Birth Control Period Every 3 Months

How To Take 21

• Take your 1st pill from the packet marked with the correct day of the week, or the 1st pill of the 1st colour .
• Continue to take a pill at the same time each day until the pack is finished.
• Stop taking pills for 7 days .
• Start your next pack of pills on the 8th day, whether you are still bleeding or not. This should be the same day of the week as when you took your 1st pill.

Is It Safe To Skip Periods With Birth Control

Health care providers have been prescribing birth control to stop periods for a long time. Some people on birth control choose to skip their period only for special occasions . Other people use birth control to stop their periods if they have conditions such as endometriosis or period-related anemia.

Scientific research has found that using birth control to skip your period is as safe as taking your pills normally. If youre interested in stopping your periods with birth control, though, its always a good idea to talk to your health care provider about it first.

When Can I Start Taking Birth Control Pills

You can start taking birth control pills as soon as you get them any day of the week, and anytime during your menstrual cycle. But when youll be protected from pregnancy depends on when you start and the kind of pill youre using. You may need to use a backup birth control method for up to the first 7 days.

Talk with your nurse or doctor about the best time for you to start taking the pill.

Combination Pills :

You can start the combination pill at any time.

• If you start taking combination pills within 5 days after your period starts, youll be protected from pregnancy right away. For example, if you get your period Monday morning, you can start the pill anytime until Saturday morning and be protected from pregnancy right away.

• If you start combination pills any other time, you need to take the pill for 7 days before youre protected from pregnancy. Use another method of birth control like a condom if you have penis-in-vagina sex during the first week on the pill.

Progestin-Only Pills :

You can start progestin-only pills at any time. Youll be protected from pregnancy after 48 hours on the pill. If you have penis-in-vagina sex during those first 2 days, use another method of birth control, like a condom.

You must take progestin-only pills at the same time every day. If you take it more than 3 hours past your usual time, use a backup method of birth control for the next 48 hours .

Starting the Pill After Pregnancy:

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How It Prevents Pregnancy

The pill prevents the ovaries from releasing an egg each month . It also:

• thickens the mucus in the neck of the womb, so it is harder for sperm to penetrate the womb and reach an egg
• thins the lining of the womb, so there is less chance of a fertilised egg implanting into the womb and being able to grow

The pill is over 99% effective if used correctly. Other methods of contraception are better at preventing pregnancy, such as the IUD, IUS, implant and injection.

There are many different brands of pill, made up of 3 main types:

How To Skip Or Delay A Period Using Birth Control

To skip a period using a traditional combined pill, a person must take active pills every day without interruption.

If a pack contains active pills and placebo pills, they are usually clearly labeled. Or, the placebo pills may be a different color from the active pills.

A person can continue taking active pills until they are ready to have a period. Taking no active pills for 1 week will trigger menstruation.

Some types of birth control pill suppress periods for a set amount of time.

Pill brands that suppress menstruation for 3 months at a time include:

• Quartette

Other methods of birth control also reduce the frequency of periods. Some examples include:

• NuvaRing, a type of contraceptive vaginal insert
• an intrauterine device, or IUD, that releases progestin
• a progestin implant or injection, such as the Depo-Provera shot

It is generally safe to use birth control pills to skip a period. However, there can be a few risks and side effects.

One risk is breakthrough bleeding.

Breakthrough or withdrawal bleeding can occur after a person misses a few periods or more. The bleeding may look like spotting, but it can resemble a regular period. The timing of breakthrough bleeding is variable, and it may not happen in some people.

Some brands of pill are more likely to causing breakthrough bleeding than others. If this type of bleeding occurs frequently, a person should speak to a doctor about alternatives.

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Is It Safe To Use A Birth Control Pill To Stop Periods

Generally, it is safe to use birth control to stop periods. However, there may be some types of birth control that certain individuals should not take. People should always talk with their doctor before taking anything to stop periods.

What Are The Benefits Of Taking Seasonale

With regular birth control pills, you take three weeks of active, hormone-containing pills. During the fourth week, you may take inactive pills called placebos or no pills at all. With Seasonale, you take the active pills without stopping for three months, or 84 days. After this three-month period, you take one week of inactive pills. You should have a period during this week of inactive pills.

While youre on Seasonale, youll have one period every three months. Thats equal to four periods per year, instead of the usual 12 or 13 periods per year. The periods you do have should be lighter than normal.

Even though youll have fewer periods, Seasonale will protect you as well as a regular birth control pill. If you take it at the same time every day, you have a 1 percent chance of getting pregnant in any given year. If you miss a dose or youre late taking your pill, you have a 5 percent chance of getting pregnant.

Seasonale can also be used as emergency birth control. If you take four pills within 120 hours, or five days, of unprotected sex, and another four pills 12 hours after the first set, it can prevent a pregnancy.

Here are a few other benefits to taking Seasonale:

• It can prevent migraines that occur around the time of your period.
• It lowers the risk of breast cancer.
• It lowers the risk of endometrial cancer.
• It can improve pain from endometriosis, which usually flares around the time of a womans period.

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Some Women Are More Likely To Experience It

Breakthrough bleeding happens more often in women who smoke cigarettes and in women who dont take their birth control pills consistently. Some medications, like emergency contraception pills, also can cause irregular bleeding. Having certain infections, such as chlamydia or gonorrhea, also can increase risk.

Its also more common when women who use birth control pills or the ring take a continuous dose of hormones to skip their periods altogether. One more factor: Benign growths such as uterine fibroids can cause irregular bleeding thats unrelated to birth control.

Other Ways To Skip Your Period

Taking birth control pills arent the only way to skip your period. Other options include the progestin-releasing intrauterine device , progestin injection , progestin implant , and the combination NuvaRing or contraceptive patches.

The Mirena IUD works even better than pills to reduce overall bleeding, Dabney says. Many women on the Mirena IUD either get very light periods or no periods at all.

If you arent sure about the pill, speak with your doctor about your other options. Make sure you speak with your doctor before using a birth control patch to skip your period. Compared to birth controls pills, the patch has a slightly increased risk for blood clotting. However, the patch is the same general formulation as combination pills.

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Is Having A Late Period After Stopping The Pill Normal

While a late period going off the pill isn’t unusual, Dweck says to always consider pregnancy if there is a delay in the return of menses. “Typically, it is reasonable to wait three months for the return of menses prior to intervening,” she says.

Dweck also notes that the absence of menses can be accompanied by other symptoms such as acne, appetite change, breast leakage, headache or visual change, or other symptoms suggestive of pregnancy, thyroid disorder, PCOS, or other hormone imbalance.

Oral Contraceptives Or Contraceptive Devices

Depending on the cause of your menstrual bleeding, you may benefit from taking oral contraceptives. The hormones in birth control pills can help regulate your periods and may reduce bleeding by limiting the buildup of the tissue in your uterine walls between periods.

An intrauterine device, or IUD, implanted in the uterus can prevent pregnancy, but it can also reduce menstrual bleeding if its the type of IUD that releases hormones.

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Combination Oral Contraceptive Pills

Most combination OCPs contain ethinyl estradiol and a synthetic progestin . These pills inhibit ovulation in most women. They also induce thickening of the cervical mucus, which impedes transport of sperm to the uterus. With perfect use, only 0.1 percent of women become pregnant within the first year of using a combination OCP.6

What Are The Benefits

The shot is safe, simple and convenient to use. It provides an effective solution to prevent pregnancy for up to three months. Some of the other benefits include:

• Preventing cancer on the lining of the uterus
• No daily pills required
• Contains no estrogen
• Private method of birth control
• Improved sex life
• No prep work before having sex

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What Are The Disadvantages

Many women adjust to the birth control shot with little to no problems. However, every women is different and so are their bodies. Therefore there can be some undesirable side effects. The most common side effect is irregular bleeding. This usually occurs within the first 6 to 12 months of use and can include:

• Fewer and lighter periods
• Heavier and longer periods
• Light bleeding and spotting between periods

Some women think they are pregnant if they dont get their period. However, not bleeding is common with this form of birth control. If you are taking the shot correctly and consistently, not bleeding is not a problem. This method is effective in preventing pregnancy.

Some less common side effects include:

• Sore breasts
• Increased hair on face/body or loss hair
• Weight gain or change in appetite

There are no ways to avoid the side effects of this method. They will continue to wear off when the shot stops having its effect after 12 weeks . However, if you start up again they will persist. The side effects will vary based on how your body reacts to the shot.

Serious side effects, like the ones list below, should be reported to a health profession immediately:

• Yellowing of eyes or skin
• Migraine with an aura flashing zigzags, seeing bright
• New lump on your breast
• Major depression
• Pain, pus or bleeding where you were giving the shot
• Prologue vaginal bleeding

How Do I Make The Shot Work Best For Me

To get the shots full birth control powers, you have to remember to get a new shot every 12-13 weeks. Thats about every 3 months, or 4 times a year. Most of the time, a doctor or a nurse must give you the shot. So you have to make an appointment at a health center, and then remember to go to the appointment. But you also may be able to get a supply of shots at the health center to bring home and give yourself. You can use our birth control app to keep track of when you need to get your next shot, and any upcoming shot appointments.

You can start using the birth control shot whenever you want. If you get your first shot within the first 7 days after the start of your period, youre protected from pregnancy right away. If you get it at any other time in your cycle, you need to use another form of birth control for the first week after getting the shot.

After your first shot, its all about remembering when to get your follow-up shots. Here are some tips to make sure you stay on top of it:

• Use our birth control reminder app or set an alarm on your phone.
• Add it to whatever calendar you use on a daily basis.
• Ask friends, family members, or your partner to remind you.

Bottom line: do whatever works for you to make sure you get your follow-up shots about every 12-13 weeks.

If youre 2 or more weeks late getting your shot, your doctor or nurse may ask you to take a pregnancy test, or tell you to use emergency contraception if you had vaginal sex in the previous 120 hours .

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How Much Does It Cost

When budgeting for birth control, be sure to factor in the cost of the drug or device, along with any related doctors appointments.

You might be able to get your birth control for a lot less or even for free depending on:

• where you live
• whether you have health insurance
• if you qualify for Medicaid or another government program

When Taking The Birth Control Shot Are You Supposed To Get Your Period

By | Aug. 18, 2011, 3:07 p.m.

Category:

when takin the shot are u suppost to get ur period the followin month?

In the first six to 12 months of using the shot, its normal for your menstrual cycle to be irregular. For most women, periods become fewer and lighter. After one year, half of all women who use the shot will stop having periods altogether. Some women, however, experience increased spotting and light bleeding between periods. Some women may worry that they are pregnant if they do not have a regular period. But when the birth control shot is used correctly, it is very effective. If you are concerned about a possible pregnancy, you can always take a pregnancy test. Learn more about the birth control shot.

Tags:periods, the shot

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Difficulty Identifying Accidental Pregnancy

Using birth control to skip or stop periods makes no difference to fertility. You will be protected from pregnancy in the same way as you would be if you had a period on birth control. It is safe and will still protect you from pregnancy.

However, skipping periods may make it difficult to notice if you do happen to become pregnant. If you notice symptoms such as breast tenderness or nausea, take a home pregnancy or consult your healthcare provider.

How Is The Pill Taken

Most combination pills come in either a 21-day pack or a 28-day pack. One hormone pill is taken each day at about the same time for 21 days. Depending on your pack, you will either stop taking birth control pills for 7 days or you will take a pill that contains no hormones for 7 days . You’ll get your period when you stop taking the pills that contain hormones. Some people prefer the 28-day pack because it helps them stay in the habit of taking a pill every day.

Also available is a combination pill that makes periods happen less often by supplying a hormone pill for 12 weeks and then inactive pills for 7 days. This reduces the number of periods to 1 every 3 months instead of 1 every month.

Another kind of pill that may change the number of monthly periods is the low-dose progesterone pill, sometimes called the mini-pill. This type of birth control pill differs from the other pills in that it only contains one type of hormone progesterone rather than a combination of estrogen and progesterone. It works by changing the cervical mucus and the lining of the uterus, and sometimes by affecting ovulation as well. The mini-pill may be slightly less effective at preventing pregnancy than combination pills.

The mini-pill is taken every day without a break. Someone who takes the mini-pill may have no period at all or may have irregular periods. For the mini-pill to work, it must be taken at the same time every day, without missing any doses.

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Who Can Use The Combined Pill

If there are no medical reasons why you cannot take the pill, and you do not smoke, you can take the pill until your menopause. However, the pill is not suitable for everyone. To find out whether the pill is right for you, talk to a GP, nurse or pharmacist.

The pill may not be right for you if you:

• are pregnant
• smoke and are 35 or older
• stopped smoking less than a year ago and are 35 or older
• are very overweight

The pill may also not be right for you if you have :

• blood clots in a vein, for example in your leg or lungs
• stroke or any other disease that narrows the arteries
• anyone in your close family having a blood clot under the age of 45
• a heart abnormality or heart disease, including high blood pressure
• severe migraines, especially with aura
• breast cancer
• disease of the gallbladder or liver
• diabetes with complications or diabetes for the past 20 years