Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and Birth Control: A Personal Experience

Question
i've been on seasonale birth control for more than a year.  i started out on yasmin, but bled very heavily even though i took the pills exactly as directed.  i bled so heavily that i had to have 2 pints of blood transfused after a month and a half of very heavy bleeding.  during my hospital stay, my doctor told me he had tested me and determined i was NOT having a miscarriage- that because i was in my last semester of college and under a TON of stress, that my body reacted the opposite of the way many womens' bodies react to stress (no period) and i basically hemmoraged.  he then put me on seasonale, and all has been fine since... except- my boyfriend moved to another city for college and i only see him once a month... of course seasonale keeps you on active pills for 11 out of 12 weeks but during the past three packs of seasonale i've taken, the time i was able to see my boyfriend kept lining up with the same time i SHOULD have been taking my inactive pills.  however, i skipped them to avoid having my period during my visits with him.  so, i've taken around nine months worth of active pills with no placebo break. thus, my question is this- will i be at any extra risk for pregnancy having fully skipped the inactive weeks?  also, if i continue to do this, will it harm me an any way?

Answer
Hi Amy.

Your not at an increased risk for pregnancy. Taking the inactive pills gives your body a break so you can have a period. It wont up your risk, and because Seasonale is made to be taken for an extended time period, it is even less likley you would become pregnant, so in that case, you should be safe.

However, it is possible it could be harmful to you. No study has yet confirmed that skipping periods is safe for long term use. Also, as you had problems in the past, you may not want to mess with your cycle to much. I think the Seasonale was a great choice for you, but you do need to give your body a chance to clean itself out, so to speak. I strongly encourage you to take the next week of inactive pills when there due, and if you have any problems with your period that week, that you see a Dr., and make sure everything is still okay. Then stick to the schedule. Your long term health is important.

Thanks and Take Care!

Drea Jean

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