Sudden problem with OTC Lo

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-20-2004
Sudden problem with OTC Lo
3
Mon, 07-12-2004 - 11:10am
Hi everyone,

I've been on OTC Lo for four months now and have been pretty happy with it. This month, my tender breasts (my biggest side effect) finally subsided and I thought that I'd finally found myself a winner. (I'd had problems with btb when I first went on the pill, Loestrin, and was switched to OTC Lo). Anyway, I took my last active pill this past Saturday and, as with past months, I thought I'd be getting my period on Tuesday. Yesterday (Sunday), when I went to the bathroom I had a little spotting (really very minimal) and today I've had a little too (again, not much). But I haven't had this before with OTC Lo - I always just got my period as normal during my inactive week. I'm sure my real period is on its way but what's up with this spotting? Do you think it's a sign that maybe this pill is too low dose for me too?

I take my pill on time every day and have not been taking any supplements or meds that would interfere with it. But I was out in the sun for four hours on Saturday. I know that BC can affect skin's sensitivity to sun but can it do anything to cause something like this? My feeling is, I'll see how my period is this month and then what happens next month before I call my doctor. Does this sound right?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Kristina

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-2004
Mon, 07-12-2004 - 1:05pm
Good Morning Kristina!

Deep breath here! Calm down! Did you know that when you have your "period" while on the pill, that it is not a natural period? What happens is that your body is withdrawing from having hormones in its system, so after 3-4 days of not having that pill everyday, it starts to shed the uterine lining. Maybe this pill that you're on now is also very low dose; low enough that you start your period right away as soon as you stop taking the pill. Maybe you started your period a little earlier than expected because your system is touchy enough that when it was missing those hormones (even by a few hours) that it started to bleed a little early. On the up side though, if it starts early, it should be done early too!

Maybe talk to your doctor about Ortho Tri Cyclen instead of the "Lo" becase it seems like your body could use a highter amount of hormones to hold onto that lining.

J

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-20-2004
Mon, 07-12-2004 - 1:40pm
Thanks! I do understand how the pill works completely and that's actually why I'm questioning how well this pill is working for me. I guess I'm just surprised that I'd start having a problem with this pill after four months of no problems at all. My understanding is that while some women have variation in when they get their pill-periods, most women at least stay on the same day of the inactive week. While I can't say what I'm experiencing right now is a full period, I can say that I have not experienced any spotting in prior months on this pill. It might be no big deal and might be fine next month, I don't know.

Kristina

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 07-13-2004 - 8:17am
I don't know that it's actually a problem...you're spotting in your inactive week (inactive week is the important part), which is okay even if you're not used to it. Sometimes things can be a little off from one cycle to the next and the inactive week doesn't always go the same way. Our bodies don't always metabolize the hormones exactly the same every day, and little differences can show up as different bleeding patterns. I use Nuvaring, and while most of the time I always start on Wednesday mornings, sometimes I'll start on Tuesday and sometimes later on Wednesday, and I can't blame irregular pill-taking time for that! It's just different is all, and goes back to normal the following month.

If you did start to spot into your active pills and wanted to change, you'd want a different progestin, not more estrogen, but don't cross that bridge until you come to it, okay? ;)

Good luck!

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control