Breakouts symptoms and conditions

I'm 21 years old, this is my 3rd brand of birth control pills. I've never had a problem with the pills I've had in the past, but I've moved frequently and my insurance changed. So my different doctors prescribed different pills. I started taking Loestrin 24 Fe two Sundays ago and since have had constant nausea and occasional vomiting. I've not only had mood swings but also extreme depression. I am usually a very upbeat and "happy-go-lucky" person but lately and very randomly do I find myself with thoughts of worthlessness and unprovoked guilt. I attend college and have even missed a couple of classes because I didn't feel worthy of going. I usually have clear skin with occasional small breakouts before I menstruate but currently found my face to be broken out all along my chin area and am not due for another period for another couple of weeks. My reasons for taking birth control have changed and I believe I am going to discontinue my use and notify my doctor.

I'm 21 years old and I have had the WORST experiences with Loestrin24 Fe. DO NOT TAKE THIS SATANIC PILL. Seriously. This was the first birth control I was ever put on. My doctor put me on it because she said the low dose of estrogen would help my bad cramps (but I really think she was just trying to promote this new pill...because when I started it it was still pretty new). I started this pill before I turned 21, this past March, and for the first few months the only things I noticed were spotting when I didn't take it at the EXACT time everyday (which I soon set an alarm for and did take it at 9 am daily) and also, my breasts definitely got bigger and I didn't have as many breakouts as I used to. I also experienced being really depressed and upset for no reason or being really angry for no reason. After a few months, I started to get headaches a lot more often, have vivid weird dreams that I would remember the next day, I had trouble going to sleep at night (insomnia)...and I looked these up to see if they were symptoms of this pill...and they are. The worst was when I PASSED OUT the day I started my new pack of pills 2 months in a row! I just went to my doctor and had several tests done and they said that they were not positive, but it is a possibility that the passing out was related to my birth control. I passed out the day after the 4 placebo/iron pills (that I did not take, which could have also been a factor) which was the day I started my new pack...when your estrogen shoots up. I take my pills at 9 am and I passed out around noon in both cases. I switched to another birth control last month, but now I am completely off of birth control because the new pill made me lose my appetite and I just do not want to deal with putting these things into my body. I do NOT recommend this birth control to ANYONE. This pill should not be prescribed, especially after reading about how a large percentage of women have such awful experiences with this pill. I'm so excited to be DONE with Loestrin24 Fe and done with birth control in general. To me, birth control is not worth feeling awful all the time and having weird side effects when I could be living problem-free otherwise. I just wanted to share my thoughts and experiences and I hope that perhaps others will have better experiences with this pill than most of us seem to be having!

I had my Mirena inserted in May 2009, I no longer have my period. No mood swings, no cramping, no bloating, no headaches other than when my 2 year old has her tantrums. I love it. I wear a panty liner just in case, however I still haven't spotted. Did it hurt when it was put in? Of course, you’re having something shaped like a T put into you cervics which should be tightly closed. The pain after the procedure was like period cramping. No weight gain no breakouts. I absolutely love it.

I'm on my second week of Loestrin. I started on the first day of my period, I had two heavy days and 3 days of light spotting....only requiring a panty liner. I have had a bit of hormonal acne crop up, which I was prepared for, as my skin doesn't like change of any kind. I'm sure this will even out over the next couple of months as my body adjusts to the hormones in Loestrin. Several years ago I was on ortho-cyclen and when I first started on that bcp I had similar skin issues, so I'll give it a couple of months before becoming concerned. Other than the breakouts I have had no negative side effects so far. That said...I think judging a pill that switches up your hormone levels prior to being on it longer than 2 months is a bit premature. I realize that I have to be patient and wait out some side effects as my body adjusts.

I always had breakouts, but nothing too severe that a face wash and makeup couldn't handle. Then, about 2 months ago, it started to get really bad! I started breaking out along my jaw line, and neck. It slowly started to spread its way up my face. It was large, red, and very painful. My boyfriend notice that I wasn't my happy go lucky self anymore, due to the acne, and suggested I go to the Derm, his treat, since Im a waitress, with no insurance.
The Derm said I have a severe form of cystic acne, and prescribed me Doxycycline. I was so excited that I was gonna have my skin back, although not perfect, but better. I had formed what looked like bloodclots underneathe my skin, where Im guessing the cysts broken up. (pretty awful, right!)
First day I took it, no problem. I had picked it up after work, so its was later in the day, after of course, I ate. So, I figured the next morning, I would follow the directions to a "T" because I needed to have my skin back. BIG mistake!! DO NOT TAKE THIS ON AN EMPTY STOMACH! Wow!! What an awful feeling! I threw up for about 15 minutes. (not sure why they recommend you to do that anyway, your not supposed to take Tylenol on an empty stomach) But I felt much better, and continued my day.
Yesterday was my 5th day on the medicine, and I noticed that I was very "bitchy" ( my boyfriends exact words ) felt very irritated and moody. But, I can deal with it, its not that bad. Also, had a lump in my throat, but that went away in about 20 minutes. But, we went to the grocery store, and I noticed that my eyes were very dry, and would burn as if you were having a staring contest and would leave your eyes open without blinking. I also noticed that I felt a little dizzy, and my boyfriend said that I felt shaky. I have hypoglycemia, so I figured I was just hungry. But, Im pretty sure that its the medicine now, from those before me listed similar side effects.
Im hoping that I don't get other side effects like other people listed. That would make me stop taking it all together, and would send me marching back to the Derm, for another treatment.
I have noticed that in about a week, my cysts have reduced in size pretty good, and are healing pretty well. My bloodclots are all gone, and Im starting to feel like the beautiful woman I once was! It seems very promising, and I look forward to continuing my Doxycycline!

I got the mirena put in Jan 09 and i am already going to get it taken out. I only got it because i hated trying to remember to take the pill and the doctor said i am too young to have my tubes tied (which is what i wanted after having my son). So I got it put in...at first everything was okay...I had a few breakouts of acne and gained a little weight but it wasn't so bad. Well now almost 6 months later i have gained 30 lbs all in my stomach and my face and back have had the worst acne ever. I tried exercising...i even tried weight watchers thinking it was just me...NOPE. I didn't lose one pound. So im getting it taken out and hopefully will go back down the the size 8 i was after i had my son. An 8 I can handle...a 12 is unacceptable to me.

Just want to survey everyone and ask for responses for the following 3 questions:

1. how long did you keep your Mirena and if you no longer have it, why did you have it removed?

2. how many of you had your thyroid checked? who's came back abnormal? what were the levels?

(I'm a medical student doing research on this one since I believe the levonorgestrel affects our thyroid hormone. My TSH was elevated to 5.2 which is considered "subclinical HYPOthyroidism". This was mid cycle when my natural progesterone AND synthetic progestin were cumulatively high. When I had it rechecked 6 weeks later (around my period when any natural progesterone level is gone) it was normalized at 1.5. So I think that the P+P screws up our thyroid and can throw us into a high TSH and "hypothyroid state". The opposite effect may be true during menstruation and we can become HYPERthyroid for a few days... hence the really bad anxiety?!)

3. where is everyone from? perhaps we can have support group meetings?

I have been taking welbutrin for about 4 years now. I am going to tell my exact dose and type since I am trying to figure out from other peoples comments if there is a difference in side effect in SR vs XL . I have taken 150 XL and the went down to 75 mg Sr because i was trying to decrease the dosage and come off entirely eventually. I have suffered with acne all the four years but thought it was stress (Daughter became type i diabetic and can't ever get her blood sugar stable and the my son developed a bone tumor not long after she was diagnosed). Anyway we finally got his problem resolved with good results but hers is a blood sugar nightmare everyday. So you can see why I thought the acne was from stress . Never even crossed my mind it could be wellbutrin. I noticed my skin was better for a while when my dose was just 75 mg sr. But alas the bone tumor came back again for my son and had to go back to 150xl. Skin has hundreds of little white tiny tiny white heads. Is this the type of acne other people are experiencing?

ive been on femcon for about 2 and 1/2 months. Im 18 and haven't had any major side effects..the first day i was on it i had nausea but after that i felt fine. ive noticed my cravings going up the wall and im trying to control them! As for acne, its horrible!! ive always struggled with acne but im getting painful cystic pimples all on my jawline and chin. and now its starting to spread to my cheeks. I hate it and i don't know what to do. I will continue the pill to see if my body adjusts. I went on this pill to clear up my skin and hopefully it works! anyone else with this issue and has it helped your skin?

I have been taking Singulair for one week now due to my exercise induced asthma and allergic asthmatic symptoms. I feel very stressed out and anxious and yell at my parents a lot. Also, I feel kind of paranoid, like I feel as if somebody is watching me at all times. It is scary because I've only been on it a week. Also, my face is red and blotchy and my acne has gone from very little bumps to full blown breakouts all over. I have a barking cough and runny nose now that the doctor prescribed it. When I cough I have a pain on my left side that feels like someone is stabbing me.

I am so glad to come across your complaint! I have had the mirena for 10 months now. I have a list of side effects not even listed on the pamphlet on or the website. My side effects consist of:
exhaustion
extremely moody
breakouts, on my face,neck, and back
heavier more frequent periods
lost my sex drive
weight gain ( I have always struggled to gain a pound now in the past 10 months I have gained 17 pounds)
depression

So now that I have read everyone's complaints I am definitely convinced it is the mirena causing all of my problems. I am sure Mirena can be a good thing for some people but, it just isn't working for me. I am now going to make an appt. to have mine removed.

Had anyone ever experienced breakouts? I have been on it for less than two months and my face is outta control with pimples. I just took it out a week in a half earlier then I was suppose too. I am done with it.

This is truly amazing-reading a lot of these posts feels like I should have researched this BC months before. I too have experienced the night sweats, the lack of memory, the weird attitude changes, the lack of concern for life and the constant state of fatigue. I started researching this drug yesterday after my last rashy episode (it feels like I'm itching underneath my skin). I'd never had joint pain before but now it's over the top. I'm creaking and cracking like crazy and here I thought all of these symptoms where characteristic of aging..but hold up! I'm only 34! So it is with my chagrin that I took my last YAZ pill ever!
I initially took it to help ease my breakouts which it initially did-but now I'm breaking out again all over my face and chest area--and I'm experiencing 3weeks worth of menstruation. I have been on this pill for over a year and a half and really when I sat down and analyzed a lot of what was posted here and in other sites, I could only point my symptoms back to one common denominator. I even started on Nexium for heartbearn and indigestion and constant stomach irregularity..and now that I think about it--it all started after Yaz. Wow-who knew so much could happen from one little pill. Women beware...I can only share what I've experienced. Hope it helps someone else.

I am 27, married, and have been on birth control continuously for four years (right before we got married). I have been on Loestrin 24 Fe for five months and just stopped three days ago. I thought there was something wrong with me. Our whole marriage I've had sex drive issues, depression, tiredness, feeling sick all the time, and headaches. All of it got even worse on Loestrin 24. In talking with a co-worker and then doing research a few days ago, it occurred to me that my these problems could be a result of the synthetic hormones I've been taking in the form of birth control. Prior to Loestrin 24, I was on Ortho-Tricyclen, Ortho-Tricyclen Lo, and Yaz. I suffer from endometriosis and have problems with severe cramps and bleeding. My Gyn thought Loestrin 24 would help, with fewer inactive pills. Since taking Loestrin, the side effects mentioned above have gotten worse. In addition, I have had cystic breakouts on my chin and neck, horrible vaginal dryness, fluctuations between nausea and ravenous hunger (I've gained 8 lbs. in five months!), chest pain, muscle and joint pain that gets to be almost unbearable, moodiness, anxiety and paranoia issues, and hot and cold flashes. I think Loestrin 24 should be taken off the market. I've only been off of it for three days and already feel a bit better. My husband and I are now researching natural family planning. No more synthetic hormones for me. Keeping your body's estrogen levels so artificially high all the time is bad news. Not to mention it is a leading cause of breast cancer.

I"m 28 years old and decided to get the Mirena after having my third baby. I've had it since Feb 08. Since then I've had break-outs all over my body including my neck (who breaks out on their neck! ) on my chest, back, and face, and apart from all that I have been having heavy periods. I thought the Mirena was supposed to give you lighter or no periods at all. My sex drive is fine but I did notice my hair doesn't grow as fast as it used to. I am seriously thinking about getting this removed I can't wear desend clothes because of my break-outs.

I had it put in in March 08 6 weeks after I had my daughter. Since the first month I was on it Ive never really been off my period for more than 2 weeks and in between my periods i have light spotting and it is really annoying. My face looks horrible , I too like a lot of you have terrible acne now I started using a new make up by Mac and felt this is what had to have caused my breakouts well I tossed out my expensive makeup and went to a mineral make up thinking it was causing my breakouts well that was 6 months ago and NO IMPROVEMENT! so today I decided that I would get to the root of the problem and it had run across my mind that it may be due to the Mirena but never would I have thought so many people have had to deal with my same exact symptoms , besides the bad acne I'm also always tired, depressed at times very easy to cry about absolutely nothing! i almost sound like a nutcase I am going to call first thing tomorrow and get this thing out of me I've also had to deal with pain after sex severe laying on the floor in the bathroom type pain what a nightmare and i am being totally honest no exaggeration here

I had my yearly OB appt. earlier this month. I had been on the pill before. She gave me free samples of Loestrin24. HORRIBLE! I never had any negative side effects with bc pill. With this one my sex drive is GONE. My mood swings are terrible. My appetite is gone because of my nausea and intestinal woes. Not only that I am having acne on my face, chest and back. I am 25 years old and I haven't gotten this type of acne in years. Ridiculous. I DO NOT recommend this pill to ANYONE!

How can I describe my thanks to this site and everybody telling their stories? Thank you oh soooo much!!!

My not so short story: Im on my second Mirena, in total now for just over 8 years. The first Mirena was all joy, periods stopped, no side effects whatsoever. Then I got the second Mirena after I removed the first after over 5 years (my gyn recommended keeping it in for longer but I didn't want to take the risk).

And for the past 2 years my ACNE problems started, first only one or two cystic acne once a month or a couple of small ones here and there. Nothing major. But for the past year, my skin / face makes me feel like a freak. So I went to the derm, got put on Accutane, more meds with a yard long list of side affects. Had to go of Accutane cos my right eye's sight deteriorated so bad I couldn't drive home at night. Went to my house doctor, he wanted to take me of the Mirena asap and refered me to a new gyn, cos mine moved away and I was stuck. But the new gyn did not want to take it out, but rather put me on a retinoid cream, cos it wasn't the acne that caused the acne.... yea right. So 5 months I gave this retinoid cream... I feel like a freak with my face, both cheeks inflamed red bumps under the skin, large cystic acne everywhere... sigh.

But during this 5 months I found a web site acne.org and here I made friends and read stories and hoping and praying, even believing things are getting better, but they weren't. If I look at pics I took of myself 5 months ago and now... sadly things are worse. My self confidence is gone, and I don't even want to have sex with my husband with the light on!!! And then last week somebody posted on the acne site some posts regarding zinc supplements, and I read and researched more on zinc and acne and found that your skin needs zinc to be healthy and having no zinc could be because of to much copper or copper toxicity. So then I researched copper toxicity and found some web sites with references to birth control.... and a bright light went on... and I found this site...

I am glad to say I saw my normal trusted house doc again last night, and made an appointment to have the thing, Mirena, removed first thing Monday morning. I have stopped using any meds like the retinoid cream for my face and cant wait for Monday. I just hope my face returns to normal quickly.... time lines anyone? I had no trouble with acne ever until now.... and Im 35!!! Udult acne my @#$ :)

My right eye now needs laser surgery to remove a layer or something, Im seeing an eye specialist soon, and this was caused by the accutane drying up my eyes so much! :(

I will report back to let other ladies know how it went and how I am progressing... thinking of taking a daily photo of my skin for reference purposes.

Pray for me please, I really need it....

C.

Wow! So after reading all of the notes, I don't feel like a nut! I have been extremely exhausted at all times but not able to fall asleep and stay asleep. Then when I do FINALLY fall asleep I wake up about 2-3 times a night drenched in sweat. These "self sauna sessions" I feel have led to a change in my type of acne...my most major breakouts before NR consisted of 1 to 2 pimples (even in my teen years!!) I am now having a constant 5 to 7 pimples on my face at all times, huge, deep, painful ones! On to my emotional state....I am a realistic, down to earth person who NEVER pre NR, broke out in fits of anger or crying. Now, my poor boyfriend just looks at me like an alien has taken over my body....not that I blame him. We will not go into my weight gain, which even though I eat really healthy and go to the gym 5 times a week can not seem to shake!!! So, long story short, I switched to NR back in September of 2008 and have been thinking that I have gone insane since then....today the dang thing is coming out of my body and I am calling my gyno on Monday! OH, the ONE pro of NR is that my severe migraines have stopped occurring....

I am on my third month of Yaz, and I honestly don't know what to make of it. I has cleared up my acne for the most part, however, I still get new breakouts (which is obviously frustrating). It has helped with my cramps and backaches when I'm on my period, although I don't start until my 3rd placebo and I finally finish my period around halfway through my next week. Something that does trouble me though is that I have been feeling emotionally drained, constantly cranky, and just plain sad. A couple of days ago, I was in a really good mood, woke up the next morning, and felt like crying the entire day. Ever since, I've been in this low-down mood that I would do anything to snap out of. I hate it! I want to be back to my easy-going self...but I don't want to risk getting off of the pill and having my acne come back (which was the reason I started Yaz). I've tried everything else for my acne, and Yaz has worked the best. If I have to go off of it though, I'm afraid of the last resort: Accutane (not because of the birth defect risk, since I am not sexually active at this time, but because I have heard that it can give you chronic joint pain...something I honestly don't want). Anyways, I guess for now I'll just continue Yaz and see if I start feeling any happier...I can't be in a bad mood forever (right?).

I had Mirena for 1 year. Suffered from lack of libido, weight gain, bloating, depression, moodiness, extreme tiredness, anxiety, lowered immune system (seem to get every virus doing the rounds and take forever to get well), sugar cravings & occasional abdominal cramping like ovulation pain.

2 weeks after Mirena removal: mild breakthrough bleed, dry eyes, feel less bloated, loss of 2lbs but SEVERE ACNE on my chin which I didn't have before! Most people get acne while the Mirena is in, did anyone else get it after it was removed?????

I had my mirena inserted about 13 months ago before Christmas after the birth of my 2nd child , I was naturally shedding the baby weight until Mirena came into my life and then I gained 10lbs effortlessly within 2 months! even though my diet is always the same (I am coeliac). I had to start working out running 4 times a week and gradually have lost 8lbs but its been a huge battle.
Last May I woke up one morning bright red covered in a sunburn type rash all over my body it was scary, my joints ached so bad and my hands and feet were really swollen as if my body was reacting to something.. my gp did some blood tests and nothing it kept happening for 2 weeks and then the rash went,..I put it down to a virus at the time but felt as weak as a kitten and suffered night sweats, anxiety and flu like symptoms for months.

Ive had to really fight to keep up my running because most of the time I feel tired and depressed and run down and I have awful PMT the past few months have been dreadful I feel rubbish most of the time..everyone is getting on my nerves, I have little sex drive too and I am sure its down to the Mirena..its side affects remind me of the mini-pill which I took once for a few months it sent me so extremely loopy (paranoid and anxious) that my husband flushed them down the toilet!! well I think its the same/similar type of synthetic hormone that my body DOES NOT agree with.

I saw my Gp the other day and asked her about the side affects and she still said that I shouldn't have any after a year and it was very rare but after reading about it on here I cant believe it... its obvious and Im getting it removed. Ive had over a year of feeling terrible and various ailments so much so that I think my immune system (which is already sensitive) has suffered.

I haven't yet started Yasmin but I was taking Yaz for a few months and have had my OBGYN switch me to the lower dose of hormone, Yasmin, because I was literally having my period every 2 weeks! And this wasn't just spotting-this was a full blown period! My skin had remained fairly clear and I don't get nearly as many breakouts as I used to. However, I am on an antibiotic and wash my face with benzoyl peroxide and use a cream so that could be why my skin is clearing up but I think Yaz contributed. I noticed with Yaz that I wasn't nearly as emotional and crazy as when I took Ortho Tri Cyclen low. But once I started getting a heavy cycle (cramps included) with Yaz, I switched to Yasmin so we'll see how that goes. I noticed on Yaz I still got cramps but they weren't unbearable and usually only lasted the first day of my period. I also tend to get mild yeast infections that I attribute to birth control but no headaches like others were getting and my sex drive has increased or decreased-it's about the same. Yasmin is about $10.00 cheaper on my insurance than Yaz so that's another plus. I can't say much about Yasmin right now but I know Yaz caused bi-weekly periods and I definitely wanted to eat everything in sight so, because I was eating and had low energy and did not want to work out, I obviously gained a few lbs but nothing too obvious. Maybe like 2 or 3lbs. Mostly there is bloating in my stomach. My breasts arent tender though like others get and I didn't have stomach pains or constipation with Yaz. Compared to Ortho Tri Cyclen lo, Yaz was a miracle pill. If not for the bi-weekly periods due to the high levels of hormes, I wouldn't have switched to Yasmin.

I've been taken femcon for about 2 months and i've started to get this red spots that hurt not itch and the 2nd one turned into a blister and I had to get a byopsty done to see what was wrong, and i got a 3rd one on my leg so i stopped taken Femcon. in addition to the breakouts i gained a lot of week and my periods were not usual, i left a message fot my gyn, but i still have to wait for the results of my byopsty. Overall i prefer loestrin fe but i had to may breakthrough bleeding episodes because of stress.

Thank god I read this. I have been on Aviane for about 1 1/2 now. I was fine for the first few months.

Then I started losing my hair which girls usually do but for me I never ever lost hair, in my brush on my clothes, in the shower never lost hair and I am noticing for the last few months that I have been losing considerable amounts of hair and I've been wondering how this could be all of a sudden.

and I have been so mean to my boyfriend, I thought I was just so unhappy at this point in my life. I found myself nagging for no reason at all but just to do it. and I'll tell you he is absolutely perfect and I have no reason at all to be unhappy in our relationship. I'm not the kind to have mood swings of any kind or suffer depression, I have always been very pleasant.

I started suspecting my bc even though I had been on it for a while. 2 months ago, while on my sugar pills (and I don't think I have to remind you but my period, which is supposed to be our "crazy time of the month") within in a day of not being on this bc, that entire week was the most pleasant I can remember being this whole past year. So again one more month I take this bc, again bitchy, nagging, crying for no reason at all after one day of being back on the pill!

I just can't believe that "pmsing" while not on the pill gives me a more pleasant attitude than taking Aviane!!! I thought I was just depressed thank god I found this website, I am switching immediately!

On another note, I haven't had any side effects like breakouts, not anymore than the usual one or two a month, no cramping, no migraines. But I have been noticing busted blood vessels, quite a few on my arms and one under my eye. I am relatively young, early 20's, I thought it may have a side effect like this because of the heart, blood clotting, strokes etc. anyone else with that problem???

Thanks so much for your posts, ladies, I am on the phone with a gyn as soon as I post!!! No More Aviane!