T O P I C R E V I E W
WorriedGirl11
Member # 95437
posted 12-15-2012 04:38 AM
Hi I was recently switched to a new pill (Microlite) after being on Yasmin for a year. Because during my last 21 days on Yasmin (I run it continuously so no breaks) I was 2 days short, due to being sick and taking extra pills, I went straight into the pack of Microlite. My pharmacist told me I'd done this right. All good. Except the new pill gave me a breakthrough bleed for the entire first 2 weeks. So I went online, and found a college (in Virginia, I think) that released a help pamphlet for the pill. It said you can double up while this is happening, and it'll go away, and it's safe. However every time I stopped doubling up I've got the bleed again. I'm anaemic, and it also gave me cramps, so I was unable to attend college for an entire week. Not so good. :/ So I've basically been doubling up since- I've had a whole pack where I take two a day. I had a single bout of diarrhea about a week ago (which I know from previous topics here isn't a risk). But yesterday I had sex without a barrier method for the first time since being on the new pill. I take 2 every day, at 9 am on the dot. I was just wondering would taking 2 every day make the pill less effective? I'm going to switch to a higher dose pill soon. I had breakthrough on yasmin, and asked for a higher dose to stop it, and the doctor didn't understand me apparently because she put me on a lower dose, different hormone pill. Not happy about that one! So yeah, I'm just making sure I'm still covered by the pill since I'm taking two a day. It'd be great if I could get a quick answer in case I need Plan B. Thank you so much! P.S. I've been working on the design for a website for teens in Ireland like this one. Hopefully I'll have a prototype up soon and be able to link it for your opinions!
Robin Lee
Member # 90293
posted 12-15-2012 10:01 AM
HI There, I strongly suggest that you talk to your doctor about this. Even if the information you find on the Internet is from a reliable source, it's still not sound to change the way you take a medication without consulting with a healthcare provider. i'm also wondering how many months you gave the new pill before starting to double up? Just because you had breakthrough bleeding when you first started taking it doesn't mean that the breakthrough bleeding would have continued, as side effects oftentimes do subside after a while. Are you receiving iron supplements or other treatment for the anemia?
Heather
Member # 3
posted 12-15-2012 11:05 AM
I'd second making sure you okay this with a physician before you keep doping it. The safety of BCPs is studied using the normal dose, not a double dose. We know that taking excess amounts of synthetic hormones DO pose some serious health risks for people, so I don't know what you read, but I'd be particularly wary if it didn't at least say this is something to check in with a physician about first.
WorriedGirl11
Member # 95437
posted 12-16-2012 06:24 AM
Hi, I checked in with a GP and he said a double dose for a while is okay, but he'll switch me at the end of this pack. I was just wondering if the pill is still effective preventing pregnancy wise. I'd like to know quickly in case I should get Plan B if that's possible. Thanks for the concern, though. (:
Robin Lee
Member # 90293
posted 12-16-2012 08:50 AM
Again, the research that has been conducted has been with one pill being taken per day. However, logically speaking, based on how the pill works, there is no reason to think that a double dose will not protect against pregnancy. At this point, more hormones, in the form of emergency contraception, wont' be any more helpful. Remember that emergency contraception does the same thing as daily birth control, so since you're already taking daily birth control, and a double dose at that, emergency contraception isn't going to do anything more for you. Have you engaged in sexual activities that could lead to pregnancy? I'm presuming you have but since you didn't mention it I thought I'd check in on that, since that's the other part of the equasion. No matter how much ore little birth control we take, if there's no risk of pregnancy, pregnancy cannot occur.
WorriedGirl11
Member # 95437
posted 12-16-2012 09:18 AM
I actually called a GP earlier instead to clear this up. He said that I am protected from pregnancy (even going so far as to say if anything, it is even more effective than usual). So that's fine I had sex once without a barrier method on Friday, but since I'm covered, I'm okay with that. I had one bout of a loose stool the week before- but from previous topics here I judged that since it wasn't lasting more than a day and very bad, I'm fine there, too. (: Thanks for the help though. I'm going to try to make people more aware of the GP services over here (We have out of hours phone lines for advice any time) on my website to try to encourage girls to ask before they panic! (:
Robin Lee
Member # 90293
posted 12-16-2012 09:31 AM
HI There, That's pretty awesome that you have off hours access to health care providers. Just to double-check though: This doubling up isn't going to last much longer, right? As Heather said, there's really not a lot of research for anyone to know if it's safe or not.
WorriedGirl11
Member # 95437
posted 12-16-2012 02:03 PM
Nope, I'm going back to the doctor at the end of this pack and changing pills, so I won't need to any more. I've asked this before, but last time I was in a pharmacy I asked what the booklets mean by "severe diarrhea" and she said "Anything at all, back up until the end of your pack." I think this may be being a little over cautious, but I wanted to know for certain- it would have to last a few days and be very bad, wouldn't it? My friend has IBS and has started on the pill, and worries a lot about this.
WorriedGirl11
Member # 95437
posted 12-21-2012 05:54 PM
Figured I'd post this here- From reading forum posts on this before, I've learned that one night of diarrhea isn't actually diarrhea bad enough to affect bc pills. My question is, if this happened twice in one month, both times more than 5 hours after taking the bc pills, would this affect the risk of pregnancy? Asking because I'd like to know before tomorrow if I should get plan B (Had sex w/o barrier earlier on, had slight diarrhea afterward once then took immodium).
Karybu
Member # 20094
posted 12-21-2012 07:27 PM
No, there would be no issue if you had one instance of loose stool several hours after taking your pill, even if it happened twice in one month. When it happens consistently over several days, that's when it becomes a problem, because at that point the concern is that medication of any kind won't be fully absorbed by your digestive system. So, in this case, no you do not need Plan B.
WorriedGirl11
Member # 95437
posted 12-21-2012 09:24 PM
Thanks so much for the quick reply, great to not have to worry!(: So much contrasting information on this out there- I tried 5 pharmacists before on this topic, and every one told me a different thing! Great to have somewhere to go to find out. Happy holidays and new year! Thanks again. (: