Question about the birth control pill...
Hi Guys, I just wondered if this has ever happened to anyone else... i'm on microgynon 30 (a fairly standard UK BCP) and recently ran 2 packs together to delay my period as we were on holiday. I felt awful - bloated, irritable, the works during the second packet, and then in my pill free week, NO PERIOD. I'm due to start taking them again tomorrow, and I can safely say I will NEVER run 2 packs back to back again - no matter how safe the instructions say this is. Now I'm worried that I've stuffed things up and that my periods won't return next month either.
Just as back gorund, I had anorexia on and off for almost 30 years, and did lose my periods for several months on numerous occasions, but never at a normal weight (as I am now), and never on the 'pill'. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Did you have spotting during the 2 sets back to back?
Were you sexually active? Because it is always possible you got pregnant so I would check that ASAP to be sure.
Original Post by wtfrail:
Did you have spotting during the 2 sets back to back?
Were you sexually active? Because it is always possible you got pregnant so I would check that ASAP to be sure.
oh man... yeah, better check that one! Took the pill 'religiously' though??
Still a possibility. Its most important so you don't hurt the fetus.
Just took a home PT, and it was negative - (phew! - 3 kids is enough!).
Thanks for the idea though.
Sorry to sort of "eavesdrop" on this thread but thanks for updating us on this. I sort of had my fingers crossed for you as I suspected a baby wasn't quite the outcome you were currently hoping for! Hope you solve the problem btw! And did you get your Dexa scan results yet? I hope they were ok too. x
Thanks fleurfairy! Yes, the DEXA was much better than i hoped - 0.2 and 0.4 T scores, which apparently is pretty average for my age - I'm still taking the calcium, Vit D and lots of dairy though!
How's things with you?
My mom is an OB, and... that can be totally normal. I have generally run my microgestin pills together for 4-5 years and whenever I start to spot, I stop for a week, have a period if my body is there, and then start taking the active pills again after 5 days. (generally 2-3 times per year) When I started to run the pills together, spotting/PMS was my big issue. But it was worth the first few months for me (personally, not for everyone obviously), to avoid the dysphoria caused by the changing hormones. But I'm a woman with a high body fat percentage. With your history, maybe your body went into "no period" zone a little quicker than some people's. My mom told me that some people won't have any spotting and will just skip their period easily (not the PMS, but the bleeding) when they run the pills together, and other people's bodies continue to produce significant uterine lining for a longer period of time (leading to more spotting and bleeding). Thinner uterine lining = easier to skip periods.
But it sounds like that stressed you out a lot so you should keep doing whatever makes you most comfortable! I just didn't want you to think that not having a period was a "danger sign" of some pill flaw. When you run the pills together with monophasic pills, you aren't building up anything to shed, so it can take a couple of months for your period to return. But the hormonal effects (bloating, pms) may still affect you and some people can have increased PMS for up to 6 months when starting to run the pills together (even if they are not having their period. (This is also why some people are extremely fertile quickly after discontinuing birth control pills, while some people can take up to 5-6 months to resume ovulation and get back to a fertile zone when they do decide they would like to get pregnant).
Sorry if you knew all this, but maybe someone reading won't.
"some people can have increased PMS for up to 6 months when starting to run the pills together (even if they are not having their period. " - Just read this...and I've actually not read that the PMS itself is worse than their old PMS, just that it can go on longer than usual, resulting in greater distress reported due to PMS symptoms. Thought I would clarify that.
akla474747. thank you very much for the information!
I do the same thing with my microgestin pills. I have found though that if I am late on taking my pill it causes me to start... once that happens I immediately start taking the placebo's, to allow my body to do what it wants to do, and then I'm back on to the active pills... I have also found that about 1 or 2 times a year I get very Serious PMS, and I don't know if this is caused by my irregular period or if it is just normal. I get my period usually once every 2-3 months... Anyways, you could talk to your doc about it if it really worries you...
~Belle
Original Post by mrswilsonscat:
Hi Guys, I just wondered if this has ever happened to anyone else... i'm on microgynon 30 (a fairly standard UK BCP) and recently ran 2 packs together to delay my period as we were on holiday. I felt awful - bloated, irritable, the works during the second packet, and then in my pill free week, NO PERIOD. I'm due to start taking them again tomorrow, and I can safely say I will NEVER run 2 packs back to back again - no matter how safe the instructions say this is. Now I'm worried that I've stuffed things up and that my periods won't return next month either.
Just as back gorund, I had anorexia on and off for almost 30 years, and did lose my periods for several months on numerous occasions, but never at a normal weight (as I am now), and never on the 'pill'. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Something similar happened to me recently. I've been on Microgynon 30 on an off since I was 19 (now 33). I always run two packs together, sometimes three. Occasionally when doing this I get some spotting, but I much prefer that to having a continuous bleed for 2-4 days every single month.
In the past I've always had the withdrawal bleed (I won't call it a period since it's not quite the same kind of physiological process when you're on the pill) within 2-3 days after finishing a pack if I don't go on to a new one, but in the last few months it's happened twice that I didn't start bleeding. I didn't get the kind of bloating and irritability etc that you mention, but missing a bleed like this when on the pill had never happened to me before this year, and suddenly it happened twice, so I took a pregnancy test both times just to be on the safe side. Still don't know what the reason for the lack of bleeding was, but I'm not worried about it, and it doesn't sound to me like you have anything to worry about either. I'm not sure in what way you think it might be 'unsafe'? Don't know if this helps in terms of reassurance, but the absence of a withdrawal bleed is not the same thing as not getting your period, so it doesn't mean you have messed up you natural cycle, since you don't have a natural cycle when you're on the pill. The bleed you get between packs is artificially induced. If you're worried though and want a more qualified answer you could always call NHS Direct, 0845 4647.
Also, just FYI, each time I've gone off the pill completely it took over a year for my natural period to return, and this is apparently not uncommon.
Anyway, I don't know what caused the lack of bleed in your case or mine, but if you ask your GP they will tell you that it's considered perfectly fine to take several Microgynon packs back to back. And here's some history trivia for you: it is mostly due to an arbitrary historical decision that we take breaks between packs at all - it was felt by the people responsible for the initial development and marketing of the first oral contraceptive combination pills that women would need the period-like bleed for reassurance.
"arbitrary historical decision that we take breaks between packs at all - it was felt by the people responsible for the initial development and marketing of the first oral contraceptive combination pills that women would need the period-like bleed for reassurance."
I was just telling someone about that on Facebook!
Many doctors still feel this way, despite no evidence that there is ANY need to have a period even 4 times a year... these decisionmakers tend to be men. Big shock. Religion was also pretty big during the development of the pills... and what would women do if not burdened by original sin? Le sigh.
Original Post by akla474747:
"arbitrary historical decision that we take breaks between packs at all - it was felt by the people responsible for the initial development and marketing of the first oral contraceptive combination pills that women would need the period-like bleed for reassurance."
I was just telling someone about that on Facebook!
Many doctors still feel this way, despite no evidence that there is ANY need to have a period even 4 times a year... these decisionmakers tend to be men. Big shock. Religion was also pretty big during the development of the pills... and what would women do if not burdened by original sin? Le sigh.
Lol! yeah, I know about the bleed not being 'necessary', but for some reason, I still end up buying into the whole 'feeling like a woman' thing... also, I'm DEAD scared of the menopause... :s
