Birth Control Pills & Acne: Understanding the Connection & Finding Solutions

Question
Hello.  I am 24 and have been on birth control for many many years.  At first when I had mild acne, it helped clear it up and now, its just awful.  I have been on Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella, back to Yasmin, and then Apri. All have made me breakout to a point where it completely spreads all over my jawline area and sometimes my chin.  And now on Apri, my acne has even spread to my face and lowered my sex drive.  Would you recommend a different form of birth control that is not a pill?  During this past summer I went off completely for 2 months and it actually cleared up quite a bit.

Thanks,
Jennifer

Answer
Hi Jennifer, This question may seem odd but do you actually need to be on birth control at this time of your life? Yes, these symptoms sound like they could be from the hormones in the birth control pill. The only other birth control methods I know that are not hormonal are condoms and natural family planning. To find out more about that go to http://www.ccli.org
Please email me at CHERYL51@aol.com and we can talk more about all this. Hope to hear from you soon.

Diane Cheryl