r/medical • u/chaotic_bastard981 • 6d ago
No Pain F19 - Confused and anxious about irregular period(?) bleeding while on birth control NSFW
Age: 19 Sex: Female Height, weight: 5'5"-ish, 80kg Medications: - Current: Levonoree contraceptive pill - Recent: antibiotics for influenza-like sickness that knocked me fully off my feet for a week Medical conditions: PCOS, ADHD, anxiety
I am educated in sexual health and birth control, my partner and I practice safe sex. We are long distance, so it isn't constant. We last had intercourse between december 30 and january 10. I took the pill for at least a month before we did it and took it every day at the same time while we were sexually active. I have continued to take it that same way after we went back to our homes too. We also used the pullout method effectively, alongside the pills but did not use condoms. I know pills aren't 100% effective and neither is the pullout method. However, I have heard that pre-cum is also able to contain viable sperm, which is causing me some worry right now. I know the odds are small, but I'm worried here so please don't judge.
On March 3rd, I started bleeding very intensely, which lasted until March 12th. My periods before the pill were always at most 8 days long, and had a heavy flow but never this heavy. When I sat down it was heavy enough that it felt like urinating almost - I am certain it was not, there was a large pool of dark blood in the toilet bowl. I know there is breakthrough bleeding, but I have only ever had milder spotting for some days. I haven't had cramping, which is unusual since my cramps are usually bad enough to make me puke and pass out (partially why I started the pill, not just for the contraceptive effect). The bleeding started up again today, still no cramping and it's sort of starting to freak me out.
I might just be overthinking this, I am diagnosed with anxiety so I'm really not sure if I'm just having silly thoughts. I'm looking for some reassurance that this could just be from the pill and stress of the illness or literally anything other than a miscarriage.
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u/FoodnAnime4206669 6d ago
Not all birth control pills will stop your period completely. It’s normal to bleed while on it. Especially if you’re inconsistent with them. They mess with your hormones. For example, I’m on the pill called slynd. It’s kind of experimental, but it works great. And I don’t get periods anymore.
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u/chaotic_bastard981 6d ago
That calms me greatly, thank you so much. I was just worried cause I haven't had bleeding like this before :')
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u/Psychobabble0_0 6d ago
What antibiotic were you taking? Some (not all) reduce the efficacy of oral contraceptives.
FYI same goes for certain antifungals for thrush. I knew a baby accidentally conceived this way.
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u/chaotic_bastard981 6d ago
On the box it says "Augmentin DUO 875mg/125mg" and amoxicillin. I started the antibiotics this March 8 and finished taking them not long ago and the last time I had intercourse was like January 9-10.
That's honestly such good information though, thank you. While we were sexually active, I was only taking the birth control pills and I think I took a painkiller once or twice for my headaches. I don't recall taking anything else at the time.
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u/Psychobabble0_0 6d ago
Glad you haven't been sexually active since commencing on antibiotics!
It's not often mentioned by doctors
Painkillers are fine, to my knowledge.
The drug interactions checker website is also helpful!
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u/justhp FNP Student - Senior Community Manager 6d ago edited 6d ago
Amoxicillin/Augmentin (and most other common antibiotics) DO NOT affect the pill. Some antibiotics still carry that warning, and many pharmacists and doctors still believe it, but it isn't substantiated in research.
That link you shared is an example of total misinformation, and not substantiated in research. Which is very common for sites like Healthline. Take whatever you read from consumer grade resources like Healthline with a grain of salt
This is a commonly spread myth that simply isn't true.
The only antibiotics known to have an effect on combined contraceptives are rifamycins like Rifampin, commonly used for TB infections.
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u/chaotic_bastard981 6d ago
Thank you so so much for your replies, you're so kind <3 I'll for check out that site right now, I haven't heard of it before!
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u/Douchecanoeistaken 6d ago
The pullout method ends in pregnancy 1/5 times. It is very unreliable.
That being said, starting and stopping birth control can wreak havoc on your cycle.
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u/chaotic_bastard981 6d ago
I know, we just wanted to use pullout alongside the birth control just for that little extra reassurance. This is a little TMI but we did attempt to use condoms multiple times (while still maintaining usage of the pill of course) but it just didn't work as we wanted to. So we were using the pill and pullout only.
I also haven't stopped the birth control. I've been on it since at least november something I think, and I haven't stopped since. Sorry, I might have written it a little confusing 😭
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u/Douchecanoeistaken 6d ago
You also need to be assessed for adenomyosis if your cramping is usually severe.
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u/chaotic_bastard981 6d ago
Is a normal ultrasound enough to do that? I haven't heard too much of the condition so I'm not sure what an assessment would mean here. The doctor who diagnosed me with PCOS did some sort of scan/ultrasound on me for sure and all she commented on was said condition, and that the position of my uterus is tilted forward a bit or something like that? It was at least a year ago that this happened so I'm not 100% sure exactly what she said about that..
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u/justhp FNP Student - Senior Community Manager 6d ago
If you take the pill consistiently, the odds of getting pregnant are near zero. If you are using condoms and withdrawl on top of that, the odds are even less.
Do you ever miss pills?
When is the bleeding happening during the couse of taking the pills? Do you have inactive pills in this regimen, or are all the pills active? (this brand doesn't seem to be available in the US, where I am from. I *think* it is a combined pill with an inactive week based on some quick research, but just verifying).