First of all, you ARE having protected sex. Birth control pills are just that -- birth control protection. They do not protect you from STDs, of course; only something like a condom can do that. But the pill does protect you from a pregnancy.
And second, if you WERE pregnant, you wouldn't be having periods at all. When you have a period, your uterus is getting rid of the tissue it built up to nourish a fertilized egg if one implanted itself. When that doesn't happen, you bleed and have a period. So since you are having periods, that's another sign that you're not pregnant.
What may actually be happening, though, is breakthrough bleeding. Sometimes -- especially when we've taken one kind of birth control pill for a while -- we get bleeding that comes when we aren't supposed to be having a period, and that's called breakthrough bleeding. It can happen for no apparent reason. It can be a change in diet or exercise, a sickness (have you been ill in the last couple of months? Did you take an antibiotic?) or an increase in stress. Our hormones are touchy little things, and something like stress can really get them out of whack.
If I were you I would simply call your doctor's office and ask to speak to the nurse, the nurse practitioner or the physician's assistant. Tell her or him that you think your birth control prescription may need to be looked at because you've had breakthrough bleeding the last couple of months. It may be that you just need a slightly different prescription and you'll go back to being your regular self.
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Anon,
I am pretty sure you're not pregnant.
First of all, you ARE having protected sex. Birth control pills are just that -- birth control protection. They do not protect you from STDs, of course; only something like a condom can do that. But the pill does protect you from a pregnancy.
And second, if you WERE pregnant, you wouldn't be having periods at all. When you have a period, your uterus is getting rid of the tissue it built up to nourish a fertilized egg if one implanted itself. When that doesn't happen, you bleed and have a period. So since you are having periods, that's another sign that you're not pregnant.
What may actually be happening, though, is breakthrough bleeding. Sometimes -- especially when we've taken one kind of birth control pill for a while -- we get bleeding that comes when we aren't supposed to be having a period, and that's called breakthrough bleeding. It can happen for no apparent reason. It can be a change in diet or exercise, a sickness (have you been ill in the last couple of months? Did you take an antibiotic?) or an increase in stress. Our hormones are touchy little things, and something like stress can really get them out of whack.
If I were you I would simply call your doctor's office and ask to speak to the nurse, the nurse practitioner or the physician's assistant. Tell her or him that you think your birth control prescription may need to be looked at because you've had breakthrough bleeding the last couple of months. It may be that you just need a slightly different prescription and you'll go back to being your regular self.
Does that help? Will you come back and update us?
March 5, 2010 - 8:50amThis Comment
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