Scarleteen

Hi there! I started the birth control pill this month and am taking my last active pill tomorrow, expecting a withdrawal bleed after that (in just a couple days). For the last few days I have been experiencing brown discharge. It began thickening and darkening yesterday and today. Is this something to be concerned about? My doctor said to expect spotting and brown discharge on the pill, though I'm not sure to what extent. Thanks in advance.

That doesn't sound like any cause for concern.

Bleeds can sometimes start slowly, with brown spotting/discharge - as you're about to finish this pack of active pills, that may well be what's happening for you. Starting a hormonal birth control method can also make your bleeds a little different to what you're used to, either throughout the time you're on hormonal birth control, or just for a few cycles while your body adjusts. Like your doctor said, too, having some spotting is a very common side-effect of taking the pill, especially in the first few cycles.

Okay thank you!! I really appreciate it.

I took a bath and I noticed flakes which seemed to be my uterine lining shedding. I notice this with all my periods. Is it possible that this be the only bleed I'm going to get this cycle?

Secondly, I made a post about a week ago about taking a pill out of order which hasn't been answered. My aunt is a practicing gyno and she told me to take the pill I was supposed to take the following day and then to continue with my pack regularly. I didn't feel comfortable asking about how that would effect the effectiveness of the pill for this cycle or how the different doses in the pill weeks work/relate (that was the second part of my question within that post). So I am wondering if it is possible that that mix up with the pills be related to this discharge?

You know changes to the color, consistency, volume or other parts of menstrual flow will often happen with or without use of hormonal contraceptives, and whether or not they're taken perfectly. So, this may be about your pill or how you've taken it, but it also may not: we just couldn't know or say.

Same goes with how this bleed or others go: that's just something you'll have to see.

Your aunt gave you the right directions, and no, that should not impact your pill's effectiveness. The order doesn't usually matter when it comes to how a pill works at preventing pregnancy. For pill brands where active pills aren't all exactly the same, that's more about changing how someone feels on a pill or side effects.

Gotcha, thank you so much! That definitely helps a lot.