Comments on: The Pill To Treat Hormonal Acne?

By: Sara

Sara — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 22:57:45 +0000

I have been on a generic brand of orho tri cyclen (trisprintec) and have noticed darkening above my upper lip over the past 6-7 months. I am probably seeing it more now because the sun has been out. I am on this birth control b/c I do have hormonal acne. I am 27 and broke out last year worse than I ever have. I am debating getting off this birth control to see if the melasma goes away… how long after getting off birth contol did you start seeing your melasma lighten?

By: mamibg

mamibg — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 05:25:18 +0000

I’m taking ortho tri cyclen lo and was interested about its research in acne…in thepill.com it clearly states that there has not been any research performed to wether it improves acne. Whyyyyyyyy?

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:37:57 +0000

I found your website a couple years ago and have been on Yasmin ever since. It has done WONDERS for my skin! Although I still get a bit of acne, its nothing horrible like it used to be.

Switching birth control pills for my acne is NOT something I want to mess with, but I feel that I need to. There is currently a lawsuit against Bayer, the makers of YAZ and YASMIN for serious and life threatening side effects. It has a different hormone in it than any other birth control pills called “drosperinone” that raises potassium levels very high. It is causing
deep vein thrombrosis (blood clots), pulmonary embolism, strokes, and heart attacks. My Dr. said it shouldn’t bother me unless I smoke (which I don’t), However,
I have a really bad problem with circulation in my legs already, and started getting spider veins and a vericose vein when I was 16. That was ten years ago, and have noticed since being on yasmin the spider veins are getting significantly worse and faster. I had been having throbbing in one particular spot on my right calf for several months. Two weeks ago, in the same spot as the throbbing, a huge purple bruise with a knot in the center of it showed up without my hitting it or running in to anything. It scared my so badly I went to the ER on Christmas night because I thought I may have a blood clot.

My gut is telling me that I need to stop with Yasmin and find something else that will help my acne, but not cause problems in my veins. I have written down the list of “good” bcp, but can you make a recommendation of which one to try first? (I already know that I cannot tolerate Ortho Tri Cyclen becaues of how it affects my mood)

Thank you so much for your help! Your website has been a lifesaver for me!

By: pillpopper

pillpopper — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:14:04 +0000

I have been using Ortho Tri Cyclen lo and while it helps, I still get some breakouts. A breakout could be anything from one huge blemish to 3 or 4 bad ones. I definitely want to try something with more estrogen. The doctors always put me on lo dose, probably because I get migraines but honestly, I am more worried about the ance right now than the headaches. I am sick of having awful skin. It effects my confidence and makes me depressed. I was thinking about ordering some Diane-35 from Canada but I have read a few horror stories. I don’t think my situation is considered severe acne, I might give Brevicon a try or Cyclessa. If all else fails, I will get Diane-35 or Spironolactone. Not sure if I should try the gyn or dermatologist to get that, maybe an endo? Thanks for the article, it was informative. I have noticed the same things as you, I am not a dr but I have done research and I know my acne is hormonal. It is hard to get doctors to admit that the problem is hormonal. The dermotologist always tries to give me topical treatments, they never do anything except dry out my skin.

By: Miyako

Miyako — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:16:28 +0000

I heard that the higher the estrogen level in the pill, the more likely a person is to gain weight from it. I guess it’s either gain the weight or have acne then. Dilemma!

By: Esther

Esther — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:26:47 +0000

I am Asian, 22. I am on my 6 month on Microgestin Fe/120… So far it’s treating my acne 60/40.. 60% of the time my skin is Soft with very light blemishes.. the other time, there are blemishes here and there.. and few breakouts.
I’m reading a magazine issue Allure April 2009 about (Ethnicity and Aging) and with Asians the magazines reads that their issue are sunspots and can start as soon as early 20s. I’ve had sunspots but they are more visible than 6 months ago. But that’s a different topic there.
I guess contraceptive pills effect things like sunspots, blotches aka melasma, hyperpigmentation , brown skin patchesetc.

By: Emi

Emi — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:19:24 +0000

I always used to have a tendency for freckles in summer, but summer only and they were small and not many.
Since the pill they have increased yearly. At first I did not know what it was, now that I have been reading more about melasma I know I have them and I am considering getting off the pill since not even sunscreen seems to help.

And yes, I do have hormonal breakouts..so bye, bye clear skin :(

By: Sher

Sher — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:09:14 +0000

I am almost 43 and after turning 40 my skin started to break out almost every two weeks. I would break out right before ovulation and then again before my period. I held off doing anything because I thought I would have another baby… These were obvious signs of perimenopause even if menopause is 8-10 years away. It sucked! And I mean I was getting those huge honkers under the skin!

I decided 8 days ago to go back on the pill (Seasonale) because of my painful periods (endometriosis) and in 8 short days my skin is so wonderful! It is so smooth, not a pimple in sight and I believe now that I was experiencing hormonal acne that was not helped by topical creams. I’m also not going to have more than 4 periods per year on this new pill.

By: ANON

ANON — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:57:58 +0000

microgestin made my acne so much worse. it’s been one week and i’m breaking out so much and it’s not any other factor – i’ve been on the same diet, exercise and avoiding dairy as usual.

By: Jeni - Savvy Skin

Jeni - Savvy Skin — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:17:26 +0000

Yeah, I have an article about how to prevent Melasma. I had it too when I was first on the pill, but now I don’t have it anymore: http://www.savvyskin.com/how-to-prevent-melasma