As a rule, girls and women turn to oral contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Drugs have an effect on the hormonal background, which leads to changes in the reproductive system. One of the consequences is the impossibility of pregnancy. Another plus from taking OK is the normalization of the menstrual cycle. This is especially important if it was previously unstable.
But if hormonal drugs are chosen incorrectly or the woman "appointed" them herself, the menstrual cycle becomes chaotic. If menstruation has begun while taking birth control pills, what can this be said? How to avoid a problem? Why is the cycle destabilized?
Why choose OK?
Of course, the main function of contraceptives is to protect against unwanted pregnancy. But girls and women choose this method for other reasons. The main one is the effect on the menstrual cycle. Hormonal drugs can stabilize it - menstruation will no longer be an unpleasant surprise, as a woman learns about their onset in 1-2 days.
Menstruation itself when taking OK proceeds more quickly and painlessly. Signs of PMS are more mild or almost invisible.
Another useful function of OK is that they help improve skin condition. Therefore, these contraceptives are often prescribed to girls who do not live an active sex life. The fact is that the tablets contain estrogen, which suppresses another hormone - androgen, which is responsible for the production of sebum. But OK is not a panacea for acne. After all, the causes of skin rashes are various and do not always have a hormonal nature.
How do drugs work?
While taking birth control pills, menstruation began. Why is this happening? To understand the issue, we need to imagine how these drugs affect the female body.
The composition of OK contains a certain proportion of hormones. They are the active elements here:
- When exposed to the drug, the pituitary gland blocks the production of biologically active substances that provide reproductive function.
- The aging of the follicle with the egg is inhibited. As a result, ovulation does not occur - the egg is “withdrawn” to meet the sperm. After all, this cell is not ripe, unprepared.
- The contractility of the fallopian tubes decreases. Consequently, it becomes impossible to move sperm through them.
- Cervical fluid in its composition becomes more viscous and dense. This blocks sperm from entering the uterus.
- The structure of the endometrium changes. Even if the egg has been fertilized, it cannot catch on the lining of the uterus. Why will remain without food and die.
Positive effect
If, when using birth control pills, your period came, then this is not a reason to worry. Failure of the menstrual cycle when taking OK does not always indicate serious causes of pregnancy. However, this is a sufficient reason to contact a gynecologist.
Today, specialists everywhere recommend such contraceptives as hormonal drugs to patients. The point is the obvious advantages of OK:
- Elimination of PMS. A woman ceases to suffer from severe aching pains in the lower abdomen, headaches.
- More meager menstruation. Since the body loses less blood masses, this reduces the risk of developing iron deficiency anemia.
- The likelihood of developing diseases such as endometriosis or ovarian cancer is reduced.
- If a woman already suffers from endometriosis, then OK helps to mitigate the manifestations of this disease.
- Bones become stronger, skin condition improves, acne is eliminated, hair looks healthier in appearance.
- Hormonal contraception guarantees high (but not one hundred percent) protection against unwanted pregnancy (including ectopic).
- If a woman continues to take hormonal contraceptives during premenopause, the symptoms of menopause are mitigated.
Side effects and contraindications
Can I take birth control pills during my period? All questions about an OK girl, a woman should be answered by her attending physician. After all, these are medications, the intake of which can be accompanied by side effects:
- Headache.
- Change in appetite.
- Unreasonable mood swings.
It is important to understand that hormonal drugs have a number of contraindications:
- High blood pressure.
- Risk of vascular thrombosis.
- Serious common diseases.
Changes in the body with the appointment of OK
If a woman has just started taking birth control pills, her periods may go unstable. This phenomenon should not be scared - it is observed in 80% of those who switched to hormonal contraception.
Moreover, the destabilization of the cycle is completely different in different women. It all depends on the state of their endocrine and reproductive systems:
- Too meager or, conversely, intense menstruation.
- Menstruation ends sometimes earlier, and sometimes later than the due date.
If menstruation has begun while taking birth control pills, why is this happening? We will analyze all the reasons.
Menstruation when taking hormonal contraceptives
If everything is fine with the woman’s body, when taking birth control pills, the periods go as usual. Dates are not changed.
Start taking birth control pills during your period. Usually on days 1-5 of menstruation. The nature of the discharge also does not change. When your monthly contraceptive pills are scarce, there is no reason for concern if this is the beginning of the transition to OK. Lean menstruation will continue until the next cycle. This is due to the effects of hormones that make up the OK.
If, during the administration of birth control pills, menstruation does not start on time, this is not a pathology. The first month (sometimes even 2-3 months), the body adapts to the drug. Why changes in the menstrual cycle are not an alarm. If the destabilization lasts for more than 3 months, the woman feels bad at the same time, notes other incomprehensible symptoms, there is reason to contact the doctor to change or cancel the drug.
Why does OK go through menstruation?
What caused contraceptive pills to start menstruation? Menstruation is a normal physiological process of cyclical changes in the functions of the reproductive female reproductive system. Outwardly, this is manifested by bloody uterine secretions, called menstruation, menstruation. During this cycle, the female body is being prepared for conception and pregnancy. If ovum fertilization does not occur, the cycle repeats again.
The menstrual cycle is a hormone-dependent process. Therefore, it is also affected by OK, containing hormonal elements. After menstruation (withdrawal of dead unfertilized eggs and endometrium), the female reproductive system is busy growing new eggs, which become ready for fertilization 13-14 days after the end of menstruation. If this happens, menstruation again occurs with the removal of unnecessary swollen (to fix the eggs) endometrium.
Why do menstruation go when taking birth control pills? After all, the ovaries at this time "rest", the eggs do not mature. This means that there is no ovulation. If the period went while taking birth control pills, this is not due to the death of the endometrium and the preparation of the uterus for a new menstrual cycle. This phenomenon occurs due to the body's reaction to the abolition of OK.
As a rule, according to the prescription, a woman takes a pack of funds (21 tablets). Then she takes a break of 7 days. At this time, menstruation begins. It causes a sharp decrease in the concentration of female hormones in the body, which is the reason for endometrial rejection. This phenomenon is normal. And it just says that the right contraceptive was selected for the woman.
But if there is no menstruation during the break, this requires a visit to the gynecologist. The situation indicates a hormonal failure in the body. Or about problems of a different nature. Sometimes the absence of menstruation during a break indicates the onset of pregnancy. Conception is possible, since none of the instructions for OK says that the tool provides 100% protection against pregnancy.
Sometimes conception occurs due to the fact that the patient neglected the doctor's recommendations: drank pills at the wrong time, missed their intake. Therefore, in the absence of menstruation during the break, it will not be superfluous to conduct a pregnancy test, appear on an ultrasound of the pelvic organs.
Intermenstrual discharge with OK
Often at women's forums you can find similar messages: "I take birth control pills and menstruation went - what is it?"
If we turn to medical statistics, 30% of women after switching to hormonal contraception for 3 months have an intermenstrual discharge. Sometimes this period is delayed up to six months. According to the same statistics, this is most likely to occur when taking low-dose birth control drugs (they contain no more than 20 micrograms of estrogen). Often, such a dosage is not enough to establish a stable menstrual cycle.
That is, in this case, the endometrium begins to be rejected earlier than the set time. As a result, the woman notes: "I am taking birth control pills, and menstruation began ahead of schedule." But this phenomenon does not mean a decrease in the effectiveness of the prescribed drugs. That is, pregnancy does not occur when a similar symptom occurs.
If such blood clotting continues, it is not worth it to cancel hormonal contraceptives. It is only necessary to pay more attention to personal hygiene. If the blood circulation does not stop 3 months after the appointment of OK, you should think about changing the remedy. Intensive discharge should be especially alarming. But it is better not to deal with the "self-assignment" of a new drug. The correct way out of the situation is to contact your gynecologist.
If intermenstrual bleeding begins during the start of taking a new OK package, this indicates that the estrogen contained in the tablets is not enough. You need a tool with a higher concentration of this hormone.
But if blood circulation is noted, on the contrary, by the end of the package with tablets, this indicates an insufficient content of the gestagen element in the product. It may be necessary to choose OK with another type of this hormone.
What can cause intermenstrual bleeding yet?
But not always, blood circulation speaks only about an improperly selected hormonal drug. Intermenstrual discharge may be a consequence of this:
- The woman forgot to drink several tablets in a row, which the body responds to with a menstrual reaction.
- Addiction to smoking (it slows down the production of estrogen).
- Taking medications incompatible with OK.
- Infectious diseases affecting the genitourinary system.
Intensive menstruation when taking OK
Quite intense bleeding is often observed when using hormonal contraceptives, which occur in the wrong time. If a woman takes only the first pack of OK, this may indicate rupture of bleeding. It is associated with the adaptation of her body to hormonal drugs. The fact is that active progestogens cause active death of the endometrium. This, ultimately, provokes menstruation.
However, in modern contraceptives there is little estrogen, which in this case has a hemostatic function. But with normal menstruation, not caused by taking OK, a different situation is observed. Menstruation ends when the estrogen level in a woman’s blood rises significantly. When taking birth control, this process does not always go perfectly.
In the case when the discharge is intense, the gynecologist usually decides to change the hormonal drug. In particular, a remedy with a high content of missing hormones is prescribed.
Monthly upon cancellation OK
As practice shows, many women after the cancellation of hormonal contraceptives significantly increase the chance of becoming pregnant. It has the name rebound effect. Due to the fact that the ovaries after the abolition of OK begin to work in a more active mode than before. Therefore, as a "prophylaxis" such hormonal drugs are prescribed to women who want to become pregnant.
But in certain cases, the opposite phenomenon is observed. This is ovarian hyperbraking. The reproductive system is in a disordered state, which is why both ovulation and menstruation are absent. Such a state, of course, does not last a lifetime. Within three months, it is eliminated independently.
But we must not forget that a considerable number of women have both the menstrual cycle and reproductive function restored not immediately, but within a year after the contraception is canceled.
What determines the duration of the recovery period? Here several factors are important at once:
- The type of hormonal contraceptive, the dose of the active components that it contained.
- Duration of contraceptive use.
- The age of a woman.
- The state of the body after the abolition of OK, the fact of the presence of concomitant diseases.
If within a year after the abolition of OK, a woman does not manage to become pregnant, this situation requires observation by a gynecologist.
Menstruation with OK is a normal occurrence during a break in taking the drug. There may also be hemorrhages during the intermenstrual period while taking the pills. This phenomenon has its causes, both natural and requiring treatment by a gynecologist.