No period on BC?

[natcmau]

Hello!

I'm on tri-previfem 28 and have been for a few months now. My boyfriend and I use both oral contraceptives as well as condoms when we have sex because we wanna be really responsible. I'm on my third day of placebo pills and have yet to have my period. I bought a home pregnancy test to check and make sure because I was recently on the antibitoic ciprofloxacin for a UTI and didn't know if those had decreased the effectiveness of my BC pills. The test was negative. If my period doesn't come soon, I'll take the other pregnancy test to be sure, but I'm almost positive I'm not pregnant (though there's always that anxiety...). If that's not it, why am I not getting my period?

Thanks.

[Heather]

Can I ask how many months you have been using the pill, and how your withdrawal bleeds (the "period" you get on the pill) have been from the start? Have they been a bit sporadic -- as they often are when just starting a hormonal method -- or are you expecting that bleed now because up until now, it's come by then per the timing with the placebos?

[natcmau]

I've been using them since August of this year. The first month was a very heavy period, but since then, it's been light... sometimes just a brownish discharge for a few days and then actual bleeding for two days and then it's done.

[Heather]

Right, but timing wise, has it always come well before this timing with your placebos? I say "well before," because on or off the pill, it's standard for cycles to deviate by a day or two often for most people. So, if this is just a few days later than usual, no need to assume anything at all is up (and you already know from that test that pregnancy isn't what's up), it's probably just a minor difference from the previous cycle if this timing is a little different.

[natcmau]

My periods have always been pretty sporadic. There's never been any real rhyme or reason behind them- one of the many reasons I chose to go on birth control. They've been coming at the beginning of every month since I've taken the pill, usually by day 2.

[natcmau]

Did I take the pregnancy test too early? How likely is it for sperm to come out of the top of a condom?

[Heather]

Semen is not going to come out of the top of the condom unless the condom breaks during use.

If you have taken your pill properly and used condoms properly, you are not pregnant. Which isn't a shocker, because your test told you that already.

You also make clear your periods have frequently been irregular. It's day three of your placebo pills now, you say they have been coming around day two. So, you are not even late yet -- "late," with periods or withdrawal bleeds is when it's been at least five days longer than the very LATEST you expect it.

In other words, there's no reason to assume anything unusual is going on here at all. Like I said, cycles most often deviate by a day or two for people, sometimes more from cycle to cycle.

[Heather]

(I also just looked at your post history, and you reported that last cycle's withdrawal bleed didn't happen until the Wednesday of your placebo week, too. So, this cyclek, so far, isn't even any different than your last cycle.)