I first started taking the contraceptive pill at the age of 14. Don’t worry, I wasn’t an early starter, I simply had terrible period pains and after trying several different medications the doctor decided to put me on “the pill”. I have pretty much been on the pill for the last 12 years, excluding the time I was pregnant. I have tried several different pills over the years. Originally starting on Loestrin, which was terrible for me and made me moody, like being 14 didn’t make me moody enough, then I was put of Microgynon for a few years, which I was quite happy on, then when I was about 18 I was put on Dianette which I stayed on for about 2 years, for all the bad symptoms I had on it, I had a clear face, my face was like a dot-to-dot for spots before then. The doctor then decided I had probably grown out of the teenage spot stage by the time I was 20 and suggested I went back to Microgynon. I happily stayed on Microgynon for the next 3 and half years and never really had any side effects from it, apart from falling pregnant but that was more user error than the pill itself, it had done me proud for many years before then. 3 weeks after having my gorgeous little girl (sorry, I’m bias) I went back on to Microgynon for 18 months, the last few months of this period I starting getting terrible headaches during my 7 day break and when I went to the doctor, she decided I should try something new-Yasmin!! I gave it a go for 7 months then I couldn’t take it no more….I was a raged woman for most of the months with mood swings and low sex drive (I suppose that’s why it’s a contraceptive), so in my 12 years of the pill I have been certainly making my way through a list.

So the first week of trying Mercilion was fine, didn’t have any immediate side effects and as most women using the combined pill know, it takes a few months to really see the real effects of it. So I carried on taking it for the next 21 days with no side effects, my mood had certainly lifted a great deal after about a week of discarding Yasmin and starting on Mercilon, it was like a huge weight had been lifted off my poor breaking back. I had no breakthrough bleeding, as I did my first month taking Yasmin and my “monthly” arrived exactly when it should and I felt normal again when it came to having a sex drive. I will say the first period I had was a little heavier than usual and I felt pretty rubbish the first day, I was tired and crampy, my legs felt like a dead weight. It basically really took it out of me and I did have a headache for the first day or so, but only mild compared to the head bangers I was having previously on Microgynon. But the main thing was that I wasn’t hormonal, I was still smiling and my mood was still in high spirits. Very early on taking Mercilon I did have some horrendous spots (they were like having a 2nd or even 3rd head). Knowing it would take a while for my body to properly adjust to the new pill and weighing up my options i.e. moody for 21/28 days, sever headaches and low sex drive of my previous pills or 1 day of feeling a bit groggy in 28 days and 27 perfectly normal days with Mercilion, I decided it was worth persevering.

When the doctor had prescribed me these pills, she had mentioned to me that they were a milder form of the pill, obviously this concerned me and I asked her it made it less effective? She had replied saying no, it simple has lower dosage, basically unlike Yasmin and Dianette (Which is like a 40% proof Vodka of the Pill family), that’s my words not hers. She also told me it had a lower dosage of Oestrogen, something I could definitely do with less of with my mood swings at the time. Another thing that concerned me was when she had told me, because of the smaller doses, the window for taking a missed pill (usually around 12 hours later than the usual time you take your pill) will still protect against pregnancy but may cause breakthrough bleeding. Luckily for me I haven’t forgotten one yet, so unfortunately for you, I am unable to tell you whether it happened to me or not.

Ok, so the box is plain white with red-ish writing, it’s quite a simple display, has the product name, quantity and manufacturer. Inside the box, are 3 strips of 21 pills, each strip is individually wrapped in a foil packet (Something I haven’t seen before and actually think it’s a good idea) and the information leaflet. Each strip contains 21 small white pills, with a cycle on the foil backing for the days of the week. My only problem with this is that for some reason every other pill I have tried the cycle of days have always been clock-wise, for Mercilon it’s anti-clockwise and even now I still struggle to remember. Anyway, also on the foil backing it has a MISSED PILL warning, something I haven’t come across before, apart from the usual take extra precautions, I think because of the lower dose it is advised to carry through to your next packet without a break depending where you are in your cycle, which I didn’t have to the do with the others I and tried. I also find the strip wider than other pills, not hugely but enough so they don’t fit into the little cardboard envelope thing I have at home designed to keep them in and discrete.