Changing contraception methods & withdrawal bleeding

[Angeldelight123]

Hi there,

On Wednesday the 31st of August I had the implant fitted at a local clinic, however I was taking the 21 day combined pill with a 7-day break before hand and the nurse instructed me to finish my packet of pills as the implant takes a week to kick in. So, my question is, when I finish my packet of pills (I have two pills left), will I expect a withdrawal bleed like usual during the time I don't take any pills? I have a 28 day cycle and my bleeding is due on Friday the 9th of September and I'm confused because the implant would have begun to work by then and I'm not sure if I'll get my withdrawal bleed or not due to the hormones from the implant starting to work? I really hope this makes some sense.
Thanks for your time and any help is truly appreciated!

[Heather]

There's simply no predicting what's going to happen in terms of your withdrawal bleed. That's just one of those things where you're just going to have to see what happens.

[Angeldelight123]

I was thinking that too, I was planning on phoning my clinic tomorrow and see what they say. But thank you for your help!

[Heather]

They're likely to say the same thing (but if you feel better calling, by all means, do). All of our bodies are just too diverse in how they respond for anyone to be able to predict this. Heck, even a person having actual, and very regular periods who has been tracking them for years can only predict them so well.

Can I ask what your concern is about this? In other words, if and when you get a withdrawal bleed doesn't really matter, save having whatever you use when it comes to bleeds (like pads, a cup or tampons) on hand to manage them, or anything you use should bleeds all bring symptoms you need to manage like cramps.

[Angeldelight123]

It is mostly out of curiosity, but my boyfriend is also staying over at my house that weekend, so I just wanted to know if my period is most likely to come or not just so I had a heads up and could prepare in advance really, because it is most likely we'll be having sex and I obviously wouldn't want to have any interruptions, yet if it was to show up then I wouldn't really mind anyway. I was also pondering whether to move on straight to a new pack of pills without a break to delay my bleed if it was to show up, but I'm worried that may interfere with the implant or send my body into overdrive with the many hormones from both the pill and implant, so I decided just to go with the usual and take my break from the pills to avoid any problems, My head is all over the place with this to be honest :/

[Heather]

Yeah, you don't want to be using more than one hormonal method art once unless it's being advised (usually to treat some medical issues, when it is) by your prescribing physician, as a rule.

And if this is just about being prepared, in whatever way you do, for sex during a period/withdrawal bleed, than you can just do that, no big. Since the most common side effect of the implant is spotting, now that you are using that you probably want to figure that could occur anytime, especially in the first few months using it.

[Angeldelight123]

Yeah I think I'm just going to stick to my usual routine and have my break then stop the pills I've been wanting the implant fitted for a while so I knew what problems I may have had to face and educated myself really well on it and I'm glad I've got it in because it is a really effective method and is something I feel totally comfortable using. I already explained it all to my boyfriend and he was completely understanding about it so he doesn't mind at all either, thank you so much for the advice!

[Heather]

Long-acting methods are truly amazing, aren't they? Hope it turns out to be a good fit for you.

[Angeldelight123]

I spoke to my clinic, you're right, they did say the same thing, I'll just have to wait it out and see what happens.