Changing HBC

[stothyra.livejournal.com]

I'm 22, sexually active, and my periods have been getting progressively worse the last few months, and I need to go see my doctor soon anyway, so I'm going to get on a different birth control pill. I've been on Nortrel 777 since April of last year, and now the cramps are far worse and the bleeding is relatively heavier. The diarrhea is back too! I'm planning to get on another combined pill, but I have no clue which one. So, questions!

1) When I start the new pill, do I just finish my last pack of Nortrel, go through the withdrawal bleed, and then start the new pack? 

2) How long should I be on the new pill before worrying about the withdrawal bleeds changing to a new normal?

3) When it comes to side effects, how long do you wait until you consider having to switch again?

Comments

[archangelbeth]

1) Assuming it is a combined pill of the usual sort, yes. (If you are starting a POP/mini-pill, you would start immediately after your last combined pill, I believe. If you started Natazia, you would probably also "stack" it immediately, though IIRC my estimations, you could go about 4 days on no hormones before starting it, and probably maintain protection. Probably. Not a doctor. Making estimates. Safer to wait the 9 days, of course, that Natazia states.)

2) Probably about 3 months, minimum.

3) 3 months is considered the "settling-in" duration, and many side effects may go away after that. Only the person taking the pill can decide whether the side effects are something they can live with for 3 months! Some are serious enough that going another day would be unbearable. (Which is a good reason to use backup contraception for an entire month -- if there's one of those very rare, unbearable side effects, it would probably happen in the first month, and using backup contraception allows immediate cessation of the pill.)

I hope that helps, and that you get other viewpoints too!