Just stopped taking BCP.

adri_nicole

Hello all,

I recently stopped taking my bc pills and it was great at first...better sex, I was in the mood more, etc...but now! NOW, I have turned into a grease ball. My face is greasy all the time and I am breaking out like crazy around my hair line and a few on my back. It's gross... anybody have any great ideas on how to stop this and clear it up besides getting back on the pill?

monkeygirl18

This happened to me when I went of bcp and got the paragard (nonhormonal iud). The body takes time to adjust to not having the extra hormones. Took me about 3 mnths and in that time i just used good ol' clearasil.

adri_nicole

Thanks for the comment...I was thinking I was turning into a teenager again...ugh.

jgengo0

Same thing happened to me. I went off to give my body a little bit of a break and to get my sex drive back. I went from having 0 blemishes to a full face full. Not fun! St. ives apricot scrub worked well for me.Surprisingly I also found keeping my face hydrated with lotion helped a bit too.

On a side note....make sure you are being overly careful if you do not want children just yet...My husband and I were using other forms of birth control, obviously they didn't work. In the months following coming off of birth control your chances of hyper-ovulating are pretty high....I learned the hard way! lol

Lane05

I had the same issues.  I finally went to the dermatologist.  He prescribed Retin-A (generic) and it has worked wonders.  I work with teenagers and it's nice not to look like one on a regular basis! 

kjacobs-boer

I went off the pill about 4 months before my wedding and started NFP and I had acne issues for about 5 months and they're starting to level out. Be sure to moisturize and I also like the apricot scrub. Good luck and go ahead and see a dermatologist if you want more options.

lifeguard

  Extended physical exercise which causes sweating for an hour  each day can help. I'm not talking sitting on your butt in a steam sauna either.

  The first few days the zits will be even worse as your body starts forcing sweat and oil through blocked pores. In a week or so you will look and feel so much better. 

Minimax052910

Wow I had no idea! This is good to know in advance when I stop taking BCP down the road.

luckeegurl

Ohhhh greeeaaat... haha! Acne PLUS I could get pregnant? JK... I just stopped my pills yesterday. Akkk! I miss them!

brandyleighxx

I've been very worried about this as I'm 9 days off BCPs but I'm just being more diligent about skin care. Using benzoyl peroxide face wash & cream at night & AM, sleeping with my hair pulled back, washing pillow cases.

agoodse

I'm in the same boat.  It's been over a year, and it's only gotten worse, more so than before I was on the pill.  I'm getting ready to buy some more Proactiv.  It works really well.

RemiL

Just an FYI - take extra precautions if you're using Retin-A. My doctor told me that Retin-A can cause birth defects...

 I'm going off of BCP next month. All of you scared me a bit!

NikkiP4514

Yep. I'm also very familiar with this annoying issue. It took me about 8 months for the breakouts to stop. I did invest in a Clarisonic (face brush) and used Murad with it and they went away super fast after that! I still use my Clarisonic twice a day and I don't have any breakouts (even during that time of the month). Best of luck. I know how frustrating this is. . . I was often in tears. And because I had never had acne before, I had no idea what to do. I went to a dermatologist and they put me on Retin-A. Don't do it. Worst thing I ever did. My face started pealing and was so irritated that it hurt to wash.

mcdol3

Im lurking a bit. Thanks for the heads up. I'm planning to stop my BCP tomorrow. I went on them for acne 10 years ago and never stopped taking them. Guess we'll see what happens!

AGsWife

I just stopped taking BCP, too. I was on it for a while - to regulate, etc. I hated it, though, especially because I had no sex drive (my poor DH!) I just also hated the idea of constantly being on hormones. The advice all you ladies offered is great - thanks for sharing!