Is the pill the reason for my irregular bleeding?

Question

On a recent travelling trip, i left all of my pills in a hostel [duh!] so i got some more in australia. In my last pill week i was on antibiotics and because i had no pills i had the pill free week which you arent supposed to do. I was given a new brand called Norimin [i used to take loestrin] which has the same ingredients in as the previous brand but now i am bleeding when i shouldnt be. I had a chlamidiya and gonorrhea test which came back negtive. Does anybody know why this could be? Did the antibiotics mess it up or is it the pill brand? Ive been on the pill for two and a half years.

Answer 1

I think it was probably a mixture of the week off the pill and the antibiotics has probably caused the breakthrough bleeding. I used to have trouble taking my pill regularly so this has happened to me before. If you are still worried do see a doctor.

Answer 2

What? So, you were taking pills and then you lost them, so you stopped taking pills mid-pack and had a week without pills?? That would cause bleeding.

I've never heard that you're not supposed to have the week off because of antibiotics, is that what you mean? You're just supposed to use condoms or back up contraceptives for awhile.

The antibiotics and being sick could have caused some unusual bleeding too. Or if you're taking some herbal medications like St. John's wort or taking medicine that stops the pill from working properly like anti-seizure/mood stabilizing medication.

If your new brand has the exact same ingrediants, you shouldn't have a problem, since you didn't really switch medications. If the brand isn't exactly the same, you may have bleeding because you need to adjust to this new brand.

Answer 3

Changing brands of pills, even if they have the same ingredients as the other can also cause irregular bleeding as can antibiotics.

I would recommend getting in touch with your doctor to let them know what's going on so that they can evaluate the situation further.