Hana pill vs Desogestrel pill

I have PCOS, so I don't have periods normally as is and hormonal birth control effects me differently. My review is for the other PCOS girlies who have amenorrhea (lack of/no menses). I started cramping almost immediately. I take the pill at noon everyday, and the cramping sets in 30 minutes later. It is worse at night before bed. As far as emotional side effects, I've noticed I am more apathetic than usual, but otherwise fine.

Hana was my first experience of taking a contraceptive at the age of 33. It was generally a positive experience. It really reduced the PMDD symptoms I was experiencing and made the week before my period more manageable. My period was lighter and less painful overall. There were some negatives,my sex drive completely disappeared and I experienced vaginal dryness. My periods were less regular and sometimes I would have two back to back with just a few days in between. Because they were so light it wasn't a huge problem. The biggest issue was I realised that in balancing out my hormonal mood swings it felt like it had gone too far and I was overall emotionally flat. I realised that I wasn't really myself, it was subtle and it took me a while to realise.

I feel like I haven't been on it long enough to give it a chance but I've been spotting from the day I started 3.5weeks a go and I've had enough. I've also had terrible heartburn and nausea too.

I’ve been on this pill for 7 weeks after having the Modena coil and then copper coil. For them removed fallen on pregnant so had to try something else. I was struggling as I suffer with hormonal acne so wanted to go on a combined pill but I could t as I suffer with migraines. So I but the bullet and give this a try. I can honestly say it’s helped with my anxiety and mood swings so much. I feel a lot calmer in myself too. My periods have stayed same so far maybe a bit lighter. My acne hasn’t improved or got worse really just same well I think so anyway. The first few weeks I was constantly bloated and constipated but I just take two husk tablets a night now and I’m back to goi g regular. Overall I’m finding this pill ok and I’m happy with the way it’s helped my mood swings.

Overall after trying many different pills, this was the best, I started to have very depressive weeks so I stopped as I was afraid of some suicidal thoughts.

The only side effect I had on this pill was the irregular bleeding. It worked for the first 2 months and then I just bled for the next 4 months (until I stopped). I suffer from VERY painful periods and even when I wasn’t bleeding or it was really light I can recall having 3 huge pain episodes that would last a few days. The pill didn’t affect my mood, but the side effects did because I had to spend nearly all summer inside because of the anxiety and depression. Aswell because of the bleeding I lost interest in sex (again, not caused by the pill directly). Overall I’m disappointed this method didn’t work. If I didn’t have bleeding and unexpected cramps this would’ve been perfect.

Granted I suffer with anxiety and depression anyway but it was under control and I hadn’t had panic attacks in a year when I was off birth control. I started this in January and at first I felt great, I had more energy, little bit of bloating but that went and no changes really at all. By month 2 I noticed I was getting panic attacks again and felt very anxious in safe places/ around safe people where I have never experienced anxiety before. I am now on month 4 and it is worse than ever, I am irritable, angry, emotional, low body image, finding myself not wanting to do anything. I am coming off this pill now and trying another because I want to be myself again.

Completely stopped periods. Noticed mental health effects and loss of libido quite severely after starting using this pill.

After being informed by my doctor that I could no longer use the combination pill, I felt pressured (and ill informed ) to move onto the mini pill. My sex drive was non existent and I it affected my mood dramatically. It was almost as bad as the implant side effects I had years before.

After I had my first child I was given the option of taking the mini pill while I was breastfeeding. Unfortunately for me I suffered with symptoms of vaginal dryness , erratic mood changes which led into post natal depression and experienced light spotting. I really didn’t like how the pill was making me feel and I just wanted to try a natural method whilst I continue to breastfeed. Which is why I started to use condoms and Family planning methods.

I bled for 10 solid weeks. Sometimes, it would be very heavy and sometimes light, but I never stopped completely.

Hi

If you are prone to acne or have depression, I would it advise trying this pill. Started it August 2023 and by October I was very depressed, but it hadn’t occurred to me at that point that it could have been caused by this pill. After that depressive episode ended after a week to two weeks my mood has stayed generally low, also very emotional pretty much all the time and quicker to anger/become frustrated. Also began breaking out in spot in November and am still experiencing this now (January 2024), however I did only change from this pill to another two days ago. Have also experience a significant loss of sex drive, although that could be because I’ve been so down and sometime anxious. Finally, a last, weird one (that I can’t be sure was caused by this pill but would be very interested in hearing if anyone else has experienced this while on this or another hormonal contraception). In September last year I began to feel an aching exactly where period cramps are felt and thought it was just that, because of my body adjusting to this new pill. I then woke up a couple of nights later to extreme cramping in my lower abdomen and then almost passed out on the toilet. Tunnel vision, sudden pins and needles in my hands/arms, cold sweat over my entire body, etc. called 111 because I thought I was having some extreme reaction to the new pill, saw an out of hours GP who said it probably hadn’t been caused by this pill, which I accepted. Had, sometimes very, painful, aching in my lower abdomen after every meal then for a week after. Believed by the end it had to have been gastroenteritis. Fast forward four months and last weekend I had the same aching happen the day before, the following night I wake up again with the same extreme aching, then upset stomach, and finally the almost fainting spell again. It then continued in the same pattern as last time, with bad aching after meals for the next few days after. Like I said, I can’t definitively say those two episodes were caused by this pill but am truly hoping it never happens again now I’ve changed back to a combined.