"i am rating this a 10, because i believe it&#039;s extremely effective. i have been on the patch for almost 4 years &amp; i never once had a pregnancy scare. for me i get regular periods, but i also get most of the side effects. after the first few months periods are regular, mine last between 3-5 days. i get more emotional, i get mood swings, cramps, headaches, i bloat, i basically get all the the side effects, but they are not severe. every once in a while they are pretty bad, but that will only happen once every 6 months-year. on the patch i never gained weight from it. the only thing i truly dislike about it is i will get really nauseous and throw up if i don&#039;t eat anything the night before i put a new one on and recently i&#039;ll have bloody discharge."