# Birth Control Pill Messed Up Cycle?



## lirra

I got on birth control to try to control the cramping I have. I started it about 2 days before I went to visit my boyfriend on a Thursday, the day before my period was due in. The pill shifted my period back. I went down to visit my boyfriend and we got a bit wrapped up in the emotion of seeing each other again after a long while... twice.

First time we didn't finish due to a distraction, the second time he pulled out. First attempt was on day 4 of my pill and the second attempt day 6 of the pill. Day 7 I started my period. No, it was not breakthrough bleeding, it was a flat out period. Two days of light bleeding, then two heavy, then five days of light. 

I kept on taking my birth control during this time. When I got to my placebo pills I once again had a period or... whatever it would be called... 8 days after the first. The five days were light bleeding. I am now on the placebo pills of my third pack, day 6 of 7 orange pills. I've had the cramping, the usual headaches, the usual ten pounds of water weight I put on, bad acne, the mood swings, and a thick milky discharge that smells slightly sour and bitter.

I'm worried that my body might have really gotten out of whack and that I may be pregnant even though I ovulated two weeks prior to starting the pill and I didn't miss a pill for the one week I was down with my boyfriend. We only had sex twice in the time I was down there. I can't turn to my mom for this because she's a little... scary when confronted with children growing up. When my sister got pregnant my mother was visibly upset to a point of ignoring and shunning my sister.

The most annoying thing about this is the cramps. They're not as bad as my usual cramps (goal acheived!), but the constant light cramping is very annoying and generally uncomfortable at night. I've been tracking my period for about a year now and observing the signs of my body with the aid of an android application. I'm quite confident that I ovulated prior to starting birth control. I can't find any help or support on the topic and I can't get a pregnancy test or go to my doctor without my mother finding out and it is imperative that she does not find out and consequently freak out at me about it. 

There is a family history of parent mothers scaring and neglecting their daughters for getting pregnant. My mother actually lost her first child because my grandmother scared her so bad and lately she has been following in grandma's footsteps.

The pill I have been taking is Norinyl 1+35. My boyfriend and I have been exclusive sexual partners and both of us are clean of STDs. We want to wait for a better time to have children and I'm kind of scared to even talk to him about this. I'd really love to have voices of experience in this matter, both on my current issue and when a good time for having children after college (with loan debt) would be.


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## MindUtopia

Sorry about all the annoying side effects you are having and sorry about your family not being supportive, that must be really difficult. The good thing (if you can think of it that way) is that sometimes it does take awhile for your body to adjust, and some people just don't work well on certain pills, so you might think about changing to a different one in the future if you don't feel right on this one. I had to try a few to get the right one for me. 

As for the bleeding, what you are describing sounds fairly normal for starting your pills in the middle of your cycle. Often doctors will tell you to wait until you start your period to begin the pills just because it screws up your body less. If you started the packet just before your period was due, the pills likely weren't able to override your natural cycles just yet, so you still got the scheduled period and then the actual period from the pills a few weeks later. This is pretty normal for when you are just adjusting to them. But your doctor should have definitely told you to use some back-up birth control at first because most pills aren't effective for the first 7 days (and some not for the first month, though those are usually the older kinds of pills). But the fact you got your period (twice) means you likely aren't pregnant. Though I'd see how you feel after another month or two and if you still don't like how they are making you feel, go back and ask to try something else. Hope that helps!


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## lirra

That does help a bit.

It struck me as odd when the doctor told me to start the pill the day she gave them to me. I had given her the dates of my last three periods and told her I was starting the day I saw her. The last time I was on birth control prior to this (lost my insurance due to age), my original doctor had me wait until the sunday after the first day of my period to start the pack. She did tell me to use a backup method the first month but men tend to not listen when you tell them.


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## brenn09

From what you described, you're just adjusting (albeit roughly!) to the pill. Based on what you wrote, there is very very small chance you're pregnant. You started the pill, you've had two periods since intercourse, and he didn't ejaculate inside your vagina. It seems highly unlikely pregnancy is what is happening to your body.

If you don't like this pill, you should definitely at least call your doc and see if there is another one you can try! It's kind of a trial-and-error process to find the one that works best for you, it definitely was for me! 

As for children after college, it just depends on what you're personally comfortable with- for OH and me, we're ttc as I finish up my master's degree. I will have my loans paid for (hopefully, fingers crossed) by a loan repayment program for health care providers in rural areas, so my student loan debt isn't factored into our decision. As for OH's debt, we're comfortably paying it back while I'm in school and since our income will more than double after I start working and he gets his scheduled raises, the monthly payment isn't enough to prevent us from ttc. It really is just what you're comfortable doing!


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