um? Brown stuff

[welfarewalnuts.livejournal.com]

Okay, well I'm on Ortho Tricyclen Lo. I typically get my period Tuesday or Wednesday (tomarrow or the next day) after I start taking the inert pills(Sunday).
But since Saturday, there been...stuff. Not alot, sometimes I'd see a little on the tissue when I wipe, but mostly it was just up there. Its mostly brown, kinda like dried blood, with little bits of red.

Is this my period, or "spotting" (whatever the hell that means)? or something else I should be worried about?

I sorta messed up my BC at the very begining of this month, I was really late on taking one of my pills. My boyfriend and I had sex then without a condom(Stupid, I know. But I figured, I just had my period, I wouldn't be ovulating anyway, being late on one day shouldn't affect that much, blah blah blah)
But I've been all "Come ooooon period" all month, so now this brown stuff is really blowing my mind.

I'm just throwing in that last paragraph so you get full story, I'm not sure how that factors in.
Mainly, My question is:

This Brown stuff....Harmless goo? pre-period? something really bad?

Comments

[stone-princess.livejournal.com]

That used to happened to me when I was taking Ortho-Cyclen. Like every other period was just just a couple days of brown sludge and then alternate periods were normal.

[bibliophile0614.livejournal.com]

Same here when I was on it.

[welfarewalnuts.livejournal.com]

When I first started taking it, I'd randomly get this brown stuff, but its been like, 1/2 a year, so I was a little freaked out.

Thanks alot for your help.

[dindin.livejournal.com]

Missing a pill can cause spotting or breakthrough bleeding. It's not generally a problem, but you need to read your pill pamphlet and find the instructions for what to do when you miss a pill. Different pills have different instructions, because depending on the brand missing one or two pills can cause spontaneous ovulation. That's why you may need backup protection.

[welfarewalnuts.livejournal.com]

yea, I knew it was a bad idea....after the fact. I've been a little freaked out all month, so if my period doesn't sort itself out in the next few days and act normal, I'll probably take a pregnancy test, just to be certain.

[dindin.livejournal.com]

Have you determined if you need backup protection with your pill? I never said you did, I said you need to find out.

[welfarewalnuts.livejournal.com]

My "real" period showed up with a vengence Tuesday night. So everything is peachy for now. When I get my new pack I'll read the pamphlet again to check. Thanks for your help.