Abnormal Bleeding in Between Periods

All women eventually have "break through bleeding" according to the one doctor I have worked with. Your hormone levels are off & you either need to stop the pill for awhile (the best thing I think), or you will need to switch brands more often.

T.,

I agree with Angela. I had been taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo for close to five years and as soon as I started exclusively using the pill for birth control I got pregnant. I had originally been using the pill to control my heavy bleeding (which it did), but then I had irregular bleeding like you and immediatelly went to the doctor. That was in December of 2005 and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. Then on January 31st I found out I was pregnant -- sure enough I had my son in September so I had gotten pregnant in December.
Personally I no longer trust the pill and had switched to the Depo shot for 6 months, but I stopped using it because I had too many negative side effects. If you want to be sure to not get pregnant I would use the shot, but not for an extended period of time because it has been linked to decreased bone mass and irregular fertility.
Right now we are practicing natural family planning which has worked so far!! There is a lot of information on the internet and basically you just need to keep track of your cycle and how long it lasts (once you have been off of any type of birth control for a couple of months) and figure out the days you are ovulating, thus most fertile and don't have sex on those days. Its pretty easy once you get used to "counting days" and from what I've heard it is extremely accurate. Some women even use it when trying to have a baby so they know the right days to try to conceive.
Hope this helps and sorry for such a long reply!

T.,

I was having irregular and heavy bleeding for about a year and even the pill (and trying different brands) wasn't helping. I found out I had a bleeding fibroid in the uterus (not cancerous). There are many options to fix this problem. I chose a hysterectomy (using the pill is one option that apparently wasn't working). If your not pregnant (which when conception happens, bleeding can too), and you can't get the bleeding to stop, have an OB/GYN check for a fibroid. The word fibroid sounds scary, but most women have some, I had one that just was a bleeder and needed taken care of.

It sounds like your hormone levels are off. I was on a pill that was too high for me, and I would spot off and on, I would get morning sickness and breast tenderness everytime I would start a new pack, extreme cramping when I would have my period. Switching offered me the best solution for a time, and then finally, I couldn't take the side effects any more, so I wnet back to old fashion methods. I hope you can find something the works.

I did this and my birth control pills were not strong enough and I got pregnant with twins. At least that is what my OB/GYN told me. That is why I was sick! I was pregnant. It was the same pills..the LO.
sorry I didnt have better advice.
A.

I think it's okay but if you're really worried, I'd go to the doc. There's always a chance that it's normal on the pill. I always bled before my TOM was due. Now that I'm older, I don't my cycle as often. If you're worried, I'd see the doctor.

I had that happen to me once when I was on Ortho Cyclen (before the birth of my son). I went to the doctor they first did a pregnancy test, which was negative, then they just had me take 2 pills for a week to get my cycle back on track. After I had my son, my doctor put me on Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo and I haven't had any problems.