Ortho-cyclen vs. Yaz

roxigirl2006 · 05-29-2009, 01:58 AM

Help! I have an appointment scheduled to get birth control next week and I need a high estrogen birth control. I have been doing some research and I was curious about your suggestions/experiences with Yaz and Ortho-cyclen.

Do they help with weight gain?
Dandruff?
Acne?
Etc...

Any advice would be appreciated so I can pick what's best for me....

RacheRach · 06-04-2009, 07:59 AM

I'm on Yaz and it seems to help with acne. I still get a few breakouts aruord my period but hopefully it will get better as I go along. My endo told me that Yaz gives you the synthetic estrogen (I forget the specific hormone name) but also blocks the receptors for testerone in your body. You said you needed a high estrogen birthcontrol but i think YAZ is supposed to be low dose.

I haven't gained any weight bit I've only been on it for 2 months. SO! I hope that helps a little!

TheNewMrs. · 06-04-2009, 08:59 AM

I took Yaz only for 2 months while trying to regulate so we can TTC. I LOVED it when I Took it and if I weren't TTC I'd still be on it. I didn't gain a pound (didn't lose either though), had much less acne (the longer I was on it the better it got - and I've been off for over a month now and the acne still hasn't came back...don't know if that's coincidence or what), and much less excess hair (which is definitely coming back after I've been off). I did feel light-headed sometimes and a bit dizzy which I think is a side-effect, but I would assume the longer I would have stayed on, I would have become more used to it.

Never tried Ortho-Cyclen though and these 2 months were my first BCP experience so that's all I can offer. You may have to try them both as all women are very different and react to them differently. I can say that I loved Yaz though.

aunatural · 06-09-2009, 05:00 AM

When starting my bc, I was put on Yaz by my endo (consider I am only 19 years old and completely doing this for pcos symptoms). The first day I was on it, I felt like I was going to die. Whenever I would exercise, I would have to lay down or else I was gonna pass out. When getting up from laying down, I would get cases of vertigo and would have to rush to get some sort of food in my mouth. Numerous times I had trouble breathing. After four days on YAZ, I switched bc cause I knew I couldn't take it. My endo then switched me to Sprintec, which is the generic ortho cyclen.. YAZ cost me 50 dollars a month while sprintec cost me only 18 dollars a month...When I first started taking sprintec, I could immediately start feeling the antinflammatory effect..At first my skin broke out a little during the first month because of the change in hormones...I would wake up to a small, manageable cluster of little pimples with heads on my chin and my nose would get little clogged pores on them. But after the first month, I would notice that when my period came my skin would be at its best. After three months on sprintec, I lost a lot of weight, my body was feminine (large hips and tiny waist), and my face had a more feminized look to it. My skin was blemish free except for the week before my period. I got so many compliments on my new look and I have been off sprintec bc for 6 months now and I miss it =( I took Vitex to manage my hormones after getting off and my acne never came back THAT bad until I stopped taking vitex a few weeks ago...I'm about to get back on sprintec to control these hormonal issues im dealing wiht but I highly recommend sprintec....I was a little emotional on it, but i expected to be on any bc....I had no sex drive as you can imagine, but the point is i felt like myself while i was on it and had no heart or breathing problems like i did with yaz..it really depends on how your body accepts the drug and so for the most part bc is personalized but i had a good experience with ortho cyclen....Hope I helped you!!!

jnesse · 06-09-2009, 03:34 PM

I have been on Yaz for 8 months. It reduced my excess hair, acne etc. within the first couple of months, I get very small, slight breakouts right before my time of the month, but I'm ashamed to say that since using Yaz my skin care regime has also declined to washing with soap every night before I go to bed and exfoliating in the shower because with Yaz I just don't feel the need to have a full regime, maybe if I still used Murad, I'd never seen a zit.

I have experienced a slight weight gain on Yaz ... but I also started taking it as a freshman in college, so whether the weight is due to the pill or to school I'm sure. What it has caused is a serious weight redistribution. My weight increased from 146lbs at the beginning of last fall to 152lbs now, but my cup size has increased from a C to a DD, so I'm not complaining too much about it ^^

Yaz does give me the occasional migraine headache, if I don't remember to take it with food.

lovemychris · 06-09-2009, 08:30 PM

Well, since you're asking...I HATE YAZ! I took it for 6 weeks and almost bled to death (literally, I was very close to a blood transfusion). I was also very suicidal while taking it with no problems prior. When I stopped taking it that went away, however, I had really bad muscle cramps for 2 weeks every morning at 4am due to a potassium imbalance. There are a lot of stories HERE of perfectly healthy, young women developing blood clots from taking Yaz. There is also a class-action lawsuit against Bayer Pharmaceuticals because of Yaz side effects. Erin Brockovich is handling the suit.

On the flipside, BCPs work differently for everyone and I'm sure you'll find a lot of happy women who take it with success. I just wanted to share my story with you without sugar-coating it. I wish I had read more before I started taking it.

Best wishes!

TheNewMrs. · 06-10-2009, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovemychris

Well, since you're asking...I HATE YAZ! I took it for 6 weeks and almost bled to death (literally, I was very close to a blood transfusion). I was also very suicidal while taking it with no problems prior. When I stopped taking it that went away, however, I had really bad muscle cramps for 2 weeks every morning at 4am due to a potassium imbalance. There are a lot of stories HERE of perfectly healthy, young women developing blood clots from taking Yaz. There is also a class-action lawsuit against Bayer Pharmaceuticals because of Yaz side effects. Erin Brockovich is handling the suit.

On the flipside, BCPs work differently for everyone and I'm sure you'll find a lot of happy women who take it with success. I just wanted to share my story with you without sugar-coating it. I wish I had read more before I started taking it.

Best wishes!

I've heard those stories as well and being skeptical about any drug (including BCP's) I researched it immediately after my OB/GYN provided it for me. Most of what I found was bad. I actually think you're going to find bad side effects with a lot of BCP's - and all drugs in general. Some people have them and some don't. It's just a matter of "do you want to be on BCP's?" and "Do you want to take the time finding the perfect one for you?" and "Once you find that 'perfect' one, how do you know you won't suffer from unforseen blood clots (etc) later on down the road?" It's a tough situation. I'm just very thankful that I was only using BCP's for 2 months to try to regulate. I figured not too much damage could be done in 2 months (although I'm sure that's not accurate either). Overall, that's whay I hate meds/drugs. They're all a bit scary if you ask me. I don't even take tylenol/ibuprofen unless I'm near dying from pain. Scary stuff.

Aliya · 06-11-2009, 10:41 PM

Yaz is a low dose bill. I had NO sex drive with Yaz and I have had 3 friends with the same problem. I had continuous bleeding all month long while I was on Yaz. I hated it. It was like I had a a very very light AF then a regular AF. It was horrible. I did notice that my PMS symptoms were greatly reduced while I was on Yaz but I would rather have cramps than the rest of the side effects I had