When can I start the pill?

[nokatprotested]

I went to the doctor today about my irregular periods and she gave to birth control to regulate them. The package says it's best to start taking the pills on the Sunday after your period, but if my period is so irregular, could I go ahead and take it now to make my period come this time next month? My mom is just worried that this may make me miss my period for this month if it is just coming late, but I think that if my period hasn't come by now, it's late anyway and I don't see a problem with starting my birth control now just to regulate my periods. I don't need the contraceptive part because I'm not sexually active.

[Heather]

Really, if you are taking the pill to try and help with irregularity, taking it mid-cycle is counter to that purpose.

Instead, you want to follow the directions and either start on the first day of your next period or on or before the first Sunday after your next period starts. Those ways of starting make it easier for periods and withdrawal bleeds to sync up and also tend to help the body adjust faster to the pill.

[nokatprotested]

Today I was told I do have PCOS, so that means my period could just not come for months, though. Do I really need to wait months to start these pills? If I start mid cycle, what will my consequences be? I mean, won't it eventually level everything out since I don't really have a "regular" period during a specific time of the month?

[Heather]

These are all questions that should go first to your doctor who prescribed them for you if they were prescribed to treat a health condition.

So, if your doctor did not tell you when to start, you should call their office and ask about this. You clearly have access to that care, and our site should be seen as a second-stop with things like this, not a first. Your prescribing physician is who to ask first, particularly with questions like "Do I really need to wait until my next period?" because we can only give the kind of information I already had, that is general. Your doctor can give you information that is tailored to you based on their findings and the way they want you to use a medication, specifically.