birth control

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by honeychile

It's been years since I've taken the pill, but I have a question for those of you who do. I think the name is Seasonique (?), which has four periods a year? How do you know if you're pregnant on that? It may sound like a naive question (and probably is) but everytime I see the commercial, I wonder how.

Take a pregnancy test, basically. Or have unusual breakthrough bleeding.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by honeychile

It's been years since I've taken the pill, but I have a question for those of you who do. I think the name is Seasonique (?), which has four periods a year? How do you know if you're pregnant on that? It may sound like a naive question (and probably is) but everytime I see the commercial, I wonder how.

I took Seasonique or Seasonale (the sister med with low dose estrogen in the withdrawl pills) for three years. I now take Lybrel which is taken continuously with no periods...EVER! I have not had a period in 18 months. If you take your medicine religiously, you know you aren't pregnant because you've been taking your medicine. If you are a nervous nelly, you can take a pregnancy test every month (which I did periodically until I got used to it.) If I was pregnant, it'd be the longest pregnancy ever! LOL After awhile, your ovaries are so controlled by the pill that you don't even have break through bleeding. Your likelihood of having a pregnancy is extremely low. BTW, I take Lybrel because of migraines and a need to prevent pregnancy. When I am on the withdrawl week, I will have 2 migraines per day every day until I start the pills again. Every three months was fine for awhile until they came out with Lybrel which made it possible for me to never have to do it again. It's been heaven!

[agzg]

I thought if you were on the pill or another type of daily/weekly contraceptive, the periods you get aren't real periods, right?

So you don't know whether you're pregnant or not anyway - you're just bleeding because you're not taking the hormones?

[nittanygirl]

Most contraceptives stop the ovaries from releasing an egg, so that way there is not an egg in the uterus to be fertilized.
So I *think* you would still have a real period.

That's just how I always understood it.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by nittanygirl

Most contraceptives stop the ovaries from releasing an egg, so that way there is not an egg in the uterus to be fertilized.
So I *think* you would still have a real period.

That's just how I always understood it.

No, agzg is right. It's withdrawal bleeding from not taking the hormones. That's why you can keep on taking the Pill without the placebo week without bleeding.

I never took Seasonique or Seasonale, but I did take the Pill straight without a placebo, a few months at a time, for a few years. I was never worried about pregnancy because it was never my only form of BC.

[nittanygirl]

From the Planned Parenthood website:

How Do Birth Control Pills Work?
It's pretty common for people to be confused about how birth control pills work. Here’s what it boils down to: birth control pills are made of hormones. Hormones are chemicals made in our bodies. They control how different parts of our bodies work.

Some birth control pills contain two hormones — estrogen and progestin. These are called combination pills. Some are progestin-only pills. Most women on the pill take combination pills.

The hormones in the pill work by keeping a woman’s ovaries from releasing eggs — ovulation. Pregnancy cannot happen if there is no egg to join with sperm. The hormones in the pill also prevent pregnancy by thickening a woman’s cervical mucus. The mucus blocks sperm and keeps it from joining with an egg.


The hormones also thin the lining of the uterus. In theory, this could prevent pregnancy by keeping a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.

So that's how I always understood it. And your uterus still "sheds" but is thinner and not what it would be if you weren't on the pill.
Like I wouldn't think to think I could be pregnant if I were still getting a period. Hmm...

[Low C Sharp]

In the unlikely event of getting pregnant while on the pill, you shouldn't get the withdrawal bleeding, whether whether you're on a 21-day or a 3-month pill cycle. The pregnancy would keep the hormone levels high enough to avoid bleeding.
________
BossIsHere

[Alumiyum]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

In the unlikely event of getting pregnant while on the pill, you shouldn't get the withdrawal bleeding, whether whether you're on a 21-day or a 3-month pill cycle. The pregnancy would keep the hormone levels high enough to avoid bleeding.

Or if you do it's usually far lighter than it is normally. I know someone that claimed she got her periods for three months before finding out she was 3 months along, but it turns out it was much lighter and she mistook it for a regular period.

I won't take Seasonique or such because I would feel the need to take a test every month...I like the sense of security I get with a normal regimen. But that's what I would do if I were on a pill like that and having sex...take a test halfway through the 3 months just to make sure.

[WCsweet<3]

Originally Posted by Alumiyum

Or if you do it's usually far lighter than it is normally. I know someone that claimed she got her periods for three months before finding out she was 3 months along, but it turns out it was much lighter and she mistook it for a regular period.

I won't take Seasonique or such because I would feel the need to take a test every month...I like the sense of security I get with a normal regimen. But that's what I would do if I were on a pill like that and having sex...take a test halfway through the 3 months just to make sure.

This.

My best friend had two "periods" seven months before she gave birth to her daughter who was a full term baby.

My grandbig is on seasonique and she tests regularly just because she is worried. I probably would too.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by WCsweet<3

This.

My best friend had two "periods" seven months before she gave birth to her daughter who was a full term baby.

My grandbig is on seasonique and she tests regularly just because she is worried. I probably would too.

This is what I was thinking. I don't see having only four periods a year as any big plus, as you'd still want to know if you truly were pregnant (I would think!).

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by honeychile

This is what I was thinking. I don't see having only four periods a year as any big plus, as you'd still want to know if you truly were pregnant (I would think!).

Since you very well might still have the withdrawal bleeding when pregnant - and a lot of people just skip the placebo week as there's no medical reason for it - most people consider themselves protected as long as they keep using it appropriately.

When I was on Depo I didn't worry about it at all.

Now the month of spotting, that I worried about, but it wasn't anything like typical withdrawal bleeding or a period.

[ThetaDancer]

I've been on Yaz for about two years now and I like it; I've never had any problems with side effects, aside from when I initiallly switched from Ortho to Yaz because the change in pills sort of messed up my system.

Four of my friends were also on Yaz and liked it, but their doctors have taken them off of it recently (like in the span of the past 6 months) because apparently their Drs no longer trust that it's safe (one of my friends even said her Dr mentioned a possible recall?).

I saw my Dr. last week and she said its a-ok. I trust my Dr. and I really don't want to change pills, but I'm sort of confused about why other doctors might not trust it. My attempts to do my own research have made things even more confusing.

[nittanygirl]

Originally Posted by ThetaDancer

I've been on Yaz for about two years now and I like it; I've never had any problems with side effects, aside from when I initiallly switched from Ortho to Yaz because the change in pills sort of messed up my system.

Four of my friends were also on Yaz and liked it, but their doctors have taken them off of it recently (like in the span of the past 6 months) because apparently their Drs no longer trust that it's safe (one of my friends even said her Dr mentioned a possible recall?).

I saw my Dr. last week and she said its a-ok. I trust my Dr. and I really don't want to change pills, but I'm sort of confused about why other doctors might not trust it. My attempts to do my own research have made things even more confusing.

I did a switch from Ortho to Yaz and wanted to throw up every single morning for the first month and a half I was on Yaz. The change made me so sick in the beginning. But I was also switched off Yaz for health concerns about it. Maybe it has to do with yours/their medical history that some are more at risk?

[HannahXO]

LoEstrin is one that I can think of- I didn't have good luck with it (but I didn't have good luck with any oral contraceptive I took) but it could be worth trying out. I think there are more too.

[Kappamd]

I'm on Loestrin Fe currently and LOVE IT. Super light periods, less cramping, and my skin is clearer than it has ever been. There is also a newer formulation with an even lower dose called Lo Loestrin Fe, but I haven't heard much feedback about it yet.