Bleeding on pill again

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-15-2006
Bleeding on pill again
3
Mon, 01-08-2007 - 8:25pm

Hello,
I was on Lutera (generic for Alesse) for 4 months. The 4th month, I experienced dark brown breakthrough bleeding from the beginning of 2nd week of the active pills all the way until I got my period.

My doctor switched me to a stronger pill, OrthoCyclen, which is twice as strong as Lutera is. On my 8th day of OrthoCyclen (today) I am experiencing very strong cramping that comes in waves and bleeding. The blood is bright red and looks like a regular period, only not as heavy. I called my doctor and she said maybe this pill isn't strong enough for me either and to wait a week and see what happens. I am very concerned though because the bleeding is so different than what happened when I was on Lutera and the cramping is strong. I did take one pill late (the 7th active one) by 6.5 hours. But it was only once and I resumed at my normal time.

I had sex with no back-up (except for withdrawal)on Saturday and Sunday. Should I take plan B just in case? Any insight to what this bleeding could be?
Thanks for any help!

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Mon, 01-08-2007 - 11:00pm

Hi

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-19-2006
Mon, 01-08-2007 - 11:38pm

Going along with the other poster's question and your response, can taking a pill even 1.5 hours late result in spotting? I'm on Loestrin 24/FE and have struggled with some spotting each month I've been on it.

Month #1, I spotted about halfway through the cycle. Month #2 I spotted at the end of the cycle just before the placebos. This month I'm spotting midway through. This time, I tried to think back to what I might have done to cause it. I know +/-2 hours is considered on time, but could that be too much fluctuation for my body chemistry? I'm usually pretty much +/- 15 minutes at most, but I was 1.5 hours late on Thursday night and started spotting on Saturday night.

Also, I sometimes take my multivitamin with my pill. Sometimes I don't. Could that be a source of trouble, too?

Blah! It's annoying! Thanks for your help!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 01-09-2007 - 7:33am

For some women, an hour and a half late can be enough to cause spotting if you're really sensitive to the particular mix of hormones in your pill.

Judie Cl for Birth Control