Regardless of the birth control pill you are taking, per FDA guidelines and standard GYN practice:

• If you start the pill in the first five days of menstrual bleeding, no backup method is needed.
• If you start the pill at any other time in your cycle, use a backup method of birth control, like condoms or abstinence from vaginal sex, for the first seven days of that first pack.

You can confirm this information by checking the FDA insert that came with your birth control pill, or by calling your prescriber or pharmacist.

For reasons of patient error, some health care providers recommend that new users, particularly teens, use a back up method for a month because of the increased possibility of missing a pill, not because the pills, when taken as directed, take that long to start to work.

In other countries, patient package inserts may differ. For instance, a link to prescribing information for Diane 35 and Diane 35 ED lists three different rules for timing of effectiveness in the same package insert. See link below for full information.

If you take your pills each day, your odds of pregnancy are low. Of 1000 couples using the pill for birth control for a year, three couples will have a pregnancy. However, most people aren't perfect; of 1000 couples using the pill typically for a year, 30 will get pregnant.

After missing a pill, some women will have breakthrough bleeding. Even if you have bleeding or spotting, continue to take the pill as scheduled. Stopping it will only prolong the bleeding and increase your risk of pregnancy. Also, your next withdrawal bleed may be a little late or different.

If you forget a pill, follow the instructions below. This is the most current information, found at the "related link": If you're on a combination pill with 30 or 35 mcg of estrogen

• If you missed one or two pills or started the new pack one or two days late, there is no reason to use the morning after pill, and you don't need additional protection against pregnancy.

If you're on a combination pill with 20 mcg of estrogen or less

• If you missed one pill or started the new pack one day late, there is no reason to use the morning after pill, and you don't need additional protection against pregnancy.

If you're on the progesterone-only pill

• Consider using the morning after pill if you're late with your pill by more than three hours. Use a backup method until you've taken two pills in two days (after levonorgestrel) or 14 pills in 14 days (if you took ulipristal for emergency contraception).

If missing a birth control pill is a frequent problem for you, or if preventing pregnancy is very important to you, consider changing to one of the highly effective methods, like the IUD or the implant, rather than the mid-level pill.

When you stop taking birth control pills you will experience a withdrawal bleed, just like you would on your placebo or pill-free week. As usual, that might look like:

• Spotting of blood in underwear.
• Brown vaginal discharge.
• Brown blood when you wipe or in underwear.
• Normal period bleeding.
• Light vaginal bleeding.
• Red or pinkish colored blood in underwear when you wipe.

Your regular period may arrive 4 to 6 weeks after the withdrawal bleeding. Once you're off the pill, your periods are likely to return to the same pattern before you were on the pill; if your periods were irregular before, they are likely to be irregular after stopping the pill.

If you go more than three months without a period, and are not on hormonal birth control, see your health care provider for advice.

Study after study shows that there are no clinically significant drug interactions* between the vast majority of antibiotics and the birth control pill. Anecdotal evidence from health care providers has led some to recommend using a backup method of birth control for a week after using antibiotics. Long-term use (as for acne) does not increase the risk of pregnancy. There are a few antibiotics, such as rifampin and griseofulvin and some HIV medications, that do interact. The safest approach is to check with your health care provider or pharmacist for advice specific to your situation.

*While some antibiotics may slightly change the absorption of estrogen in the gut, these changes are not enough to change how well the birth control pill works, with the exceptions noted above.

Taken from the newsletter: "Pharmacist's Letter" November 11, 2002

TRUTH:

Women have been warned for decades to use backup contraception when taking oral contraceptives and antibiotics together.

This all started back in the '70s when a few women on oral contraceptives took rifampin and then got pregnant.

Additional anecdotal reports started popping up, suggesting that other antibiotics might be related to unwanted pregnancies in women taking oral contraceptives.

One theory was that antibiotics killed gut bacteria, which are involved in estrogen absorption.

Researchers later discovered that rifampin and griseofulvin actually increase the metabolism of oral contraceptives, making them less effective.

But the evidence for other antibiotics is shaky.

In fact, oral contraceptive levels are not DECREASED by most antibiotics...tetracycline, doxycycline, ampicillin, quinolones, and metronidazole.

Oral contraceptive levels are actually INCREASED by some antibiotics...erythromycin...clarithromycin...and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.

There's growing evidence that most women taking antibiotics with oral contraceptives do NOT have an increased risk of getting pregnant.

But most package inserts still warn that another form of contraception is needed when starting antibiotics.

Explain to women taking oral contraceptives that there can be up to a 3% failure rate, regardless of antibiotic use.

A small number of women might be predisposed to a higher failure rate due to genetic metabolic variations...but it's difficult to determine who these women are.

To be on the safe side, tell women to continue using backup contraception during the entire course of antibiotics and for 7 days after.

Explain that sickness or antibiotic side effects such as diarrhea or vomiting can increase oral contraceptive failure.

If by "a week early," you mean that the date keeps changing every month, this is normal when using the pill. If instead you mean that you have bleeding during the third week of active pills, here's some information.

• In the first three months of using the birth control pill, unexpected or unscheduled bleeding can be a side effect. If it lasts longer than three months, or is troublesome to you, contact your health care provider, who can change the pill based on the complaints you have.
• If you've recently started any herbal medications, herbal recreational drugs, or other medications, contact your pharmacist or health care provider to make sure there are no drug interactions that would explain the breakthrough bleeding.
• If you have taken the pills correctly, and aren't on interfering medications or supplements, breakthrough bleeding is not a sign that the pill is not effective. If you haven't missed any pills, there's no special need to use a backup method during the bleeding or during the placebo week (although a second method like condoms will provide additional protection against pregnancy, as well as disease).
• You should continue to take your pills on schedule regardless of any bleeding.
• You will probably not have a week of bleeding on active pills followed by a week of bleeding on placebo pills. If you have bleeding during placebo pills, you can start the next pack's active pills early without any increased risk of pregnancy, if you prefer, but doing so is not medically necessary.

If you take your pills each day, your odds of pregnancy are low. Of 1000 couples using the pill for birth control for a year, three couples will have a pregnancy. However, most people aren't perfect; of 1000 couples using the pill typically for a year, 30 will get pregnant.

After missing a pill, some women will have breakthrough bleeding. Even if you have bleeding or spotting, continue to take the pill as scheduled. Stopping it will only prolong the bleeding and increase your risk of pregnancy. Your next withdrawal bleed may be late or different.

If you forget your pills for two days, follow the instructions below. This is the most current information, found at the "related link":

If you're on a combination pill with 30 or 35 mcg of estrogen:

• If you missed one or two pills or started the new pack one or two days late, there is no reason to use the morning after pill, and you don't need additional protection against pregnancy.

If you're on a combination pill with 20 mcg of estrogen or less

• If you missed two or more active pills, or started the pack two days late, or had sex before you had taken seven pills during your very first pack, be sure to take additional steps to prevent pregnancy. Use the morning after pill if you already had sex. Use condoms or abstain from vaginal sex until you've taken the pill correctly for seven days in a row (if you took levnorgestrel emergency contraception) or fourteen days in a row (if you took ulipristal). If you're in the last week (days 15-21) of active pills, don't skip a week (Days 22-28 or use inactive pills), go straight to the new pill packet - again 7 pills in 7 days after levonorgestrel, or 14 pills in 14 days after ullipristal.

If you're on the progesterone-only pill

• Consider using the morning after pill if you're late with your pill by more than three hours. Use a backup method until you've taken two pills in two days (after levonorgestrel) or 14 pills in 14 days (if you took ullipristal for emergency contraception).

If missed pills are a recurring problem for you, or if it is very important for you to prevent pregnancy, consider changing to one of the highly-effective methods like the implant or IUD, rather than using the mid-level birth control pill.

You can start the birth control pill at any time in your cycle. The quick start approach is the current standard of care. Studies show that starting the pill as soon as you get it decreases the risk of pregnancy and increases the risk of continuing the pill.

If you're starting the birth control pill in the first five days of menstrual bleeding, you have immediate protection. If you're starting at any other time in your cycle, use a back up method of birth control, like condoms or abstinence from vaginal sex, for the first seven days of the first cycle.

Regardless of the birth control pill you are taking, per FDA guidelines and standard GYN practice:

• If you start the pill in the first five days of menstrual bleeding, no backup method is needed.
• If you start the pill at any other time in your cycle, use a backup method of birth control, like condoms or abstinence from vaginal sex, for the first seven days of that first pack.
  

Yes, it's fine to skip sugar tablets. Doing so does not increase your risk of pregnancy. This is true whether you're asking:

• Is it OK if I don't eat the sugar pills, but take a seven-day break (or a shorter one); and
• Is it OK if I start the new pack immediately after taking the last active pill, and throwing the rest of the last pack away.

While you can do this with any combination birth control pill, you can't do it with the mini-pill (also known as the progestin-only pill, with US brand names like Micronor or Errin). The minipill has no sugar pills, so you should take every pill in the pack.

Also, if you're on a triphasic pill (typically one that has more than two colors in the pack) you may find that you have more trouble with breakthrough bleeding or unscheduled spotting. Skipping is easier with monophasic pills. Examples of monophasics include Alesse, Brevicon, Demulen, Desogen, Genora, Levlen, Levlite, Loestrin, Lo/Ovral, ModiCon, Necon, Nordette, Norethin, Norinyl, Ortho-Cyclen, Ortho-Novum 1/35, Ovcon, Ovral, Portia and Zovia.

You don't actually have your "period" when you're on birth control because the pills work by changing your hormones and preventing the egg from being released. If you have a shorter break or no break, your lining doesn't build up more, so it doesn't lead to heavier periods during the next cycle.

Although it may be unhealthy to have no period if you're not on hormonal contraception, the risk of overgrowth of the uterine lining is prevented by the hormonal birth control pill, so it does not increase the risk of endometrial cancer (on the contrary, it lowers that risk).

There are many reasons why a woman may choose to skip the sugar pills. These include:

• Timing bleeding for increased convenience
• Avoiding menstrual migraine or premenstrual syndrome, which for many women recurs with the pill-free interval.
• Treatment of endometriosis
• Reducing menstrual cramping
• Avoiding menstural bleeding in women with cognitive disabilities or other conditions and who experience fear with their menstrual period.
• Increasing effectiveness against pregnancy (particularly with pills with very low estrogen content)

• Skipping the placebos occasionally for convenience.
• Taking two or three packs of active pills (that is, six or nine weeks) without a break, then stopping for seven days or fewer to have a withdrawal bleed. (Seasonale and Seasonique are examples of pills in a special pack to facilitate this plan. They are not new or special medications; they have the same content as other pills already on the market. Their only difference is the packaging of 84 active pills and 7 inactive pills).
• Taking sugar pills as scheduled until the first day of bleeding, and then starting the next active pack on that day. (Women who experience menstrual migraine but still want monthly bleeding find this helpful.)
• Taking birth control pills continuously for months or years, without using any sugar pills. (Lybrel is a birth control pill packaged this way. Like Seasonale and Seasonique, it does not represent a new form of birth control pill, but only an alternative kind of packaging.)

• Myth: The pill has a placebo period built in because it's medically necessary. In fact, the placebo period was built in as a marketing device when the pill was first formulated; it was assumed that women would want to see monthly bleeding as evidence that the pill was working.
• Myth: It is dangerous to skip more than X periods in a row. In fact, Seasonale, Seasonique, and Lybrel are marketing responses to advice commonly offered to women by their health care providers: you can skip as many as you like.
• Myth: You should only skip placebos if you're on one of the above-mentioned pills that are built for this purpose. In fact, these pills contain the exact same ingredients in the exact same doses as other 21- or 28-day pills on the market.
• Myth: If you skip periods, the pill will be less effective. In fact, skipping placebos lowers the risk of pregnancy. Without the pill-free interval, your body has a lower risk of starting to ripen an egg. Bleeding on birth control pills is never a sign that the pill is working or not working.
• Myth: If you try to skip periods and then bleed, it means the pill is not preventing pregnancy. In fact, skipping placebos lowers the risk of pregnancy. Without the pill-free interval, your body has a lower risk of starting to ripen an egg. Bleeding on birth control pills is never a sign that the pill is working or not working.
• Myth: You should not try to skip periods if you are using triphasic or biphasic pills. In fact, there's no harm in trying, but if you experience breakthrough bleeding, you may want to ask your health care provider to change your prescription to a monophasic pill.
• Myth: You shouldn't skip placebo pills until you've been on the pill for a certain number of months. In fact, this recommendation has no basis in science, and the pills like Seasonale and Lybrel can be used by a woman who has never been on birth control before.
• Myth: If you don't take the placebo pills and shed the lining, your body can't "clean" itself. In fact, the lining doesn't build up much when on hormonal birth control, and there's no special need to "clean out." That's why hormonal birth control lowers, not raises, the risk of endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer, even in those methods like Depo Provera or Mirena in which periods usually stop.

Bottom line: talk to your health care provider about the real risks and benefits of skipping placebos or shortening the pill-free interval. You can confirm the above information with your health care provider, pharmacist, or by checking respected sources such as Contraceptive Technology or the related links provided here.

First, remember that you can get pregnant even if you take the birth control pill perfectly. If you're on the combination pill, taking it a few hours early or late won't make a big difference. If you're on the progestin only pill, it's critical that you take it at the same time. Contact your pharmacist or health care provider for advice specific to your situation.

It is much better to stick to a particular time of day for taking the pill--you are much less likely to miss it or skip it. Missed pills can lead to their being less effective and increases your chances of getting pregnant.

Changing to a method that doesn't require you to do something daily will give you better protection against pregnancy. In addition, you can use a phone alarm or a reminder system like bedsider or ICYC to remind you to take your birth control pill each day.

Birth control pills can be started at anytime in your cycle, in which case you'll need to use a back up method of contraception, like abstinence from vaginal sex or condoms, for at least seven days.

The other option is to start the pill with your period (or the first Sunday following the first day of your period). If you start the pill on the first day of bleeding, you'll have immediate protection from pregnancy; otherwise, you should use a back up method for seven days as described above.

The time in your cycle when you start the pill has no impact on side effects like irregular bleeding.

Traditionally, women in the US started the birth control pill on Sunday. This has an obvious disadvantage - your health care provider's office is closed on Sunday, and many women start their pill late when they notice too late that they're out of pills. Do yourself a favor and consider starting on a weekday, as they do in most other countries.

You usually get your period when you start taking the sugar pills, but you can miss your period on the birth control pills for a number of reasons:

• Bleeding is supposed to be lighter when you are on the pill and last for a shorter period of time. Sometimes bleeding can be so light that it's absent or unnoticable. Some women find this helpful, and others find it disturbing. It is not dangerous, but if you find it stressful, talk with your health care provider about a possible pill change.
• Some birth control makes you have your period 3 or 4 times a year. If you don't know, do some research about your birth control or ask your health care provider.
• Not getting your period could obviously mean pregnancy. If you've missed pills, or if you have symptoms of pregnancy, take a home pregnancy test.
• If you threw away the placebo pills (sugar pills) and started your next pack immediately, skipping your periods is normal.
• If you're on the progesterone-only pill (e.g. Micronor or Nora-B), not having withdrawal bleeding is normal.
• There's no danger in starting the pill for the first time in between period, but it might increase the risk of having no withdrawal bleeding at the end of the first pack.
• If you missed a pill or two and then doubled up, you can have a late or missed period, even though you did the right thing.

To be accurate, you do not have periods while using combined birth control pills; instead, you have a withdrawal bleed because you're no longer putting the hormones in your body.
It shouldn't it should just regulate it.

I have only been on birth control for a month (Ocella), it made me nausea and tired all the time. also very bad mood swings. While on the pill I had my period for 26/28 days. Since stopping the pill, however, I have yet to actually get my period back. I have read that it can take 1-3 months after stopping the pill to start ovulating and getting your period back to normal. Does this still happen for people who have only taken the pill for 1 month? I am only a week late than I usually am. My face has broken out, I have lower back pain, and breast tenderness, all my normal menstrual symptoms, just without the period!
i was on the pill for 4 yrs, as soon as i stopped taking the pill i had a period.i have had regular and on time periods since. But i do think it varies with each individual. Hope this helps
I was on Depo-Provera for 9 months. It's been 3 months since I stopped using it for birth control and I haven't gotten a period yet.

Not having to worry about taking birth control daily did not make up for the side-effects I endured (thinning hair and a 70-pound weight gain). My doctor has told me that it could take up to a year to get a normal period.
It can take anywhere from a few days to a week or more. If it takes too long to arrive, you may want to talk to your gynecologist.
After you stop the pill, patch, or ring, you typically have some withdrawal bleeding. If you don't start the next pack, your body will get ready to ovulate again. If your periods were regular before using the pill, patch, or ring, you will probably get a period 4-6 weeks after your withdrawal bleeding. If they were irregular before using hormonal birth control, you'll probably go back being irregular.
Not necessarily. You may start your period early or spot. However, you should start your period at the usual time with no problems. If there are any problems, call your doctor.
Yes you may get longer, heavier periods. Until your body gets back to it's usual function minus the birth control there is a good chance your period will be effected.
if you have been on birth control for years then it can take 3-6 months to straighten out good luck
It can take anything from 4 weeks to a year for birth control toleave your body it depends on your system

I have been taking the pill for over 10 years, and stopped taking just over 10 weeks ago. I still havent got my first normal period! and have taken 3 preg tests so it cant be that! we are being careful anyway. does anyone know how long is normal until you get your first normal period after stopping the pill? Thanks.

I stopped taking the pill and my period didn't come back straight away either. I googled it and heard anything up to 3 months was normal, so I waited 3 months before going to my doctor. At 3 months, my doctor did some hormone blood tests (they came back showing my hormone levels were normal, but if they were abnormal she would have prescribed medication) and told me that everyone is different. Some girls get their period the very next day, most get it within 3 months, but its still normal to have to wait up to 12 months. She told me to come back at the 6 month mark for more blood tests if I still hadn't gotten my period.

6 months to the day, I got my period. Glad that's over and done with!

If you haven't already done so, you should go to your doctor for a checkup and blood tests, but also know that it is within normal boundaries until you hit the 12 month mark.

Within a month.

Every one is different but for me, I just got off birth control - i only took it for 4 days because it made me so sick -and what do u know --2 days later I'm on my period again and it's so weird cause i just got off my period 2 weeks ago.

I was taking birth control for years. I stopped taking them second week on a Saturday and It came exactly one week later.When I was suppose to get it.

Answer

I have been on BCP for 8 years and stopping taking it in January about 11 months ago. I had irregular periods for about 8 months but havn't gotten my period since August, 3 months. I too have taken pregnancy tests and all are negative and always use condoms with my boyfriend. I'm getting a little nervous about going 3 months but sinc eyou posted 12 months can happen I am set at ease a little.
I stopped taking cerazette 10 weeks ago and I still haven't had a period. I spoke to my doctor and she said it can vary from person to person and can take anything from 3 months to a year to return!