Questiondear Norman,
First off, thanks very much for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate it!
I'm expecting you need details in order to get an idea of what's going on so, here are some specifics concerning my background:
- I'm on tri-cylcen lo 28 day cycle tablets
- I was prescribed the pills by my school nurse who told me to start whenever I wanted provided I wait a week before having unprotected sex, which resulted in my starting on a Friday two weeks before my scheduled period
- I'm scheduled to take it at 9pm every evening, although I admit I have trouble taking it at exactly the same time each day. Iaverage around 30 minutes to an hour late, the latest I ever was was 4 hours during my first month on the pills.
The first month on the pills resulted in my starting my period as expected during week two of the pills however the cramps were debilitating to the point where I couldn't go to school or work and the period itself lasted three weeks.
During the second month, I missed a pill by 12 hours and
reading up on the tri-cyclen website, I took the next pill at my regular time and waited a week before having sex, just in case. I had unprotected sex during the next week and two more times after that. Now it's three days into my placebos and I've had recurrent menstrual cramps, but no actual bleeding. I'm really scared right now, is it possible that I'm pregnant or am I still adjusting to the hormones? I know you can't give me a positive yes/no answer, but I'm not getting a clear picture of my pregnancy chances in the tri-cylcen pamphlet and I can't see the school nurse until Friday, so any information you can give me would really help me understand what's happening. I hope the information I gave you wasn't too confusing, thank you so much for anything you can tell me.
gratefully, emilie
AnswerHi Emilie,
First, a couple points. In the future when you're starting the pill, it's best to do so during a period. Then you don't end up bleeding for 3 weeks. If you ever miss a pill, take it as soon as you remember, and if it's the next day, take it plus the next day pill together.
I don't think you're pregnant. You usually wouldn't be having menstrual cramps if you were. The pill causes periods to be lighter, and sometimes they're so light that they don't come. If you don't get at least a little period before it's time to start the next pack, I'd do a pregnancy test just to be sure. As long as that's negative, just keep taking your pills one daily. If you don't get a period next month, you may want to switch pills. However, it's not harmful to not have a period on the pill, and some women prefer it, so you could keep taking the same pill.
I hope that's helpful.
Norman
