lady00 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I am currently taking Kariva which I believe is the generic form of Mircette. My understanding is that it's a low-dose combination pill. I am going on vacation starting the week that I am supposed to be taking the placebo pills. I'm wondering if it's OK to try to skip that withdrawal bleeding period by beginning the new pack of pills immediately after ending the active pills in the current pack. Has anyone tried this on a low-dose pill? Does it work? I did some googling and some people suggested it won't work with the type of pill I am on and that I will experience breakthrough bleeding. Curious if any ENAers have tried this. Thanks! Link to comment
lady00 Posted July 16, 2011 Author Share Posted July 16, 2011 Also, if I stop taking the pill for a couple of months (there will be a gap in my insurance coverage and the cost of the pill is about five times greater without insurance) will it mess with my cycle or my body's hormones a lot or cause any side effects? I plan on calling my gynecologist on Monday to ask for more information about this but thought I might as well ask people here for now. Link to comment
emma j Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I'm on the patch but i skip mine all the time. I hate getting my period and sometimes just not in the moode of it so every second month i skip it.. I've not had any problems but i'm not sure about the pill ur on. Link to comment
thejigsup Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I would not do it, it could really screw up your system. I would talk to your doctor. I have heard of girls delaying their periods because they were getting married, so I know it can be done, I just wouldn't "do it myself". Link to comment
Firiel Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I've always heard that it's okay to do every once in a while, but I know when I was on a low-dose pill, my period was coming no matter what... the smaller dose of hormones wasn't enough to stop it. I don't think it will cause any terrible side effects to stop taking BC for a couple of months and then start again. I mean, it may screw up your period a bit, but nothing too extreme, I'd think... Link to comment
OptomisticGirl Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I asked my doctor about this years ago and she said there is NOTHING wrong with skipping them. Now multiple months I'm not sure. They do make BC were you dint have one but for every four months but, idk. Months I wouldn't be comfortable with. I only skip for important events - like my wedding in less than three months - if my period falls during the time my fiancé will be here're yep, I'm skipping, lol. I would ask about skipping multiple months personally. Link to comment
lady00 Posted July 17, 2011 Author Share Posted July 17, 2011 I've always heard that it's okay to do every once in a while, but I know when I was on a low-dose pill, my period was coming no matter what... the smaller dose of hormones wasn't enough to stop it. I'm a little confused by this. Could you elaborate? All of the active pills in my type of pill have the same amount of hormones so why would it not be enough to stop the period from coming if I were to continue taking the active pills after 21 days? Link to comment
OptomisticGirl Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I'm a little confused by this. Could you elaborate? All of the active pills in my type of pill have the same amount of hormones so why would it not be enough to stop the period from coming if I were to continue taking the active pills after 21 days? Not all birth control has the same level of something (not hormones, I always forget what it is). It's what controls (really) how sick you get when you take them. When I started them at 15 I was put on a high dose and no matter how much I ate, I threw up the next morning after taking my pill (yucky). Over the years I have been lowered and am now on the lowest dose. I can eat and if I forget to take it until 5 hours after I eat, I don't wake up sick to my stomach because it's not as 'strong' I suppose. Link to comment
strangerdanger Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 A girl that used to work for me used to do this all the time- it screwed with her hormones. She was incredibly emotional...Angry-happy-sad- up and down. I'd talk to your Dr. before doing this. Link to comment
Firiel Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I'm a little confused by this. Could you elaborate? All of the active pills in my type of pill have the same amount of hormones so why would it not be enough to stop the period from coming if I were to continue taking the active pills after 21 days? Well, one of the major side effects of a low-dose pill is break-through bleeding, and for me, that side effect was particularly nasty. I actually ended up switching pills because of it. I guess the lower dose isn't always enough to stop bleeding from happening. So I always started my "period" during the last few of my active pills. My body wanted to bleed after 21 days, so it did, despite the hormones standing in its way. Like I said, my body reacted poorly to the low-dose pill, so if you didn't have breakthrough bleeding problems, you will likely be fine, but it's also possible that your body will be so used to bleeding when it usually does (every 21 days) that your period will come when it usually does (or that you will experience breakthrough bleeding later in the month). Link to comment
sjustine Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I was on Loestrin for a while, which is also a low dose pill, and it worked just fine if I needed to skip my period for a vacation or something. Just skip those pills and start the next pack right away. Your next cycle might be a little messed up (as far as timing) but it should be fine. I had a similar dilemma recently, my wedding was coming up and my period was due to start on the day! I don't take the pill anymore, but my gyno helped me out and gave me a couple packs of pills just so I could skip that catastrophe! Link to comment
lady00 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 Decided against it. Don't want to run the risk of having crazy sideffects. It's going to be a hassle while I'm on vacation but I guess I'll just deal with it. I might end up changing or giving up the pill altogether since I'm not using it for birth control (although that was why I originally asked my doctor for the prescription). Perhaps there is some other kind of treatment for heavy periods that I could start using. Before I started the pill my period was unbearably heavy (going to the beach or pretty much going anywhere without an easily accessible bathroom was a huge pain and tampons did absolutely nothing for me because I would go through a "regular" one within a half hour and the "super" were too big). Now it's much more manageable but I haven't discussed with my doctor just using it primarily for controlling my heavy periods rather than for birth control (I have read that there are various kinds of pills and some of them may be more appropriate for what I need them for than others). Link to comment
OptomisticGirl Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 The side effects - which for me have only ever been my period being a little heavier than normal when I had it the next time and I have been on pills since I was 15 - are minimual but yeah, if you are wanting to do multiple months at a time the side effects could get worse. Link to comment
lady00 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 The side effects - which for me have only ever been my period being a little heavier than normal when I had it the next time and I have been on pills since I was 15 - are minimual but yeah, if you are wanting to do multiple months at a time the side effects could get worse. I wasn't thinking of going for multiple months at a time, just thinking of skipping it this one time due to the vacation. My withdrawal bleeding isn't very heavy but it's still annoying enough that I thought it would be nice to skip it while I'm out of town, going swimming etc. But I have read up a bit online and from the responses here it sounds like everyone's body responds differently so I just decided it's not worth the risk to start experimenting now. Link to comment
OptomisticGirl Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I wasn't thinking of going for multiple months at a time, just thinking of skipping it this one time due to the vacation. My withdrawal bleeding isn't very heavy but it's still annoying enough that I thought it would be nice to skip it while I'm out of town, going swimming etc. But I have read up a bit online and from the responses here it sounds like everyone's body responds differently so I just decided it's not worth the risk to start experimenting now. Yeah, it's still something I would discuss with your OBGYN. I know I have skipped a few times a year since I was on it and still have periods every month - aside from when I skip. I will def be skipping for my wedding/honeymoon, lol Link to comment
lady00 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 I just read about someone who tried this and then bled for several weeks non-stop. That sounds horrible! OG, it worked for you so clearly it works for some people (maybe even most). I might try it some time in the future just to see but I guess my period is light enough and only a few days long (unfortunately those few days fall smack dab in the middle of my vacation involving lots of time at the beach and the pool) I don't want to risk having some strange side effect like a month of bleeding. On a side note, I never understood how more women were not freaked out by the idea of going to the beach while on their periods but reading more and more about it I think my periods (pre-pill) may have been abnormally heavy. Apparently, menstruation is not supposed to get in the way of your life as much as it did mine. I read through the symptoms of abnormally heavy bleeding and I'm pretty sure that is what I used to have. At one point (in middle school) it was so bad that I would be in intense pain for the first day of my period to the point where I would need to just lie down with a hot water bottle or take a long nap. Thankfully for some reason that went away on its own but the heavy periods remained throughout grad school until I got a boyfriend I thought would be long-term and decided to go on the pill. That didn't last but the pill has been my constant companion ever since LOL. My longest term relationship! Link to comment
OptomisticGirl Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Do you use tampons? Whenever I go swimming that's what I use. Yeah, it's never failed me and everyone I know has never had any adverse side effects. Not to say people DON'T but on the same token birth control itself can cause dangeorus side effects. So even by just taking it you are taking a chance. Link to comment
lady00 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 Yeah, I'll be taking tampons with me. They work fine for me now with the lighter flow caused by the pill. It's kind of funny...all those years they never worked for me now suddenly they work as expected and it's like "wow! so THIS is what is supposed to happen...not crazy uncomfortable leaking" LOL. Only reason I was thinking of skipping was cause tampons are a bit of a hassle to me and I once had a scare where I thought I had forgotten one in there and had to go in for an exam at my grad school's health services clinic. As a result, I'm a little paranoid about tampons. I might stop taking the pill altogether or at least for a couple of months after this next pack is done because I'm getting a new job and there is a waiting period before my new insurance kicks in. Since I technically don't need it, I feel weird about spending the extra money. I never realized until now how expensive my birth control is without insurance (goes up from $10 to $50 I think). Not crazy, but definitely not cheap...I'm kind of annoyed that I have to pay that even if only for a couple months, especially when I'm not even having sex. But I am a little scared to let out the monster that is normal menstruation even if it's only for a couple of months. It may be worth it to stay on it just to keep that under control and not have to deal with heavy bleeding. Link to comment
Mercurial Girl Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I frequently skip my period for 2-3 months at a time using my birth control. Stopping and starting the pill for those 7 days wreaks havoc on me - major headaches sometimes for the full 7 days, mood swings, terrible cramps and bloating so bad that none of my clothes fit, and then when I start the pills up again for the first week it feels like I've just begun a new birth control course and have to go through the motions of that for a week, so really I'll only have 2 weeks out of every month where I feel okay. When I take them back to back, I only have to experience this a few times a year, vs...12 times a year. My birth control only costs $10 without insurance though, and $2 with insurance so that doesn't affect my decision. The only difference with my periods when I finally get them are that the blood is more brown, older blood. Nothing wrong with stopping the pill,either - I was on NuvaRing for so long that I didn't realize how miserable it was making me until I stopped taking it, more or less on a whim. I didn't consider it as a source for my depression for such a long time, then just weeks after I stopped taking it I noticed how amazing I felt all of a sudden, and realized that I need to be more aware and careful when trying new birth control methods and how they might affect my moods....plus I lost 15lbs without trying one bit! Link to comment
toofaced12 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I've asked my doctor about doing this, and I generally skip my period every other month. My doctor said its fine to do it, but only if you are on a pill that is the same dosage of hormones everyday. Link to comment
lady00 Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 That price is really surprising to me. If you don't mind my asking, what birth control are you on and did you just get it at a normal pharmacy like Walgreens or somewhere else? Link to comment
Mercurial Girl Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 That price is really surprising to me. If you don't mind my asking, what birth control are you on and did you just get it at a normal pharmacy like Walgreens or somewhere else? Jinxed myself because I just switched from Alesse to Yaz, so now I'm paying $19 without insurance - once I have insurance again I'll be paying $4, then $2 once they have a generic for Yaz. I'm in Canada which makes a difference. Our prescription drugs are subsidized so over all cheaper. This is at one of the most expensive pharmacies here. Link to comment
OptomisticGirl Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I get my birth control free. Link to comment
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