(no subject)

[aoife28.livejournal.com]

I've been taking Ortho tri cyclene since October, but January was the first month I had sex while on the pill. Since starting birth control, my period has been extremely predictable, down to the time of day it generally starts. It should have started this morning. I am trying not to be worried because stress only delays the period even more, but my question is this: how likely is it that some variation in my cycle is normal, but just hadn't occured until the one month that I actually have sex?

And would having a bladder infection earlier this month have anything to do with the delay?

Comments

[haela.livejournal.com]

Do you always take your pills at the same time of day, and have you missed any? If you've been really careful with your pills you probably have nothing to worry about. Bladder infections do not impact your menstrual cycle. Stress isn't a factor with periods being late while on oral contraceptives. The reason stress can delay periods in normal women is because it inhibits ovulation, which typically happens around two weeks before your period starts. If ovulation happens late, then your ovaries produce progesterone for their normal length of time (starting with the ovulation day) which makes the period appear to come later. Since you're not ovulating your withdrawal bleeding should happen within a few days of starting the placebo week of your oral contraceptives. Personally I was on Ortho Tri-cyclen for a couple of months and the first month I got my period on time, but the second month it got really messed up. So, in answer to your question about the likelihood of it just being the Ortho, it's very likely. It never hurts to take a pregnancy test anyway just to be sure. If anything it'll give some relief.

Re:

[aoife28.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info. I've never missed a pill, and while I don't necessarily take the pill at exactly the same time every day, it's always between 10am and 2 pm. So I was confident I was protected, and I'd just like to be sure I wasn't wrong about that. I'm hoping it's just a fluke.

[geminigirl]

It's entirely possible that it's the pill. I know my period has changed in length, starting date/time, and even heaviness the entire time I've been on the pill (since I was about 20, I think.)

While I've never seen anything linking illness to changes in the menstrual cycle, I can say anecdotally that my own experience has been that my period is different if I've been sick-a cold, or other infection seems to mess with my cycle. Most recently, I had a cold and my period was lighter and shorter than usual.

I take ortho too

[tx-toy.livejournal.com]

Hey there, I take ortho too. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Sometimes our bodies just do odd things. My period though it usually comes around Wednesday or mid-week...it has no exact time. I wouldn't stress too much as long as you haven't missed a pill. Give it a few days, and look for signs. Like increased appetite, maybe depression or over emotional. These are good indicators that she's on her way!

I'm due this week too-yippee (denote sarcasm)

Take Care/Don't stress! :)

[jennifer0246.livejournal.com]

Any antibiotic can negate the effectiveness of birth control. You should definitely get a pregnancy test.

Re:

[aoife28.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the advice, but I wasn't taking any antibiotics. I flushed out the infection with lots of cranberry juice and water.