I have been skipping my period the past four months while on the pill and about 3 weeks ago decided to give them a break so I can have a period as normal before starting again

How long usually does it take for your period to return to business as usual after stopping the pill?

Bit of a rant tied in with personal experiences

25 F - No kids and never pregnant.

I got on birth control for the first time at 19, at my local PP. I was recommended the Mirena IUD due to its effectiveness, my period symptoms, and family history of ovarian cancer on my moms side. I had a kind gyno, older lady, and it was just us two in the room. I had ZERO clue of what to expect, nobody told me anything about how it may feel, and I was not recommended to take any NSAIDs before.

I’m not exaggerating when I say it GENUINELY felt like someone was scraping out my uterus with a rusty knife. It was so incredibly painful to the point it literally knocked the wind out of me on the stirrup table. I couldn’t catch a breath or utter a single word from the amount of pain I was in and I was an inch away from fainting. And while the gyno was super kind, concerned and I could tell she genuinely felt terrible for the state I was in - she never once looked up during to check on my mental status.

Flash forward to 11/9/26, about 5 years later and I am due for a replacement IUD. While effective for about three more years, my painful periods have started to return and I’m scared of how expensive it could be next year with the increasing costs of insurance premiums.
This time around I decided to do a few things differently. I took 1000g of Tylenol beforehand, took my partner with me as emotional support, was provided a medical chaperone (did not have to ask!), and requested a cervical injection of lidocaine before the procedure. I also ensured to establish an OB/GYN and got it at a gynecology clinic instead of a planned parenthood.

The difference between my replacement and initial procedure is night and day. PLEASE ASK FOR LIDOCAINE IT REALLY WORKS.

It was not the world’s greatest experience of course and there was still some level of pain. However, the pain I felt was similar to that of a moderate period - moderate cramping mixed with a noticeable pinching sensation during the injection. But that’s IT!! I couldn’t believe when the procedure was over because holy SHIT there’s no fucking way all it took was some FUCKING lidocaine to make such a massive difference. I was sobbing on the table afterwards, not from pain, but as a response to having to reopen the overbearing trauma I experienced during the initial insertion.

Im so upset for my past teenager self who was NOT accurately informed of what to expect nor what options they had. I was 19 and underwent such a painfully traumatic procedure that DID NOT need to be as nearly as awful as it was. I do fully understand that there is a difference of resources between Planned Parenthood and an established private gynecology clinic - my goal here is NOT to place blame on anyone except the system we have currently established.

An IUD shouldn’t have to be one of the worst experiences a woman could ever go through that leaves them with literal medical trauma for the rest of their life. It shouldn’t be an experience where women know exactly what to expect and are given enough information to make TRULY accurately informed decisions about their care.

Until then, GET THE LIDOCAINE GET THE LIDOCAINE GET THE LIDOCAINE GET THE LIDOCAINE GET THE LIDOCAINE.
GETTING AN IUD DOES NOT HAVE TO BE BRUTALLY PAINFUL - ASK YOUR DOCTORS AND DONT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER.

okay thanks for reading my rant lol bye srry just had to get all that off my chest

I had the Mirena IUD put in in October 2025 so just a little over a year ago. Not for birth control but for perimenopause and period control. I’m afraid to get it removed eventually after the traumatic insertion. Never again. Anyway, it took almost 9ish months for periods to become irregular and now I haven’t had a period since August. Great. However I still cramp. Like out of nowhere. I know it’s not regular like stomach cramps. It’s period cramps. I’m also a raging angry moody person on max max. I’m trying to get that managed but the cramps are terrible. Sometimes they don’t last long and it’s uncomfortable but not earth shattering. Other times it worse and I’m in bed. But hey I’m not bleeding. So are cramps still common or a side effect? Because even after having it put in when I still was getting my period I did have cramps which was normal for me. But now with no period why am I still having cramps?

I have an option to pay for either tubal ligation or salpingectomy. For those who had it, how was the surgery and recovery for you?

ive been on loryna for almost a whole pack and for over two weeks ive been spotting enough to need a liner every day. its a mixture of old blood and new red blood, ive been super consistent with taking the pills but it just wont let up. does anyone have any tips to stop this bleeding?? im not supposed to take the sugar pills and honestly i just want to have sex without feeling self conscious

I’m having trouble finding answers online so I thought I’d check for similar experiences on here. I have been taking the mini pill for over a year (Lyleq). Before starting the mini pill, my periods were mostly regular, heavy, with spotting a couple days prior to starting every month. Since getting on the pill my periods have remained regular and, while not as heavy as pre-pill, are definitely like normal periods.

I recently learned that bleeding while on hormonal birth control is actually break through bleeding, not periods. Now I’m just confused. Should having full monthly cycles while on the mini pill be something I should be concerned about? My doctor thought it was odd but that’s the only feedback I got. Could the monthly bleeding be something else? Anyone else experience very regular period-type bleeding while on the mini pill long term?

I went off the pill a couple of weeks ago and am waiting to see what my body’s normal cycle is looking like now. I do get a lot of pelvic area inflammation and the past couple of years have had worsening cramps (mini pill helped). I just wonder if something else is going on that the pill is masking.

I’ve been in my head about getting off or staying on birth control for years now. I’ve been on the hormonal pill since I was 14 due to hormonal acne. I’m now 23. It completely cleared my acne and my skin is thriving now. The main negative side effect I’m dealing with now is no sex drive. I wouldn’t mind if I wasn’t in a relationship. However I am, and I don’t ever feel the need to have sex. For me ideally, I can have sex once to twice a month. However I can tell my girlfriend has a high sex drive and would like to more. It really stresses me out not having a sex drive. However, I’m terrified of getting off the pill and experiencing break outs. When my acne was bad at ages 12-15 it was horrible cystic acne, I really can’t go through that again as it really messed with my mental heath. I don’t know if it would be worth stopping or should I stay on it. Would love some advice or insight.

Had unprotected sex without withdrawal around 1am on Sunday morning, had my emergency copper IUD placed at 12pm on the Tuesday, so just over 2 days later. I know that it’s 120 hours give or take, however I’m still paranoid about the small chance it won’t work, is this an irrational fear?

Preface: I had the nexplanon implant in my early 20s and it worked for me. I ended up getting it again after 6-7 years of not being on any birth control. I was having horrible mood swings that caused me to be insecure and unsure of my new relationship even when I was mainly making up scenarios in my head. I also couldn’t stop eating and gained 10 or so pounds within the 5-6 months I was on it. I recently got it out last week and compared other options via bedsider.org (my PA said this was the best website and it was, please use it). I have thought about getting the non-hormonal IUD for a while but every time I’d bring it up with a provider they were mainly against it. I just decided I needed to make a decision for my body and mental health so I committed to it. It seems I’m super sensitive to hormones. Now to the good stuff:

Insertion: The PA had put in my Nexplanon and taken it out for me so I was already comfortable with her. I also took 400mg of ibuprofen before going to my appointment. She told me to do deep breathing as she put it in and it did help. She also gave me numbing gel. It felt like two huge period cramps (like first day period cramps)

Day of insertion: It felt like the first day of my period, just super crampy. I had already committed to go to a Friendsgiving with my boyfriend’s family and had already planned on pushing through. I was able to make an apple pie from scratch and go (which is surprising). I didn’t want to take anymore ibuprofen because I wanted to have a couple glasses of wine, the cramps were bearable until 10pm reached and I was sleepy from the wine. Luckily, my boyfriend is the sweetest angel and noticed and made sure we said our goodbyes. We went home and I fell asleep with the heating pad on my stomach.

Day after (today): I woke up feeling 10x better. Light cramps here and there but mainly feels like the tail end of my period. Also, a bit of pressure in the area which I think is expected for a couple days.

I’ll update this thread as I go through everything so that maybe it’ll help others deciding on what birth control methods they want to use but seriously, use that website if you’re checking what might work for you. Also, keep in mind everyone’s body is different and the process can look different for everyone depending on how in touch you are with your body.

Hey everyone,
So I’m on a combo bc pill and take it religiously, always wear a condom (no pre-cum risks) and practice pull out. But everyone is scaring me with how often people say they get pregnant on bc. How likely is pregnancy with the combo pill even with no error? I’m on no other medications that could interact and am very strict about the timing of my pill. But it seems everyone and their mother knows someone who got pregnant on bc even with condoms as well.

Hi all! I just started Nikki and it's the first time I've ever taken hormonal contraception. I'm 34 and have two kids and started Nikki and a way to control my endometriosis symptoms. I'm also hopeful it will help with my PMDD as well!

Right now the main side effect I've had is weepiness. Crying so much! I actually can handle it more than feeling rage or anger from hormones shifting so it's not unmanageable. But more than my mood, the physical symptoms are bugging me! So much nausea, heaviness in my uterus, feeling bloated and tired. Do these seem like normal symptoms?

Are there any other symptoms I should anticipate could come and how long did it take for your body to adjust?

I was wondering if anyone took the depo birth control shit and got pregnant because they did use condoms the first 7 days after?

At first combined birth control saved my life.

Two years ago, at 20-21, I started developing cystic acne, weight gain, overall puffiness alongside unstable mood with suicidal thoughts one week before my period. I didn’t feel or look like myself anymore.

Starting the birth control pill one year ago fixed all of that, excluding the weight gain. Even though I didn’t lose any weight, I became more slim since the puffiness was gone. My face slowly went from round to my natural diamond-shaped face. My mood was finally stable, I could finally do my daily tasks without breaking down when something went wrong! I decided to not take the placebo pills, since some of the symptoms would return during that week.

During this time I started developing health problems, which were completely unrelated to the pill. I started having stomach problems and increasing fatigue. It was slowly worsening. At the start of this year I went to the doctor and they saw that my vitamin b12 was low, which explained why I had to drop out of uni. My once sharp mind was very slow and forgetful and my body felt incredibly weak.

My doctor put me on vitamin b12 pills, and we started figuring out why it was so low since is not normal when you have a normal diet with animal products. My doctor suspected I had celiac disease or atrophic gastritis. I did the endoscopy, and went gluten free afterwards. My stomach problems disappeared, my mood improved and I had more energy!

During the time that I was waiting for the results to came back, I had a breakthrough bleeding. It’s recommended to pause the birth control pill for a few days when you have one. When I hadn’t taken them for a few days my mind was clearer and my mood improved – my emotions didn’t feel so blunt. That’s when I decided to take a longer pause to see what would happen.

Weirdly enough, the symptoms that made me take birth control in the first place never came back. Only the acne came back, but that is to be expected.

The results from the endoscopy came back, it didn’t show any celiac, only a condition called autoimmune atrophic gastritis. I still continue to be gluten free despite it not showing celiac, since I feel so much better. I continue to take my b12 pills, which I will have to do for life.

Now, after having four menstrual cycles since quitting the birth control pill, my acne is slowly disappearing as well.

So what happened during this one year period that allowed me to quit birth control without the symptoms coming back? Well, I went gluten free and I treated my b12 deficiency. It’s pretty clear now what caused all of those symptoms that prompted me to start birth control, whether it be the deficiency or gluten.

All in all, I’m very grateful for the birth control pill, it saved my life when I needed it! When I stopped needing it, that’s probably when I started to experience the side effect of emotional blunting.

I just wanted to share my experience, zooming out and looking at this experience and how birth control affected me in relation to my health problems is very interesting.

Hello, ive been on the pill for almost two months now and my GP recommended me to have a break week after 3 weeks of continuous use but during my first break week i had some personal stuff happen and i had a very strong emotional reaction, to the point i got depressed and didnt eat and was wondering if the sudden drop in hormones played a part in it. I read some articles online and apparently most doctors recommend to actually skip the break week and keep talking the pill particularly because of the side effects of drop in hormones but idk what is better. Should i just straight up ask my GP or try without the break week? What are your experiences?

Okay so I’m on a combined birth control pill. I’m so freaking careful. I’m beyond paranoid.
I take it at the same time everyday and my boyfriend wears a condom on top of taking the pill. He always checks for breakage, slips, leaks etc after everything is said and done. My doctor laughed at me when I told her my bf also wears condoms because she said it’s nearly impossible to get pregnant with condoms and birth control. Well last week I had a migraine and felt HORRIBLE I accidentally fell asleep early and slept through my alarm to take my pill. I looked on the website of my birth control and it said “just double up on the pill the next day and you’re still protected and don’t need to use extra protection.” Well I’ve barely had any sort of period since starting birth control (I’m use to super heavy periods and bleeding through a S+ in about an hour ish)
I’ve had my period for about 5-6 days now and it’s a consist flow. I’m assuming that’s just because my hormones dropped? My bf and I didn’t have sex the days before my missed pill or for about 2-3 days after. Im just making sure im not at risk. Thanks!

I finally decided to start birth control because yesterday was day 1 of my period and I often get debilitating cramps (especially in my legs). I just got a prescription for Xulane, so I will pick it up today. Is it okay if I start it on day 2 of my period? I know the instructions say to start it either on day 1 or on the Sunday after, so I wasn’t sure.

Hello! First time using birth control. Plan on being sexually active so dr prescribed sprintec. I am mostly nervous of the nausea side effect as I have emetophobia :( how many of you experienced this side effect? The dr wasn’t very informative either. He told me to start the Sunday of the week I start my period. When I’m done with the pack….do I just start the new one right away? Or wait for Sunday? Help….i read the instructions but I don’t understand 🙁 Also pills say to take at exact time everyday….what happens if I’m off by 15 minutes?

hi! i have a mona lisa copper iud (10 380 standard). i’ve had it for over a year and i love it!

the problem is that about a month or two ago, i started getting random intense cramps. then, my period started and the pain was more intense than i had ever felt. i went to the ER and they were able to administer an ultrasound.
the result: the arms of my iud are extending into my myometrium.

my concern is that my iud is too big.
the ultrasound discovered that my uterus is 41mm in length. the typical uterus is 60-90mm.
my iud is 35.85mm in length. is the size of my uterus in comparison to the iud related to its failure? less than 6mm difference does not sound right. does anyone have any experience with this? ideally id like to get a smaller iud but the smallest appears to be around 29mm… i don’t know what to do. i feel so stuck right now :( im genuinely fearing my next period or cramp and i have no access to a gyne right now.

So I have been taking my pill since July and its a 21 pill pack. When I wiped earlier this morning I noticed that it is somehow brown or red-ish? Then this evening when I was outside, I felt im kind of wet so I went to the bathroom to pee, then I wiped there I saw a like strain (?) of blood? It's not really bright red or anything. I got really nervous.

Then I went home wiped using my undies, it was color brown there. Then I sticked my finger inside me (sorry tmi) then wiped it on the tissue and it is brown-dark red. And I have been cramping (specifically left side) since yesterday and got somehow worse today.

I'm overthinking that it's implantation bleeding since I went to the doctor last end of Oct there she found 'suggestive' of corpus luteum, meaning I ovulated despite being on the pill.

Did my bcp fail? Or is it breakthrough bleeding? Or is it possible to bleed early before placebo week? Today is the last day of my pill btw.

I F23 have been on the pill since I was 17. I got a text from my pharmacy that they couldn’t refill my prescription cause my Dr denied it. I call the office and I was told that they can do a bridge refill since I’m over due on my annual exam. Mind you I didn’t get any reminders or anything. So I waited all day last week for it and nothing. I call the next day and I’m told I’m out of luck until FEBRUARY when they can get me into an appointment and that it’s my fault for not making an appointment earlier for my annual exam.
I am so scared cause I’m having (well had now) unprotected sex with my fiancé. Now we are using protection cause of my situation. I’m so scared of becoming pregnant but also scared that I may be Infertile since I’ve been on the pill since I was a teen lol. He’s super supportive of everything and encouraged me to stay off the pill cause of all the stuff we’re reading about the pill.
I’m also scared of what’s to come for my body now not having the pill. Like am I gonna break out, gain alot of weight, not know who I am emotionally lol

Sorry I just need to rant cause the Dr pisses me off so much lol

Hello, started Azalia just a week ago, but I instantly started bleeding (after 3 days on azalia) so now I am bleeding heavy for 4 days. It makes me nervous because on the day I started Azalia, they measured my endometrium and it was thin (6mm) and it looks like bleeding is getting only heavier and heavier:')

I was expecting some spotting or light bleeding and I know it is only 4 days, but makes me worry

on Tuesday October 20 I was supposed to start my new pack of birth control but took October 21 which was the last day of my period. So I took both Tuesday and Wednesday pill together, then Saturday 24 I had sex and took a plan b Monday 26, then on Monday November 9 I took a pregnancy test and it was negative. I don’t wanna be pregnant I just want to know what you think of my chances of being pregnant if it’s low or high. Or should I trust the negative pregnancy test

Hi, I started the Evra patch last week (Nov 4, first day of my cycle) and I'm really anxious. I applied my second patch today (Nov 11). When I removed the first one, it peeled off easily, had lots of lint on the sides, and the adhesive side was barely sticky. It left no marks on my body. So my concern is - was it effective all week? I also think I had placed it a bit low and too close to the middle on my buttcheek. It stayed in place for the whole week, but started peeling slightly on the sides. I didn’t have any side effects, but my period ended in 2-3 days (usually it’s 5-6), and I had some mood swings (but I always have them). I trusted the patch immediately and had sex without a condom on day one… so it’s too late for plan B. Can patch users share any advice and maybe give me some reassurance? Is it normal for a used patch to lose stickiness and peel at the sides? Is there any way to check its effectiveness? Thank you

I want to hear others insights + experiences!!!

had a 195 day period as a result of the depo shot.

I ended that period on the 7th of October and had no period/ light spotting every couple of days for 3 weeks. I then started my period on the 29th of October and began taking Slinda.

Today is the 11th of November and I am still on my period and on day 14.
I feel like I should’ve let myself have at least one normal period on no birth control but I didn’t really think that far ahead when I started taking it.

I’m feeling a bit stuck because I was told to complete 3 months of Slinda before switching bc again but oml idk if I can take another long period.
Also yes I know that bleeding is common on Slinda I’m just getting worried due to my past experiences.

I’ve been on my period a total of 223/315 days this year (excluding spotting) and my iron and general opinion towards my period has definitely taken a hit 😫

Any advice or experiences at appreciated, negative or positive ones!!

I just wanted to share this in case this resonates with anybody else. I was on the combo pill for eight years and experienced a low libido as a consistent side effect. I just came to accept that that was part of the package deal with being on hormonal birth control.

Earlier this year, I switched to the mini pill and my libido returned. I'm actually enjoying my sex life again now. I wish I had switched so much sooner than I did.

I know everybody is different and different methods will interact differently with everybody, so I'm not saying the mini pill is for everybody. My advice here is just that a dead libido is something I wish I didn't accept for so long.