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Irregular period while on Ocella

By August 31, 2015 - 5:53pm
 
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I have a history of irregular periods, but this one is strange enough to cause concern.

First, my history: I have been on some form of birth control since I was 12, because as soon as I got my first period, I started having them every two weeks. At first I was on the patch, before it was decided that it's not safe for minors. When I was 17 I had an ovarian cyst the size of a softball, and since then have taken birth control on three-month cycles. I may have PCOS, the doctors have never spotted the "string of pearls" cysts on ultrasounds, but have seen excess fluid that suggests that I had several small cysts that ruptured, along with slightly elevated testosterone levels.

I am now 24 and have been taking Ocella on a three-month cycle, stopping only four times a year, for about four years.

Almost two weeks ago, I missed a pill near the end of my three months. A few days later, I started spotting. I know this sometimes happens, especially when a pill is missed, so I just kept taking the pills to the end of the cycle, hoping it would stop. I'm now off the pills for my week-long break, but the period has lasted longer than a week. And it's irregular in a few ways.
First, I did not see new blood when I started bleeding; it was all brown. After about three days, the bleeding slowed and then stopped for a day. That night, I bled again, only it was fresh blood. A couple days later, I didn't bleed overnight, but started again in the morning. Since then I have been having a flow that I would consider normal for the first three days of my period, but I'm now on about day 11. I am also having cramps much later in the cycle than I usually do, but not every day. On top of all that, I'm seeing a lot more clotting than I'm used to, but nothing bigger than a nickel.

I have never had all of these problems in one period before. My mother has a history of fibroids, and I'm worried that could be causing it.

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Yeah usually I only bleed for 4-6 days, though once or twice a year I may have a longer one. Once I had a period last about 17 days.
It hasn't been quite 7 days since I stopped the pills, I will start taking them again in a couple days and make an appointment. If the bleeding doesn't stop within a few days of taking the pills, should I be concerned enough to go to urgent care instead of waiting for the appointment?

September 1, 2015 - 12:26pm
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