#microgynon

 ~ Review of the deliplus Gel Secante Corrector (Correcting Drying Gel) ~ 

With all the stress of the past year and hormones playing the usual havoc with our bodies, it’s pretty obvious why varying spot treatments have been released by popular brands so often lately. According to Google Trends, there have been massive spikes of searches for ‘spot treatments’ since May last year, and ‘maskne’ continues to be a problem for many. 

I’ve been taking Microgynon since November in order to reduce my breakouts, but I still get tiny little red spots popping up every now and again. This is a mark of progress for me though - before, I’d be getting deep and sometimes painful cysts that would take weeks to clear up, whereas now my spots barely come to a head anymore. But when I bought this spot gel last summer, I was dealing with new breakouts pretty much every day and so I hoped this product would help heal them.

Does this product work on angry hormonal breakouts? I wouldn’t say so, but I do think it works really well on whiteheads and those pesky bumps I just mentioned. The texture is nice and thin so it’s easy to layer with other products in your routine, and doesn’t give you that sticky, tacky feeling as a bonus. It does smell pretty strongly of alcohol though, so sensitive skin types and those who can’t bear that kind of smell may want to stay clear of this, but I found no irritation when using this product. It also contains salicylic acid, which we all know to be a hero spot-fighting ingredient so that’s another tick in the box too 👊  

As I’ve finished this gel, I’ve ordered the Inkey List’s new Succinc Acid Blemish Treatment which I’m super hyped about as I’ve never tried anything from them before, but I’ve heard fab things about them! Hopefully this will be able to zap away my smaller breakouts and unclog my pores in the process 🤞

#MenstruationMatters Periods are pants so I'm going to wear the period pants

I’m a bit late to this meme for Menstruation Matters but never mind. It’s better to be late than not attend at all IMO. At the time of writing, as a 41-year-old female, my periods are relatively regular. They mostly have been since I started menstruating at age 12. My cycle seems to be roughly 24-28 days, and I mark on my calendar when my bleeding starts and ends. This is mainly because I’m a…

“Do you smoke?” She appraised my figure with scepticism, “You look too young to be on Marvelon. Are you sure it was Marvelon?”

“Yes, that’s what they gave me at the student health centre.”

“Did they give you any reason? Do you have any health problems? Do you have any heart problems?”

“No.”

“You do realise that this is for middle aged women? It’s very, very rare for a woman of your age to be prescribed this.”

The nurse was convinced there was something wrong with me before writing me a new prescription for Microgynon. Why would I know that Marvelon was only prescribed for older women and heavy smokers? I took what I was given: ask, receive, swallow.

I couldn’t remember much about my experience on Marvelon, except my own paranoia of somehow doing it wrong. When I told my boyfriend I’d be going on the pill, he was happier about it than I was. “Does that mean your boobs will grow bigger?” They didn’t.

My body filled out with anxiety instead: did I take it at the right time? If I slipped once, does that mean I have to start the process all over again? I hated carrying the pills in my hand bag when I went out to dinner or for drinks, secretly sipping one away when the right hour came along.

When I went on Microgynon, I felt nauseous at 6pm every day. I’d eat a packet of pickled onion Monster Munch to ease the sickly throat-ache. I felt as if I gained weight, even though I could never know for sure without scales. My boobs didn’t get any bigger, as my boyfriend had hoped, but I felt stockier, heavier and bloated. Light periods or spotting between periods sent me on obsessive Google binges, reading and re-reading the worst side effects of being on the pill.

I liked the idea of having no periods, even if it did make me gain weight, feel paranoid and nauseous. But the idea wasn’t as good as the reality. I didn’t need to be reminded of my reproductive biology everyday. So I gave it up —  too lazy, too paranoid, too embarrassed to get top ups — and haven’t bothered since.

i wonder about pill in relation to pharma-budgeting... microgynon was like prescribed poison, but i think the cheapest for nhs to buy.

it must be a false economy to trial an austerity drug on (often the youngest because first-time) bodies as audition into safe sex. & how much is accounted for as acceptable risk to cut costs?

i stockpiled yasmin before coming off the pill in case i changed my mind because was told it is too luxury to get prescribed if you are not already on it now...

found some prices here:

"The most frequently prescribed brands are Microgynon 30® (544,000 items, £2.4 million), Yasmin® (153,000 items, £3.4 million) and Cilest® (146,000 items, £651,000)." http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Documents/Jul_-_Sep_10_Contraceptives.pdf

i stopped the pill to experiment because i'd been regulating hormones all my adult life, thought that meticulously monitoring my menstrual cycle would be more entertaining than it turned out to be, also worried about drive for life, & didn't know exactly what i was reckoning with putting all my eggs in this basket etc... a year later i haven't noticed any significant before or after effects. except that quitting was like weaning myself off an oestrogen dependency and i slept in pools for sweat for weeks.