Reviewer: RebeccaS, 25-34 Female on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)

Comment:
Like other women's experiences of this drug, I was on Kariva for nearly ten years with no problems, it was fantastic. I took Kariva for birth control and for help with periods. Two weeks ago, I showed up at CVS for my refill, and the pharmacist looked me in my eye and told me Kariva had been discontinued. I was furious, as no one consulted me or my doctor (I called my doctor's office and they had ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
Like other women's experiences of this drug, I was on Kariva for nearly ten years with no problems, it was fantastic. I took Kariva for birth control and for help with periods. Two weeks ago, I showed up at CVS for my refill, and the pharmacist looked me in my eye and told me Kariva had been discontinued. I was furious, as no one consulted me or my doctor (I called my doctor's office and they had no record of a phone call with the pharmacy). This pharmacist told me that she would give me an alternative pill and told me that it was the exact same- turns out it's Viorele. I couldn't risk being off the pill, so I took it. I have been so miserable from the first day of taking this pill- dizzy, headache, sore breasts, exhausted- in fact, I fell asleep during a conference last week! So unprofessional. Turns out, Kariva has NOT been discontinued! The pharmacy simply chose to stop carrying it. I am furious for being lied to and furious that a pharmacist would change my Rx without consulting my doctor. I already wrote a scathing review of CVS and switched my Rx to Ralphs, which has a plentiful supply of Kariva. CVS is disgusting and lies to patients- I felt like I had no control over my own body, and that is absolutely not ok.
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Reviewer: 19-24 Female

Comment:
I know everybody is different but this birth control was absolutely terrible for me. My periods were WORSE; heavier and more painful. Also, I've been the same size for over three years. My weight has never budged over a pound or two and I've gained ten very noticeable pounds. It made me tired literally 24/7, emotional, and most importantly I got extreme vaginal dryness. I've never had any of these ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
I know everybody is different but this birth control was absolutely terrible for me. My periods were WORSE; heavier and more painful. Also, I've been the same size for over three years. My weight has never budged over a pound or two and I've gained ten very noticeable pounds. It made me tired literally 24/7, emotional, and most importantly I got extreme vaginal dryness. I've never had any of these problems and I was sure that the pill was the culprit. I took myself off the pills and slowly everything is going back to normal.
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Reviewer: Clueless, 35-44 Female on Treatment for 1 to less than 2 years (Patient)

Comment:
CVS switched me from Kariva to Viorele a year ago. I have headaches for a year or so every month when I have period. I didn't even think it could be related to the change. I exercise regularly and weight was never an issue. But lately, it seems hard to control the weight gain. I thought it is because I am 40 and above. At 44, acnes still popped out around my chin. I finally told my doctor about th ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
CVS switched me from Kariva to Viorele a year ago. I have headaches for a year or so every month when I have period. I didn't even think it could be related to the change. I exercise regularly and weight was never an issue. But lately, it seems hard to control the weight gain. I thought it is because I am 40 and above. At 44, acnes still popped out around my chin. I finally told my doctor about the headaches. She thinks it may be due to the birth control pill change. I wish I could have paid more attention to these symptoms and told my doctor earlier.
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Reviewer: nothappywithviorele, 25-34 Female on Treatment for 1 to 6 months (Patient)

Comment:
Total nightmare! I took Mircette originally, had to make the change to Kariva when it went generic. Took Kariva for YEARS and loved it - no weight gain, acne, mood, anything. Went into CVS one day to pick up my Rx and was given Viorele with no explanation. I can't even describe how much this stuff ruined my life over the past couple of months. Weight gain, crazy bleeding that had me terrified, irr ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
Total nightmare! I took Mircette originally, had to make the change to Kariva when it went generic. Took Kariva for YEARS and loved it - no weight gain, acne, mood, anything. Went into CVS one day to pick up my Rx and was given Viorele with no explanation. I can't even describe how much this stuff ruined my life over the past couple of months. Weight gain, crazy bleeding that had me terrified, irritability, depression. It has been a terrible rollercoaster ride. I was put back on Kariva after I complained at the pharmacy and started picking up from a new location and now I'm having a whole new set of problems - mainly water retention / weight gain. I don't even know what to do at this point. The whole thing has had a terrible effect on me mentally. I can't even believe there are all of these reviews and they are still giving this product out. It's like mind-boggling to me. So upset and furious with CVS. I don't even understand why they stopped giving out Kariva if it still exists. Now I have no idea how to correct this problem and get back to normal.
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Reviewer: onlinemaven, 45-54 Female on Treatment for 1 to less than 2 years (Patient)

Comment:
I've been on Viorele for a year (noticed they switched to generic as soon as I went to order it from CVS). Everything's been fine. It's a low-dose pill so if you're bloating or having depressive episodes, perhaps they're attributable to something else? Just a thought. I love the CVS PMS pills - they definitely take the edge off (and reduce bloating). Give it a try!

Comment:
I've been on Viorele for a year (noticed they switched to generic as soon as I went to order it from CVS). Everything's been fine. It's a low-dose pill so if you're bloating or having depressive episodes, perhaps they're attributable to something else? Just a thought. I love the CVS PMS pills - they definitely take the edge off (and reduce bloating). Give it a try!
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