Loestrin Fe 1/20 for Birth Control User Reviews

• MoMo
• July 2, 2021

"I took Loestrin Fe 1/20 for 4 days. Worst 4 days of my life. Immediately after taking the pill I was extremely tired and felt like I had just taken NyQuil. I also experienced a massive loss of appetite and nausea. I had weird sharp headaches and knee pain in a way I had never felt before. On my 4th and final day on this awful pill, I had a MASSIVE panic attack and horrible anxiety. I do not normally have panic attacks and rarely have anxiety. But I was on the couch curled up in a ball so so sad and angry about absolutely nothing. My poor boyfriend. Anyways, I immediately stopped taking and am looking into an IUD right now. I had such a terrible experience with the hormones, I am looking to stay away from those. Everyone’s body is different and I don’t mean to scared anyone. But do your research and listen to YOUR body."

• Jen
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 28, 2020

"Loestrin Fe 1/20 is the best birth control pill I’ve tried. I was able to skip my periods (not take the placebo pills) and that made me not have any more PMS headaches. No depression or irritable moods like I has on Ortho Tri Cyclen. No nausea like some other pills gave me. Didn’t really change my skin or sex drive at all. I felt like myself on this pill. I did develop high blood pressure after 3 years on it when I went through a time of stress. Not sure if due to the pill, but get regular blood pressure checks if you take any birth control pills as it can be a side effect."

• Kpano
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 17, 2019

"I only took this birth control pills for 3 days and had to stop right away, I started to experience bad anxiety and depression and my doctor advised me to stop taking them. I am also on Wellbutrin for depression and not sure if they interact but I highly recommend to not take this if you have anxiety and depression and take Wellbutrin as well.. I cried non stop and never felt so sad in my life"

• tina
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 20, 2016

"I've been on Loestrin (and the other generic brands like Junel) for about a year and a half and I'm satisfied with it. I haven't tried any other birth control prior to Loestrin, so maybe that's why it's hard for me to give a comparative judgment. I can say that in terms of excessive weight gain, acne, or mood swings, Loestrin didn't cause me to experience any of these, contrary to some of the posts that I've read on here. Also, I take my pill every morning on an empty stomach and don't experience any nausea or anything like that. It has also regulated my hormones so my PMS is not as extreme as it used to be before taking the pill. Only con is that I have experienced occasional break through spotting before my cycle some months."

• Cleve...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 8, 2015

"I had been on Beyaz for 4 years before this pill until my health insurance changed and could no longer cover it. The pros and cons are about half and half for me for Loestrin. I did gain weight on this...about 7 pounds, of course all around the love handle/lower stomach/thigh area. My acne is WAY worse. However, aside from those 2 negatives I like this pill more than Beyaz because I definitely have a better mood, more energy, and a higher sex drive/wetness. My periods are also lighter and shorter."

• Juneg...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 24, 2020

"One month on this Loestrin Fe 1/20 dosage and so far it hasn’t been too bad. My acne has cleared up and the mood swings aren't terrible I will get a tiny bit irritated here and there. One thing I am noticing is that I’m experiencing acid reflux while on this pill which isn’t pleasant but it’s worth the release of my endometriosis pain."

• Kdream
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 10, 2016

"I was on this for years for birth control and heavy periods. It worked great for me. Since I am going through another system it's not available anymore to me. I used the generic form Junel FE 1-20 Tablet. It lightened my flow and prevented pregnancy. My acne, I can't really say if it helped it."

• 28ano
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 18, 2016

"Weight gain, severe depression during pms and intense itching. I was on loestrin previously and it was great for 2 months. I had no acne, my periods were better. As of the third month I was itching uncontrollably and was told it was dry skin but the itching coincided with the time I took the pill. I went off the pill for a year then my doctor put me on loloestrin trying to reduce the hormone. I'm not sure if weight gain was connected to that. I was having 2 periods a month. After 8 months of that, my doctor put me back on loestrin. I hoped it was a bad reaction to one Pack before. I had debilitating depression at least one day mid month and one during pms. During the second month, the itching came back. I always itched 20 minutes after"

• First...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 30, 2020

"Loestrin Fe 1/20 was my first experience with birth control at age 20. I initially wanted to start birth control to help my hormonal acne, as well as start contraception, and my doctor prescribed this one. My experience with Loestrin Fe 1/20 was ok. I didn't have any side effects that were too bad- no weight gain, no nausea or headaches, no bloating, no mood changes. However, by breasts were sore the entire time I was on this pill and after three months it was not helping my acne. In fact, it may have made it slightly worse. I did not have a horrible experience with this pill, and it did its job of preventing pregnancy. A lot of doctors will prescribe this brand if its your first time on BC, so it's worth trying it out for a few months before you decide if you want to switch or not. I ended up switching because of the acne issue. Apparently norethindrone acetate is one type of progestin hormone that can cause acne, oops."

• Fight...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 3, 2019

"Despite being a low hormone birth control, I have found a similar amount of side effects compared with other higher hormonal bc pill methods. Yet, knowing that less synthetic hormones is generally healthier for the body, I am staying on the pill and giving it higher stars. On a side note, I have sadly gained 10 pounds in one month; am hoping my increased breast sized may account for this in part. My acne has improved but it is far from gone. No negative effects on my mood thus far."

• 1999 ...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 29, 2019

"I was on this birth control pill in 1999 when I was 18. I took it for 6 months before I decided to stop using it. I did not have any problems with acne or cramps during use, but a serious increase in both directly after stopping. The problem for me was extreme nausea, depression, weight gain, mid cycle bleeding, and dryness. I now realize that taking hormonal birth control, especially before having children, causes many bad side effects long term. I would not recommend any hormonal birth control pills for anyone, and wish I had never taken any."

• Lee
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 24, 2021

"I went from 1/10 version to 1/20 due to constant spotting and doctor suggesting a new to increase. I have had spotting almost daily. I also have clumpy spotting every morning. I have cramps most days. Do not recommend."

• Momma...
• February 19, 2018

"I have been on several differemt types of birth control, this includes the shot and IUD. The shots made me feel hot and sweat 10 times more than normal. The IUD gave pains they made me bow up and over almost ready to faint from pain. I have recently been on Junel 1/20 and have had no libido. Which caused horrible tension between the hubby and I. I also have had missed periods and increase in blood flow when I did have one. Another problem was tender breasts that hurt so bad I can't describe. The only pro about it was its free through my insurance. I have recently switched to loestrine 1/20 and I have not noticed a large change yet. I do not have breast tenderness at all. Although I have not been on it very long."

• Lou
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 17, 2020

"I have been taking Loestrin Fe 1/20 for almost 3 months and it is AWFUL!!! I have breakthrough bleeding more often than not and this stuff makes me vomit daily. I know it’s the pill because once I take the placebo pills no more vomiting. I do not recommend."

• Mary
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 2, 2021

"I started taking Loestrin 1/20 in the middle of November and I did not experience any weight gain, my weight stayed the same, however I did notice more acne on my back as well as a few on my face, they went away however but I still noticed that my skin was breaking out more which defeated the purpose of taking the pill since I mainly like taking it for acne control. The worst side effect was bleeding for more than 2 and a half weeks almost 3 weeks on this pill. In the middle of December, I started bleeding even though I take the pills at the same time every single day. This is annoying, will be switching to a new pill once this pack is finished. Overall I would say that it is a good pill despite the constant bleeding which is annoying."

• Kelsjo
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 20, 2018

"I have been taking Loestrin Fe 1/20 for almost 4 months now. Let's just say I'm going to ask for a different pill at my doctor's appointment tomorrow. This pill has caused severe tenderness in my breasts 24/7, sometimes I have what feels like heart palpitations and shortness of breath. I hardly have a period anymore and worst of all, I cry ALL the time. I have never been an emotional person but now all I want to do is cry about everything. I am also on wellbutrin for anger, anxiety and depression. I am wondering if these pills don't agree with each other. Either way, my anxiety and depression have been so much worse since starting this birth control."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 3, 2019

"It’s been about 5 months on this pill Loestrin Fe 1/20 , I was taking something different at the beginning of the year for 3 months prior to this pill. Loestrin works fine as of preventing pregnancy but I’m not sure if it’s the pill or just me but I get irritated over everything. I am angry everyday and sometimes at least once a week I have been crying and it’s over dumb things. I get angry if I don’t get my own way or if plans change in the slightest bit I just get super ticked off and cry to calm down."

• Pros...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 16, 2022

"I honestly felt fine during the time I took this birth control! It didn’t cause extra weight gain, mood swings etc. but it did drastically increase my blood pressure!! That definitely scared me. It would be 140-150s/90-100s while resting in bed. My primary doctor didn’t seem to worry about it when I brought up that my BC might be causing this, thought it was my diet/lack of activity. Thankful my OB switched me to something different."

• Chrissy
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 13, 2021

"I have been taking this pill for over 5 months it has been a terrible experience I have experience anxiety, also my face - mostly my chin has broken out extremely terribly and it took me a long time to pinpoint that this birth control was problem. I switched soaps makeup everything thinking that was the culprit but it was honestly the birth control. They are good for some people but made me have uncontrolled periods cause mood swings broke out terribly would not recommend it"

• Melody
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 24, 2022

"I tried the loestrin 1/20 or the Junel 1/20 which is the off brand. At first I felt great light periods improved acne but after about 6 months I noticed major increase in hair loss. I have thick waist length hair, at least I used to, I’ve had a very hard time with it and after five months on a new pill I’m still losing hair and it will take years to fully recover my hair. Be very careful when taking birth control, I wish to heaven I would have NEVER taken it."

• EFano
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 12, 2021

"I didn’t have a great time on this pill. While it made my cramps subside, it did not regulate my period. however, i was only on it for a month and a half because the mental side effects were unbearable. I experienced crippling anxiety and heightened depression. I had no physical side affects aside from occasional mild headaches."

• Sheri
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 19, 2022

"I took this pill after my first son was born in 1998. I had always wanted to lose about 15-20 pounds but never could. Somehow with this pill the weight just fell off. I was exactly the weight I had always wanted to be. I stopped taking it to have another child. Got pregnant again 3 years later and after my second sons birth, lost the baby weight in 2 months. I’m now almost 45 and after 4 years of failed IVF, I have gained about 20 pounds that I don’t want. I have tried everything to get rid of the weight and nothing works. Started up on loestrin 1/20 again last week and I’m losing weight every day. I don’t know how it works but it does. In the past it also lightened my cramps tremendously and I loved that. Knowing that this will help me lose the weight I have gained in the process of IVF will help me deal with the heartache of not having any more children."

• kiah...
• October 31, 2021

"I was hoping to put less hormones in my body and so switched from nuvaring to LoLo to try something different after many years. I asked my boyfriend to pay attention to any mood changes since sometimes it’s hard to know/observe when it’s in your body. It’s been one month and this last week of pills I’ve really felt a discerning difference. I’ve never had mood changes like this on birth control , and although they aren’t extreme they’re enough to color my day to day experiences in a negative way. My boyfriend said I'm more anxious, and I've also noticed I'm easily irritated/angered by small things every single day. My mood usually isn’t like this. Currently on the two sugar days & all those emotions are even more intense. I'm going to stop the pill now because I'm usually a pretty happy person and this pill is really dampening that. Good luck & pay attention to all the signs if you try this one out!"

• Anonymous
• April 12, 2021

"It’s been the best one for me so far. The only downside is I get a lot of UTIs and pH related issues. My acne is clear though and I haven’t gotten pregnant which is good lol"

• Money...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 6, 2018

"I have PCOS and keep getting my period for over a month on this pill. Side effects aren't bad aside from moodiness and headaches but the long periods are so bad"