skipping periods.

just wondering if any of you ladies on here do this?

i take tri cyclen & notice that my symptoms always worsen drastically when i am on my week of inactive pills & getting my period.

would it be safe to just skip the week of inactive pills & go straight to the beginning of a new pack? or am i risking other health issues that way?

its just tough because as soon as i start to feel good BAM here comes my period & i'm back to square one all over again.

i've literally gone from two bm's all day yesterday (first day on inactive pills) to THREE already at work this morning. FML.

there is typically an increase in bm's for a good 4 - 5 days every month.

Yasmin is monthly periods, not 4x a year. I forget the names of the 4x/year pills.

A lot of people find ways (with the help of their doctors) to take regular birth control (such as Yasmin or orthotricyclin) without taking the placebos every month.

I got an IUD in late October, and my periods stopped. I usually got diarrhea during my period, so it's been nice to skip it! However, 1) it was VERY UNCOMFORTABLE getting the IUD inserted and I had bad cramping for a couple weeks, and 2) most people don't stop having their periods on it.

Hi handfulofrain,

If you don't want to switch the type of BC you're on, you can switch from tri-cyclen (in which the dosage of medication is different each of the three non-placebo weeks) to cylcen (in which you have a stable dose of medication each week. My generic brand is called Sprintec. I take my pills for about three months at a time and then take two days off (not a week, just two days), then start up again because I get hormonal migraines.

I have been doing this for over two years now and I no longer have periods; when I take the time off, I don't start bleeding. At first I freaked out and called my OBGYN and went in for an ultrasound to make sure nothing was wrong (I already knew I wasn't pregnant), but my doctor said it was because my uterine lining had become so thin and this was very common when taking birth control like I did. She said there is no medical reason for women to have periods and seemed curious/confused by how weirded out I was by it (she recently asked in a snarky voice at my annual checkup if I'd like to start having them again).

Anyway, you should talk to your doctor but you're not doing any "damage" by skipping the sugar pill week. You are most likely to have spotting at the beginning, so if you decide to do it, expect to randomly bleed sometime between periods (most likely at the most inconvenient times). The one thing I would do though is get off the tri-cyclen so your body is not constantly getting a different amount of hormones, which will increase the likelihood of you having breakthrough bleeding and, most likely, having other PMS-like symptoms. You want a steady stream of hormones at all times.

Hope this helps.

I've been taking my monophasic generic continuously for a couple of years now. There is no medical reason to have 'a period', really. You're having 'withdrawal bleeding' instead of a period if you're on the pill.

woooooow, so much stuff i didn't know! i have an appointment with my family doctor in august, so i'm going to discuss this with him then. a pill that gives me a steady stream of hormones all month instead of changing them every week sounds like it might help.

i don't think i will be straight up going off the pill though. that was my bright idea last summer (after being on it for nearly a decade) and i was diagnosed with UC two months later...