Desogestrel: uses & side-effects

What is Desogestrel?

Most popular types: Cerazette Cerelle

Desogestrel is a form of progestin only birth control pill. This type of contraceptive suppresses ovulation, thickens cervical mucus, and thins the endometrium.

See patients taking Desogestrel

Reported purpose & perceived effectiveness
Purpose	Patients	Evaluations
This item is relevant to you: Birth control	15	17
This item is relevant to you: Heavy periods	7	16
This item is relevant to you: Dysmenorrhea	6	3
This item is relevant to you: Endometriosis	3	1
This item is relevant to you: Polycystic ovary syndrome	3	1

Show all 12 reasons taken

Major
Moderate
Slight
None
Can't tell

See all 62 patients that have taken Desogestrel

Side effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Side effects as an overall problem
Severity	Evaluations	Percentage
This item is relevant to you: Severe	1
This item is relevant to you: Moderate	6
This item is relevant to you: Mild	12
This item is relevant to you: None	21

Commonly reported side effects and conditions associated with Desogestrel

Side effect	Patients	Percentage
Weight gain	4
Irregular menstrual periods	2
Breast tenderness	1
Decreased sex drive (libido)	1
Hair growth	1
Hair loss	1

Show all 11 reported side effects

Why patients stopped taking Desogestrel

Multiple reasons could be selected

Reason	Patients	Percentage
This item is relevant to you: Side effects too severe	4
This item is relevant to you: Other	3
This item is relevant to you: Change in health plan coverage	1
This item is relevant to you: Course of treatment ended	1
This item is relevant to you: Doctor's advice	1
This item is relevant to you: Expense	1
This item is relevant to you: Personal research	1

See all 10 patients who've stopped taking Desogestrel

Duration

Stopped taking Desogestrel

Duration	Patients	Percentage
This item is relevant to you: 1 - 6 months	2
This item is relevant to you: 6 months - 1 year	3
This item is relevant to you: 1 - 2 years	4
This item is relevant to you: 5 - 10 years	1

Adherence
Adherence	Evaluations	Percentage
This item is relevant to you: Always	31
This item is relevant to you: Usually	8
This item is relevant to you: Sometimes	0
This item is relevant to you: Never taken as prescribed	1

Burden
Burden	Evaluations	Percentage
This item is relevant to you: Very hard to take	0
This item is relevant to you: Somewhat hard to take	1
This item is relevant to you: A little hard to take	9
This item is relevant to you: Not at all hard to take	30

Cost per month
Cost per month	Evaluations	Percentage
This item is relevant to you: $200+	0
This item is relevant to you: $100-199	0
This item is relevant to you: $50-99	0
This item is relevant to you: $25-49	0
This item is relevant to you: < $25	26
This item is relevant to you: Not specified	14

What people switch to and from

Patients started taking Desogestrel after stopping:

Treatment	Patients	Percentage
This item is relevant to you: Chlormadinone acetate (Luteran)	1
This item is relevant to you: Ethinyl estradiol-levonorgestrel (Seasonique)	1
This item is relevant to you: Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (Depo-Provera)	1

Patients stopped taking Desogestrel and switched to:

Treatment	Patients	Percentage
This item is relevant to you: Norethindrone (norethisterone) (Aygestin)	1

Last updated: April 26, 2026