im on the contraceptive pill (microgynon) and want to know if its possible to take one pack straight after the other with no break so i can miss a period while im on holiday? and will the pill still be effective if i do?
2006-12-28 01:11:35 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Women's Health
I used to do this occasionally when I was on the pill. It was always fine for me.
2006-12-28 01:13:35 · answer #1 · answered by mcfifi 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes. I have done it many times. Sometimes you can have a bit of spotting during the second pack, but this is normal.
Some women choose to have a "period" just once a year. They just continue taking their pills until they decide to stop for 7 days between packages based upon their schedule.
The new seasonale pill is exactly the same as taking 3 packs of pills in a row, that is why you are only supposed to get 4 periods in a year. The only reason they have the "7 non active" pills at the end of the 84pill pack is because surveys showed women were uncomfortable not having a period, 4 times a year seemed to be the average people were happy with.
2006-12-28 06:18:20 · answer #2 · answered by Firefly 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is perfectly safe to do, as a one-off, or occasionally.
Reasons NOT to do it are the same as reasons NOT to use oral contraceptives: if you are over 30, if you smoke, if breast-cancer runs in your family, any STI, even the remotest possibility of pregnancy (which is there if you miss 1 -- count it, ONE -- pill, in a month).
BTW, the original b/c pills didn't have the 'week off'. That was put in, because the women who were taking them were a bit freaked out by not having their cycles. This is back in the dim, dark, uneducated 1960s. The bleeding while on the sugar tablets is not a proper period -- usually lighter and shorter than it otherwise would be.
Now, we know that sustained level of hormones can be very risky, especially for women with the known risk-factors. Most b/c is tapered-dosage, now, to provide the minimum necessary hormones for prevention of pregnancy. The week of sugar pills is part of that 'minimum', so taking packs back-to-back and missing the break from the hormones entirely is NOT healthy, in the long-term.
Short-term, have fun! DO NOT FORGET: birth-control pills do not protect you from Sexually Transmitted Infections. ALWAYS practise safer-sex, using a spermicide and a condom. Leave nothing to chance. Unsafe sex can KILL YOU.
(The above public-health rant brought to you by someone who knew more than 200 people who had died of AIDS, by the time she was 19, when no one knew what AIDS was. The younger generation seem to think 'It can't happen to me'. I'm reminding you, it could. Be safe, not sorry.)
2006-12-28 09:30:40 · answer #3 · answered by protectrikz 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I used to take the same Pill and yes, you can run two or more packs together without a break. It's still effective and it never had any side effects for me.
I'm told you can sometimes get "breakthrough bleeding" if you do it for too many months, although you are still protected from pregnancy. Never happened to me.
I don't think it's harmful to keep taking it without a break. Having the one-week gap is because women apparently prefer to feel "normal" by continuing to have monthly periods. (I say apparently because I don't know anyone who wouldn't gladly wave goodbye to them. I bet it was a male doctor who came up with that particular piece of psychobollocks.)
2006-12-28 01:29:50 · answer #4 · answered by Snakey B 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
really you should ask the Doc but a one off won't hurt
someone told me that they had heard in other countries it is the norm to constantly take the pill & just have 3 / 4 periods a year
personally I took it straight through lots of times like to go on holiday etc & I was fine but if you feel ill you should stop
There is also a pill (simliar to the contraceptive pill) that the doctor will prescribe for you if you ask (they don't mind that you want it for convenience!) that purposely delays your period for a while.
If I were you I would ring your health centre & ask them to check with the Doctor for you. He/she will probably say it's fine but you'll know for sure just in case you can't do it with certain types of the pill
2006-12-28 01:15:55 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes you can. I've done it for the same reason and had no problems. And it is still just as effective. It's not unhealthy either. They actually have birth control pills now where you take them for 3 months without a period. And I've heard of people skipping periods for even longer.
2006-12-28 01:26:22 · answer #6 · answered by Mrs_M 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can, and you'll probably be OK. I used to shift my pills around (years ago, don't need 'em no more!) with no ill effects. What I used to do in your situation was get the period over with before the holiday, then start again so my holiday was period free.
I didn't do it often, and you shouldn't treat this as medical advice, but I did do it with no ill effects
2006-12-31 22:55:56 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have done it before, when on vacation. I just skipped my period that month. I don't do it regularly, but I think it is ok every once and a while. I am sure that as long as you are taking the pills correctly, that they are effective during this time.
2006-12-28 01:14:28 · answer #8 · answered by April 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yeh u can if u dont want to have a period then just have a break the next month. yeh the pill will just be as effective my sister was told by her doctor to do this when she was going away. but still be careful!!!
2006-12-28 01:17:57 · answer #9 · answered by kirstynicole1 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it's an easy way do do without a period. You can do this three to four times in a row before giving yourself time for a break through bleed.
2006-12-28 01:51:53 · answer #10 · answered by gordonsflower 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋