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breakthrough bleeding
i recently switched from yaz birth control to ortho tri-cyclen lo and on about my 16th day of the new pill i started to bleed pretty heavy.. this is about 2 weeks before i should of gotten my period. and its been about 8 days now, im still bleeding, and it doesnt seem like it's going to stop anytime soon. is this just because i switched pills? and did i get my period early? or is this just breakthrough bleeding? my boyfriend and i also had sex a couple days before i started to bleed, he used a condom but it fell off at the end. should i be concerned that the breakthrough bleeding is because i might be pregnant? im confused, please help. thanks!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello,
Welcome to the forum. I can very well understand your concern. The bleeding that you are having seems like break through bleeding. It is the type of bleeding that occurs when taking hormonal oral contraceptives (OC’s) and may also be caused by hormonal effects of ovulation. Breakthrough bleeding may also itself be a symptom of pregnancy (contraceptive failure).
You see the risk of breakthrough bleeding is associated with most of the oral hormonal contraceptives, but in a study done (reported by Wyeth), it was found that spotting was reported in 30% of women using combined OCs with less than 30 μg of estrogen compared to 7.5% of women using combined OCs with 30 μg of estrogen, regardless of the progestin content. Breakthrough bleeding also depended on other factors like dose, potency, and activity of the particular progestin in the combined OC as well as the ratio of the estrogen and progestin in the formulation and other factors like missed pills and smoking. So this bleeding that you are having is breakthrough bleeding, but it is important to find out whether it is due to switching the contraceptive pills or due to pregnancy.
A step by step approach should be in the following way: please do a urine for pregnancy test or serum HCG levels test to rule out any pregnancy due to contraceptive failure. Alternately, you can also use aimstrip urine for pregnancy test which is highly sensitive and can detect pregnancy after 10-12 days of conception.
If pregnancy is completely ruled out, then the possibility of hormonal imbalance is high. In that case, it is advisable to wait for three cycles with ortho tricyclen pills. If the mid cycle bleeding or spotting continues, then please change the birth control pills to some other brand after consulting your gynecologist.
I hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted in case you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.
Welcome to the forum. I can very well understand your concern. The bleeding that you are having seems like break through bleeding. It is the type of bleeding that occurs when taking hormonal oral contraceptives (OC’s) and may also be caused by hormonal effects of ovulation. Breakthrough bleeding may also itself be a symptom of pregnancy (contraceptive failure).
You see the risk of breakthrough bleeding is associated with most of the oral hormonal contraceptives, but in a study done (reported by Wyeth), it was found that spotting was reported in 30% of women using combined OCs with less than 30 μg of estrogen compared to 7.5% of women using combined OCs with 30 μg of estrogen, regardless of the progestin content. Breakthrough bleeding also depended on other factors like dose, potency, and activity of the particular progestin in the combined OC as well as the ratio of the estrogen and progestin in the formulation and other factors like missed pills and smoking. So this bleeding that you are having is breakthrough bleeding, but it is important to find out whether it is due to switching the contraceptive pills or due to pregnancy.
A step by step approach should be in the following way: please do a urine for pregnancy test or serum HCG levels test to rule out any pregnancy due to contraceptive failure. Alternately, you can also use aimstrip urine for pregnancy test which is highly sensitive and can detect pregnancy after 10-12 days of conception.
If pregnancy is completely ruled out, then the possibility of hormonal imbalance is high. In that case, it is advisable to wait for three cycles with ortho tricyclen pills. If the mid cycle bleeding or spotting continues, then please change the birth control pills to some other brand after consulting your gynecologist.
I hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted in case you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.
A related discussion, how long after you get off of birth control should you start your period? was started.
Dears who could advice me?
I am using now about 10 days Microgynon 30 and have had two times spot bleeding.
Do I need to get worried about wrong anticonception or possible being pregnant?
I am using now about 10 days Microgynon 30 and have had two times spot bleeding.
Do I need to get worried about wrong anticonception or possible being pregnant?
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