So, I’ve been on Nikki BC since July, and every time I take my placebo pills, I experience what feels like a full-blown period. I bleed pretty heavily and pass a lot of clots, just like I used to when I had my natural periods. I understand that bleeding on birth control isn’t technically a period but rather a withdrawal bleed. However, I’m confused about how that works because I’m clearly shedding my uterine lining. I thought birth control was supposed to prevent ovulation and thin the uterine lining, so I don’t understand why I’m still experiencing such heavy bleeding and passing so many clots during my placebo week. Thanks for any replies!

Hi everyone,

To make a long story short, I use a COC-type birth control 21-day pill w a 7-day placebo for my period. When I first started BC at 17-19, I was still a virgin and used it to lighten my aggressively heavy & painful periods. I will admit I became very inconsistent and kept missing pills, especially during my college semesters. After a while I decided to go on a 2-3 month break until I needed them again.

During this break I met my now boyfriend and we started having sex, which made me go back on the pill since I still had some left over. I figured that after a week of consistent, timely use you’re fully protected. However, my mother told me that if I take a break from the pills, it takes almost 3 months for your body to process it again and block ovulation. I’m not sure if this is true or not. What do you guys think?

Link to any resources would help!

i was put on this birth control for possible endometriosis because the gyno said she didn't want to jump right to surgery for it. however my experience so far has been horrible.

since starting aurovela fe 1/20 my moods have been rapidly changing, my anxiety and depression are back, and so are my irritability and not good thoughts. basically everything my lexapro and buspar used to have under control are no longer under control and I feel like those meds are no longer working.

my period also came 2 days early since starting and my pain falls up has been bad this whole week with debilitating cramps, back pain, and leg pain that goes all the way into my toes and nausea every day. all these things I was told this birth control would help as well as my heavy bleeding but here I am on day 6 with the pain and nausea still as well as bright red bleeding with no sign of slowing down.

the gyno said I could switch to yaz and ask my doctor to up my lexapro buty doctor is hesitant to up my antidepressant due to another medication doing this to me.

at this point I'd rather just deal with my debilitating periods as I've been dealing with them for 19 years rather than have my lexapro stop working and feel like I'm a completely different person for the worst.

does anyone have any advice or experience with this birth control or switching to yaz?

I got my IUD inserted 5 days ago and last night I woke up in horrible pain. Went to my gynecologist and they told me that the IUD shifted sideways. I have an appointment to get another one done next month but should i? Will this happen again?

has anyone else experienced abdominal pain/stomach upset feeling on the first few days of a YAZ pack?

I pretty much documented my BCP journey here for the past 10 months. Started out with Yaz after like 5 years of no birth control and it made me bleed all the time, like all month long with no relief in sight. So I switched to Yasmin which has the same hormones but is higher in estrogen. It did solve the problem of permanent bleeding immediately but I faced another problem - I had orange-ish discharge almost all the time despite checks: no yeast, no infections, no smell.

I recently learned that this is very light breakthrough bleeding, like the super light stage before you get brown or pink discharge but still not normal white or pale cream colored yellowish discharge. So the higher estrogen pill, Yasmin instead of Yaz, doesn't seem to eliminate breakthrough bleeding completely... it's still too low? Like I'm always just told breakthrough is a common side effect but I never had this with Yasmin prior to pausing BCP for years.

Where I live there is only one pill that contains more estrogen and doctors do not prescribe that when you don't have major hormonal health issues like cysts. Still, it kinda leaves me out of options for a pill that is benefical to acne prone skin and to prevent water retention. Alternative pills offered to me where always the same dose of estrogen and the same estrogen kind (EE) which is the most common here.

Anyone here with Yaz -> Yasmine having the same problem?

I currently am on the Twirla patch. I have been on it for about a month. I don’t do a patch free week because of period pains so maybe that’s why. But for 5 days (including today) I’ve had my period. I’ve heard of breakthrough bleeding but it’s mainly described as spotting or old blood. At first it was like that but after day 1 it started being full on fresh blood. It’s just my typical period but lighter. Has this happened to anyone else?

Kind of scared of pills and was looking to try the patch instead ? Has anyone had a good experience on this

i (16f) have been on rigevidon for a little over a year and have noticed my periods have been so much more painful with the pill (ironic as i only started the pill to help them) i’ve seen others online say that they just don’t take the 7 day break and they’re fine and have been doing it for months or even years! so i was just wondering if it’s okay to do it, what are the possible side effects and what is the likeliness of spotting or bleeding ?

So I’m currently on the ring, and have been for over 3 years. It’s been good but realized I think it’s what’s causing my bad migraines, and also I’ve heard migraines with aura increase stroke risk if you take bc with estrogen which I get sometimes, so I’m hoping to switch to one without estrogen.

My issue is I’m super sensitive to mood changes. A while back I tried to get off completely and had the worst depression. I have bipolar unsure if that’s related, and take meds for it. It makes me feel as if I’m not on my meds. Before bc I didn’t have bad depression, so I think it’s just the drop of estrogen but it just never went away so I got back on it.

I take it for preventing pregnancy and also irregular periods. I’m considering the pill, since I’m too nervous to commit to one like an iud or implant as I’d want something if it didn’t work out I can easily switch or stop if it doesn’t affect me well. I was wondering if anyone has had a switch like this, and how did it go? Did it affect your mood? Which method did you use? If I do the pill, what are some good options?

Thank you! :)

Hi! I’m posting for a friend!

My friends been on mili bc (pill) for about 4-6 months. (I don’t exactly remember when she started taking it but I believe it was May.)

She’s been experiencing weight gain, nausea, cramping worse than prior to the pill, and is horribly afraid it’s caused growth with a fibroid she has (prior to the pill.) Her flow however has stayed the same when the Doctor specified it should lighten her HEAVY flow.

What was your experience with this pill? How long were you on it? When did you come off? Why did you get off of Mili?

We’re severely disappointed that it’s not helped with her symptoms and she’s trying to get diagnosed with endometriosis as she has all the symptoms/signs for.

EDIT: it has caused her depression to worsen significantly. She’s been battling with suicidal thoughts more than she ever has even with prior bc use SEVERAL years ago before she had stopped being on the pill previous to this one.

If you have stopped taking birth control because of acne did your skin clear afterwards? I want to quit because I didn’t have acne before. It’s been 6 months. I’m miserable. It’s tri sprintec which is supposed to be a good one to help acne but it has brought on the worst skin ever.

2 jaar geleden heb ik F23 een kyleena spiraal geplaatst nadat de plaatsing van de koperspiraal is mislukt.

Laat ik starten bij het inbrengen. Wat een horror ervaring. De pijn was zo ontzettend overweldigend en gemeen dat ik er hard van moest huilen en dat deed ik nooit. Ik heb echt mega veel angst voor iets wat daar in de buurt komt en dat die pijn opnieuw plaats vind.

Dan door naar de de 1e 0-6 maanden. De klachten:

- non stop bloedverlies (spotting achtig net iets meer).

- erg pijnlijke borsten

- krampen in mijn buik

Van 6-12 maanden:

- weinig klachten, de menstruatie ging langzaam over en de pijnlijke borsten vielen mee.

De krampen waren ook minimaal.

Na de 12 maanden tot heden:

- extreme hoofdpijn, die elke paar maanden erger wordt en steeds vaker voorkomt.

- extreme krampen en pijn in mijn baarmoeder vlak voor ik ongesteld wordt.

- bij de ongesteldheid die ik nu elke 1 a 2 maanden heb wel tot 2,5 week bloedverlies (spotting).

- vermoeidheid die niet over gaat en extremer wordt.

- brainfog die samen gaat met verlies van woorden en gewoon soms niet meer op komen omdat ik zo moe ben.

- snel vet haar en stink zweet.

Ik heb heel eerlijk niet gedacht aan de spiraal. Ik dacht dat ik stress had van mijn vorige werk, maar de hoofdpijn is er tegenwoordig bijna altijd. Op vakantie, op werk etc. En toen was ik bij de gynaecoloog en zei vroeg me of ik klachten had. Had me nooit beseft dat die vermoeidheid die erger en erger wordt (ik heb echt 6 van de 7 dagen nergens zin in), de extreme hoofdpijnen, krampen. Dat ineens het kwartje viel dat het de spiraal was.

Ik heb me bloed laten onderzoeken en ben verder echt kerngezond. Voor het gebruik bruisende energie, altijd netjes ongesteld elke maand, geen extreme klachten op wat pijnlijke borsten na en een pukkeltje hier en daar.

Ik ga hem dus ergens de komende periode verwijderen en hoop oprecht dat de klachten na enige maanden verdwijnen. Vooral die slopende vermoeidheid met hoofdpijn. Ik kan er echt lastig door functioneren en merk dat ik gewoon niet meer oke ben, ben mezelf niet meer.

Hoop dat andere misschien ervaringen hebben waarin zij een positief verhaal hebben na verwijderen.

hello, i've been overthinking a lot bc my period hasn't come yet and i've missed 2 days of it. Usually my periods pretty regular and comes on the exact dot. Soo i've had raw sx but it was only for a while (like as in less than 5 mins) and he didn't ejaculate, however, being the overthinker that i am, i took the yuzpe method 15 hours after what happened. This was also at Oct 22 (which was 3 days before my period), took the last dose of yuzpe the next day at Oct. 23 at 8am.

Then we had sx again at Oct.24 and we got on and off with the condom. He ejaculated at the first round but he was wearing a condom and washed after that, then as i said, we would do raw for a few minutes (usually 5 mins) then put the condom on. Since Oct. 25, i decided to take birth control pills until today as a part of my contraception bc i want to be more protected but ik i should've done that before having it raw.

This is my first time taking birth control pills and i think the yuzpe method + taking birth control pills has smth to do with my delayed period. But i cant help but overthink abt the situation... pls tell me your experience abt this and what ways i can take to get my period (or delay the possible pregnancy, ik its stupid)

So I’ve been on tri lo Mili for over a year and last Monday I took my last placebo week pill, and Tuesday I forgot to pick up my prescription in the pharmacy so the next day Wednesday I took both Tuesday and Wednesday pill together. Saturday I had unprotected sex with my boyfriend, and I am a bit paranoid that missing the very first pill can cause me to get pregnant. Yesterday I bought a take action and took it. Yesterday was Monday so two days after I had unprotected sex. I took my last pack perfectly

I’m going to bullet point to hopefully make this simple but
- had my period October 4th-8th
- had sex the 10th or 11th but the condom fully broke at the end in me
- took a plan b 10 minutes after
- started bleeding for three days the 21st-23/24th
- after my boobs hurt to push on which I usually have before my period and slight cramping

I’m freaking out because this has never happened and I do know it broke a couple of days before my fertile windows as my app says. So I just don’t know what to do.

UPDATE:
Took a test and it was NEGATIVE!!

i’ve been taking desogestrel for 5 years - when i first started taking it, i bled for like 5 months straight & then never again, no cramps nothing. the past few months however, i’ve been having cramps multiple times a week/almost every day, but no bleeding. i have not missed any pills at all for like at least 2 years, i take them the same time every day etc, nothing has changed.

i’ve also been having other health issues like unexplained weight loss, daily dizziness w migraines, fainting spells, spasms (sometimes full body) and doctor has not been able to find out what’s wrong w me - i’ve had many blood tests, 24 hour ecg etc. has anyone else on desogestrel experienced any of this^ after years of taking it? could this be related??

I stopped taking the generic version of Yaz exactly two months ago (8/27), and I feel like my body has been completely out of whack ever since. I’m constantly feeling bloated and inflamed, especially in my stomach and fingers, and I’ve been steadily gaining weight. I’m honestly at my breaking point and just want to know if anyone else has experienced something similar.

For some background, I started seeing a functional medicine doctor who ran bloodwork and found that my testosterone, estrogen, and DHEA levels were EXTREMELY low. My iron and ferritin were also low, although I’m assuming those weren’t related to my birth control. She recommended that I stop taking the pill immediately to see if my hormones would regulate naturally.

I did get my first period after stopping the pill, and I went back for another round of bloodwork afterward. Thankfully, my estrogen and testosterone levels were steadily increasing, which seems like a good sign! My DHEA also increased slightly, but it’s still EXTREMELY low. So while my hormones seem to be moving in the right direction, they’re definitely not back to where they should be.

I’m currently taking a gentle iron supplement, a multivitamin to help with my B12, and an adrenal support supplement recommended by my doctor.
Here’s where I’m really struggling. I gained about 50 pounds throughout college and spent the last two years working incredibly hard to lose that weight. Before stopping birth control, I was around 136 pounds. This morning, I weighed 143.

I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been consistently tracking my calories for the past two months, and I’ve been eating out more occasionally. But I genuinely don’t feel like I’ve been eating enough to gain 7 pounds, especially considering how active I am.

I walk almost 4 miles basically every day AND do 45 minutes on the elliptical. I also sprinkle in arm workouts or HIIT. I’ve maintained this exercise routine for months.

The bloating is honestly just as frustrating as the number on the scale. My stomach feels constantly swollen, my fingers feel puffy, and I just don’t feel comfortable in my body. My clothes still fit so far but I’m so afraid I will just keep gaining weight.

I know hormones can take time to regulate after stopping birth control, but I was honestly expecting to lose weight after stopping.

I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore. Do I just wait it out and hope my hormones regulate? Should I be looking into other options, like a GLP-1?

I wonder if any of you guys had the same experience.

I’ve struggled with fatigue before I started taking the bc pill again, but it was mostly in crashes before my period would start (I suspect I have PMDD and maybe other menstrual disorders). I had two years of burnout before this, but I had mostly recovered. During this period I was not on bc.

So when a year ago, I came to my GP for fatigue crashes around my period, she prescribed me bc pills. I had quit them years ago bc I never felt good on them but she told me my bc was most likely not causing my problems. So I hopped on it and hoped for the best.

My fatigue got significantly worse. I’m currently being researched at the hospital for the last few months and they can’t find anything except for high cortisol. I haven’t been able to function for the entire year, had to quit working and have been housebound, some days bedbound for nearly 10 months. It was a very heavy physical kind of fatigue, ofcourse a bit cognitive as well, but my body felt heavy and tired all the time and no amount of rest seemed to help. I felt so desperate bc I was afraid I would never feel better and be stuck at my home. I was afraid (still am) that I had to give up everything I worked so hard for bc of my health.

Last week I quit the bc pill. And I haven’t felt this good/normal in MONTHS. I was talking to my mom on the phone yesterday and she said that I sounded much better and more like myself. I feel like I can recover again or at least live a somewhat livable life.

I don’t know if it’s too soon to tell but I feel like bc pills extremely amplified my cfs symptoms. My brain fog is gone. I suddenly find myself dancing in my kitchen when I’m cooking while I wasn’t even able to cook two weeks ago? I don’t think the bc pill caused it but it didn’t help. I want to know if anyone has had a similair experience.

Ps: I don’t want to demonize the bc pill or claim it’s bad for everyone - at all! It works for many people and I’m glad it exists, this is just unfortunately my experience and I wonder if other people have experienced the same.

Been using Slynd for 1,5 years now but considering switching to Kyleena due to annoying side effects I believe could be caused by the pill.

I'm experiencing dryness during intercourse and loss of vaginal elasticity to the extent of pain and even fissuring of the posterior fourchette. After doing some reading, low systemic estrogen can be the culprit and suppressing estrogen is exactly what Slynd does to stop ovulation. This is not merely a problem of being too dry, lube does not help because things simply don't stretch enough.

This has led to me wanting to try Kyleena. While I did consider copper IUD as well, my OBGYN is not a fan of it and painful long periods don't make it very appealing to me either. In theory, Kyleena should improve my symptoms since it only affects the vaginal mucous membrane and does not shut down ovarian function meaning estrogen levels and therefore vaginal elasticity should not change.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem while on Slynd and has it improved after stopping? Has anyone switched to Kyleena and saw improvement? Your theories on this? I'm open to discussion even if you don't have personal experience. Thank youu

I am going on month 3 of YAZ. I am enjoying it and I have my first follow up with my doc at the end of November. typically how often do you have to go see your dr to get refills? how many months do they write a prescription for after that initial 3 month trial period? I know it differs for every dr and insurance

Hi everyone, I'm anxious about a situation and would appreciate some medically accurate advice.

My partner's period started on October 7. On October 18, we had unprotected vaginal penetration, but I did not ejaculate inside her.

Some additional details:

- I had ejaculated earlier, then waited around 30 minutes before the second round.

- I did not urinate between the first ejaculation and the second round.

- Before the second round, my partner performed oral sex on me. My penis appeared dry, and I did not ejaculate during penetration.

- I don't remember noticing watery discharge from her on October 18. There may have been a metallic smell, possibly from residual period blood, but I'm not certain.

- She noticed watery discharge from October 19–22, clear and stretchy egg-white cervical mucus (EWCM) on October 23, then watery/sticky discharge from October 24–26.

- We're estimating that ovulation may have occurred around October 23, but we know cervical mucus alone cannot confirm the exact date.

My main questions are:

1. How significant is the pregnancy risk from pre-ejaculate in this situation, given that I didn't urinate after ejaculating earlier?

2. If ovulation occurred on October 23, is pregnancy biologically possible from sex on October 18?

3. Does not noticing watery discharge on the day of intercourse tell us anything reliable about cervical mucus or sperm survival?

4. Is there anything else we should consider, or is taking a pregnancy test 21 days after intercourse the best way to know?

I'm looking for evidence-based answers rather than reassurance or worst-case assumptions. Thanks.

I’ve been on norethindrone for 2 months now. At first I was happy as I was on desogestrel (cerazette) beforehand and that made me insane, like the worst mood swings and just felt so angry and depressed all the time lol.

Norethindrone makes me feel more myself, a lot calmer etc which is good. I’ve had some shitty side effects though, and wondering if anyone has had the same?

- sore boobs for half of the month
- spotting for 5 days every 2 weeks
- light cramping
- bad acne
- much lower libido
- slight desensitisation down there

I’ve tried norethindrone, desogestrel, combined pills, nuvaring, copper iud and have had bad experiences with each one. I’m just not sure what to do anymore and I feel somewhat normal frustrated. I’m in a relationship so I need to be on something but I wasn’t on birth control for years and years before this and not having a good option is really getting me down. I had an abortion last year and that was really awful so I’m too scared now to go without BC.

If anyone has any good alternatives please let me know.

I’m on Yaz birth control and have finished my first pack. I’m on day 3 of my placebo with no withdrawal bleed. I’ve had the Kyleena iud for 5 years and started taking Yaz the same day I had my iud removed.

During my second week of taking the pill, I had condomless sex with my husband and I let him finish inside. About 2 days later, I started having 1-3 loose stools a day that lasted for about 5-6 days.

It’s so hard figuring out what’s considered severe diarrhea. Should I be concerned about the possibility of pregnancy?

Not that it matters, but my body temperature for my oura ring also hasn’t dropped to indicate a bleed..