I'm Getting Married. . .

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-23-2004
I'm Getting Married. . .
3
Thu, 09-23-2004 - 5:47pm
Hi everyone,

This is my first time to the ivillage message boards and my first post. I am very dumb when it comes to anything relating to birth control pills. I am 21 and have yet to go to my first gyno appointment; however, it has to happen soon because I am getting married. My question is, my wedding is scheduled for September 2, 2005 I plan on starting to take birth control early next summer, how do I avoid having my period on my wedding and honeymooon.

HELP!

Thanks All!

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-2004
Thu, 09-23-2004 - 10:03pm
Hi and welcome to the board!

Congratulations on your upcomming wedding! I'm 21 and I'm getting married next year too; July 23/05.

Get yourself to the gyno girl! You NEED to have your yearly pap smear once you turn 18 or become sexually active. Either way, you're way behind so you need to get in ASAP. Having a pap is the *only* way to detect cervical cancer before it becomes fatal. This is your health, take care of it.

When you go to start taking the birth control pill, take a look at the calendar and just make sure that your wedding falls within one of the 21 active pill days in the month. You'll be set.

Jenn

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 09-24-2004 - 9:33am
a Sept wedding-how exciting.I was married on Sept 1st....Hope it goes well for you (the planning and all).....Now about the birth control/skipping period issue....Talk to your dr...There's a pill out now that you can take for 3 months straight and not have but 4 periods per year....I haven't had any experience with it,but some girls on the board have.Maybe they will post.But your dr can tell you more about it and if it will work in your situation.IMHO,I'd go ahead and get an appointment ASAP so your body can get used to the hormones-sometimes when starting a new pill there's breakthrough bleeding and a little irregularity.You want to get that out of the way before the honeymoon....good luck whatever you decide to do....
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Sat, 09-25-2004 - 10:52am
I'd congratulate you if it weren't too early.... ;) Tradition has it that you don't congratulate a bride-to-be until she's a wife (or so I hear), but I'll be getting married either one or two weekends after you! Welcome to the board and to iVillage.

You'll want to go to either your family doctor or a gynecologist for your first annual exam. It sounds scary, but really it's not--not knowing what's going to happen is the scariest part! Here's an article you should read: http://www.ivillagehealth.com/experts/womens/qas/0,11816,242103_896,00.html It's about the first trip to a gynecologist, written by a gynecologist. As Jenn said, pap smears are the only means of detecting cervical cancer. Cervical cancer does not show symptoms until it's advanced pretty far, and it's not a cancer that's reserved for old women, I have a friend who had a hysterectomy in her late 20's because she didn't catch her cancer in time to save her uterus.

You should talk to your doctor, when you go, about different forms of birth control. Even if you know you want to use the pill, you still need to know what's out there that maybe you haven't heard of in case you need to use backup for the pill (like if you forget to take one or if you're taking medications that make the pill less effective).

You'll want to start the pill, as you probably know by now, several months before your wedding. This gives you a chance to get used to the hormones and figure out if there are going to be any issues you'd like to resolve before they can ruin anything. Also bear in mind that some women retain water or find themselves eating more when they take the pill, so you may want to think about dress fittings as well.

Don't feel dumb! We all didn't come out of the womb knowing this stuff, we learned it from our doctors, from the internet, and from our friends, both in real life and places like this. Do a little research, read the FAQ's in the folder below this one, and let us know if you have any questions, okay?

Good luck and best wishes!

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