What's going on down there?

[ComicFox]

So, this past month and a half as been quite the ride for me. Earlier in July I began taking birth control, Microgestin 1/20. I stayed on it for about five days before I decided I couldn't handle the side effects. Shortly after or around the same time, I started to notice a odd smelling discharge. It continued all the way up until now. I knew that was strange so I consulted my doctor about it, I thought it might be bacterial vaginosis since I shared a lot of the same symtoms. He took me off of the birth control and said that it was probably just my discharge changing throughout the month as usual but I felt like that wasn't the case. Anyway, on the third of August I got my period. It was about four or five days early. However, I felt like this period was a little different from the others, perhaps it's because of the birth control? The blood flow seemed a little lighter than usual and I only had cramping for one day. The heavy bleeding usually lasts somewhere between two to three days instead of just one. Is it possible for birth control to affect your cycle like that? I only took it for five days, so would that be enough to cause that?

My second questions is, this month I experienced cramping for only one day. They were mild and went away after a while but I didn't experience any bleeding that day. I'm not really sure when to expect my period except that I know it should be any day now. I'm experiencing usual PMS symptoms. My chest is sore, hormonal acne and mood swings. I've noticed that I have to go to the bathroom more often which doesn't normally happen either which is causing me a little worry. I've been incredibly stressed out this past month, beginning college and starting a new demanding job. I've talked to my mom about this and she seems to think that it's just the stress affecting my body but I'm not sure. I've always tried to be very in tune with my health to the point where I can be a mild hypochondriac if I notice something is off. In addition to all of this, I do have a boyfriend however we're not sexually active. The farthest we go is fingering. From what I've read on these articles here, it's not likely for a pregnancy to occur via. fingering. I've talked to him about his before and he says that he's careful to make sure that there isn't anything on his hands. The reason why I'm putting this down is because I'm wondering if that could be a factor? Like I said, I've tried talking to my doctor about this but he doesn't seem to be taking it too seriously so perhaps I should try consulting a gynocologist.

All in all, I just need some insight and information as to what could be going on with my body. I tried looking through some of the articles, most of which I found really helpful so if there's another article that holds this kind of information, I might have missed it. Is there anything that I should really be worried about or look into? Thanks for your time!

[Heather]

Shorter, lighter periods with less cramps are one of the common benefits of combined hormonal methods, and it sounds like you may be experiencing that.

Have you yet visited the healthcare services your college offers? If they do, and you haven't, sounds like you'd feel best checking in with someone.

[ComicFox]

Hi Heather! Thanks for the quick reply. So the birth control still effected my period? I had stopped taking it half way through July and got my next period early August. My doctor said that the pill can only stay in your system for around 24 hours after discontinuing the use. I'm guessing that would take a toll on the next cycle.

I'm actually just going to a local community college so I'm not sure if they offer healthcare services. I know some of the surrounding universities do but I'm not sure where to look for a healthcare service office at a community college.

[Heather]

I'm not sure why your doctor said that: we're that true, after just one missed pill, pill users would have 0% effectiveness, and that just isn't so. It's also common for people to find it can take a few months after pill use to get back to their cycles as they are sans pill.

Per finding healthcare where you are at school, I'd just pop into the guidance or student advisory office: they'll know.

[ComicFox]

Alright. That makes sense! Thank you very much!! I'll definitely ask this coming week and I'll probably look into finding a gynecologist too just to be on the safe side. I do still have one question left, why did I experience cramps for a single day like that? Would still be an effect from the birth control? I've checked some health websites and that's a pregnancy symptom which is a little scary but I don't believe I've exposed myself to that kind of risk.

[Redskies]

Like Heather said, starting, stopping, or starting + stopping hormonal birth control can cause changes to the menstrual cycle for a few months. Mild cramping for one day during your period - whether that's more or less cramping than usual - is no cause for concern, as a bit of variation happens anyway, and changes in hormonal birth control make variation more likely.

"Pregnancy symptoms" is mostly not a helpful concept, because basically all of them can also be caused by many other common issues (including the ordinary menstrual cycle ); it's also a completely irrelevant concept if you haven't been involved in anything which can result in pregnancy. Getting a bleed is a very strong signal that a person is Not pregnant. A good number of so-called "health" websites are not actually reliable sources of information; especially if you'd describe yourself as a "bit of a hypochondriac" , we'd suggest staying away from most stuff on the internet, as it's only likely to make you more worried. One basic rule of thumb: if a place doesn't take you down the route of "have you had a bleed since the incident you're concerned about? If so, = not pregnant" and goes instead to a bunch of "pregnancy symptom" stuff, you can be pretty sure it's not a legitimate or reliable place for information.