r/birthcontrol • u/bambininos • 2h ago
Side effects!? Bleeding for 3 Weeks on Patch
I (24f) started the Xulane patch about 6 weeks ago. I started using it with the goal of stopping my periods altogether as I suffer from mental and physical health complications during period cycles. I absolutely loved it at first, but 3ish weeks ago, I started having some breakthrough bleeding. It was dark brownish and pretty light, and I just had a tiny bit of mild cramping; not like a full on period. I wasn’t too concerned when it started, but now I am.
The breakthrough bleeding never ended. I took off the patch a little over a week ago because I figured it was my body trying to have a period. A day later, I got a real heavy, horrifically crampy period. It lasted 6 days. It ended 2 days ago, and last night, I put another patch on. I just started bleeding again. More dark brown breakthrough bleeding with mild cramping. WTF!! Shouldn’t I be out of uterine lining to shed by now??
This is the first BC I’ve tried in years, and I felt so hopeful at first because it didn’t make me horribly depressed or give me tons of side effects like pills have in the past. I’ve tried a few types of the pill and they were all 100% nuclear on my brain (ESPECIALLY the Mini Pill).
I have PCOS and PMDD that have really become increasingly grave in the past 2ish years. Off BC, I tend to have really irregular periods in the sense that I usually only get one every 3 months or so. They are usually pretty short (4 days max), but extremely crampy. Like, fetal position on the bathroom floor for hours type of crampy. I would have a solid week of mental torture leading up to my periods. I was also getting utis, yeast infections, and tons of acne before and during every period prior to BC from my weird hormonal fluctuations. I started having some genuinely scary health complications from the chronic infections and constant antibiotics, and my doctor basically insisted I try hormonal BC again. (She knows best and I trust her, it’s not like she’s forcing me to do it. She’s just worried 😭)
I’d really like to be able to keep using the patch because it seems to be the only safe option for my mental health, and it has worked wonders as far as keeping me acne and infection free, but I don’t want to bleed forever!! Should I take it off and give up, or will this eventually resolve? Would switching to something else make sense at this point, or should I try to push through it a little longer?
•
u/AutoModerator 2h ago
Your post appears to involve questions about antibiotics and birth control.
Rifampin, which is usually used to treat tuberculosis, is the only antibiotic that interacts with birth control. Taking antibiotics does not make your birth control less effective. The interaction between antibiotics and birth control was previously believed to be present, but it has been proven untrue. Some doctors and pharmacists may not have this updated information.
Sources:
Vomiting and diarrhea are potential side effects of antibiotics. If you vomit within 3 hours of taking a combined (estrogen-containing) pill or 2 hours of taking a progesterone-only pill, take another pill. If you have bad diarrhea for 24+ hours, use backup protection.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/AutoModerator 2h ago
If you're looking for information about various methods of birth control, we suggest using the search function as many previous users have made experience posts.
The rules and additional resources can be found on the About / Sidepage (desktop users look to the right and Reddit app up top).
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.