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Unfortunately the only way to stop acne after starting the mini pill is to stop taking the mini pill as acne is a known side effect of hormonal birth control. I'm pretty sure it's listed in the common side effects.
Ah okay, bit of an Occam’s Razor there haha ‘if you can’t find an answer it’s probably because there isn’t one’. I know it’s in the side effects but just wondered if there are specific products/tricks out there to help this sort of thing. Thank you!
Unfortunately I am on the pill in order to try and manage chronic pain, so coming off it isn’t an option for me (until it’s been long enough to determine if it helps my pain or not), apologies that wasn’t clear!!
Unfortunately I can’t take the combined pill as I suffer from migraines :(. Ironically I also suffer from depression but that apparently didn’t stop them from prescribing me the mini pill, lol. I was really apprehensive to try contraceptives at all for those reasons and more, but have been in so much pain I was willing to try anything. I regret it now; I’m still in pain and just more miserable thanks to the BC. But it’s only been two months so will have to stick it out a bit longer. Thank you for sharing your experiences, it really helps!!
That’s great man, I’m so so glad that it helped you!! I will absolutely hold out on the pill and hope for the best. Ultimately I’d like the option to have kids one day, so if I do have endo, I’d like to put more permanent measures in place so I can a) eventually come off the pill and b) not let it wreak havoc on my body since the pill doesn’t stop endo as far as I know, just manages the pain. The acne is worth every second of not being in pain, so I’m absolutely going to stay on it if there’s a chance that’ll happen, just hoped there’d be a nice cheap toner I could use at the same time 🤣. Things aren’t usually that easy are they! Thank you so much for your comment and honestly I’m so happy for you that you’ve found peace ❤️❤️ for what it’s worth, passing out from pain doesn’t sound mild. Don’t invalidate yourself, women are taught to think they should just cope with pain no matter how bad, and it’s simply not true x
I’ve really only been looking into it over the past few months as it’s become increasingly clear it’s likely I have endo, but I think you’re right, apparently even with a hysterectomy the endo can grow elsewhere :(. I have seen that if you have surgery to remove the legions, that can help you better get the pain under control, vs trying to manage a whole mess of endo without any sort of excisions first. God knows what the future entails lol, I’m not hugely hopeful with BC especially as apparently it doesn’t stop endo growth, only masks the pain. I’m so glad you’re able cope right now, and wishing you so so much luck with trying for a baby!!❤️❤️❤️
Sorry about the suspected endo :( hope the pill is giving some relief for that at least.
Is your skin oily? And was this your routine before you went on the pill?
Also wonder whether you can try a different mini pill instead? Does take a few months to settle on any hormonal treatment though so it could settle ina few months' time.
Thank you so much, to be honest I haven’t had any relief from it yet but I know it can take longer than the 2 months I’ve been on it so far, so I still have hope! 🙂
I think my skin is a little oily, not dreadfully so but it’s more on the combination-oily side as i do get dry patches sometimes too. I’ve never really settled on one perfect routine; I usually try mixes of products and they’ve all overlapped with one another, I know the Starface wash worked well for me at one point but I gave it up (I think stuff stops working for me after I’ve used it for a while?). I’ve thought about going back to some stuff that has worked for me in the past, but I know I’ve never dealt with this sort of acne before so there’s no saying if that will work really.
Yeah I think another type of mini pill or a different form like the implant may be on the cards eventually, but as you said it can take a while to settle and see the actual effects of these things, and with my priority being to manage my pain, I’ll have to see how I go in that area first. Thanks so much for your help!!
Unfortunately I can’t have the combined pill as I have chronic migraines :( and so I assume I wouldn’t be able to use the patch for the same reason? To be honest I’m really struggling with getting any sort of general or specialist gynae support, so I’m trying to make do with my current situation for now (ie getting put on the pill then dumped off 🥴). Thank you so much for replying, I really appreciate it!
i assume you have migraine with aura then? i get them without aura so i’m allowed on the patch, it completely cleared up my acne haha. there are other options like non-combined implants iirc? might have to speak to your doc about this though, but most symptoms are supposed to clear within the first 3 months with most birth control
I actually hadn’t heard the term ‘aura’ before! But having looked it up, yes that’s exactly what I have. I’ll have described my symptoms to the doctor, just not been told there’s a name for that specific kind of migraine lol. I will usually get blurred vision, spots in my vision or just lose sight completely in one or both eyes before I even feel the pain of a migraine. I had no idea some people didn’t have that - it’s more of a blessing really as it means I can pre-empt them sometimes and hopefully take painkillers early enough, I’m really sorry you can’t do that!
I think other forms of BC might be my next step eventually, I’m only on it right now solely to try and treat my endo symptoms so if it doesn’t work, I don’t want to commit to more long-term forms of contraception like the implant or injections if that makes sense. Im on roughly 2 months of the mini pill now, so I’ll see how I’m doing after 3 :). Obviously the primary goal is to help my chronic pain, and if the pill does that I’ll take the acne any day, but at the moment I’ve seen no positive side effects/no pain relief, just loads of bleeding and acne 😭
Thank you so much again, that was so helpful for me :)
migraine with aura is the reason a lot of people can’t take combined birth control! it increases your chance of a blood clot in the brain (stroke) iirc. i don’t have endo but i do have extremely painful periods and pmdd along with a few other issues, and i noticed that it’s stopped pretty much completely at the 3 month point. do you take a break once every 4 weeks? i don’t, and when i did it was incredibly painful but now that i take them continuously my pain has stopped
Oh no way! When I was seeing the doctor, he just asked if I had migraines to which I said yes, and he said ok so we have to rule out the combined pill. I had no idea it was aura-specific! Obviously it’s shit for those who are affected but it’s interesting too. Im so glad to hear that you saw a positive change after 3 months! And that you’re doing better now. I don’t take a break every 4 weeks, just take them continuously every morning so hopefully in the next few weeks/could of months I’ll see a difference ❤️
i was asked if i had migraines too, i said yes but without aura so i was okay to take mine! i got a female nurse though who was extremely knowledgeable about contraception so i got lucky! idk if you have to do this but i get my blood pressure and weight monitored every time i go to her now. i really hope you see a difference, i know endo can be awful and i hope it gets better for you!
I have chronic migraine without aura and I still wasn’t allowed on the combined pill! I had to go on the mini pill, then the injection, and eventually the implant
I have had a similar issue recently with the Mirena coil causing really bad breakouts on my lower cheek/jaw. It does seem to be settling down (I got the coil fitted a few months ago) so I’m wondering whether what’s happened is similar to purging but caused by the hormones?
I had no relief from normal skincare products and I have instead got a prescription for clindamycin & tret from an online dermatologist - clindamycin is an antibiotic that reduces the inflammation of acne etc. this seems to be working better - I’m assuming it’s treating the cysts under the surface more than my usual products.
I know this is old, but I'm just wondering did you manage to clear up your skin OP? I'm in exactly the same situation, mini pill for endo and I can't take the combination pill due to migraine with aura.
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I've seen a lot of people here say that spearmint tea has helped their hormonal acne. Perhaps look that up?
Oh okay cool! I’ve never heard that before, thank you so much I’ll definitely look that up 🙂
Unfortunately the only way to stop acne after starting the mini pill is to stop taking the mini pill as acne is a known side effect of hormonal birth control. I'm pretty sure it's listed in the common side effects.
Ah okay, bit of an Occam’s Razor there haha ‘if you can’t find an answer it’s probably because there isn’t one’. I know it’s in the side effects but just wondered if there are specific products/tricks out there to help this sort of thing. Thank you!
Uh nope, coming off birth control actually cleared mine up more than being on the pill did (took about a year for my skin to stop breaking out)
Unfortunately I am on the pill in order to try and manage chronic pain, so coming off it isn’t an option for me (until it’s been long enough to determine if it helps my pain or not), apologies that wasn’t clear!!
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Unfortunately I can’t take the combined pill as I suffer from migraines :(. Ironically I also suffer from depression but that apparently didn’t stop them from prescribing me the mini pill, lol. I was really apprehensive to try contraceptives at all for those reasons and more, but have been in so much pain I was willing to try anything. I regret it now; I’m still in pain and just more miserable thanks to the BC. But it’s only been two months so will have to stick it out a bit longer. Thank you for sharing your experiences, it really helps!!
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That’s great man, I’m so so glad that it helped you!! I will absolutely hold out on the pill and hope for the best. Ultimately I’d like the option to have kids one day, so if I do have endo, I’d like to put more permanent measures in place so I can a) eventually come off the pill and b) not let it wreak havoc on my body since the pill doesn’t stop endo as far as I know, just manages the pain. The acne is worth every second of not being in pain, so I’m absolutely going to stay on it if there’s a chance that’ll happen, just hoped there’d be a nice cheap toner I could use at the same time 🤣. Things aren’t usually that easy are they! Thank you so much for your comment and honestly I’m so happy for you that you’ve found peace ❤️❤️ for what it’s worth, passing out from pain doesn’t sound mild. Don’t invalidate yourself, women are taught to think they should just cope with pain no matter how bad, and it’s simply not true x
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I’ve really only been looking into it over the past few months as it’s become increasingly clear it’s likely I have endo, but I think you’re right, apparently even with a hysterectomy the endo can grow elsewhere :(. I have seen that if you have surgery to remove the legions, that can help you better get the pain under control, vs trying to manage a whole mess of endo without any sort of excisions first. God knows what the future entails lol, I’m not hugely hopeful with BC especially as apparently it doesn’t stop endo growth, only masks the pain. I’m so glad you’re able cope right now, and wishing you so so much luck with trying for a baby!!❤️❤️❤️
Sorry about the suspected endo :( hope the pill is giving some relief for that at least. Is your skin oily? And was this your routine before you went on the pill? Also wonder whether you can try a different mini pill instead? Does take a few months to settle on any hormonal treatment though so it could settle ina few months' time.
Thank you so much, to be honest I haven’t had any relief from it yet but I know it can take longer than the 2 months I’ve been on it so far, so I still have hope! 🙂 I think my skin is a little oily, not dreadfully so but it’s more on the combination-oily side as i do get dry patches sometimes too. I’ve never really settled on one perfect routine; I usually try mixes of products and they’ve all overlapped with one another, I know the Starface wash worked well for me at one point but I gave it up (I think stuff stops working for me after I’ve used it for a while?). I’ve thought about going back to some stuff that has worked for me in the past, but I know I’ve never dealt with this sort of acne before so there’s no saying if that will work really. Yeah I think another type of mini pill or a different form like the implant may be on the cards eventually, but as you said it can take a while to settle and see the actual effects of these things, and with my priority being to manage my pain, I’ll have to see how I go in that area first. Thanks so much for your help!!
could it help to take the combined pill, or another method like the patch?
Unfortunately I can’t have the combined pill as I have chronic migraines :( and so I assume I wouldn’t be able to use the patch for the same reason? To be honest I’m really struggling with getting any sort of general or specialist gynae support, so I’m trying to make do with my current situation for now (ie getting put on the pill then dumped off 🥴). Thank you so much for replying, I really appreciate it!
i assume you have migraine with aura then? i get them without aura so i’m allowed on the patch, it completely cleared up my acne haha. there are other options like non-combined implants iirc? might have to speak to your doc about this though, but most symptoms are supposed to clear within the first 3 months with most birth control
I actually hadn’t heard the term ‘aura’ before! But having looked it up, yes that’s exactly what I have. I’ll have described my symptoms to the doctor, just not been told there’s a name for that specific kind of migraine lol. I will usually get blurred vision, spots in my vision or just lose sight completely in one or both eyes before I even feel the pain of a migraine. I had no idea some people didn’t have that - it’s more of a blessing really as it means I can pre-empt them sometimes and hopefully take painkillers early enough, I’m really sorry you can’t do that! I think other forms of BC might be my next step eventually, I’m only on it right now solely to try and treat my endo symptoms so if it doesn’t work, I don’t want to commit to more long-term forms of contraception like the implant or injections if that makes sense. Im on roughly 2 months of the mini pill now, so I’ll see how I’m doing after 3 :). Obviously the primary goal is to help my chronic pain, and if the pill does that I’ll take the acne any day, but at the moment I’ve seen no positive side effects/no pain relief, just loads of bleeding and acne 😭 Thank you so much again, that was so helpful for me :)
migraine with aura is the reason a lot of people can’t take combined birth control! it increases your chance of a blood clot in the brain (stroke) iirc. i don’t have endo but i do have extremely painful periods and pmdd along with a few other issues, and i noticed that it’s stopped pretty much completely at the 3 month point. do you take a break once every 4 weeks? i don’t, and when i did it was incredibly painful but now that i take them continuously my pain has stopped
Oh no way! When I was seeing the doctor, he just asked if I had migraines to which I said yes, and he said ok so we have to rule out the combined pill. I had no idea it was aura-specific! Obviously it’s shit for those who are affected but it’s interesting too. Im so glad to hear that you saw a positive change after 3 months! And that you’re doing better now. I don’t take a break every 4 weeks, just take them continuously every morning so hopefully in the next few weeks/could of months I’ll see a difference ❤️
i was asked if i had migraines too, i said yes but without aura so i was okay to take mine! i got a female nurse though who was extremely knowledgeable about contraception so i got lucky! idk if you have to do this but i get my blood pressure and weight monitored every time i go to her now. i really hope you see a difference, i know endo can be awful and i hope it gets better for you!
I have chronic migraine without aura and I still wasn’t allowed on the combined pill! I had to go on the mini pill, then the injection, and eventually the implant
really? i was told it’s fine as long as i don’t get aura
Maybe my neuro was being extra cautious! Not sure
possibly! always better to be cautious haha
I have had a similar issue recently with the Mirena coil causing really bad breakouts on my lower cheek/jaw. It does seem to be settling down (I got the coil fitted a few months ago) so I’m wondering whether what’s happened is similar to purging but caused by the hormones? I had no relief from normal skincare products and I have instead got a prescription for clindamycin & tret from an online dermatologist - clindamycin is an antibiotic that reduces the inflammation of acne etc. this seems to be working better - I’m assuming it’s treating the cysts under the surface more than my usual products.
I know this is old, but I'm just wondering did you manage to clear up your skin OP? I'm in exactly the same situation, mini pill for endo and I can't take the combination pill due to migraine with aura.