6 days of continous bleeding-normal?

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-29-2003
6 days of continous bleeding-normal?
7
Wed, 09-08-2004 - 8:29am
I just started on the Pill this month and was fine for about 12 days intoit. Then for the past 6 days I've been bleeding. The first couple were just spotting and ever since then it's like a light period where I'm going through about 2 pantyliners a day. Should I be bleeding like this?
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-16-2004
Wed, 09-08-2004 - 8:34am
For the first few months on the pill your body is typically adjusting to the pill, so you may have very irregular bleeding. Often you will just get your period at weird times of the month, and since 6 days of period is not unusual for many women (for me it is like 8 sometimes), you should be just fine. Stick with it for a few more months and you will probly find yourself regulating out and only getting your period on the non-active pill week. I know it sucks to get it at unusual times like this, but it's perfectly natural!!

Good luck and I hope you enjoy the pill!!

Susan

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-29-2003
Wed, 09-08-2004 - 8:45am
So are you actually saying that what I've got now is my period? If that's the case, it would've started only 12 days after my previous period ended and that doesn't seem right.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 09-08-2004 - 9:17am
Now that you're taking the pill, you won't actually be getting "periods" anymore. Technically, a period happens at the end of an ovulatory cycle. Since you're on the pill, what happens (since you're not ovulating) is that you bleed during the inactive week as a response to the withdrawal of the hormones. Your cycle will eventually be completely controlled by the pill.

That being said, irregular bleeding is EXTREMELY normal in the first month or two or three of taking the pill. It takes a couple of months for your body to get used to the artificial hormones, and sometimes that will result in bleeding. If you called your doctor, they'll very likely tell you the same thing! You may have bleeding until you get to the beginning of the next pack, but the next pack should be better, and by the third month most women don't have breakthrough bleeding (what this is called) anymore.

Hope that helps! Feel free to surf around our FAQ section to find out how the pill works, how to make sure you're taking it properly, and what irregular bleeding might mean.

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-16-2004
Wed, 09-08-2004 - 9:37am
Okay, well, not your "period" then per se, but the same kind of idea - it can go on for quite a while and still be perfectly normal. Of course, if you are feeling dizzy or abnormally tired or something you should see your doctor to be sure you aren't suffering from anemia, but mostly we can just bleed for a while. And it's perfectly normal for it to be "off" when you're starting your pills. Like Judie said, tho, call your doc if it's still going on in the third month...

Hope it stops soon - I know it can be really annoying!!!

Susan

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-29-2003
Wed, 09-08-2004 - 9:47am
So how do I know when to expect my next "period"?I'm not on the placebos yet either and isn't that when I shoud l get my period? Is it safe to say that my bleeding now is making up for my period which I was expecing in another 10 days or will I get the usual period then too? I'm confused!
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-16-2004
Wed, 09-08-2004 - 9:56am
You may or may not get it when you're supposed to this next time... Basically, you won't know when to expect it for at least a month or so - it's gonna start settling down into a pattern within another month or two and then you'll start knowing when you'll get it. It's possible it will stop soon and then you'll start being regular, but I would guess it's gonna be a bit funky for a while... Unfortunately, some people's bodies just take longer to get used to the new hormones than others. But it should still be cleared up by month three.

I hope for you it settles down sooner!!

Susan

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 09-08-2004 - 10:00am
It's pretty likely that you will continue bleeding until you start the next pack of pills. Bleeding normally happens during the week of inactive pills, which is the fourth week of the pack, though when it starts and stops around that week varies from woman to woman.

It's not that this bleeding is necessarily taking the place of a period, you probably have bleeding because the hormones aren't working quite right at keeping the lining of your uterus stable--if you've got more lining than you're providing the progestin to maintain, it will degrade and that shows up as bleeding. At the same time, each active pill is providing estrogen to that lining, which helps it develop (increasing your need for progestin). When you stop taking active pills in the fourth week and you aren't providing any more progestin, then the entire thing sloughs off like it normally does during a normal period. With the lining gone, you start the next pack with a clean house, so to speak, and things should be better.

Make sense?

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