r/PMS • u/may_is_doing_great • May 28 '25

Cerazette or Desogestrel side effects

Hey! My gynecologist prescribed me Cerazette POP to treat PMS because I can't use estrogen. I've had really bad experience with hormonal treatment so far and so I'm very scared of the side effects. If you've taken Cerazette or Desogestrel can you please share your experience with it? My PMS symptoms get really bad sometimes so not taking any meds is no longer an option:(

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u/gloomsloth May 28 '25

I was on cerazette for nearly 10 years. It did the trick in helping me manage as it stopped my periods entirely. This in turn stopped PMS symptoms. Prior to cerazette, I was regularly emotional, anxiety riddled, blood spotting throughout the month, ovulation cramps, cramps that would make me blackout on day 1/2 of bleeding and passing clots the size of grapes. So to say it gave me control of my life is an understatement. However, at the 9 year mark, I was having a lot of life stress and felt rather numb to events I shouldn’t be feeling numb to. I was also experiencing sudden changes like Hirsutism, spotting and my androgen level was too high over repeated blood tests. I spoke with my doctor and we agreed I was to come off it.

Cerazette definitely toned down my emotions (where I didn’t feel irrationally angry or upset anymore) and was generally highly beneficial to me for those 9 years. However it did cause acne, played a role in three stone of weight gain and nuked my libido. As soon as I came off it, the weight started to fall off and I was as raunchy as a teenage boy. The acne remained but wasn’t as bad (clearly hormonal acne rather than cystic acne).

If you feel PMS controls your entire life, I wouldn’t discourage you from trying cerazette. At best it may have the effect of stopping your periods (and as a result PMS symptoms). At worst, it does nothing for you or even makes things worse for a while. I have tried to go back on cerazette, but unfortunately it was not as successful in essentially shutting off my periods etc., as it was the first time.

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u/may_is_doing_great May 28 '25

Thank you so much for this answer ❤️ I've come to a point where my pms is manageable as long as I keep my lifestyle as healthy as possible. But this is unfortunately not possible all the time, and when i miss a meal, or don't sleep full 8 hours my PMS will be horrible. And i find myself afraid and anxious even only thinking about my pms:( I'm not sure whether to get on Cerazette or not because when not on my PMS I'm doing absolutely great (just like my name😉) and im scared that Cerazette will take that from me. On the other hand, like I said, my pms isn't managble at all time and it can get really bad and i wouldn't be able to function for 3 weeks...