Scarleteen

So I’ve been on Alesse bc since march. I decided I wanted to skip my breakthrough bleeds starting in June. So June, July and August I was good- no spotting, etc. Since September I’ve been spotting off and on- almost weekly. It’s becoming a bit of an inconvenience and I really dislike the unpredictability of when I might be spotting and sometimes it’s lasted longer than the breakthrough bleed so I’d rather have that! So my questions are:

1. if I stop taking my active pills tomorrow, when do I begin to take them again? 7 days later?

2. Should I assume that if I go back to taking with a 7 day break after the active pills, will my body need time to adjust before I stop spotting or is it likely that I won’t spot if I get the monthly breakthrough bleed?

3. Is there another bc that has a higher rate of not causing spotting compared to Alesse if I choose/want to go back to skipping the breakthrough bleed?

Hi Es2003, and welcome to Scarleteen!

If you'd like to convert back to a 3 weeks on-withdrawal bleed cycle, then yes, you would stop taking your active pills and start back up again after 7 days. You can always take that last 7 days of inactive pills if it helps you keep up the habit of taking the pill at the same time every day.

As with when the spotting stops, in all likelihood, it will take a cycle or two for your body to adjust and act more predictably. Anytime someone changes things up in regards to hormone substitution, the body will need to rebuild its cyclical hormone patterns, which can take a little bit. (And even then, things like stress, diet/exercise, and other medications can affect how those cycles play out!)

I can't say for sure how exactly different oral contraceptives will affect your body and give you side affects, as each person's body can interact slightly differently to the same medications. But I will say that if you return to this 3/1 method and find that you're still experiencing spotting or other side affects that you don't like, you can always return to your healthcare provider and try something different! There are literally hundreds of different oral contraceptives (and non-oral contraceptives) that can provide the same benefits with slightly different hormonal ratios and side effects.

I hope this helps!

Thanks so much for the reply. I started to really bleed last night even before I stopped taking the active pills and oddly this morning I had no bleeding. I decided to stop the active pills this a.m. and will go back to taking them in a week. Hopefully I will have a regular breakthrough bleed in a few days and my body can get back on track. I have an appointment at the end of November to see my gynaecologist and I will address what’s been happening with her then and see if we should chance the type of bc. Thanks again!