Are my pills working?

[chennaisara.livejournal.com]

About three cycles ago I stacked my pills for the first time. I think I got my period anyway, I can’t really remember, but since then, even though I went back to taking a week off for my period immediately, I had been spotting for about half my cycle, and now I’ve got a full period that started even before my last week of pills. If the pill isn’t even regulating my period the way it’s supposed to, do you think it’s even working to prevent pregnancy? Would it be a good idea to ditch the rest of the pack and start a new one when this period is over to try to get my body in sync with the hormones again?

If this has been posted before and I missed it, kindly refer me there.

Also, thank you to whomever suggested a steripen for my India trip: the thing was invaluable. And using a keeper was great; I didn’t have to worry about getting rid of plastic menstrual trash.

Comments

[paperispatient.livejournal.com]

Like the other commenter said, wonky bleeding isn't a sign that the pill isn't working for you. I stack my pills and have a period once every three months, and whenever you stack it's quite common to have spotting during your cycle. But if I'm understanding you right, you stacked once, a while ago, and now you're spotting during your active pills. For me, the only thing that stopped my spotting was getting to that placebo week - when I started on the active pills again, everything was fine until about a week before the next placebo week, when I'd start spotting again. Everything actually worked as it was supposed to during my last cycle, so maybe...this will work itself out in time? That's really annoying to have to deal with though! I've never had anything exactly like this happen to me, so I'm not really sure what to suggest...

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

Chiming in with the chorus. Bleeding during active pills, especially when you've been messing with a regulated cycle a bit, should not be taken as a sign that you aren't protected against pregnancy.

It can mean, however, that the pill isn't working very well with your body to control bleeding, so maybe consider trying a different brand of pill.