Acne ON the pill? Help!
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Acne ON the pill? Help!
| Fri, 04-16-2004 - 9:39am |
Hello all! I hope this hasn't been asked before, but I couldn't seem to find a similar topic, so here goes:
I just switched to Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo from Yasmin, because my health care provider (those SOBs) stopped covering Yasmin. I have always been very lucky with having clear skin, never a problem aside from a very occasional pimple here and there, yet two weeks into my first pack of Ortho I am breaking out HORRIBLY. Here I thought ortho kept acne at bay, and since I have never had a problem with acne before, I thought I'd be fine - but I'm having the worst breakout I've ever had in my life.
What gives?
- kim

http://www.fpnotebook.com/GYN105.htm
Here is the list:
# Oral Contraceptive Progestin activity (low to high)
1. Progestin activity based on Norethindrone mg/day
2. Ortho-Cyclen (Norgestimate): 0.3
3. Ortho Tri-Cyclen (Norgestimate): 0.3
4. Alesse (Levonorgestrel): 0.5
5. Triphasil (Levonorgestrel): 0.5
6. Modicon (Norethindrone): 0.5
7. Nordette (Levonorgestrel): 0.8
8. Lo-Ovral (Norgestrel): 0.8
9. Ortho-Novum 777 (Norethindrone): 0.8
10. Ortho-Novum 1/35 (Norethindrone): 1.0
11. Ortho-Cept or Desogen (Desogestrel): 1.0
12. Estrostep (Norethindrone Acetate): 1.2
You dont necessarily have to take the highest one. But maybe something a little higher than OTC lo(which is not on here but I figure it is similar in progestin activity as OTC)
Hope this helps and let us know how it goes!
kms - I'm having the same problem as you, I think. We're not talking (excuse the grossness) huge, erupting pimples but a lot of small ones and a lot of blotchiness. Ugh. You give me hope, though. I'll stick with this one until I'm through with the package, and we'll see what happens. *fingers crossed*
ilv2cook - Well, that makes four of us now. :) Thank you very much for the list. If this continues, I'll take your advice and talk to my doctor about trying a higher dosage or I'll just switch back to Yasmin and deal with the cost. :/ I'd speak to my doctor now, but she's inconveniently on vacation somewhere in Italy for two weeks. :) And thanks for the pointer towards Acnefree. I'll give it a shot to see if I can get rid of these evil pimples in the meantime.
Thanks everyone!
OTC (the regular, Lo wasn't available when I was on OTC) was my first BCP. It was prescribed to HELP my cystic acne but instead it made it worse.
If you are breaking out that badly, the only thing that will really help is switching Pills, and as helpful as that fpnotebook list is, it is not the be-all, end-all, because it's totally up to your body what works and what doesn't. For me, I tried 3 other Pills and finally went back to the dermatologist to be prescribed Accutane (not to be taken lightly, it's only for cystic acne and as a last resort - I had been on every other acne med there was at that point).
Keep trying, however. This could just be your body reacting to the new Pill. Give it a chance of at least another month. BELIEVE ME - I know how hard it is to see yourself in the mirror, but you really should see if the problem corrects itself before you panic.
Best of luck to you!
Caitlin