VyLibra and Acne: What Users Say

• Mea...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• June 10, 2019

For Birth Control "I take this in the afternoon before I go to bed and have never gotten pregnant. It can take 3 months to have your hormones stabilize around them, so don't give up too soon. Of course, my emotions go crazy sometimes, and I get some acne (as to be expected of an 18-year-old). My hormones would be so much worse if I got pregnant. Period has shortened to 5 days instead of 7, still get bad cramps, but again, have gone a few years without getting pregnant. By the way, it was called something else before its name changed a few months ago, so VyLibra is the generic of Ortho-Cyclen. I've gotten it for FREE through Planned Parenthood, even though I don't have insurance. If you don't make enough money, they can cover the cost. Oh, and they don't tell your parents if you are getting it for periods."

• nxo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 16, 2020

For Birth Control "First time taking VyLibra birth control, and I'm never going to use these pills ever again. This past week has been a nightmare. At first, when I read reviews, I was like, how bad can it be? But man, the first 2 days were going fine, got about 1-2 pimples, but that's expected. On the third day, I got weird leg cramping and swollen ankles, which I iced and they went down, so whatever, I just brushed it off. But on the fourth day, I had arm pain, chest pain, abdominal pain, and my anxiety started to go crazy. I had panic attacks at least 3 times a day, and I was scared I had a blood clot somewhere in my body. On the 5th-6th day, I felt lightheaded and my breath was shaky, played it off as just anxiety though. Today would've been my full week, but I went to urgent care because I was so scared and my chest was in pain. Nothing wrong, thankfully, but they advised me to stay off the pills. I'm now feeling a lot better, but these pills are honestly the worst."

• 39O...
• October 23, 2021

For Birth Control "This was prescribed as a substitute for Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo (which has been discontinued), and I’m not as happy with it as I was with Ortho. My breakouts have actually increased compared to not being on birth control at all. My biggest complaint is that my normal scent “down there” has changed drastically to the point of extreme embarrassment during intimacy. I even stopped the Tri VyLibra for a month, and the embarrassing odor disappeared, only to reappear when I started back on Tri VyLibra the following month. This embarrassing odor never went away, even after taking the Tri VyLibra multiple months in a row and ONLY disappeared when I discontinued it for a month!"

• Ano...
• November 7, 2020

For Birth Control "Before I started taking Tri-Vylibra, I was on the mini-pill, which made me super depressed and gave me bad anxiety. It also broke me out and gave me my period twice a month. I switched to Tri-Vylibra a little over a month ago. So far, I have had absolutely no weight gain, my skin is starting to clear up, and I am back to being happy. Also, I got my period two days after I started the reminder pills, and it was very light. I usually have bad cramps, and this time I only had cramps on the first day of my period, but they were very minimal. I highly recommend this birth control."

• Liz...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 22, 2020

For Birth Control "I took Ortho Tri-Cyclen for years and loved it... until it stopped working. From then on, I have jumped from birth control to birth control trying to find one that actually works for me. I have too much estrogen and struggle with acne, unnecessary moodiness, and depression. Tri-VyLibra seemed to be working just fine until I started having terrible chest pain. I have never had chest pain in my life until I took this birth control. I would not recommend taking it!"

• pet...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 7, 2023

For Birth Control "I've been taking this for about a month now, as it's my first pill. I've taken it every day at the exact same time, and all the pregnancy tests I've taken have been negative. The pros of VyLibra have to be (personally) an increase in breast tissue. The cons are it's made me more moody than I normally am (I'm bipolar), I've seen an increase in acne when I've never had it on my face before, it's made me break out on my butt, I've gained about 5 lbs since starting it, my libido has definitely dropped, and when I skipped my period, I still had spotting. It's also made me more sensitive to smells, I'm either constipated or it's lava, and finally, my entire body just stinks. Like I had to switch to a stronger deodorant, and I used one that's supposed to protect me from smelling for 72 hours, and it works for 8. Despite all the negative side effects, I like it for now. I like not spending money on feminine napkins, Plan B's, condoms, and I love not worrying about being pregnant. I'd try a new one though."

• pet...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 7, 2023

For Birth Control "I've been taking this for about a month now, as it's my first pill. I've taken it every day at the exact same time, and all the pregnancy tests I've taken have been negative. The pros of VyLibra have to be (personally) an increase in breast tissue. The cons are it's made me more moody than I normally am (I'm bipolar), I've seen an increase in acne when I've never had it on my face before, it's made me break out on my butt, I've gained about 5 lbs since starting it, my libido has definitely dropped, and when I skipped my period, I still had spotting. It's also made me more sensitive to smells, I'm either constipated or it's lava, and finally, my entire body just stinks. Like I had to switch to a stronger deodorant, and I used one that's supposed to protect me from smelling for 72 hours, and it works for 8. Despite all the negative side effects, I like it for now. I like not spending money on feminine napkins, Plan B's, condoms, and I love not worrying about being pregnant. I'd try a new one though."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 2, 2022

For Birth Control "This pill gave me anxiety and made my acne worse. I tried taking it consistently for three months and had migraines with auras and lots of cystic acne. I also had vaginal odor. I stopped taking it for two months, and it all went away. Then I started it again, and only a week in, all of the symptoms are back. Never taking it again."

• Van...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 15, 2022

For Birth Control "This is the worst birth control I have ever taken in my life. I've been having severe anxiety, cramps in the heart area, bleeding, severe nausea, and my face had finally cleared after years of work, and now I'm experiencing breakouts and headaches."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 30, 2022

For Birth Control "I have tried a few different birth controls throughout my life: Depo shot and Nexplanon. Both made me spot between periods, bleed for months straight, gain weight, and develop horrible hormonal acne. I decided to switch to the pill just in case I had bad side effects and also for acne. I’ve been taking it for 5 months now, and this is the only birth control that hasn’t given me horrible side effects. My periods are really stable and around the same time every month. Better yet, my acne is finally getting better."

• Mad...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 2, 2020

For Birth Control "This birth control Tri VyLibra pill gave me more acne. I had an allergic reaction to the IUD, so I switched to this. It was a huge plus that this was supposed to help make my acne go away, but it did the exact opposite. At the exact same time every month, I would get extremely painful cysts on my face, even though I had never had cystic acne before. On top of that, I got smaller, equally painful pimples on my jaw and forehead. I did some googling, and a few articles I read said it might get worse before it gets better, but it should improve after 3 months. At the end of month 4, I gave up and switched to Junel. Within a week, my acne disappeared. Tri VyLibra works well for a lot of women, but it just didn’t work out for me. I didn’t get pregnant, though!"

• Mad...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 2, 2020

For Birth Control "This birth control Tri VyLibra pill gave me more acne. I had an allergic reaction to the IUD, so I switched to this. It was a huge plus that this was supposed to help make my acne go away, but it did the exact opposite. At the exact same time every month, I would get extremely painful cysts on my face, even though I had never had cystic acne before. On top of that, I got smaller, equally painful pimples on my jaw and forehead. I did some googling, and a few articles I read said it might get worse before it gets better, but it should improve after 3 months. At the end of month 4, I gave up and switched to Junel. Within a week, my acne disappeared. Tri VyLibra works well for a lot of women, but it just didn’t work out for me. I didn’t get pregnant, though!"

• Oli...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 26, 2021

For Birth Control "Been taking VyLibra for a year now, and I've had good and bad days with this. Currently, my third birth control I've been on, and it actually brightens my mood from the other birth controls I've been prescribed. But I will not continue on it after my supply runs out. It has caused me to start spotting two weeks before my period, and that's super annoying. It has kind of controlled my acne, I only see a few blemishes and a bit of weight gain, but nothing too bad. 5/10, not horrible but not great either."

• Anonymous
• February 28, 2022

For Birth Control "I initially got on this birth control for my acne, but it didn't seem to help, and it just made my acne worse. My boyfriend and I were a very active couple, very intimate, and after being on VyLibra for a month, I noticed I had no interest in my partner whatsoever, to the point I would even back away from a simple kiss. After being on it for 3 months, things just got worse and worse until I stopped taking it, and after a month of not taking it, I was 'back to normal.'"

• Ter...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 10, 2022

For Birth Control "I specifically asked the doctor to give me pills that will clear up my skin. This made it so much worse. I’m extremely upset. This has given me painful, hard acne that I have never dealt with. I haven’t even been taking it for a whole 2 weeks. My face is bumpy, and none of my normal acne products are working. I feel too insecure to go out. I’m no longer going to take these pills."

• Gir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 22, 2023

For Birth Control "Broke out in many pimples when I didn’t have any."

• Lyl...
• August 5, 2022

For Birth Control "This birth control has caused me really painful acne and made it so much worse. My chin has never been so broken out and in so much pain, I will be switching."