Question:
Irregular periods and long term birth control pill use?

Hi Ladies, I am a little over 1 year since GBS, I have lost close to 100lbs. I have used birth control pills for close to 15 years without problems. Today it seems that I am having my period and I'm not supposed to have it for a couple of more weeks, this has happend 2 other times since my GBS. Have any of you had this problem and what have you done about it? Thanks for all the help Amy O.    — goldroses (posted on September 12, 2004)

September 12, 2004
hi amy, its been a year for me and i am down about 110 pounds i have been on the birth control also for a long time and i haven't had no problems with my period. after my surgery i did since they didnt give me my birth control in the hospital so i wasnt regular for a while but it is fine now.Anita 270/173
   — Anita Jo

September 12, 2004
Hi Amy! or me, I had used the same b/c pill for over 6 years and after my rny I guess my body didn't absorb it properly anymore. I was getting my period like every other week. So, I went to my ob/gyn and he switched me to the patch (ortho evra) and I haven't had any problems since. Hope this helps. One period a month is enough for any of us to deal with! Congrats on your terrific weight loss! open rny 10/20/2002...315/117 (way past goal)
   — klinzey

September 13, 2004
Yes, I had this problem, I was on the shot, rarely ever had a period. As soon as I hit my 50# loss, started having them all over the place. I switched to the Nuva Ring, helped a little. Then I tried no bc, then started having severe adult acne...never had it before, and periods every 5 days! I went to the gyno last week, she put me on a low estrogen pill and my period stopped, feeling better, skin clearing up...I suggest you go to a gyno and discuss trying a new pill. Hope this helps!
   — missmollyk

September 14, 2004
Get to your OBGYN now. Your symptoms could be a sign of being pregnant also. Using BCP's as a post-op GBS patient is a crap shoot at best as there is no way to determine how much we do absorb. Many women, who have been on pills, have turned up pregnant when that wasn't their goal. I would look for some sort of BC that circulates in your system (Depo shots or Norplant) or is applied right at the females parts (IUD, Nuva ring, patch (if under 200 lbs)) and does not rely on absorption through your digestive system at all. <p>I've been on Depo since 1995 and actually get my shots on 8-week intervals due to my strange body needing way more progesterine than normal to balance everything out. Even though I've lost 252 lbs I still need the more frequent shots. We tried to length the time between shots and I ended up with breakthrough bleeding. I also had a light period a few weeks ago, which is the first one in like 8 years, so I'm not sure what's up with that. My doc said to take a wait and see attitude since I also have my tubes tied and therefore have pretty close to a zero chance of being pregnant. We are assuming that my body is shifting and adjusting to the missing fat and the excess estrogen it would have been producing. I'd be happy if it went back to no periods again. If it keeps it up he'll investigate more.
   — zoedogcbr

September 15, 2004
I had my surgery on Jan 7, 2004. Starting the day I left the hospital my periods have been messed up. In the first few months I was having two a month. My pcp put me on a high dose of hormone birth control pill at about three months out. For the past couple of months now my periods have been coming even closer. I was at 10 days inbetween periods (week long periods). Now I am at 2 days in between. My pcp says that this is normal for after having such a rapid weight loss (95 pounds) I am not satisfied with his answer. If he bleed more then he didn't he wouldn't either. I have a gyno appt tomorrow. Maybe you should make an appointment with one also. I will post after my visit to tell you just what mine said. Maybe that will help you too.
   — Cameron Van Winkle

September 16, 2004
I made a Gyn appointment, unfortunately its not for 2 more weeks. I know for sure I'm not pregnant, unless there has been a star in the east that I'm not aware of. Thank you all for answering my questions, I'm curious to see how things have worked out for others.
   — goldroses