#mini-pill

I've decided to stop taking the mini-pill early since both myself and Richard have noticed a severe decrease in my libido and edginess in general since starting on the progesterone only pill Norriday back in February. We both just feel that I've not been myself on the pill as it's seriously messed with my hormones and the way I usually respond with touch and it's just not me at all and we're both wanting to get a little bit of a head start since I've been on a combination of the Pill and the Mini-Pill for 7 years now. 

Could anyone help me - if you've gone off the mini-pill or progesterone only pill what changes did you notice? 

How were your moods and periods in comparison to how they were while taking the pill, did you notice any weight gain or loss (it's been very hard for me to lose weight and keep it off while on the pill). 

And anything else that you went through after coming off of the pill. 

Well you’ll need to listen to your needs and your body over anything else, but here is my understanding of the different birth control methods.

Nexplanon - 68mg of etonogestrel released at a time

Micronor (mini-pill) - has 36mg of levonorgestrel per pill

 Mirena IUD - releases approximately 20 mcg of levonogetrel a day

While I understand that you have your own reasons for not wanting an IUD, to me it is clear that the progression from the mini-pill to the Mirena is the most logical.  I am always nervous about Nexplanon because the bleeding pattern is very uncertain - 1/3 of people end up with no bleeding, 1/3 of people have regular periods, and 1/3 of people have constant bleeding.  Because of those odds, I don’t tend to suggest it to my patients.  Additionally, the extraordinarily high levels of progesterone causes a number of other side effects like mood swings, depression, hair loss, weight gain, PMS symptoms, etc.  However, it is the most effective birth control, so I would rather my patients have the Nexplanon implant than the pill if they truly are looking for a way to avoid pregnancy.  

of things that affect my acne. I know that diet is said to be irrelevant to whether you have acne or not, but I know from experience that certain things cause my acne to flare up.

Fizzy drinks (soda, cola, whatever you call it...)

Alcohol ( I barely touch alcohol but on the rare occassion I have a glass, I know about it later.)

Dairy (Yoghurt doesn't particularly affect my skin, but milk, icecream and cream flare it up)

Chocolate (I think this is due to the high levels of dairy and sugar)

Sugar ( Whenever I go on a junk food binge involving high levels of sugar, my acne worsens.)

The mini-pill (My acne has been the most severe I have ever seen it since I started this pill. I'm getting off it in a couple of days hopefully.)

Also, I suspect that coconut oil may have contributed to a little of my acne (But it's so great for my hair I was so reluctant to give it up.)