Delaying period on Orthotricyclen Lo

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-22-2007
Delaying period on Orthotricyclen Lo
15
Sun, 07-22-2007 - 8:06am

Hello - I am currently taking Ortotricyclen Lo. I ran across a posting that showed the information below for delaying a period on triphasic pills:

"To delay one week: Take the first pack as you normally would, phases 1,2,3, then take phase 3 from the second pack then take the placebos to have your period and begin a new pack. Save the other 2 phases of active pills for emergencies in case you lose of vomit a pill. Taking two phase 3s back to back keeps the hormone levels in weeks 3 and 4 of your cycle constant which gives you the best chance of avoiding irregular bleeding.

To delay for two weeks: take phase 1 and 2 from the first pack then phase 2 from the second pack then phase 3 from one pack and finally phase 3 from the other pack so for the five weeks the pill order by pack phases is: 1,2,2,3,3. Then take your placebos and begin a new pack. Save the extra week for emergencies"

My issue is this: I have delayed my period by one week using a different medication, Orthotricyclen, and it didn't go too well. I did not have breakthrough bleeding but felt pretty crappy in general - bloating, crabby etc.

My husband and I are taking a spur of the moment trip to California the end of August for 2 weeks (August 21 - September 1) and the way my current cycle is hitting, I will get my period at some point in one of those weeks and really don't want that. I'm scheduled to start my period tomorrow if I don't delay my period by a week this cycle.

Would I be better off:

A - Delaying my period by a week for 2 months in a row - July and August

B - Letting my period come this week and then following the instructions to delay my period for 2 weeks which would delay my period until September

Both scenarios would keep me from getting my period while on vacation.

I'm wondering if my body would react better to the delay for 2 weeks since it didn't seem to react well to delaying it by a week. Or since it didn't react well to delaying it by a week, would I be even worse off delaying it by 2 weeks?

Thanks in advance for reading this long post and any suggestions.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-18-2006
Wed, 08-22-2007 - 9:23am
I have a similar question to the first. I am going to a wedding with my bf in October. I did the math and figured out that my period would start that exact day. They usually start on day 3 of placebo on OTC Lo, and my luck is that it is that exact day. I just need to delay it 24 hours. Is there any way to do so? Can I take a week 3 pill from my current pack and save it to take with the pack I would be on then? Meaning taking 8 pills during that week 3 to delay the period for one day? We aren't having sex right now, although things could change between now and October. We would use backup anyway, so having that level of protection isn't my main worry.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 08-22-2007 - 11:44pm

One option that you have, since you've got some time, is to shorten your inactive week by one day.

Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-18-2006
Fri, 08-24-2007 - 10:06am

I'm sorry, but that doesn't make sense to me. I don't need less pills, I need one more pill to cover that day. From my thinking, I would have to shorten my next interval by around 4 days to make Oct 6 my start day for the next pack for something like that to work. Would shortening my next placebo week to 3 or 4 days work?

This is where I stand right now:
I took day 9 pill this AM. I have 12 more active pills then 7 placebo in this pack. Day 21 for this pack is Sept 5, then 7 placebo put me starting next pack on Sept 13. Then figure 21 days making that Oct 4 when I start the placebo, the making Oct 6 the day of wedding and when AF starts. So to make adjusting the interval work for this case, I figure that I would have to shorten next interval 4 days and shorten the interval of the next one by one day just so that day 1 is on Oct 6. Would this work? I am willing to shorten the next interval by that much just to make the period after that start earlier and hopefully be done or close to done by then. I've tried skipping periods on OTC lo with no luck. Since my period starts on day 3 of placebo, I would have like 1 day then I would start next pack.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Fri, 08-24-2007 - 6:05pm

Hi Cristy, welcome!


      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Fri, 08-24-2007 - 7:05pm

Hi cubbygirl77,


      Jill

    

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