Question of the Month
Q:
I am a 25 year old that went on to Diane 35
for 4 months to treat mild acne. I stopped after 4 months because I felt like it
was getting worse after 4 months. Now my acne is worse than when I first began
the birth control pill. Now, 11 months later I still suffer from acne. I was
wondering if by going onto this pill if I have caused a permanent hormone
imbalance?
A:
Being on the pill does not trigger any sort of
hormonal imbalance. Nor should Diane 35 make acne worse. The pill cuts acne by
about 50% which is good but it does not clear the skin completely. Like any
medication, it works better for some than others. The
acne article on my website covers treatment in
detail. Often, adding a testosterone blocker such as spironolactone to the pill
gives a much better result.
Recently there has been much publicity in Canada about a possible increased risk
of blood clots with Diane 35 compared to other birth control pills. It is not
clear if this risk is real or not. In my experience, other nonandrogenic birth
control pills probably work as well. These include Yasmin, OrthoCyclen,
OrthoTricyclen, OrthoTri Cyclen Lo, OrthoEvra (the patch), Desogen, Mircette and
others. If you are using Diane 35, I suggest discussing with your doctor as to
whether you should continue on it or change to another pill. The risk however
for an individual is very small.
There is some information on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
website.
Click Here
Hope this is helpful.
Sincerely,
Geoffrey Redmond, MD
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