Long before my PCOS diagnosis, I was on Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo to regulate my periods, because the combination of college + not knowing when I'd start bleeding was making my anxiety worse (I used it as birth control as well, and was told my irregular cycles were "just because I was overweight. Lose the weight & they'll be normal" was the advice a couple of physicians gave me....regardless of the fact my cycles had NEVER been regular, even when I was at a "normal" weight). The OTC-lo worked well for me as far as a regular/timed cycle/bleed with minimum side effects. I think the only side effect I had was mild headaches for the first 1-2 days of each pill pack...I don't know if this is the "best one" for PCOS, though? [my guess is not, since my prior doctors didn't even check me for PCOS...]. I've had friends that have been on Yaz and really liked it, but I think I heard at some point that Yaz has a higher rate of blood clots & such?

Since we are TTC now, birth control is obviously not helpful...lol. After my PCOS diagnosis, I have found that a Lower Carb, Higher Fat, Moderate Protein diet + Metformin (I'm on 1000mg extended release b.i.d), has regulated my cycles LIKE CLOCKWORK. I have a 33-day cycle now that tends to start in the same 3-4 hour window each month (I'd never realized how handy it is KNOWING when you are to expect your period...), and have since the first month I was on Metformin with the diet adjustments. All my lab values currently point towards that I'm ovulating now, so fingers crossed . Before that, I would easily go 90-200 days without a bleed unless I took progesterone to induce it.

Good luck on finding what works for you!

Ortho-Tricyclen-Lo and I were not friends, either!
I liked the NuvaRing OK when I was younger but when I tried it again after being off it for several years, it caused horrible mood symptoms. I ended up quitting mid-cycle ... and then not having a period for 6 months. That really messed me up.
I use FAM to avoid since then, but my cycles are not super regular.

I've been on 3 different generic versions of OrthoTriCyclen: TriNessa, TriSprintec, and TriPrevifem. TriNessa and TriSprintec were awesome. My periods started on the same day every month, I had minimal side effects/pms symptoms, my skin and hair was great, and I was able to lose weight on each one. TriPrevifem was horrible. I had horrible headaches, my face broke out like crazy, and I was gaining about 3 lbs a week, even though my diet and exercise had not changed from before. A pharmacist told me that all the generic forms were the same but my body definitely didn't react the same.

KnitOrMiss wrote: »

Kelli8885 wrote: »

I've been on 3 different generic versions of OrthoTriCyclen: TriNessa, TriSprintec, and TriPrevifem. TriNessa and TriSprintec were awesome. My periods started on the same day every month, I had minimal side effects/pms symptoms, my skin and hair was great, and I was able to lose weight on each one. TriPrevifem was horrible. I had horrible headaches, my face broke out like crazy, and I was gaining about 3 lbs a week, even though my diet and exercise had not changed from before. A pharmacist told me that all the generic forms were the same but my body definitely didn't react the same.

In generics, the ACTIVE ingredients are the same. It's the inactive ingredients that change. Most likely you reacted to something in that particular formulation. OrthoTriCyclen often has coupons on their site that allow you a monthly discount, too, so be sure to check that out.

That makes sense! I'm not on any bcp right now. I'm breastfeeding until I wean my baby in June at 12 months. And then we are going to start trying for baby #2 so I decided to forgo bcp for the time being. I will more than likely go back to TriSprintec or TriNessa when I do eventually get back on bcp though. I never had a bad reaction to those.