(no subject)

[betyouneverknew.livejournal.com]

So, I've looked through the memories and couldn't find the answer to the question that I have.

I've recently started the patch and I'm on my week off where my period should be. Well...throughout the first month I had a lot of spotting which the gyn said was normal, but it took like 3 days for my period to start and it has been really clotty. I've never really had a lot of blood clots during menstration before, but not only have I had this during my period, but during the 3 days I was waiting for it I was having this weird dark brownish colored discharge with clots. Has this happened to anyone before? I really just want to know if its normal or if I really need to get back to the gyn and have this checked out.

any info would be awesome because it is stressing me out just a little bit

oh and there hasn't been much cramping or anything like that and my period is lighter than usual

Comments

[t4-flirt.livejournal.com]

if you've never experienced clotting before, i'd call your gyn just to be sure this isn't a serious reaction to the patch.

I may have heard wrong, but i heard something about the patch being recalled or pulled off the market b/c it causes too many problems, or doesn't work right...something like that.

i really need my caffeine. *sigh*

[garillama.livejournal.com]

Some people (mostly attorneys from what I've researched, grr), are worried because the patch can cause an increased risk of blood clots and stroke. I think this has affected maybe 24 women out of the millions prescribed the patch. So probably not something to be too worried about unless you're already genetically at risk for those things. I'm pretty sure they're doing more research into it, we should hear more about it soon :) I'm going to hold off on a definite judgement until then.

Also, there was worry that there's too much estrogen in the patch, but there's only as much as is in a high-dose estrogen pill, so I guess it's not a problem? Don't have my facts as straight on that one, sorry...


To the OP: Definitely call your gyno if you're worried about it, if only to ease your mind, but hormonal birth control really screws with your system, so it's not surprising that your cycle will have changed some :) It'll probably be pretty erratic for the first couple of months. If things haven't settled down into some kind of pattern after that, though, call your gyno and ask them about it.

[garillama.livejournal.com]

Ah, found the quote. It's from April's Prevention:

If you're on the Orthro Eva birth control patch, a new FDA warning states that you're getting about 60% more estogen than women on low-dose pills-which is a lot more than the product orginally promised.

That may sound scary, but the 'amount of estrogen you get from the patch is actually comparable to higher-dose pills that we prescribe regularly" says Prevention advisor Mary Jane Minkin, MD. Women with a history of heart trouble or who smoke should avoid higher doses of estrogen because of heart risk. But if you're healthy and happy with the patch, stick with it. - RM

[geminigirl]

It sounds totally normal. The brownish discharge was most likely older blood, especially not surprising if you had spotting. Three days to start your period is also normal-it takes time for enough of the hormones in the patch or pill or ring to leave your body to trigger the bleeding...most people on hormonal contraceptives find that they begin bleeding somewhere between the second and fifth hormone free day. Lighter periods are a common side effect of combined hormonal contraceptives (ones that contain a synthetic estrogen and a synthetic progesterone, which yours does.) The hormone combination does three things-first and most important, it prevents ovulation so there's no egg to fertilize so you can't get pregnant. Second, it thickens the cervical mucous, making it harder for sperm to get through, and third, it thins the lining of your uterus, making it inhospitable to a fertilized egg in the very unlikely event number one and number two fail.

[fingrpaintsmile.livejournal.com]

off topic but i love your icon... <3 everclear

[brigittefires.livejournal.com]

that's exactly how my periods have been since I started HBC. A day or so of dark brown discharge, then really clotty for a day, then GUSH!!!!! then a day of regular flow, then about 2-3 days of brown discharge until I give up and stop wearing anything in the way of protection, at which point it stops [whether that's coincidence I don't care to examine].

Something I have heard about HBC is that it makes your body produce less lining--some people, this means less clotting because it's thinner, some I expect there's MORE clotting because there's less fluid in the lining.

So the course of events you describe would be another 'normal' month for me, I wouldn't worry about it.

[skeptictank.livejournal.com]

I was on the patch for about a year (maybe 2-3 years ago) and my periods have been occasionally clotty ever since. No biggie.