Question- Quitting the Pill

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-2004
Question- Quitting the Pill
1
Thu, 11-11-2004 - 3:47pm
Okay, this has been one of the wierdest months of my life. I take yasmin and it has been working out really well for me for the past year or so, but I have issues remembering to take the pills, especially when I'm stressed. This year I started college and I now know a new meaning of stress!

I had been getting up to four days behind on my pills so I just stopped taking them- and of course had unprotected intercourse. Last friday I started spotting and getting painful cramps. I bled for about a day and a half, but it definately wasn't a period.

This week is the week I would normally expect a period, but so far no bleeding at all. Its only the first day that I would have started, but I just have some normal symptoms- light cramping, heavy breasts, fatigue, dizziness. Something really strange too is that my boyfriend told me yesterday after sex that I "feel different". He said I was so much smaller that it was almost impossible for him to be in me!

I read that after you stop taking the pills, you can have random bleeding that doesn't have anythign to do with your period until your cycle gets back to where it should be, but that would be weird because I've stopped the pills before and just had a heavier period, but generally around the normal time.

Should I be talking to my ob/gyn about this? I understand that blood tests are much more accurate, but my real question is could I be pregnant? Should I wait out the weekend to make sure my period doesn't start? I'm really tired of the words "is this normal" going through my head, and I can't seem to find a similar case. I could really use some advice! Thanks!
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-14-2004
Thu, 11-11-2004 - 5:32pm
Yes, hon, you definitely could be pregnant. Having unprotected sex is one of the fatest ways to get there.

You can wait on your period, yes, but I think your best bet would be to have a birth control test as soon as you`ve missed the entire week of your period. It could be from stress and may just come late or it could be a pregnancy.

If you have trouble remembering to take your pills, you should look into a more low-maintenance method, like the patch (OrthoEvra) or the ring (Nuvaring)

http://www.orthoevra.com

http://www.nuvaring.com

The patch is a worn on your skin (on your butt, arms, or chest but not on your breast) - a new one is applied every week for three weeks and then you have a patch-free week on #4 so that you have your period. The ring is a 2-inch diameter plastic ring, worn in your vagina for 3-weeks straight and removed on the 4th week so that you have a period. Both of these methods require little daily thought on your part and as effective as birth control pills.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you`re doing!