i've been on birth control for about a year and a half. i started out taking Loestrin 24fe. While i was on it i would start my sugar pills on a sunday and my 'monthly' would arrive by the 3rd or 4th day. since switching to a cheaper brand, Orthotrycyclen Lo i haven't been starting my 'monthly' until the 6th or 7th sugar pill. is this safe / normal?! i'm just curious, and no i'm not pregnant. i know this for a positive, i was tested last month while visiting my ob/gyn. does this happen to anyone else? i've tried googling it to find similar stories, but everyones said 'oh i'm my 4th sugar pill in and still no 'monthly' .. everyone suggests they may be pregnant, but what do you do if you're not? i'm just nervous. is it safe to be starting on your 6th or 7th sugar pill? i'm just curious. alright sorry, i'm rambling now :-P

I don't think it's something to be too worried about, as long as it is still happening regularly every cycle ( and you take your pills everyday on time). I think you're fine. I would read the fine print in the instructions that came with your prescription throughly...sometimes that can clear up questions about things like this.

Remember, the pill causes you to no longer ovulate-so the 'period' you get is just a withdrawal bleed from the hormones. I don't see any reason that it wouldn't be 'safe' for it to start later during the placebo week.

Also, google is not your friend when it comes to this stuff. The pill is 99% effective when taken properly and it is not likely that you will ever get pregnant while using it because it stops ovulation from occurring. Yes, it happens to 1%, lots of people have stories, etc. (I'm sure someone may even reply to me with one)but it's still not likely-so don't stress yourself out needlessly. If you are getting a period every month, even if it is a few days into the placebo pills, you're okay.

It's normal, when I was on microgynon 30 my with drawl bleed was on the last day of my week off, brill!

I had a similar problem on Othotricyclen Lo, only I was on it for two months, and never got a period. It absolutely screwed my cycle up.

The first month everything was okay. But then it got really bad. Besides giving me terrible hot flashes and making me feel like I was tripping on something (as in I was aware of myself and my surroundings, but i'd catch myself saying things I didnt want to say.) It was horrible. I had never been on any pill before (I was eighteen at the time, and had never had sex.) so I figured it was just my body adjusting. When I didn't get my period the second month, I stopped taking it. I had finished off the sugar pills, and was due to start a new pack. I didn't take it, because I wanted to get my period. It never came, and it took about six for me to get my period again.

I stopped taking birth control pills all together after that. I don't know if it was the brand, or if it was me. But it scared the shit out of me.
Although I never had any problems when I was on the patch. I guess you just never know :P

But I say you know your body, if you feel like something is wrong, then I'd call my doctor and just ask about it. If they prescribe a certain brand to you, I'm sure they've prescribed it to other patients. Perhaps they had similar issues as well?

Never hurts to find out!

I'm on Orthotrycyclen and I normally don't start til like the 5th sugar pill, but im done by time I start the hormone pills again.

I took orthotrycyclen lo and got pregnant with my daughter haha, but when I did have my periods on it, it came like the 4th or 5th sugar pill. I took it religiously, it just didnt work for me.

see, now that i have posted this. i'm on my 6th sugar / placebo pill and STILL no sign of my period! :( *sigh* i guess, i'll just have to wait and see if it comes later today or tomorrow. btw, i know i'm not pregnant (i havent had sex in well over a month!) lol

Its probably your body getting adjusted to the pill. I was on the pill, but now I'm on the patch. So much easier lol.

I tke that pill and I don't start my period until the fourth day of taking the sugar pill. It happens this way every month so I guess it is normal as long as it is consistant.

I'm on the same pill, and I do not start until that time as well. I think it's just everyone's cycle is different regardless and everyone starts on different days. I wouldn't worry about it, but if you are worried ask your ob/gyn next time you have an appointment. Good luck.

i took ortotrycyclen lo and i got pregnant on it

Yeah I'm on a low dose birth control, and I sometimes don't even have a period. It's completely normal though, I have talked to my doctor about it and he said it's normal for girls to have periods that way especially for people like me who have been on it for a while.

I do not know jack about this.... but one thing has me curious so I must ask. Sugar pill? Like a placebo? :-o

yeah the sugar ones are really only there so you stay in the rhythm of taking the pills. i never bother taking them, i just skip that week whilst i'm on my period, then go back to the pills once the periods over.

Ahhhh ok. That makes sense. Please forgive my ignorance on this subject. /bow

heh happy to enlighten. yeah i asked my doctor when i first got them if they were necessary to take and she said they were just to help remind you to take a pill every day, but they pretty much do nothing. if i could remember to start taking the pill again once my period was over then the sugar ones were redundant.

Lots of brands over here don't even come with sugar pills. They just come in packs of 21 and when you finish you take a week off before starting the next pack. I've been on two different types of pill and I've never had sugar pills.

i've only ever been on one brand. i think there are a few that don't have sugar pills.

I *think* that over here the sugar tablets only come with mini pills *could be wrong there though*
I can only take the mini pill and they come with the sugar tablets, which is good because I'd just forget when to take it lol!

No I got sugar tablets with Femodene over here, which is a combined pill. Never took them though; didn't see the point. I'm quite good at staying on top of it.

some of us skip those pills altogether so we do not have a period except when we want to... Although this isnt something that women who want to have more children anytime soon ought to do from what my limited understanding is - as it takes your body longer to resume a "proper" cycle after stopping the pills.

I do that occassionally if I'm going away or have an exam or something and it's an inconvenient time for a period.

thats why I first started to do it. Was about to go on holiday and didn't want to deal with a period while on a romantic beach get-away with my hubby, and then again at my reunion for HS - then my doc said if I wanted to I could do it all the time as long as I allowed a period a few times (atleast 3-4 times) a year

I was going to just go straight into my next month of pills, and skip the period week. But my mom said it'll screw my body all up... Opinions?

It hasnt mine - and I have been doing it both with the patch for 4 years and now with the pill - for a combined 6 years. But then I am done having children.
The only thing both my doc's have said is that for women who will later want children it will take longer after doing it - to get your body back on a regular cycle... But no its safe. Otherwise there wouldnt be pills like the seasonal and Yazmine etc.... I know most of my friends both who will want more children and who don't who take the pill do it.
My daughter because of how badly she gets cramps now does it too on the advice of her doctor. Its just very important to allow a period at least a few times a year.