i want to start off by saying my boyfriend is 18 years old and i’m 16. we’ve been together for about 9 months and everything’s perfect. we started having sex around april of this year with no worries since im on birth control right. Because of how paranoid i am with pregnancy i always make sure i take my pills perfectly, on time, no missed pills, interactions, etc. This month i missed one pill on my first week of my pack after my placebos but i wasn’t educated on the fact that i need to double up the next day to make up for it so i continued taking my pills normally on time. I basically missed a whole dose in the first week and had unprotected sex the day of and days of that same week. it happened on oct 15 where i missed it and on the 24th i started having extreme anxiety at work from finding out what i did ( took the pill wrong and now i could be pregnant). i went to sleep that night with it still on my mind and woke up around 5AM vomiting (so 11 days after the missed pill). Now today my boobs are all flaky and dried up skin all around my nipples. i’ve been trying to ignore it but i litterally can’t. i live in Louisiana where abortion is banned. And if i do end up pregnant are shipped pills something i can trust will come. someone please help me or tell me that im okay even if not what i should do moving forward i have a lot of life ahead of me and ik i messed up but a child is definitely not in my best interest.

I had a wonderful woman do my IUD today and just wanted to rave about the woman who are changing IUD insertion! I have a low pain tolerance, was given toradol, felt comfortable the whole time got lidocaine and carevix instead of a normal tenaculum. Did not hurt at all 2/10 mild uncomfortableness similar to the uncomfortableness of getting a flu shot. Find good providers guys!

Exactly as the caption says.

After having the WORST pregnancy scare of my life, I decided I should go back on birth control.

I was on the mini pill (zelleta) for a couple months and it landed me in hospital with severe pain in my ovaries.

so I decided to come off it for obvious reasons.

However, I’m sick of having to buy condoms every time I want to have sex.

My question is, how reliable is having sex on a birth control pill and NOT pulling out?

For extra protection should my partner pull out?

Is that even worth it?

When I was on the pill, I remembered to take it every day but sometimes would take it a couple hours late if I had forgotten (i have a busy schedule)

Another question, if I start a birth control pill when I am NOT on my period, how long should I wait until I start having sex?

Last time I went on the pill, I was on my period but I have literally just finished my period this month and don’t want to wait till next month.

Please send advice, experiences, other forms of birth control recommendations etc!

This is my question. I am a 23-year-old woman and I am currently taking combined birth control pills. I have a history of anxiety and sadness since childhood. A year ago I took birth control pills for the first time, and I remember feeling so crazy, crying uncontrollably in my bed, feeling tormented as if someone wanted to whisper something in my ear. I panicked, felt incredibly anxious, and was constantly worried about the future. I wouldn't leave my boyfriend alone, and I felt like he had to be by my side for me to feel better. After six months, this decreased. I stopped taking them for maybe two months and then started taking them again. The first few months I experienced something similar to a TOC, I was really scared of an unwanted pregnancy, despite taking precautions, I cried a lot, I thought about my life, I thought about getting married, the tests came back negative but I still acted strangely.I went to a psychologist, and she diagnosed my symptoms as anxiety and prescribed exercises to help me. I was also crying a lot because I thought my partner was cheating on me.I cried like a baby, inconsolably. I've been taking them for 4 months now, and 2 days ago I had a panic attack; I thought someone was talking in my ear. I'm feeling foggy-headed, having trouble concentrating or remembering things. I'm fine today, but I don't know if I'll be feeling bad in a few hours. My libido is zero, I have dryness, and I'm thinking the worst. Honestly, I wish I didn't have a mental illness; it's making me feel awful 😭 I work, I'm a professional, and I don't want this to ruin the good things in my life. I'd like to know if any of you have experienced this? It's worth mentioning that the pills haven't caused me any "physical" side effects, only mental ones as they appear.

I’m on a 91 cycle combo pill and I’ve been having trouble with it for 6 months. This pill has been making me feel terrible and I hate it. I took two pills on accident (I thought I missed a pill and I definitely didn’t) and now my body feels like shit. I feel nauseous, I’ve been having strong pregnancy symptoms (like it’s causing me to have a pregnancy scare), and my bowel movements have been all out of whack. These pills have been giving me horrible symptoms for a while, at first it made me bleed for three weeks, now it’s making me feel sick to my stomach. I feel like I’m pregnant or dying, yes I’m being dramatic. I was told to stick with these pills until my body adjusts, but I don’t think it will, I just feel sick and moody and extra stressed because I always think I’m pregnant. My gyno keeps telling me this is the best option for my pcos but I liked the other birth control pills I was on, it beats feeling like crap everyday.

Has anyone had a similar experience with Cerazette? I’m so over this😭

I’ve been taking Cerazette (desogestrel 75 mcg) for about 2 months now and haven’t missed a single pill. I didn’t start it on the first day of my period tho

My periods only have heavy bleeding on days 2–3 with mild cramps. I don’t really get PMS symptoms either.
Since starting Cerazette my libido has actually increased rather than decreased. BUT I’ve also been experiencing vaginal dryness.

I had a UTI 2 weeks after taking 💊 and took antibiotics for 5 days. About 2 days after finishing antibiotics I started spotting so I initially thought it might be related to the antibiotics.
The spotting lasted about a week then stopped for 2 days before starting AGAIN. This time the blood was bright red and looked more like fresh blood from a cut rather than my usual period blood with clots. After another week I thought it had finally settled down enough to have sex. But the day after sex I started spotting again and it eventually turned into quite heavy bleeding. I also had a much more noticeable dull ache in my lower abdomen.

Then I got a 2-day break before the spotting started AGAIN and lasted another week. It eventually stopped with just a tiny bit of blood left.

Last week I went on holiday with my partner and we didn’t have penetrative sex at all. I went swimming and started spotting again afterwards. On another occasion I had orgasm without penetrative sex and started bleeding the next day. The bleeding was pretty heavy for another 2 days

I genuinely cannot catch a break
Over these 2 months I’ve had less than 14 days in total without any bleeding. Every time I think it’s finally over it comes back a couple of days later.

We had blood tests and STI screening and everything has come back normal. I’ve had a cervical examination and vaginal swabs as well and they didn’t find any inflammation.

I went back to my doctor today and they suggested trying 2 Cerazette pills a day for now. If things get worse we might look at switching to Slinda instead. I’m honestly hesitant about doubling the dose because I’m worried about getting even more side effects.

At this point I’m torn between trying the higher dose switching pills or just stopping Cerazette and using condoms instead.
I started taking birth control to prevent pregnancy not to spend half my life bleeding and stressing about whether I can even have sex without it triggering another episode 😭 It’s genuinely affecting my mood and our sex life and I’m so frustrated.

Has anyone else experienced this with Cerazette?
Has anyone tried taking 2 pills a day and actually seen an improvement?
Did switching to Slinda or another pill help?
If you stopped Cerazette because of the bleeding what did you switch to?

I just want to know if anyone else has been through this because I feel like I can never get a proper break from the bleeding. Would love to hear how things worked out for you guys ❤️

TL;DR: I finally got my first real period since the beginning of May and my first after getting a copper IUD. Not a terrible experience.

Some background info:

At the time of posting, I am a 32F who, up until May 2026, had not touched any sort of birth control prior. Early May was the last time I had a true, unaltered period. In late May I started taking Opill (3 packs) but stopped (early to mid-August) because it drastically affected my mental health. While on Opill I would have breakthrough bleeding ever 2 weeks. Once I got off it, I had a 2 week withdrawal bleed then 2 clear weeks before getting an IUD (Silvercare copper mini, September 4th). From this IUD I dealt with a 28-day adjustment bleed (light with mild cramps) where I should have gotten my period about a week after insertion.

I finally got my first real period (Sept 21st) with the copper IUD, here's my experience:

I started cramping the evening before my period started (it started overnight), nothing terrible but definitely noticable. My period itself also wasn't that bad. It went from medium to heavy to medium to light to spotting over 6 days with mild cramps throughout.

This is slightly different to my baseline where I would have a 4-5 day period and intense cramps only in the first 24 hours. And on day 5 of this IUD period I still had light bleeding where I would normally be spotting, the spotting continued into Day 6 with some minor cramping. So overall, only a day longer and actually milder (yet prolonged) cramps.

I took Loryna on Oct 19th 2026 and the following Wednesday was experiencing migraines with aura (phantosmia: diesel phantom smell/olfactory hallucinations/smells that are not present). Thought we were having gas leaks so I asked my dad and the neighbours and they smelled nothing but someone burning leaves two doors down. I emailed my doctor on October 25th about these symptoms and she asked me if I had a history of migraines. I told her no, not to this degree. Today, October 27th, I am experiencing an eye-watering migraine. I feel like I am going to faint from the intensity.

She prescribed me a progestin only pill after I answered her questions.

I reread the side effects if migraines with aura is a thing with this birth control but it's only migraines.

Posting just in case someone is experiencing phantosmia with me too.

I just got my second depo shot today after stopping it for a few years. since restarting it I have been having a lot of spotting, some quite heavy. all I remember from the first time being on depo is not having a period which I like. I don't recall experiencing spotting before.

I’m on yasmine combo pill and exactly six hours after taking my pill I get extremely nauseous, and I’ve thrown up once. I take it with food so I’m not sure, and then the next day I still feel queasy and can barely eat. Advice please

For context, I (24F) have had PCOS ever since starting my period when I was 11 and have also dealt with PMDD-like symptoms (never formally diagnosed, but gyno said she highly suspected it). I have worked for years to alleviate my symptoms through supplements and lifestyle changes. While this did help and I became a bit more regular, I still dealt with severe emotional, mental, and physical side effects during my luteal phase, whether I ovulated or not. I eventually decided I wanted to try birth control as I do not want to get pregnant anytime soon, was worried about increased endometrial cancer risk due to long cycles, and I wanted to see if it would improve my mood.

First, the few negatives I experienced. During my first week, my appetite was wiped out and I had a consistent headache. These subsided after that week, but I do notice that my appetite and cravings are curbed compared to when I was off bc. I also had annoying breakthrough bleeding and minor cramping throughout the month, but I also know this is normal while trying to adjust to the hormones (especially since Yaz has a lower estrogen dose) and I wasn't great about taking it the exact same time everyday at first (would sometimes be 2-3 hours off). My libido also tanked during the first month, but it has dramatically increased this month, far beyond what it was pre-bc.

Now, onto the positives. I feel like a completely different person for the better. My emotional and physical state are much more stable, and I don't wake up every morning wondering who I will be that day or what physical side effects I will be dealing with. I seriously don't remember the last time I felt so normal (is this what men and their 24-hour hormone cycle feel like everyday??). I have a much better grip on my mood and emotions and my husband commented that he thinks I am a happier, more stable, and well-adjusted version of myself. I carry less water weight than I used to (the progestin in Yaz has dieuretic effects), I don't have all of the GI issues I used to have, I don't throw up and writhe in pain the first day of my placebo period, I am actively losing weight because I have better control over my appetite, and so much more. I genuinely cannot believe I went through 13 years of having a cycle and dealing with these issues. My life is fantastic and I love where I am at, but I do wonder what else I could have accomplished and what issues could have been avoided if I had taken bc earlier. I know I am only 1.5 months in, but I am very hopeful for what is to come.

If you are in a similar boat that I was (PCOS, PMDD) and are curious about trying bc, please do if hormonal bc is an option. I can't guarantee that Yaz, or any other hormonal birth controls, will help you the way it has helped me, but it is more than worth a shot. Don't let the fear-mongering online scare you and educate yourself on the costs and benefits of the medication. While every medication has its side-effects, PCOS and PMDD also carry significant risks mentally, emotionally, and physically in your life (nevermind pregnancy!).

I hope this is an encouragement to anyone who is scared to start bc like I was - it can be an amazing addition to your life!

Cramping that comes and goes, tingling/prickling, boobs sensitive, BBT is still high.

- not ovulating (confirmed via tests)
- yes, had sex after stopping birth control
- no period, negative pregnancy tests
- white floaties in urine
- only took bc for a month and a half, did not remember birth control everyday, had breakthrough bleed and two days of withdrawal bleed

Help?

I should have taken my combined pill at 7am, now its 00:00. I know im supposed to take it now and just take the next one tomordow at 7 as usual. There is no risk of pregnancy and i dont mind reduced protection. I was wondering. Can i use this as an oppurtunity to switch to night time taking? Can i take the pill now and the next one tomorrow evening? Is there something speaking against that?

Hi there, a couple of weeks ago, the day before my trip to Europe I went to the pharmacy to pick up my Aurovela Fe 1/20. I was told that they’re no longer making this and given Blisovi 1/20 instead. I didn’t want to argue the day before an international trip and wanted to be protected so I took the blisovi since it’s the same active ingredients.

I felt fine for the most part during the trip (2 weeks) but since I’ve been back I’ve been feeling intense fatigue and intense anxiety?

I can’t tell if this is just winding down from the trip or a result of the medication switch, curious if anyone else has experienced side effects switching between brands / from inactive ingredients - TY for any input!!

So I suspect a guy I had on and off dealings with tampered with a condom /aka poked holes/ and the day after I confronted him and took a plan b (legal things is going to take place as well). I made him use a condom because the day we had sex was my most fertile peak. I guess he took that as an attempt. 💔 But, I’m over a certain weight. And I have a daughter already and I know how pregnancy feels, but, I think my anxiety is making me sick. I never have sore breasts during my ovulation week. Never. Last time was when I was pregnant. And one breast in particular (right side) is sore. And light cramping for some days. Starting the day after sex. Discharging fairly odd. Where it clear with a mix of like white. Bleachy smell but once it hits air, fishy smell. Nothing insane. So I know best thing is to wait. But did anyone have symptoms this early or it’s in my mind? I never been in this position before. Im in disbelief and as well just embarrassed by this whole thing. I just really need advice on anything. Im to scared to even tell my family.

EDIT: Before anyone says anything about me being intimate with him, I trusted him 100%. This was the first time we had sex and his vibe was off and he was being so shifty. After we had sex he kept saying “I feel like I’ve done something unfavorable.” I never ever experienced him being this way.

I 19F have been on the combined pill (Rigevidon) for 3 years and in those 3 years I gained 20kg. I was consistently 40 ish kg before starting the pill and now I am 62kg. For reference I am 5ft so this puts me in the overweight category now. I have not experienced any bad side effects other then the persistent weight gain and I wouldn’t say my dieting habits have changed significantly since before the pill.

Has anyone else experienced this?? Because my doctor says that birth control doesn’t cause weight gain and that it’s just my eating habits but if anything I eat healthier now then I did before starting the pill.

I have got 2 months left of these pills so I think I’m going to try switch to the mini pill as I’ve heard that it’s better for people who are overweight and I’ve heard that oestrogen causes weight gain so if I eliminate the oestrogen and just have progesterone surely I’d stop gaining so much weight? Maybe even lose a bit?

Just looking for any advice really and for anyone who’s on the mini pill what’s it been like for you?

So i started rigevidon this year im abit disorganised so i have multiple packets open of it and they come in boxes of 3 and i was just checking the expiry dates and one is 11/2027 and the other is 11/2026 im worried maybe they printed the 2027 one wrong and that its going to actually go out of date next month should i just buy new packets? Or is the 2027 one safe to use i just don’t understand why they’re give me one that goes out of date next month and one that goes out next year i really dont want to get poorly from wrong expiry dates also i dont know how to upload an image on here sorry

I began taking 0.35 mg of the Norethindrone mini pill every day since August 2nd of this year. Today is October 28th, so I’m aware it hasn’t been that long. I take it loosely in the 3 hr window.

I am also simultaneously taking Spironolactone, as the birth control causes really bad acne for me. I have tried the IUD in the past for almost two years, but had to remove it due to extremely horrendous side effects (acne, depression really bad, weight gain, dryness). We discovered I basically have a progesterone sensitivity. I gave my body multiple months after that to re-regulate itself before hopping back on BC. As of today, I’m still getting a monthly period. I am also getting spotting a couple days after my period ends for 5-7 days. It’s medium level spotting. It is super annoying, as it feels like I’m bleeding literally all the time (my periods are long to begin with).

How much longer should I expect spotting / a period? I’m aware not everyone loses their period but it’s sure my hope lol. Preferably in November as I have a lot of plans happening. Anyone have suggestions or any similar experiences? Thank you 🙏

i’ve been taking birth control for a year now, and was typically getting normal periods during placebo week in the beginning (regular to heavy, lasting about 4 days). in recent months i’ve only been spotting or having very light periods, sometimes lasting a day. is this common for anyone else? i’m very paranoid about getting pregnant so this always worries me (i do take pills on time, use condoms etc.) i’ve also lost some weight recently due to starting a new antidepressant, so could that be causing this? (also a very stressed college student)

Since I started Nuvaring a few months ago, I’ve had this horrible breast pain, especially in my nipples. It mostly comes after wearing a bra and it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I’m no stranger to sore boobs but this is a lot worse. If my nipples are sore and they even just brush up against my shirt or my arm, it hurts so much. Has anyone else experienced this?

My gf and i plans to get intimate for the first time for both of us. I’m a pretty anxious person so i’ve done extensive research on condoms and chances of pregnancy. I have researched that the chances of pregnancy is essentially 0.01% if you use a condom correctly and pull out before ejaculation. I just wants to ask if that’s really true by human experience and i wanna know any of you guys have gotten pregnant by using those two methods perfectly.

I’m considering starting birth control for suspected endo. I saw somewhere that if you have heavy periods birth control can help raise your iron/ferritin levels.

hi everyone! i had unprotected sex (lost my virginity) a couple of days ago. that would be 4 days before my ovulation day on flo. not sure how accurate that is though. he did not ejaculate inside me, but i’m so worried about the pre cum having sperm. i’m so scared but im also scared to take emergency contraceptives because i have such bad anxiety they will send me into a panic. help, how likely is it im pregnant!?

21F i have taken birth control in past i did experience sweating after it this time around im experiencing alot of sweating from palm feet soles and underarms i took norethisterone for 5 days 3 times each then got withdrawal bleed and was supposed to take krimson 35 from 4th day of withdrawal bleed but this time around i experienced alot of panic and anxiety and gut issues with sweating so i got scared and only took bc for 18 days (1 pill a day) so after getting withdrawal bleed from 4th day onwards i faced very bad insomnia aderaline surges and sweating issue which is still on going and i feel more anxious since i have a trip coming up also i take bc cause i have pcod