Bad cycle?

Avatar for jessie_sherman
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Bad cycle?
1
Fri, 08-06-2004 - 11:56am
I have been on the Nuvaring for almost a year. In June I went 4 weeks with it in (you can have it in 35 days, right?), then when it was time to take it out, I just replaced it with a new ring (I was out of town, NO WAY did I want my cycle then). Well, I kept this one in for 4 weeks too. When I took it out Saturday night, I spotted. Sunday I began to bleed. Normally I take it out Saturday, and do not bleed until Thursday or Friday. This cycle has been bad, cramps, heavy bleeding, backaches, everything as if I was not on bc. Did I screw up my body for having skipped a cycle and having had the hormones in my body 8 weeks straight? Sorry this is so long, but I am still bleeding and am a little freaked out. If you have any ideas, please share.

Thank you,

Jessie

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
In reply to: jessie_sherman
Fri, 08-06-2004 - 2:16pm
8 weeks, bravo! I know you're not thinking that now, but I've not been able to get past 5 1/2 weeks without bleeding.

You know that as you receive estrogen, it's developing the lining of your uterus, right? And that the progestin you're also receiving keeps it from degrading as much as it can. As you get more lining, you need more progestin, which is why I get breakthrough bleeding when I stay on too long. You didn't need more progestin, but those whole 8 weeks you were providing estrogen to your uterus and developing that lining. Make sense? So this time there's more to get rid of than there normally is, and instead of just bleeding, it may be clotty, you might be more crampy...I'm not surprised. Your normal off-hormones periods are subject to more estrogen during an ovulatory cycle than when you're not ovulating on the ring, which is why they're heavier.

BUT, is the flow tapering off like it normally does or is it still heavy? If it's acting like a normal-but-heavier-and-longer period, I probably wouldn't worry about it too much. If it's continuing to be heavy without much change, then I'd get ahold of my gyn to see if anything needs to be done (not that I know what that might be, but...).

Next month should be back to normal or a lot more like it! Good luck, keep us posted, okay?

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
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