Missed Period on Birth Control

Missing your periods while on birth control pills does not necessarily mean that you are pregnant. It is normal for ladies who had been using hormone-based birth control pills, and may experience light bleeding or no bleeding at all for a couple of months. If you have been taking such contraceptives and have not skipped any pill throughout the month and do not have any other pregnancy symptom, such as breast tenderness, fatigue, vomiting, nausea, increased urination or breast enlargement, there is no need to get worried if you miss a period. Instead, you should start taking the next package of the pills at the appropriate time.

If you did not miss any of the pills, but have missed your periods for two months consecutively, you should seek medical attention or get a home pregnancy test kit to ascertain whether you are pregnant. However, the probability that you are pregnant in this case is very low and you should not stop taking the pills, unless instructed to do so by the doctor. If you missed a pill or two and have missed your period, you should also have a pregnancy test conducted on you.

Adjustment Phase

The moment you introduce these hormone based contraceptives into the body, the body undergoes certain changes. Before the body can become accustomed to the pills, you may either miss your periods or experience light bleeding instead of the seven-day regular cycle. This adjustment period may run for several months before the cycle becomes regular.

Inactive Pill

Basically, most birth regulation pills have about four inactive pills known as the placebo pills. In some cases, women may skip taking these pills and instead start another pack of active pills in a bid to prolong the menstrual cycle. In other cases, you may skip the placebo pills accidentally. Whichever the case, this will make you miss your period.

Seasonal Cycle

Some birth control pills are designed to reduce the frequency of menstrual periods. In such a case, the users will have fewer cycles, as few as four cycles a year. This implies that you need to be careful while selecting the pills to use and clearly understand how they work and what effect they will have on your cycles.

Changes in Lifestyle

Sudden changes in your lifestyle, such as sudden weight loss or gain, stress and changes in diet or living conditions, is known to affect the menstrual cycle in ladies. Additionally, such changes may even make you miss the period altogether, whether you are on the pills or not. Such abrupt changes will affect your health, which will then affect the menstrual cycle.

Conception

Though rare, it is possible to get pregnant while on birth control pills. A small percentage of ladies get pregnant despite their regular intake of birth control pills. However, this may be due to the lady failed to take the pills appropriately. If you did not follow the instructions on the pack of the pill or missed a pill and had unprotected sex, it is possible that you missed your period because you are pregnant. To rule out this possibility, you should have a pregnancy test conducted either at home or by your doctor.

What could be the problem, if you stopped taking the pills and your period has not resumed?

While no period on birth control may be a normal occurrence, missing the period for several months after you have stopped taking the pills may be due to post-pill amenorrhea. When introduced into the body, the birth control pills regulate the production of hormones responsible for ovulation and menstruation in the body. Once you stop taking the pills, the body will take some time to re-adjust and start producing these hormones. This normally takes up to three months. However, some ladies experience delayed menstrual cycles for a longer period, especially the ladies who use pills to regulate their menstrual cycles. If you do not get your periods for more than three months, you should get a pregnancy test conducted and seek medical advice on the same.

Can you use birth control pills to delay or eliminate your period?

It is possible to regulate or even eliminate your menstrual cycle entirely using pills. Initially, birth control pill packages were comprised of 21 active hormonal pills and seven placebo pills. During the seven days when the ladies were taking the placebo pills, they would experience a normal menstrual cycle. Today, ladies have a wide scope of options when it comes to birth control pills, ranging from the 24 day active pills along with four placebo pill days to the extended-cycle pill regimens. The extended regime pills will administer active pills every day for three months and then a week of placebo pills, during which the lady is supposed to experience menstruation. Controlling your cycles with pills is beneficial in that it makes you avoid all the inconveniences that come with menstruation. However, you may experience unscheduled spotting or even bleeding before the body becomes accustomed to the pills.

Do you need special pills or can you use ordinary birth control pills to prevent having a period?

Although you may continually use the ordinary birth control pills to control menstruation, there are pill regimens that are specifically designed for this purpose. Such pill regimens are used to regulate or prevent bleeding for different periods, such as three months or even a year. To use the ordinary birth control pills to regulate menstruation, you should skip the placebo pills and start the next pack of pills for the period you intend to delay the menstruation. Triggering missed period on pill requires a continued use of the birth control pills. For better results, you should use monophasic pill for this purpose.

Do birth control pills cause weight gain?

It is a misconception among many ladies today that birth control pills contribute to increased body weight. However, various studies have revealed that this is not actually possible. According to experts, the effects of birth control pills on the body weight are minimal, if any. However, the pills may make the body retain more fluids, hence making you feel as if you are gaining weight. This effect is particularly on the thighs, hips and breasts. The estrogen hormone in these pills can also make the adipose cells larger, but not cause weight gain.