posted
ive started using the contraception patch and i put the patch on the 1st day of my period on the 3rd of august and continued using it for 3 weeks but when im supposed to take it off on the beginging of the 4th week the instructions say that i should get a withdrawl bleed aka my period in my patch free week, but ive worked my dates out im not supposd to come on till the 31st of august. is ok that my period will come a week earlier?
Posts: 26 | From: england | Registered: Aug 2008
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posted
When you use a hormonal method of birth control, you will no longer have a regular menstrual cycle. Instead, you sort of create an artificial cycle where you take the hormones for three weeks and then take a break for a week, during which you get a withdrawal bleed that looks and feels a lot like a period and will give you the peace of mind of knowing that you're not pregnant.
Because the hormones mess around with your body in that way, it can take a little time for you to get used to them. So in the first couple of months on the patch, you may not get your withdrawal bleed right on time - it may come sooner or later, or not at all and you may have some spotting instead. That's okay, and things should regulate within 2-3 months.
-------------------- -joey Scarleteen Volunteer
"The question is not who will let me, but who is going to stop me." -Ayn Rand Posts: 8424 | From: Cologne, Germany | Registered: Sep 2005
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If you want to have a better understanding of what birth control like the patch and the pill do, check out the visual at PBS's How The Pill Works
-------------------- "Love is the answer, but while you are waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty good questions." Posts: 171 | From: USA/CHINA | Registered: Aug 2008
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