(no subject)

[catchafaiinstar.livejournal.com]

I'm due for my lovely period any day, and i was wondering if i took my placebo birth controls to stop it from coming atleast until late Sunday evening, if that would actually work? anything? 

I ALWAYS seem to get it at the most worst times. 

heelp

Comments

[dindin.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what you mean by taking your "placebo birth controls". Are you on birth control pills?

[catchafaiinstar.livejournal.com]

yes, i'm on birth control. The placebo pills as in the white sugar pills i meant.

[dindin.livejournal.com]

Okay, what pill are you on? Taking or not taking that last week of pills won't do anything - they're sugar pills. But you may be able to skip your period altogether depending on the type of pill you take.

If you're on a monophasic pill - one where all the days of the month have the same level of hormone (and all the pills are the same color), you can try to skip your period this month, but just going from the last active pill of this pack *immediately* to the first active pill of the next with *no break*. You may still get some bleeding, and there's no way to predict if you will or you won't, but you can try.

[catchafaiinstar.livejournal.com]

i'm on the end of my pill back that ends Next saturday. i'm on ortho tri cyclen

[dindin.livejournal.com]

Okay, that's a little trickier because you're on a tri-phasic. Typically triphasics don't work as well for skipping, but if you want to try, what you do when you get to your last active pill, is start over with your next pack backwards.

In other words right now you're going week 1, week 2, week 3 - when you get to week 3, pill 7, the next day take week 3 pill 1 from your next pack, take all of that week, then take all of week 2, then take all of week 1 and take your normal week off. It may work fine, it may not. But it's perfectly safe to try! I used to do this with my triphasic pill and it worked pretty well. Not perfectly, but pretty well.

[taldragon.livejournal.com]

erm, your placebos wont do anything - they're only there to help you keep in the habit.

you dont say what Pill you're on, but the leaflet with it might have suggestions how to skip your period - but you might suffer breakthrough bleeding.

[dindin.livejournal.com]

Nah, leaflets never do; it's considered "off-label" use.

[taldragon.livejournal.com]

huh. ok. i didnt know that (i'm on a POP, i dont have a placebo week)

[dindin.livejournal.com]

Yep. It's like certain meds are approved for one use, but have been proven safe and effective to treat something else entirely (I take Topamax for migraines, but it has an off-label use for bi-polar disorder). Skipping your periods is considered an off-label use of HBC, except with Seasonale where they paid for the marketing, etc. At least that's what it's called over here; I'm not sure if they refer to it differently in the U.K.

[ladyinred667.livejournal.com]

Do you know why patients are advised to use nonhormonal birth control while taking Topamax?

[dindin.livejournal.com]

Oh, they can take it, but Topamax + Estrogen is like Estrogen + Antibiotics. It's not clear how much it interferes or why, and it may only be at higher doses of the Topamax, but the interaction is there. Back when I was on COCs, my gyno wouldn't put me on Topamax unless I promised to use condoms, too.

[dindin.livejournal.com]

Errr...that should be my Neuro who wouldn't put me on the Topamax. Just for the record.

[ladyinred667.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm in the habit of looking up drugs as I come across them since I'm in nursing school. The drug guide only said to advise patients, but not why.

[catchafaiinstar.livejournal.com]

eep, someone just told me if i took the placebos early enough i could have changed the cycle. ohwell, damn you period

[lady-amorika.livejournal.com]

If you take your placebos after less than 21 active pills, you won't be protected from the first placebo you take until the 7th active pill you take, though.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

do you mean if you start your next pack?

placebo pills are what cause your period to start. if you take placebo pills, you'll definitely have a period.

if you are on pills currently and start taking the next pack INSTEAD of taking your placebo pills, you may skip your period, but there's no guarantee, especially if you are on a triphasic pill. i tried a couple times when i was on OTC and OTC-lo and while i didn't have a full blown period, i spotted pretty much the whole month, which was just as annoying.

if you want to be able to skip your period regularly, talk to your gyno about a different type of pill, like seasonale.

[catchafaiinstar.livejournal.com]

yes, that is what i mean by that

I'm currently taking ortho-tri-cyclen, and i will be done with my pill back on Saturday

[catchafaiinstar.livejournal.com]

opps, i meant i will be done with my pill pack NEXT saturday. Sorry!

[autumn-sylver.livejournal.com]

The placebos have nothing in them. Taking them won't affect anything. They're just there to help you keep track, so you know when to start your next pack. If you didn't want to take them at all, you don't have to. The placebo week is when you have your period, because those pills have no hormones in them.
If you're talking about taking the pills for another week just to delay your period, and then stop taking them, it's not a very good idea, especially since you're on a triphasic pill. If you take week 3 of this pack, and then take week 1 of the next pack, the difference in hormone levels will screw with your body. Even if you take week 3 after this pack is done, it still might screw with your body because your body is used to getting that level of hormones for one week, and you would be giving it that level of hormones for 2 weeks. It will most likely throw off your period, and it might take a few months for your body to get back to normal again.
If you're going to take your next pack to skip your period, then you're better off taking the whole pack and having a period next month instead of just taking a week's worth and then stopping.