Late/missed period on the mini pill

[Nifty.Anon]

Hi! I use errin mini pill and have been for around 5 months. I take it everyday at 10 and the only times I am late is by half an hour at most. I normally have a period but it always comes around 35 or more days, making them late alot. This month I have had panic attacks everyday, a UTI infection (I was given medication and did not have sex while on it but did have sex 4 days after finishing it), and trying to eat healthier and sleeping at weird hours, so all those could affect my late/missed period. I have only have the brown old blood come out and no red and I'm getting my usual cramping and slight headache I get before my period. I have had no tender breasts, bloating, throwing up, frequent urination, signs of pregnancy, just a late period and maybe some slight neasua which could be due to my constant worrying. Do you think this late period is normal?

[Eddie C]

Hello there, Nifty, welcome to the boards!

Is not that uncommon for people under Birth Control to have lighter or short periods. Sometimes it can even go missing. Dark discharge only means old blood leaving the body. If you have been sick and with irregular sleeping hours and changes in your diet, it can affect your period too. That said, if you are worried about pregnancy, the only way to find out is taking a pregnancy test.

[Nifty.Anon]

Thank you! also I was wondering, my birth control causes lots of spotting/break through bleeding. I had at least two weeks of it this month after my period, could that make my period late or absent since lots of blood was already leaving the body before my period was due?

[Eddie C]

That's something I cannot answer. Bodies are all different and they react different. The effects of Birth Control are going to be very unique in your own body. There's people who can have a lack of periods and there's people who can have more spotting or bleeding. It seriously varies a lot.

[Nifty.Anon]

Thank you so much for your time! I just have two more small questions and I'm done!
1. My doctor told me to use backup if I have sex while taking my UTI medication but she didnt say anything about how long or if I need to use backup after so I had sex two days after I was finished with my pills (but this whole time I was still taking my birth control on time) and we used the pull out method just in case, would be birth control be effected still?
2. I know condoms are the only thing protecting against STD's and creates more safety but can you only use birth control without one and still be protected? And does this apply to the mini pill, progesterone only, as I hear it's a bit less effective?

[Mo]

Generally when a doctor's saying "use backup when taking this medication" as long as they don't specify it more than that, you only need to take that into account when you are actively taking the medication; once you're done you no longer have to worry about reduced effectiveness.

Every kind of birth control has its own rates of effectiveness for both perfect and typical use; you can look up the info for the mini pill here: Progesterone-Only Oral Contraceptives (Minipills) It's up to you how comfortable you feel with any birth control method on its own; plenty of folks do use just one method and feel comfortable doing that. We do always recommend that folks use condoms with other methods just as an extra level of protection, both from pregnancy and STI transmission, but it's up to you and your partner to make choices around that you both feel good about.

[Nifty.Anon]

Do you think my two day brown spotting could have been my period by chance? I hear progestin pills tend to cause either no period or light bleeding?

[Heather]

Yep, it could have been.