Late and birth control question

[confused123]

I guess my period is irregular, in the past 6 months or so my cycle has been around 28-37 days.it was only 28 days once and other than that always landed from around 33-36. It is now day 38 of my cycle and I'm wondering if I'm late because according to my period tracker my average is 32 days. Personally I feel like 35 is more accurate. I started summer break a month ago and have changed my sleeping & eating times and I'm wondering if that can throw off my cycle?

I've talked to my doctor about my periods in the past and she gave me 3 months worth of birth control to regulate my cycle but I've been too scared to take it. When am I supposed to start?

According to your site and others like sexetc, empowher and bishUK, Dry humping is 99.99999999999% - 100% safe when it comes to pregnancy. It makes me feel nervous when I see other sites like american pregnancy association and sometimes even planned parenthood say it could be possible, though unlikely, I trust scarleteen most so I'm trying to keep the idea of pregnancy out of my mind. I don't want to ask for reassurance because I am constantly trapped in a cycle of thinking the worst has happened - me being the one in a million to wind up pregnant this way - and I don't want to be in this cycle anymore but don't know how to let it go while my period is still missing

Sorry for such a lengthy post - and I've read articles like MIA or dude, where's my period? And You're not pregnant so why do you think you are? And just about anything else I could find. I just dont remember seeing anything about sleeping schedules delaying periods

[Sam W]

Hi confused123,

As far as starting the BC, check the info packets that come with the pills for directions on when to start them

With the period tracker, does it have you just count days? Or do you track temperature and cervical mucus as well?

Okay, so when you read the "You're not pregnant, why do you think you are" piece, is there something in there that you feel resonates with you?

[confused123]

The box doesn't say when to start, does that mean I can start it whenever?

It just counts days- I'm 17 and I've heard its normal for teens to have shifts in their cycles - other than sleep/ eating happening at different times I don't know what else could have caused me to be late. I haven't been stressed out until now.
And I've seen a counsellor at a walk in clinic and talked to my counsellor at school regularly for about 4 months and their professional opinion is that I have an anxiety disorder and catastrophize things so I feel like im in danger even if I'm not. In this case it makes more sense that I'm not pregnant and my period is just late because I haven't had direct contact with genitals or semen, im just worried that precum somehow soaked through 2 layers (both underwear) and a random sperm somehow jumped from the inside of my underwear to my skin and hung on for dear life. It sounds absolutely ridiculous but unfortunately that's where I'm at

I feel bad even talking about it because I feel like I'm wasting the scarleteen staffs time because there are people that need help more than I do and I wish I could just let this irrational fear go

[Sam W]

Okay, so with period trackers, unless it's taking info like temperature, it can't actually give you an accurate prediction. I've got some info on how to track more thoroughly, if that's something you'd be interested.

As for when to start the pill, check out this: "For most people who start the pill either on the first day of their period or the first Sunday after a period, any brand of combination pill will likely be effective after seven days of use, but here at Scarleteen, as many other credible sources suggest, we advise users to give their pills one full cycle before going without a backup to play it safe."

When you talk with the therapists, do they discuss with you ways to handle those catastrophizing thoughts when they arise?

[confused123]

Thanks for that! Hopefully I get my period so I can let this go and work on my anxiety without something this serious consuming my thoughts.
But do you know if changing my sleeping and eating schedule could have delayed my period? And they say to challenge the negative thoughts and remind myself they can't be true but lately that hasn't been working too well. I read the pregnancy scare compilation and it says my period isn't technically late yet and won't be for another two days but can I take a pregnancy test tomorrow morning if my period doesn't show today?

[Sam W]

Yep, periods can be affected by changes in sleep or eating patterns, so that may be a factor here. Okay, do you have a meeting with one of them coming up soon? If so, then it would be sound to tell them that you're having a hard time with that techniques and if they have any suggestions for what to do.

If you think that taking a test would help ease your worries, then that's something you can do. Just make sure you follow the directions on the test about when and how to take it.

[confused123]

Thank you! I've been having symptoms like cramps and tender/ swollen breasts to is it safe to assume my period is on its way? These are the PMS symptoms I usually get

[Sam W]

Yep, if those are your usual PMS symptoms, then it's likely a sign your period is on its way

[confused123]

I bought a pack of 2 tests. Tomorrow is the 4th day after the latest I expected my period & 17 days after the act in question, will it be accurate?

[taylor_alyse]

Hi confused123!

The tests will be accurate with that timing Have you seen this article ? http://www.scarleteen.com/article/pregn ... ancy_tests

[confused123]

I'm really anxious its going to be hard to wait until tomorrow morning. I'm just trying to remind myself I haven't had a real risk to begin with.

[confused123]

Hello I have made it through the night without dying and the test is negative, anything I can try to bring on my period since its now 2 days later than the latest it's ever been?

[Redskies]

There's no way of making a period come faster, no.

You have a negative pregnancy test, so it's clear the big issue you're wrangling with here is not actually pregnancy, but anxiety. So, keeping talking about pregnancy is going to do jack to help you - because it's anxiety that's the problem, not pregnancy - and it's even going to make things worse because it'll fuel the anxiety. So, are you up for changing the focus of what we're talking about here, and talking about what steps you can take for dealing with the anxiety?

If you are, I'd start by asking: do you have an appointment with the counsellor you've seen, or, when's the next time you could see a counsellor?

[confused123]

Okay that sounds good, I don't have an appointment yet because there's a waiting list. I don't know how to explain my worry to my mother because she doesn't know I'm sexually active and I 100% cannot tell her so I often feel alone during these scares. She also thinks the solution to my worry is to "stop worrying" and obviously if I could I would but she doesn't get that its actually a problem

[confused123]

For the past few months I've been having anxiety about my health so when something irregular - like a missing period - happens I look for reasoning behind it. For 2 months I've been scared I have some kind of rare cancer because of irregular marks on my fingernails that point to it being either cancer or another kind of problem like problems with the liver, heart, etc. I've gotten blood tests done and seen my family doctor and she said she isn't concerned about these marks and that my blood test results were normal - anyway the missing period is concerning because I'm scared it means something is wrong

[Heather]

Have you asked your family doctor if there is anything she can do to get you more immediate mental healthcare? If not, I'd suggest you try that as a next step, since this is clearly an ongoing mental health issue you're struggling with.

[confused123]

she recommended counselling and I plan to go as soon as I m off the waiting list. She also gave me a 3 month sample of birth control pills to make my cycle more regular, I got my period today and I know I can start today but I am confused about this particular brand. Online it says most packs of BC have 7 placebo pills but mine only has 2, does that mean I will only have bleeding each month for 2 days ?

[Heather]

No, it doesn't. How long your withdrawal bleeds will turn out to be isn't something that can be predicted, but because there are only two placebo pills doesn't mean a) that the withdrawal bleed will only occur during those two days, or b) that it will only last that long.

For future reference, though, you really want to bring questions about any mind of medication you have been prescribed to your prescribing physician: answering your questions about anything they prescribe is part of their job.