Acne Skin Care

Will my acne come back if I stop taking birth control?

A few years ago, my face went through a phase where it would break out in painful cysts and moderate acne. I tried different acne medications but nothing worked. I went to the doctor and she told me it may be my hormones, so she prescribed me with Yasmin birth control (which helps control acne). It took about a month or so to see that my face was clearing up and the painful cysts went away altogether. I hear that taking birth control long term is not a good thing, so I am thinking of stopping. I am wondering if my acne and cysts will come back if I do.

Public Comments

1. I'm taking yasmin too and when I stopped taking it my acne came back, so I started taking it again and it went away. I only had break outs not cysts so I don't know about the cysts, but the breakouts probably will come back. Good Luck :)
2. The chances are very high that it will come back as the underlying problem has not changed - if you have a problem with your hormones it is likely it is still there. While Yasmin has been very good to clear up your skin, your Doctor shouldn't really just be masking the problem with Birth Control! She should have offered to identify what exactly is the problem with your hormones! It's very likely that you have a condition called PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) which is the leading cause of acne in young women. The imbalance of hormones creates a variety of side effects, acne being one of them. It's possible to have only 1 or 2 symptoms and not the whole list (see below website for more info). I would go back to your Doctor and ask them to get to the root of the problem, not just cover it with the Pill! You may decide to stay on the Pill but it's important that you find out what is causing the issue. If you do have PCOS it is not good for you to stay on the Pill for very long as it can lead to further problems. While most Doctors say that staying on the Pill is more or less ok it cannot be ignored that there is research that suggests it is not good at all for women to stay on it. So you are right in thinking that perhaps it's not a good idea. But once you have all the information and a proper diagnosis, then you can make your decision. Perhaps the lifestyle benefits of the Pill outweight the possible long term problems - acne is not easy to live with and you may decide that your quality of life on the Pill is worth the risks, but you should have all the information from your Doctor before you make that decision. See if your Doc can run some tests and help you find out the problem and then decide yourself whether you want to stay on the Pill or not. Chances are the Acne will always be there (until menopause) if it's hormonal...unfortunately :( Hope this helps :-)