"this is my first go with birth control; i have been on the patch for 6 months and i am not that impressed. it has resolved some issues but also made some things worse. before xulane, i would get debilitating vomiting during my period but cramps were scarce. it was heavy and i would often get headaches. now that i&#039;m on xulane, i haven&#039;t thrown up at all and headaches are scarce but cramps have been made so much worse. it&#039;s to the point where i wake up in the middle of the night because it hurts so bad and i can&#039;t just sleep it off. on top of that, i&#039;m getting two periods - very heavy &quot;spotting&quot; a week before it&#039;s supposed to come and then another period the week i&#039;m off the patch. i chose the patch because i have a hard time swallowing pills, but i think i&#039;m going to have to reconsider this method and probably switch to pills."