Hormonal Contraception: The Pill [General Discussion]

Jeffrey Palmer7 said:Hello,
I'm currently taking Lindynette 20 and I'm looking to shift my period forward. I was wondering if it would be better to skip the seven-day break and start a new pack immediately after finishing this one, or if I should stop taking my current pack three or four pills early to trigger the bleeding a few days sooner?
Thanks

I was at a medical seminar once, but I'm pretty sure the logic holds up here—correct me if I'm wrong. Basically, you don't take the break; you just jump straight into the next box and finish it like usual. You might deal with breakthrough bleeding or some spotting during that window when your break should have been.
It’s all clearly laid out in the manual and the instructions.😁

Anthony Watson7 said:I was at a medical seminar once, but I'm pretty sure the logic holds up here—correct me if I'm wrong. Basically, you don't take the break; you just jump straight into the next box and finish it like usual. You might deal with breakthrough bleeding or some spotting during that window when your break should have been.
It’s all clearly laid out in the manual and the instructions.😁

Fair enough. I'm just worried that I might end up with much heavier bleeding, which definitely isn't ideal... The real point is that any kind of unexpected bleeding is something we'd rather avoid.

You certainly won't experience heavier bleeding. I’m actually on birth control myself, and I take the 20mcg version of Lyndinette. I finished my last pill from the previous pack on Friday and just started the next one on Saturday. Back when I used to take Cilest—before I knew how to manage the transitions properly—there wouldn't be any bleeding during the break period at all. However, it did occasionally happen that I'd notice some brownish discharge during the second half of the second pack, though it wasn't exactly full-on bleeding.

Am I still protected if I start a new pack immediately without taking any breaks? Also, if I experience breakthrough bleeding or some brown discharge, does that mean I'm no longer protected?

Of course you're protected. Most of us deal with spotting or heavier flows for half the month anyway—it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

Thanks so much, do you guys have any cats?

Hey everyone! So, I’ve been on Diane 35 for about four years now, and my last break kicked off back on Wednesday, August 6th. I’m still waiting for my period to show up, and honestly, my boyfriend is coming over in a day or two, which is making me a little anxious. I was wondering, can I just start a brand new pack tomorrow? If I do, will I actually be protected? And also—does anyone know what the odds are that my period will finally decide to make an appearance? 🙂

You're definitely protected, but honestly—not sure if you'll get your period since you've been off the pill for a few days. If you'd just jumped straight onto the next pack, I bet you could've pushed it back another month for sure.

Looks like I’m messing up too 🙂.
Summer's been such a blur—honestly, I haven't even been keeping track of the days. So, I was supposed to take my first pill this past Friday, but I was totally convinced it was Thursday. Turns out, instead of Friday at 9 PM, I didn't get around to taking it until Saturday at noon—didn't even realize my mistake until the next night when I finally rushed out to grab it.

I've been on the pill for almost four years now, and honestly, I think these hormones have just become part of my DNA at this point—do I really need to use extra protection for the next seven days?
I seriously can't stand condoms—I'd much rather skip the action entirely than deal with them.
I'm on Lindynette 30 🙂>

👋 Anyone here used Belare before?

Hey everyone. Sorry if this has already been covered—I’m dealing with an urgent situation and low-key panicking here. Feel free to delete or lock this thread once someone answers if I'm breaking any rules.

So here’s the deal—I’ve been on birth control for months (switched from Logest to Lindynette) and have been sexually active with my boyfriend. I always start a new pack on Sundays. Here’s what happened: I finished a pack, took my usual week-long break, and was supposed to start the next pack this Sunday. But, I broke up with him on Friday (two days before the new pack was due), so I didn't actually start the new box. Basically, I missed my pills on Sunday and Monday. Then, on Monday night, we made up and had unprotected sex. He didn't finish inside. So, yeah—I missed two pills and had unprotected sex where he didn't even ejaculate.

Is there a risk of pregnancy, and if so, how high is it? Should I take Plan B? Since we're back together, I plan on starting the pill again—should I just start today? Please don't lecture me on being irresponsible, blah blah blah. I get it. I just need advice and a reality check on the chances of me being pregnant.

Thanks in advance.

The bigger issue arises once you stop taking birth control—you honestly can't predict when ovulation might kick back in.
If he truly didn't finish inside, then pregnancy isn't an issue—but unfortunately, there's always that lingering question of whether that was actually the case.
You could resume the pill right away, though you really should use backup protection for about a week just to be safe.

quietfox384 said:The bigger issue arises once you stop taking birth control—you honestly can't predict when ovulation might kick back in.
If he truly didn't finish inside, then pregnancy isn't an issue—but unfortunately, there's always that lingering question of whether that was actually the case.
You could resume the pill right away, though you really should use backup protection for about a week just to be safe.

Thanks for the reply! He pulled out two minutes before finishing, so I'm pretty sure nothing "escaped." 🤷

Should I just take one pill today, or should I catch up on the ones I missed?

If that’s the case, then everything is fine—there really isn't any reason to worry.
Please don't try to "catch up" by taking missed pills all at once (that would mean taking three at a time, which is far too much)—just start fresh from the next one.
Follow the instructions as if you were starting the pack for the very first time—assuming, of course, it isn't the first day of your cycle.
Which means, naturally, you absolutely need to use extra protection for now.

Does anyone else get those sharp ovarian pains when you're on the pill? It feels just like ovulation. I know technically there's no ovulation happening while taking them, but today was the first time I've felt this since starting, and my breasts have been tender for two or three days now—exactly how it feels during my cycle. Is it actually possible to feel these sensations while on birth control?😁

Yeah, I felt the exact same way when I was taking them—usually right around the middle of the pack.

Hey ladies, I really need some input from you women on a few things...
I’m currently fighting a losing battle with massive hair loss—I used to have this thick, long, wavy mane, but now it’s just thin, dry, and weak; I can barely tie it into a tiny little walnut-sized bun. On top of that, my gums are bleeding, my eyes are super sensitive and dry (I can't even stare at my computer screen like I used to without them watering constantly), and I am just exhausted—and I mean *exhausted*—even after getting a full eight hours of sleep. I’ve been reading up on it and suspect it might all be tied to a hormonal imbalance, though my dermatologist immediately tried to push steroids on me, my dentist wants me to get a deep scaling for my gums, and for my eyes, I'm stuck using artificial tears and drops that honestly don't do much. All of this is seriously tanking my quality of life.

Things have taken a real turn for the worse over the last year, so I went ahead and got some testing done. My thyroid came back fine, my glucose tolerance test was okay, and my blood work looks normal. My periods are pretty regular—every 30 days, maybe swinging two days early or late.

Most of my sex hormones are within range, except for androstenedione, which is sitting above 19.5 when the reference interval tops out at 11.4. I just got the results yesterday, so I haven't had a chance to sit down with my OBGYN to go over the details yet, but obviously, that number is high.

I had a gut feeling it was some kind of hormonal mess-up involving excess male hormones, especially since I’ve noticed some increased hair growth in certain areas—but my ultrasound didn't show any signs of PCOS.
I wanted to know if anyone else here deals with similar symptoms? And specifically, would birth control pills (which I assume will be my only option) actually help restore my hair or fix these other issues?

Since I’ve never taken them before, does anyone know which brands are generally considered the best? Also, does anyone experience side effects like weight gain?

Is there any other way to get my hormones back in balance—maybe through herbal teas or something more natural?

Thanks so much for the help! Sorry I can't dive deep into the whole thread right now—I'm totally slammed with time—but I promise I'll read through everything once things settle down because I know there's good advice here. Right now, I just really need an answer.

Hey, I was wondering—how often do you guys actually get bloodwork done just to make sure everything is still okay while you're on the pill?
Does my primary care doctor usually handle the referral for those tests—like, do I just go to a standard local clinic for them—and what specifically should I ask my doctor for? Will she automatically know if I mention I want checkups because of the birth control, or do I need to be more specific about what I’m looking for? My OB-GYN has never really sent me for labs or asked for any results—she mostly just refills my prescription—so I guess I just want to double-check that everything is running smoothly.

I haven't actually held a job until this year, though I have gone in for my routine checkups roughly every two years. During one of those physicals at the local clinic, they checked my liver enzymes, and everything came back perfectly normal.

However, this past summer, I reached out to my doctor to request a referral for blood work required for my contraceptive prescription (Lindynette 20). He requested liver function tests and also asked for a cholesterol panel, since my levels have always trended slightly elevated during my biennial exams. Now, looking at my results, I noticed they only tested for HDL (the "good" cholesterol) and triglycerides. They didn't measure my LDL ("bad" cholesterol) at all! Has anyone else experienced this? I was fully expecting a complete profile—you know, the whole works: LDL, HDL, triglycerides, and total cholesterol.

bluebadger8 said:Hey, I was wondering—how often do you guys actually get bloodwork done just to make sure everything is still okay while you're on the pill?
Does my primary care doctor usually handle the referral for those tests—like, do I just go to a standard local clinic for them—and what specifically should I ask my doctor for? Will she automatically know if I mention I want checkups because of the birth control, or do I need to be more specific about what I’m looking for? My OB-GYN has never really sent me for labs or asked for any results—she mostly just refills my prescription—so I guess I just want to double-check that everything is running smoothly.

From what I know, you should probably do a little "mini physical" once a year or so. 🤷
I always grab all my "routine" referrals from my family doctor and it’s never been an issue—you just tell them what you need and that's that. 🙂

Edward Harris17 said:I haven't actually held a job until this year, though I have gone in for my routine checkups roughly every two years. During one of those physicals at the local clinic, they checked my liver enzymes, and everything came back perfectly normal.

However, this past summer, I reached out to my doctor to request a referral for blood work required for my contraceptive prescription (Lindynette 20). He requested liver function tests and also asked for a cholesterol panel, since my levels have always trended slightly elevated during my biennial exams. Now, looking at my results, I noticed they only tested for HDL (the "good" cholesterol) and triglycerides. They didn't measure my LDL ("bad" cholesterol) at all! Has anyone else experienced this? I was fully expecting a complete profile—you know, the whole works: LDL, HDL, triglycerides, and total cholesterol.

Maybe he just forgot to check the box for LDL? :not sure: 😁
They really should have both... maybe check with your OB/GYN, you can always ask for a new referral.