I’ve been off the pill for two years now, I only took it for six months. I have some negatives being on the pill, but I also had some negatives coming off the pill. A month after I had stopped the pill I gained severe acne and although it’s two years later that severe acne has not disappeared no matter how many creams I use or times I go to the doctor it just never goes away(it’s hormonal Acne) so I keep thinking if I go back on birth control will that all go away? My periods were also better on birth control I had barely any sort of cramps or pain. Now that I’m off birth control I suffer every single month with my period it’s causing me to miss Work, miss out on activities and just suffer every month.

But when I was on birth control, I was severely depressed and fatigued but I don’t know if it was the birth control that was doing that to me or if it was just that period of my life. Because what happens if it was never the birth control that was making me depressed or fatigue but I’m scared to go back on it in case it was the birth control that was causing that. I’ve also noticed me and my partner barely have any sort of sexual interactions anymore. The main reason for that is that we are always tired for Work but not just that I feel like when I was on control we could just have sex more often without having to worry about condoms condoms are a big effort for us. I don’t like the smell of them and I feel like they kind of stop the pleasure of it.

Did you have more negatives or positives being on the pill? What do you think I should do?

My current OBGYN requires a “pill check” visit in addition to my annual exam. I wouldn’t mind it, but the insurance I get through work is garbage and the copay for the second visit is $130, which is more than I spend on the fricken birth control in a year 🙃 I’m only on it because I have PCOS and it’s been managing my symptoms for 9 years. I feel like if I have a problem I can either schedule a visit or wait til my annual.

I guess I could tag this post as a rant, but I’m really looking for advice. Have you found a doctor that doesn’t require a second visit, or is it a requirement?

Hi everyone!
I’m getting the Kyleena IUD next week, and I’m a little worried about its potential effect on my skin. I already struggle with acne, which I currently treat with adapalene and other topical treatments.
I’ve read so many horror stories about acne getting worse after Kyleena, so I was wondering if anyone has had a positive experience with it, especially those who were already acne-prone before getting it.

I’d love to hear some positive experiences for a change! :)

Please help an overthinking girly out. I got back on combined BC and I’m on my 2nd pack and I was on day 16 when I forgot to bring my pills with me to a party. I usually take it around 10PM and I had sex with my bf at around 4AM the next morning (he finished inside) and took the pill at around 1130AM ish (13-14 hrs late). Then the 17th pill I took 3hrs late. Am I in trouble. Do I need to take emergency contraceptive? I’ve been taking the other pills religiously before that. And I was advised by my OB to skip the 7-day break for my PCOS so I started the 2nd pack w/o a break and will be skipping it for the 6 months I’ll be taking it. The pack instructs that if I miss a pill more than 12hrs on the 3rd week, I should continue the pack and skip the 7-day break. Am I fine?? 😭

(But also kind of a rant)

Hi all, so I recently switched over to Kyleena IUD from vienva combination pill and have had the worst experience so far. I originally want on birth control just for contreseption reasons but had horrible side effects and by month 10 things had not gotten better. I have never in my life had acne before, and now I have it in places I never have before (I’m very self conscious about it now!) My OB told me that if oral medication makes me nauseous then maybe I should try a hormonal iud. She suggested the Skyla (because it had the lowest hormones) she also said it could help with my acne I get from the pill because it’s less active hormones in my blood stream. But I got it placed and had the worst and honestly kind of traumatic experience when I went to get my iud inserted. I initially went in for Skyla, but the physician that I saw (not my primary because this was the earliest slot) was honestly kind of rude about me wanting it, and was mocking me for wanting it. She told me she “hasn’t done it in years” and “Kyleena is the superior choice”. She didn’t read my chart so she almost had a Pap smear done on me while I was there (I’m under 21), and she didn’t read that I have a condition which makes insertion extremely painful in most cases. She then said “well this was ment to be a short appointment but since you’ve never done this before apparently this is going to take much longer ugh”. Also she was over an hour late lol. My anyways. I’m SO emotional and I’ve been cramping and bleeding none stop for these past two weeks and my acne has gotten SO BAD. I need advice, I wanna rip it out myself but I can’t even feel the string! I wanna cry honestly, what should i do?

Not asking for medical advice !

hi guys!
i recently got my kyleena iud and i was super excited going into it because i have extremely shitty periods. the insertion was the hardest part and the rest of the day i’ve just been rotting.

however, when reading the stories before and after my insertion i get very scared i made the wrong decisions. hearing about the weight gain (im 5’3 135 so im already at a good weight for my height), acne, and depression, i feel really anxious and scared i made a bad decision….

if theres any good stories or relaxing things please let me know!

I started yaz pills last Sept. 7 , and finish the first pack, s started right away the 2nd pack , on the 2nd pill of the 2nd pack I got period last October 6 It started very light then on the Oct. 7 it started to get heavy I passed blood clots and up until now Oct. 13, I still got my period and it's heavy, I have cramps on and off. So a total of 8 days of bleeding, is it still normal?? Please I need some advise or does anyone here experience this?

I had my first ever nexplanon implant put in approx mid-July, it also happened to be the last day of my period which my ob said was a really good thing since I'd be "starting fresh in a new cycle". Everything is mostly great, absolutely NO cramps (used to be near-debilitating), significantly less hormonal acne, less mood swings, the whole works.

The ONE THING that keeps pissing me off though is still being in the early stages. After like 3 weeks I started spotting brown goop, not blood, just goop. That held on for a whole month, then I had like four days of nothing, then back to the goop 24/7 up until this last week where I got a normal period. Then that ended, I was completely free for two days, now I'm back to the goop.

My ob ofc warned me that I'd be irregular for up to like 6 months, but god damn it's so mildly annoying in the worst way. Does it usually take the whole 6 months for the body to get used to the hormones? How does everyone distract themselves from it, I feel like I'm constantly checking if I'm still spotting or if it's suddenly different.

I don't think I'll be taking it out by any means, but I'm blitzing through pantyliners and I don't want to use tampons constantly for that long, so any experiences or morale boost is appreciated!

What pill would you try after levlen- have been on it 5 years and keep bleeding irregularly even after the placebo week - taken on time and never ever missed a pill,
I’m interested in potentially trying a new / stronger or different formulation pill ,

Salut à toutes !

Je fais un petit post ici car je rencontre une situation que je trouve assez anxiogène et handicapante et le problème, c'est que je n'ai aucune notion de ce qui est "normal" ou pas dans ce que je vis.

Le contexte :

Je me suis fait poser un stérilet Kyleena il y a exactement 11 jours. Déjà, la pose n'a pas été de tout repos...la douleur était tellement forte que j'ai fait un malaise vagal très vénère (avec vomissements et tutti quanti) chez la gynéco le jour J juste après l'intervention🤔

La gynéco m'a dit qu'après la pose, je devais m'attendre à avoir mal pendant 48h et après à saigner de manière peu abondante pendant les premières semaines/mois.

Sauf que dans la réalité...j'ai bien douillé les deux premiers jours après la pose, mais depuis, de manière continue ou très régulières, je ressens des crampes utérines assez violentes (façon premier jour de règle). Les saignements s'apparentent même aujourd'hui à des règles classiques alors que ce n'est pas du tout la période.

Et je ne vais pas mentir, c'est très difficile moralement pour moi parce que je ne me repose pas vraiment depuis vu que je suis gênée au niveau du ventre en continu de manière plus ou moins intense. Les accalmies sont surtout le fait du doliprane.

Et...ça commence à m'angoisser je dois dire, parce que le discours que la gynéco m'a tenue a clairement minimisé ce que je vis en ce moment. 👀

J'en suis à un point où je me demande si, si ça dure encore une ou deux semaines sans amélioration, je ne devrais pas me le faire retirer, mais d'un autre côté, je me demande si je ne devrais pas être juste plus patiente ?

Est-ce que vous auriez des expériences à partager (qu'elles soient similaires ou différentes) avec ce contraceptif ? Ca me ferait du bien d'en parler.

Asking this as a 17F because I am generally curious. I used to be on the Yaz pill for ALMOST a whole year but then stopped because severe nausea and ✨ BRAIN FOGGG ✨ (aka depresso) I am better now and I have been like six months free from it so far? I am thinking of new methods though, since I’m having like two periods in one month or periods six days late. I’m not against birth control, it’s generally a safe medication and does wonders for many things aside from preventing pregnancy. Just because one method didn’t work out doesn’t mean there’s no hope for others.

Anyways, I tend to get motion sickness easily, but more on plane rides than anything. I never took a plane trip while I was on BC, but I wondered how it would have been.

To anybody using any hormonal contraceptive method, how did you handle long flights that may have altered the time zone with all the hormonal side effects raging through you? Did it affect you? Did you have to (if taking pills) skip a dose because of fear you’d mess up?

Tell me everything! I want to know to prepare for the future when I do get back on birth control. I love traveling, and I took plane rides to SoCal, Oahu, Maui, and Japan with my family.

Hey friends! So after doing research and reading a lot of posts on here, I will admit I was suuuper nervous to get my Copper IUD inserted. But I have to say, my experience at my local Planned Parenthood location was amazing and I figured I would write a positive review to give hope to other anxious folks out there.

I got the Paragard Copper IUD and specifically requested the paracervical block beforehand. I was nervous about additional shots in my cervix, but to be honest, the shots felt nothing like the shots you get at the doctor's office. They felt like someone tapping me with their finger and didn't hurt at all. I did get slightly lightheaded and my lips felt numb for a bit, but that was it.

After that, the doctor inserted the IUD so swiftly and painlessly, I didn't even know she did it. When she said she was all done, I was like - wait - really? You did it? I had no idea!

So yeah, I highly recommend the paracervical block beforehand. Maybe I just have a high pain tolerance, but my experience was so painless and seamless, I felt like I had to share a non-horror story here. I had slight menstrual cramps after (2/10), but took aleve beforehand as requested by the doctor, so I felt mostly fine. Just watched a movie and kept my heating pad on.

Definitely consider the numbing agents!

2 października ja i moja dziewczyna mieliśmy niezabezpieczony sex. Trwało to może z 10 sekund, sprawdzałem i penis był suchy, nie widziałem preejakulatu. Ejakulowałem 15 godzin wcześniej, sikałem po tym kilka razy.
Jej aplikacja flo pokazywała niskie ryzyko.
Dziś minął 10 dzień i nie ma żadnych nudności albo skurczy. Jedynie twarde piersi co może być oznaką okresu który ma być 14 października.
Jak duże jest ryzyko ciąży? Ona dużo sie stresuje. Czy taki ból piersi występuje kilka dni przed okresem czy może np 2 tygodnie przed kiedy okres sie spóźnia.

Hi everyone,
I had my IUD inserted on October 9, and today is October 12. Since the insertion, I’ve been experiencing sudden, severe pain in my lower left abdomen that radiates to my lower back.
The pain happens about three to four times a day and reaches an 8/10 in intensity. It often wakes me up twice during the night, and I’ve been taking up to 2,000 mg of Tylenol to manage it.
I’m worried because the pain is so intense and keeps coming back. I know some cramping can be normal after getting an IUD, but I’m not sure whether this level of pain is normal or a sign that something is wrong.
Has anyone experienced similar symptoms a few days after insertion? If you went to the ER, what tests did they do, and did they find out what was causing the pain?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you!

im 17 yrs old and i was recently prescribed microgynon bc my cycle length is too short. im supposed to take my first pill tomorrow and my doctor only mentioned that alcohol/food wont affect the pill but she never brought up smoking. i hv no way of contacting her without my mum finding out so idk what to do. i will completely stop smoking if i need to- i just need to know if that’s necessary

Absolutely done w this birth control. I have been taking it about 4 months but it absolutely RUINED my skin and im super angry about it. I would sometimes get a few pimples now and then but holy crap this birth control made me break out in places I’ve NEVER BROKEN out in.. and it’s large cystic acne too. On top of that, it ruined my libido. I went from being in the mood a couple times a week to 0 nothing at all. Angry all the time, emotions all over the place. Really sucks because it did help with regulating my periods, but that’s genuinely the only good thing I can think of.

In any case, does anyone have any bc recs for someone who has a sensitive stomach, can’t take combo pills but still want something to protect themselves and won’t cause acne? Lmk!!! (No iud recs pls)

I (26) started taking Yaz five days ago for my acne, but I'm thinking of stopping rn. At first I only had mild nausea, but as the days went on, around 1h after taking my BC, I got anxiety symptoms and felt out of body. I used to suffer from a lot of anxiety and panic attacks, and started taking SSRIS two years ago. I have never felt better mentally, so I'm scared to mess with my new peace. Although I've had acne since I was 12, I would rather keep on looking for another treatment than be anxious.

Would any of you have advice ? I just hope the anxiety goes away very soon.

For anyone wondering, the only reason I started was to treat my acne. I have very oily skin and have been using Arazlo for about a year, almost everyday at night. I use a light moisturizer (Coco kind electrolyte) morning and night, and use a gentle cleanser at night (been trying just a plain dove bar after seeing great things online) along with micellar water. This routine has helped with restauring my barrier, but I'm still open to suggestions!

5 years ago I had a kyleena put in, I went in with an open mind with no pre conceptions. Waited 2 months to see the only female doctor in clinic, then when I arrived, there was a young male doctor there with her. She shut down my objections and said “well he has to learn about this!”, procedure starts, it starts as a cramp and builds to an overwhelming stabbing pain, I’m crying, whimpering and start vomitting and they have to keep me there in the office lying down because I almost passed out. Anyway fine, horrific traumatising experience. I woke up last week in sudden panic that my 5 years are over, the thing must come out and I need to get another put in, I organise the consultation, I get prescribed mefenamic acid and a diazepam to help with the anxiety and pain, organise the procedure and well 🤡 The diazepam didn’t work, the doctor was a nasty piece of work who chewed me out for not also booking a removal, she took out the old coil and I freaked out and started crying and closed my legs and said no no no no so she was raging because she had to prescribe me an implanon and then was laughing on the phone to the receptionist because I changed my mind about insertion 🫠 so tomorrow I will get the implanon and in a year or so I hope to find a clinic that will prescribe a local anaesthetic and get another kyleena as it really was excellent when it was inside, but yeah that’s my iud tale

Edit: I’m so bloody angry and hurt right now, she then proceeded to speak to me like I may not mentally be all there and implied that I would not be able to survive the local anaesthetic injection and implanon insertion because I couldn’t handle the IUD insertion, for context I’ve had 2 implanons in the past and will gladly sit and be poked with needles all damn day than have my cervix messed with without anaesthetic

Took my three weeks of birth control pills, ending Saturday night.

Didn’t take one yesterday, on Sunday, then tonight, Monday, I panicked before bed, thinking “oh no I didn’t start my new pack last night!”

Quickly took both Sunday and Monday’s pills.

Only to realize I’m an idiot and didn’t even have my “week off” yet. I usually get my period Tuesday.

Quickly went to the bathroom and threw up, no idea if I threw up the pills or not.

So now my hormones are probably going to be all out of whack, I have a basically useless “new” pack of pills (since two are missing now), and I have no idea if and when I’ll get my period.

Has anyone else done this? What should I expect?

18 years on the pill and I’ve never done this and I’m smacking myself in the face lol.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice or to hear if anyone has experienced something similar.
I’ve been taking Aurovela birth control since March 22, 2025, and my withdrawal bleed usually starts during the last 1–2 days of my placebo (sugar) pills. However, I’m currently on my last placebo pill and still haven’t gotten my period.
I took a pregnancy test last night, and it was negative, which was reassuring, but I’m still worried because I usually get some bleeding during this time.
Over the past four months, I’ve also been going through several medication changes for my mental health. I was previously taking Auvelity, then switched medications, and I’m now taking escitalopram 5 mg. I’ve noticed that my emotions have been all over the place, and I’ve been more irritable than usual.
I’m wondering if the medication changes, hormonal changes, or being on birth control could be affecting my withdrawal bleed. I know that sometimes people don’t bleed during their placebo week, but this hasn’t happened to me before, so it’s making me nervous.
Has anyone experienced a missed withdrawal bleed while taking birth control, especially after changing antidepressants? Did your bleeding even

Hello, I'm 26F and my hubby is 28M. My hubby and I are really sexually active but we decided not to have kids yet. But I have a problem with hormonal birthcontrol. I took the Trust pill for almost a year now and recently I stopped because I have a problem with my breast lump which is probably hormonal. I had a hunch my breast lump got worse when I took the pill. So I want to direct with non hormonal birth control such as Copper IUD. Do you have any advice or suggestions? And which/where clinic or healthcare provider should I try to get that kind of non-hormonal birth control. My area is withij Metro Manila, preferably Quezon City. Much love, Thank you.

Meron po ba dito nag withdrawal bleeding po nga 8 days na? Malakas pa rin po kasi yung bleeding ko may mga lumps. Pa din. Or clot po na lumalabas

So I got my copper IUD about a year ago on the dot. At first the only issues I had were heavier periods/cramps.

But in June of this year (about 8 months after my insertion) I started having some really strange stomach issues out of the blue. I wake up in the middle of the night nauseous minimum 2 times a night, every night almost. (mind you, I’m a VERY deep sleeper so this was very strange) and overall just have had bad lower stomach pain and chronic nausea. I’ve changed my diet, stopped eating as much, and strictly drink water but nothing is working.

I also know it’s not pregnancy, as I’m not currently sexually active and haven’t been since I got it.

I really don’t know if it’s a GI issue or if it has something to do with my IUD, and was wondering if this has happened to anyone else!

Hello everyone! I recently had a bisalp this year which is when I also removed my birth control (nexplanon) that I had been using for about 6ish years at this point. I have been with my boyfriend since the beginning of this year & ever since I have taken out my birth control I have had NO interest in sex with him whatsoever. My periods are regular again so I know my hormones are balancing themselves out but I just don’t know if the lack of attraction is something I should be worried about? Or if it has happened to anyone else who has come off birth control? Is this normal?? Am I just not attracted to him anymore or is it something else?

I got my Mirena IUD a little over 2 months ago and have started noticing acne on the lower right side of my jaw/chin and the upper part of my T zone by my eyebrows. I've never struggled with acne in any capacity (maybe 4-6 zits a year max) and it's starting to stress me out. Based on what I've read this is common, and it takes 6 months on average for your body to adjust to the increase in hormones, but I would love to know if anyone else has had a similar experience and what they did.