I've taken Estrostep Fe, Lo-Ovral, Orto TriCyclen Lo, and am currently taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen. My skin has never looked worse than it does now (I've been on the OTC for 2 months now.) Every single BC pill I've tried has made my face look like crap. Everyone keeps saying "you have to be patient and give them at least 6 months." I really don't want to wait that long.More than likely, I will quit taking mine next month....my skin looked a heck of a lot better before. I would recommend just going ahead with the Accutane. Good Luck!

Gstar, I think you should look at an article on the web I found the other day. Do a google search by writing "which oral contraceptive pill is best for acne." The first site that comes up (I think) is the one you want to go to. On this site, the author of the article says thay Estrostep FE is one of the pills that is actually MORE likely to cause acne. She shows charts that list the different BC brand names and what conditions they might be helpful for. I just started Ortho Tri Cyclen, but I'm also on spironolactone. Lots of people here had a bad reaction to Ortho, but I'm trying it first. If it doesn't work, I'll try another.

I certainly understand your embarassment. I had VERY bad skin my junior year of high school, and in fact, I became so depressed I almost felt like killing myself. I went to a dermatologist who prescribed antibiotics and prednisone (a steroid). It worked for me (THANK GOD). I'm sorry to hear antibiotics didn't work and that your mother won't allow accutane. I ended up taking accutane when I was 23, and it worked really well. Since then, the main problem I have is extremely oily skin and lots of little pimples.

What helped me get through the bad period for me in high school, was to focus on being the nicest, good person I could be. That is something you can control and make happen, even if clear skin isn't. BY my senior year, I was voted friendliest girl, which I know I owe in part to the fact that I had to focus so much on who I was inside and not my looks for the that period my skin was so bad.

Well, sorry to ramble. Hope all this information helps. Good luck.

hi i have been taking estro step for 6 months for my acne i had the same problem but its wasnt only on my face it was also on my shoulders back and chest. none of the creams that my doctor prescribed never worked they just made my skin really oily. so i go to a different doctor and he put me on estrostep and now i have no acne what so ever. i havnt gain alot of weight onlt like 2 pounds and if u do happen to gain alot of weight it comes of with excersie most of it is water weight. the only thing bad about it is that it gives u mood swings and ect. but other then that it work very well for acne.

I took estrostep for four months
it ws supposed to help with acne and pms
and it did neither for me.........
everyone is different............it all depends how much estrogen you already have in your system alot of times. they just throw pills at you without bothering to see if you have symptoms of estrogen dominance or maybe extra androgens in your system.
but you do need to give bcps a few months too work, as you can see, I didnt give it more that four months. Please also keep your own health in mind when playing around with bcps...........if you have breast cancer history in your family you need to be very aware of this and the levels of your hormones.