it worth a shot (you can always switch, but you might be like me and have no side effects!)"