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.

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!?

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

So I’m currently on the ring, and have been for over 3 years. It’s been good but realized I think it’s what’s causing my bad migraines, and also I’ve heard migraines with aura increase stroke risk if you take bc with estrogen which I get sometimes, so I’m hoping to switch to one without estrogen.

My issue is I’m super sensitive to mood changes. A while back I tried to get off completely and had the worst depression. I have bipolar unsure if that’s related, and take meds for it. It makes me feel as if I’m not on my meds. Before bc I didn’t have bad depression, so I think it’s just the drop of estrogen but it just never went away so I got back on it.

I take it for preventing pregnancy and also irregular periods. I’m considering the pill, since I’m too nervous to commit to one like an iud or implant as I’d want something if it didn’t work out I can easily switch or stop if it doesn’t affect me well. I was wondering if anyone has had a switch like this, and how did it go? Did it affect your mood? Which method did you use? If I do the pill, what are some good options?

Thank you! :)

so I (21f) have taken simpesse birth control for a couple years and I love it so much with how I don’t have to be in excruciating pain every month but now I’m having this thing where I’m bleeding and cramping on and off for over a week now and the cramps HURTTTTT it usually happens in the mornings and around 9:30 at night. every night. I have been taking the pills like normal while this is happening but do I stop??? what should I do???

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.

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

I take Yasmin (a birth control) and accidentally started backwards (took the placebo pills then 3 weeks of hormones) and didnt notice till I had already stopped taking pills for a couple days (when I would usually be on placebo). Now Im worried if I fucked up and if ima get my period properly or idk? (im not worried about pregnancy at all, i take bc for the dampened period)

My doctor put me on Slinda to treat my endometriosis/adenomyosis. I started it 3 weeks ago at the start of my period and 3 weeks in I’m still getting cramps with moderate bleeding the entire time (I’ve heard spotting is normal but this just feels like an ongoing period)
Usually my periods only go for 5 days and I have to take strong pain killers for it so having weeks long periods is not manageable at all

My mood is also terrible I feel so angry and irritable all the time. I feel like I have such a negative mindset about everything.
Other than that I’ve had no other symptoms
So I’m wondering for those who have tried Slinda and had bleeding and mood side effects did they ever settle? Would you recommend pushing through?

My doctor recommended skipping the placebos but I’ve also heard that if I’ve had bleeding then I should take them to reduce the chance of bleeding in between?

Would love to hear your experiences! I can’t tolerate combined pills due to migraines, and I’ve tried visanne before and that was a nightmare emotionally. This is one of my last options to try suppress my period

Hi! I recently restarted a combined pill (Larin Fe). I was on it prior from 18-23 and got back on it at 25. My body isn’t reacting to it the same way it did when I was 18 (big surprise) and I had unrelated chest pain that sent me to the ER last week. The doctors did all the work and told me I didn’t have a clot, but since then my anxiety has spiked about that possibility. I’ve been talking to my doctors about it and they won’t give me a definitive answer seeing as nothing is technically wrong, I’m just anxious.

Has anyone else had any health anxiety around taking the pill and if so, did any of it settle or get worse?

To add to it I’m going on my honeymoon out of the country next month and will be on a 12 hour plane ride. I’m already afraid of being trapped on a plane.
I’m debating getting off it again but I’m worried about the effect going on for a month and back off again will do to my body.

Hi! Im 20 years old and in may I started my first birth control ever, sprintec. I was started on it since I was having insane amounts of bleeding. Im talking like 10 overnight pads in an hour, alomg with having super irregular periods. If it matters too, I have pcos and addison's disease.

I got off of it in August due to my liver levels being extremely high. Prior to getting on birth control, tmi, I was extremely horny. Its embarrassing to say but I used to be really aroused with a high libido per say?? But when I was on it, my life was miserable. Besides all the other side effects, I have literally become dryer than the Sahara desert.

Now I'm going to be started on progesterone pills but I still struggle with arousal and being wet. For example I can be really horny but be dry down there. Is this normal? Does this go away? I miss how I used to be and I just want to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I know this post is kind of tmi but I'd just like reassurance at this point. Thank you 😭