what to do about breakthrough bleeding

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-02-2004
what to do about breakthrough bleeding
4
Tue, 11-02-2004 - 7:31pm


I have been on ortotricylen lo for the past 3 months. while waiting for my prescription refill i skipped a 2 days. I am on taking the pills right now but i have had very annoying breakthrough bleeding for the past 3 weeks. It dosen't seem to be going away. I don't know if I should continue to take the pill or stop and let my body re-adjust itself (which it hopefully will) and then start back up again. Anyone else had this problem?

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-11-2004
Tue, 11-02-2004 - 7:55pm
I know what you're going through and it ain't pretty. As far as I know there is nothing you can do about breakthrough bleeding except suffer through it and it eventually will stop, although sometimes it seems like a friggin eternity.

When I first started Yasmin a year ago I went through this breakthrough bleeding and was told by my dr. to just stick with it and NOT stop the pill but eventually it will go away. I think I suffered through it for about 3 weeks also.

After a while it went away except if I missed the pill like you did and there it was, back again. That was incentive enough for me to remember the pill. Then I went off Yasmin after 10 months on it and tried Seasonale. No breakthrough bleeding there but other side effects that made me want to go back to Yasmin. So here I am on my 1st month since going back to Yasmin and there it was again, that damn breakthrough bleeding. It so far has lasted 2 weeks and I often wonder how much blood could I possibly have in there to make it last so LONG..lol...but it's slowing down and hopefully it'll pass, although it's a mystery to me why I got it again considering I should have been used to Yasmin.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Hope some of it helped.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-30-2003
Tue, 11-02-2004 - 8:06pm
I'm on OrthoLo also and am having breakthrough bleeding too. It didnt start until I started taking the dark blue pills though. It just got progressively worse over the week, and I started having cramps from hell. My doc told me to stay on it and see what my body does to adjust to the hormones and it should stop eventually. I read that most women only experience breakthrough if they miss pills, but I've taken every pill at the same time everyday and not missed even one so I dunno... Anyways, I think if you stay on it and make sure you dont skip any that eventually it will go away. I hope the same will happen for me as well...
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 11-03-2004 - 6:24am
Don't stop taking your pills! For some women missing pills can trigger breakthrough bleeding that lasts a while, and if you stop your pills and restart them you might be leaving yourself at unnecessary risk for pregnancy. You should be about in your inactive week, right? I'd wager that next month, assuming you don't miss any pills, things should be better.

Good luck!

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 11-03-2004 - 6:26am
If you just started OTC Lo or just switched to it from another pill, breakthrough bleeding is VERY common in the first and second months, moreso in the last week of active pills (dark blue). It's part of the adjustment to the pill and should get better in the next month or two. Hang in there!
Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control