Hormonal Contraception: The Pill [General Discussion]

So, is it actually bad for you?
I’ve seen people doing all sorts of stuff with it, so I figured it wasn't that big of a deal... plus, I really don't want to just throw it away $20 xD

Hello 🙂
I’ve been taking Yaz 8mg and honestly, I love how it works for me...
but it is just way too expensive.
So, I told my doctor that I need to find something a bit more affordable... and asked her which ones are the closest match.
She just tells me—there aren't any exact matches. Well, obviously, I get that, haha.
And then she asks me which ones I actually want.
Now I’m sitting here trying to figure out what I’m supposed to choose, but I know absolutely nothing about birth control pills or anything like that.
It’s not like they’re all the same for every woman!
It is so frustrating...
I just want the ones with a composition most similar to Yaz... and yet again, she keeps asking me which ones I want???
Help me please 😢
I was reading online that some gynecologists suggest switching from Yaz to Lindynette 20.

Raymond Diaz86 said:So, is it actually bad for you?
I’ve seen people doing all sorts of stuff with it, so I figured it wasn't that big of a deal... plus, I really don't want to just throw it away $20 xD

Just because people do random stuff doesn't mean it's right. It just shows how easily some things are taken lightly. Personally, I'd never mess around with my cycle, but that's just me. Especially not because of $20.

I have a question regarding birth control pills.

I’ve been on Lindynette 20 for about a year and a half now, but honestly, I haven't had the nerve to have sex without extra protection—like condoms—just in case. As far as the pills themselves go, everything has been fine; no issues with bleeding patterns or missed doses.

Recently, I started a new pack (after my seven-day break and finishing the previous cycle). On that very same day, I began taking both my birth control and an antibiotic containing 1000 mg of amoxicillin.

I took the antibiotic for eight days, which means I also took eight Lindynette pills strictly on schedule. After the 15th pill, we had unprotected intercourse. Was I actually protected?

I’m wondering if that amoxicillin affects how the pill works in my system. Also, is it true that acetaminophen can interfere with the effectiveness, like the warning label says? And if it turns out I am pregnant, does the pill cause any harm to the pregnancy?

How can I check if I'm pregnant without heading straight to a gynecologist? I’ve heard about home pregnancy tests, so I’m curious when would be the best time to take one in this specific situation?

Thanks for any insight...

steelhound35 said:Just because people do random stuff doesn't mean it's right. It just shows how easily some things are taken lightly. Personally, I'd never mess around with my cycle, but that's just me. Especially not because of $20.

30 if you've got supplemental coverage
and I'm with you on that. 👍

I shortened my own cycle by just one day once, and even then, I was low-key terrified that I'd messed something up internally 😢

Regarding shortening or lengthening the cycle—isn't there a rule that you always need a seven-day break? For instance, would you take 18 pills and then pause, or take 24 pills and then follow up with a mandatory seven-day break?

Can I pick up my birth control without a prescription? I’m currently on Lindynette 30—my OBGYN usually just writes me two boxes at a time so I'm set for two months. Well, I popped my last pill yesterday, so now I'm stuck in that seven-day break period. I've tried calling the clinic a bunch of times today to get a new script, but they won't even let me get through—it’s like the phone line is totally dead. I can't tell if they're all out on vacation, if it's just super busy, if someone's filling in, or if the phone system is just glitching out 😕.
I need to have my next pack by next Friday, and since most people are basically off work next week anyway, what happens if I can't get this script sorted? I really don't want to go a whole month without them and then have to deal with my body readjusting to the hormones all over again.

Is there any chance that when the pharmacist swipes my insurance card, they'll see I'm a regular user and just give me the pills without a script? Maybe if I explain the situation. My doctor was fine with prescribing them before, but now, on the very first day I actually need her, I can't even get a dial tone. Honestly, I'm at a loss.

And even if they do give me the pills without a script and tell me to come back later to verify everything, I can't make that happen—I'm traveling back home today and I'll only be there for a bit, so there's no way I'm driving all the way back from the city just to show them a piece of paper.
I'm seriously stressing out here and I have no idea why the phone isn't even ringing through. 🙂🙂🙂

I’ve been in pretty much the same boat twice before. Both times, I just headed straight to the pharmacy—different cities, obviously—and basically bought everything on credit. Like, I paid the full price upfront, and then they gave me about a week to track down a prescription. Once I brought it in, they’d refund the difference, which ended up being around $10 at Lindy 20.

Thanks so much—I was actually getting a little worried there—but honestly, if I need some ice, I can just swing by any CVS in downtown Chicago 🙂.

Hey Cure, why exactly is it that you have to start taking birth control pills on the very first day of your period?
What actually happens if you take them, say, a few days early or a few days late? What’s the actual impact there?

I’m asking just out of curiosity—I wasn't looking for an answer elsewhere, and honestly, I totally blanked on asking my OB-GYN when I was last at her office.

Specifically, my cycle is incredibly irregular (and painful)—there's zero chance I can predict when it'll show up (last time, I was waiting 100 days for it and almost lost my mind three different times...). I've used the pill before and it worked wonders for me, but I had to stop because of some inflammation. That was about a year ago, and now I want to get back on it—I've done all the tests, got my prescription, and now I just need to start. Well, I did technically start my period, but it wasn't a "classic" Day 1 situation; instead, I had this weird little spotting for a week—just barely enough for a pantyliner—and then yesterday my actual period finally kicked in (my last one was back on October 17th).

Since I couldn't really figure out what was going on—it was my first time dealing with something like this—and I wasn't sure if the spotting would turn into a regular period, I didn't take the first pill. Instead, I’m planning to wait until the next cycle (which will be a normal one, hopefully). While I was overthinking all of this, this question popped into my head, so here I am asking it here. I'd love for someone to explain this to me since it isn't quite clear to me, and frankly, this whole waiting game and my erratic cycle are driving me absolutely crazy.

Thanks in advance!

As far as I can tell—and I’m just sharing what I know—whether you start your pill on the very first day of your period really only affects how quickly you're protected from pregnancy.
If you take that first pill on day one, you're protected immediately; however, if you wait until a different day during your period, you’ll need to use some extra backup protection for the next week or so.
So, looking at it from your perspective—since you started your period yesterday—I’d say go ahead and take the pill today, but just make sure to use extra protection for a week. That should be it, and there shouldn't be any issues.
It might also be worth double-checking the specific instructions for the brand you're using—just to be absolutely certain, since I don't know which ones you have.

Thanks so much for getting back to me!
I mean, I’ve definitely been sitting here chewing on that idea—but honestly, this past week with that weird blood clot situation has just left me completely spinning, so I haven't had a clue what to do with myself.
And if I'm being totally real, it's actually terrifying—the thought that I might not be one hundred percent protected... so yeah, I ended up skipping this one and figured I'd just wait for the next shot. I really don't know.

You can honestly just start taking them today and stay protected, just like Angel said. It’s worth it because you don't want to be stuck in this same spot next month, wondering if you actually started your period or not...

In some cases, you can even kick off the pill when you haven't even started your cycle yet. Like Angel mentioned, the only real difference is whether or not you're covered. If you start on day one of your period, you're good to go. But if you pick any other day? You definitely need to use backup protection.

Sure, but what’s the actual logic behind it—like, why wouldn't I be protected? What is physically happening in the body that makes such a massive difference if you take it on day one versus any other day?

And honestly, I didn't end up taking it. I'm just incredibly paranoid about this whole thing and I simply don't have the mental energy to spend the next few weeks constantly spiraling and asking myself, "Wait, am I actually safe right now?"—so I'm just going to wait... if this same nonsense happens again, then I'll listen to you guys. Otherwise, I use Truvada (or similar), and I was reading the instructions—apparently, if you miss that first day, you're supposed to take it on day five and then use extra protection for a week. My issue is that I'm not even entirely sure which day was actually my "day one," so I'm really just crossing my fingers that this won't happen again next month, since it's my first time dealing with this kind of mess.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that everything kicks off properly next month, just how it should be.😁

Aw, man... honestly, same here... thank you!! 🙂

Has anyone actually had luck using pills to deal with PCOS symptoms? Specifically talking about the unwanted hair growth part.

I tried using Evra patches, but they just didn't work for me. Around the third week, one of them started peeling off, which caused some spotting. The instructions say if a patch loses its seal, you should start a new pack and a new cycle immediately 😕 so, that’s exactly what I did. Essentially, I was supposed to skip a period. But a week into this new cycle, I started bleeding again. I took the patch off right away and decided I was done with them entirely. To be specific, I removed it early in the second cycle following the initial issue where the first patch peeled. That bleeding felt just like a period. It’s been a month since then, and I still haven't had a regular period now that I've stopped all contraception.

Is it possible I messed up my cycle by switching patches mid-stream, or should I just go buy a pregnancy test? 😢

Man, let me tell you. I had these freaking dark circles under my eyes 🙂. They just vanished after a month or two 🙂