ORTHO-CEPT Reviews (DESOGESTREL; ETHINYL ESTRADIOL)Average Rating: 2.9 (108 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ORTHO-CEPT with similar:
Type: Brand name discontinued; available as generic
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Results are sorted by Date added. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
More on ORTHO-CEPT: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ORTHO-CEPT | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 2 | Ortho-Cept high in Estrogen | Uncontrollable acne, mood swings, breast tenderness and increase in appetite! | I know I have only been on this for a month but I don't know if being on it is worth it anymore. I was struggling with mild acne so I went to planned parenthood to get something that would help with it. Well, the doctor gave me Ortho-Cept that is high in Estrogen to help me mostly with acne. I have about had it with my acne and it's only been a month. It's painful and it's on my neck which has never happened. My breasts are tender. The slightest touch hurts. I get some mood swings, not to bad so fat, & I could eat a cow! If after bout 5 months, and my acne doesn't clear up, I'm changing! | F | 16 | 1 months 0.15MG 1X day | 8/13/2012 | 2 | Prevent Pregnancy | Severe depression, mood swings, fatigue, weight gain, nausea, headaches, etc. This pill made my acid reflux worse. I was on the verge of tears all day every day for no reason, and had erratic moods. I got so bloated at one point that I was actually scared to death that I was pregnant. I'm petite at 5'2 at 110 pounds, and I gained 10. AND I'M A VEGETARIAN! I started getting frequent and severe headaches. I was so tired with absolutely no energy, and could fall asleep at any moment during the day. I felt narcoleptic.. I already have bad acne, and it became impossible to control since taking this. | I'm sure there's more side effects I experienced that I'm failing to mention here, or ones I could elaborate on, but all I know is, is that I'm not gonna try experimenting with other birth control pills. I feel weird messing with my body's natural hormones. I know most women and doctors would recommend trying other pills to find one that works for me, but I'm just not comfortable putting my body through that type of stress again. So as of today I officially quit taking this pill, and am researching non-hormonal contraceptive methods, including the diaphragm and cervical cap. I know the pill is most effective in preventing pregnancy, but for some of us at a high cost. The only pros for me was no babies, and regular periods. Well and my boyfriend kept telling me my boobs were getting bigger, which I didn't notice much, but he's a guy haha.. This pill may or may not be for you. Try at your own risk, (as with any birth control pill), and I wish you luck! | F | 19 | 8 months 1X day | 7/20/2012 | 4 | Irregular periods | Weight gain, breast enlargement, & mood swings. I would say it has helped a bit with clearing up my skin as well. I had to look up side effects for this BC to see if anyone else had a weight gain, so I know I'm not going crazy. But this isn't good for me, someone who was a sufferer of an eating disorder, to have such a weight gain. I do have to say, however, that it has helped my irregular periods. I just don't know if I should continue. | F | 29 | 10 months 1X | 7/3/2012 | 5 | Contraception | Clear skin, increased appetite | I haven't had any bad side effect while on this pill. No acne, although I normally have very clear skin so no big difference there. Sex drive is not affected at all and no nausea. | F | 18 | 3 months 1X day | 5/8/2012 | 2 | no babies | Loss of sex drive, headaches, tiredness, cramping, spotting, breakthrough bleeding | I've been taking Ortho-Cept for about three months. The 1st & 2nd month were fine & I didn't notice any side effects besides my boobs getting a little bigger & perhaps a slight loss in my sex drive. This 3rd month has been hellish, however. I spotted for about a week before my period started & I'm still bleeding (all day & pretty constantly) almost two weeks after it should have ended. Being on my period pretty much for a full month has led to my other side effects - I'm cramping up, I'm tired, & I have bad headaches. This was just my experience, but I wouldn't recommend this pill. | F | 17 | 3 months 1X day | 5/3/2012 | 4 | Prevent pregnancy | Breast enlargement, some weight gain, mild acne | I didn't see any clearing up of my acne from this BC, which was disappointing considering my old prescription from Planned Parenthood cleared up my acne really well, but they changed their brands. However, my boobs are now a 36 D (up a cup size) and it works for preventing pregnancy. I haven't had long periods either, but I still get some cramps. Overall, I'm pretty damn satisfied with this product, and haven't had any problems with it. | F | 16 | 2 months 1X day | 4/26/2012 | 3 | irregular periods | headaches, insomnia. | It's only been two weeks, so I am trying to give it a little longer for my body to get used to it. I have noticed more frequent headaches, but I get headaches while not on birth control, again I am waiting it out to see if my body gets used to it. I feel for those on who review it who are having a hard time. It's been a few years since I've used the pill, so I think its ok to wait it out a little or try something else. Best of luck. Excedrin Migraine helps with headaches and I find lowering caffeine has helped. Good luck, if not there are other choices out there and something may be a better fit. | F | 33 | 14 days 1X day | 4/26/2012 | 2 | no babies | break out, spotting, increased sensitivity to smell | I figured tonight after spotting 5 days after finishing a period I had (because I missed one pill) I would look up others experience with this. I've also felt less strong since I started taking this pill which I thought might just be me, but I stopped feeling as strong (not able to do as many push ups and pull ups as before) about a week after starting this pill. I'm not stoked on it at all. I took my last pill last night and I'm going back to Planned Parenthood to change it up. The last pill I was on, microgestin, was awesome but I didn't like not having periods. I know some people want to get rid of theirs but I was just scared I wouldn't know if I happened to get pregnant. | F | 26 | 1X day | 4/21/2012 | 2 | prevent pregnancy | Horrible mood swings and depression weight gain | F | 19 | 1 years | 3/1/2012 | 4 | Acne and Pregnancy prevention | Increased appetite for sure and possibly insomnia. I phrase it this way because I have had trouble sleeping before I started taking this, so I do not know if this is just a correlation or a side effect. | For all the people commenting about having horrible side effects from Ortho-Cept: Number 1- it says in the directions that side effects could last for the first three months and most physicians advise staying on the pill for at least 2 months for your body to get used to the new hormones. Number 2- it is not that Ortho-cept "sucks" but rather everybody's bodies have different hormone levels and some birth controls just work for some people and others don't. Number 3- this is a high hormone dose birth control so if you are having "extreme" side effects you should probably be on lower dose birth control. Number 4- this birth control is used to prevent acne and as with people who don't have A.D.D. taking Adderall, the effects are the opposite. For the people who did not have acne prior and then got it after taking this, that is most likely the reason. | F | 20 | 6 days 15 MG 1X day | 2/20/2012 | 3 | Prevent pregnancy | Headaches, nausea, slight weight fluctuation, increase in breast size, mood swings, anxious, fatigue, temporarily acne free skin | F | 22 | 2 years 28 daypack | 2/3/2012 | 1 | Prevent pregnancy | Horrible mood swings, depression, spotting | F | 17 | 2 months .15 mg | 1/31/2012 | 1 | Prevent Pregnancy | I had major headachs, I also had starting having a lot of pain in my lower abdomin and found out it was my overies the pain was so bad that I went to the ER. I have now changed birth control pills, and I have not had a single headach, and my pains in my lower abdomin are gone. I would not say I dont recomend it because everyones body is very different and reacts differently to most things. I know I also had problems with the depo shot too. I will say if you have had problems with other birth control dont take the Ortho Cept. | F | 24 | 1 years .15 1X day | 1/26/2012 | 4 | prevent preg | The only side effect I experience is I get overly emotional (mostly sad) a week before my period. I usually take a different type of BC and I do not get sad like this while I am on that. I do not suffer any mental illness. The sadness is only crying at the drop of a hat or I will get angry over something like dropping a hat. | F | 23 | 4 months | 1/16/2012 | 4 | pregnancy prevention | My migraines suck around my period. Other than that NP | F | 31 | 1 years | 12/15/2011 | 5 | Prevent pregnancy | None! | F | 27 | 1 years | 11/24/2011 | 4 | relieve cramps | when i first started orthocept i was 17. it went well only it made me gain 20lbs! so i stopped taking them. about a year later i tried them again because my cramps would just be way too much for me to handle. ive been on this pill for aout six or seven months and its worked great! its a smaller pack from the last one ive had. ive had no weight gain if anything ive lost a lot of weight! i dont have a big appetite anymore. one thing i absolutely do not like about this pill is every time i start a new pack, for about the first or second week i get REALLY sick. the more months go by the less sick i am. but i dread the first/second weeks. i have STRONG adversions to food. i work in a restaurant and it sucks when it hits me and i just feel nausious. i only get nausious when its been a couple hours after i take my pill for the day. so about 8 at night i get super sick. other than that its been perfectly fine! | everybodys body is different! | F | 18 | 6 months 1X day | 9/24/2011 | 2 | Pregnancy prevention | 11 pounds weight gain in first two weeks, bigger breasts, cleared up acne, nausea, headaches, extremely painful periods | F | 27 | 2 months 1X day | 9/6/2011 | 3 | Birth Control | Not pregnant, Cleared acne, no period (skipped the center period ring, its not a health hazard I checked) If you are late to taking the pill... you'll regret it.... | For the first two months I was VERY happy with the pill, no periods no mood swings, no spotting, nothing; nothin' but blue skies. But a couple weeks ago my boyfriend surprised by taking me up to the cabin... didnt have my pills with me; took the pill about 12 hrs later than usual. Now I suffer from dryness during sex, which in turn causes intense burning after. NO sex drive, and a dark secretion every day that wont go away for the life of me. I want to cry all the time. Its as if the withdraw of that one day set me back. I went in to PPH but they just told me to hang in the... I gonna go in again tuesday, and pray they fix this, because I like sex... | F | 18 | 3 months 28 1X day | 8/27/2011 | 4 | Birth Control | acne on shoulders and chin (weird on the shoulders), fatigue, lack of energy and absolutely no sex drive. | I like ortho-cept because I do not get severe mood swings on it. I can handle the acne, as it is starting to go away, but I cannot handle losing my sex drive. If this continues, I will discontinue this medication. Plus, I went for a two mile walk tonight and thought I was going to fall asleep walking. It makes me very tired. | F | 34 | 1 months 1X day | 8/11/2011 |