Birth control and skin?

Maybe you could skip the placebo pills enough weeks to make it fall on a better week? I'd definitely ask your dr's advice and if you just skip a week remember to use backup the first week back on, not just the week off. I may be biased about skipping placebos since I've been on Seasonale/Seasonique forever and they are 3 month packs, dealing with periods every month just seems so excessive to me now lol.

Honestly I’ve done this so many times, especially to make sure I didn’t get my period on a vacation or a special occasion...I’m sure there will be a lot of people who don’t agree but I’ve never had an issue doing this. You want to look and feel your best on your wedding day!

I’ve skipped placebo pills and will have to do the same this year as my period be the same week as my wedding, I haven’t heard anything bad and it was recommended by a doctor to do as needed but definitely not often!

I talked to my doctor, but they said there was absolutely zero reason not to do it. I prefer starting on the next pack of pills immediately and skipping the placebo pills. That way I’m still protected against pregnancy.

I would start the next pack insetad if taking the sugar pills

I have been skipping the placebo pills for 7 years now (I have endometriosis). You should talk to your doctor about it though, because they will likely need to write the prescription differently in order for your insurance to allow you to pick it up early.

Oh I feel you girl. Sooo. I actually went on BC when I was 16 to help with my acne. My acne is purely driven by hormones so topical stuff never has worked for me and never will. After being on BC for so long, a year ago I decided to stop. Well, I got my hormonal acne back. I was determined to tame it without BC. My Derm gave me a low dose pill that weans me off the hormone so it’s not such a big shock to my body and it’s worked wonders. ALSO, I think diet is huge. Increase your water intake and eliminating cow dairy worked for me. I’ve had this past year to experiment with myself and see what works. My doctor has helped but also you know your body best. I know lots of people that have skipped the placebo pills to best suit what’s going on in their life. But heather makes a valid point, this may effect when your next prescription is available and insurance coverage.

I finished my pack and waited a week and a half before stating the new pack to shift my cycle. It worked fine. The first month was a little irregular (more cramps then usual.. spotting between..) But by the second cycle was normal. I’d say by 3rd cycle you should be golden. Just obviously be careful cause stopping it and restarting it makes it less effective initially.

View Quoted Comment Agreed ! Me too.

I agree with skipping placebo pills.

Personally, I wouldn't go on and off, because my body requires complete readjustment. I used to take seasonal BC (having a period every three months) and when I first started it I was exhausted for a month or more and gained weight. At some point I went off it for a month or two when I was switching jobs and didn't have my new insurance info yet, and going back on it was a nightmare, same exhaustion and weight gain as the first time. This probably wouldn't be an issue with a normal low dose monthly prescription, but is something to think about!

^doctor. Microgestin doesn't have enough hormones in it to control your acne. You could ask your doctor about switching. Alternately you could do what you were suggesting of skipping the placebo pills one week, but that can cause a lot of spotting for some people to be warned.

Hi everyone! Thank you for your replies! I considered skipping the placebo pills, but the problem is I want to be one week later in my cycle, not one week ahead. So I would have to skip my period for the next 3 months to get it where I want to be. I’ll talk to my doc and see what would be best, but I really appreciate all the responses!!

View Quoted Comment Hi! I’m an idiot. Microgestin is my old stuff. I’ve been on Sprintec for a few years now. I don’t take BC for my acne though, just for the no-baby benefits haha. I actually take spironolactone to control my hormonal acne, but even being on that I notice my skins is affected by my cycle. Thank you for you response!

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I have struggled with hormonal acne for a while. I went on birth control for it but then stopped because I didn't like the thought of birth control and messed up my periods. I am on spironolactone also, and have seen the best results better than I did with birth control. I started my first visit with severe cystic acne and the dermatologist walked in and just said "ouch" I told her I started spironolactone and it worked but then just stopped cause it got better, then worse again. She said that over-time our bodies can become use to the drug, she upped my prescription up and last time I had my period, I had no acne. I also am taking this face cream, that has been the biggest life saver, my roommate also used t and her skin is perfectly amazing. My dermatologist said my next appointment in March she said my acne should be 100% gone, and its looking like it too! Don't give up, keep going and find the right answer.

View Quoted Comment Hi Kaitlyn! Thanks for your response!! I’ve been on spironolactone for about 2.5 years now and had a similar experience; my derm would up my prescription every so often to keep it effective. With the most recent increase I started getting really bad anxiety (not sure if that is a listed side effect, but I was able to isolate it to this drug) so I started taking a lower dose. I figured my mental health was more important than clear skin. Just hoping my skin stays on it’s best behavior in May 😜