Does missing a birth control pill cause severe bleeding?

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I can understand your concerns.

Please do not get stressed out. You are fine. All this time, you have been trying to control the symptoms of the cyst, when the real cause of this cyst, which is anovulation, is still present. Let me explain. You are not pregnant. I say this because, just by missing a single pill, you cannot get pregnant. These pills suppress the hormones in the body and thereby suppress ovulation. So, for these hormones to be released, you have to miss at least two pills, that is, 48 hours of no pills. Also, you are continuously bleeding, and this rules out pregnancy.

The problem here is your weight. You are trying to stop the cysts with the pills. But they can only prevent further cyst formation and not those that are already there. From your history, I presume you have PCOD (polycystic ovarian disease). This is a congenital condition, by which I mean it is genetically programmed, and you get it from your parents. When you suddenly put on a lot of weight, this cholesterol is converted to the estrogen hormone. This is similar to how obese men develop breasts, and young obese girls get their periods at a younger age. In both cases, they have high levels of estrogen, the female hormone.

In your body, too, when fat, which is a store for future use, is more than normal, this is converted to estrogen, which tips the balance between FSH from the brain and the ovarian hormone. FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone), as the name suggests, stimulates the follicle from the ovary. Once the follicle is big enough to ovulate, the FSH is suppressed by the same estrogen hormone from the ovary. But, when the same estrogen hormone is coming from fat, the brain is confused, and the follicle growth stops early, at a smaller follicle size, and thus, it will not rupture. In the next scan, you will see these follicles as polycystic ovaries. This is usually associated with obesity, irregular cycles, no periods for a few months, and later, heavy periods with clots and fleshy masses, or spotting on and off, thyroid abnormality, and prolactin problems indirectly.

You will develop an extra pad of fat around the mid-segment of the body, especially the waist, thighs, and breasts, with no fat beyond the elbows and knees; excessive body hair growth; hair fall; a dark shade over the lower half of the face; acne; an oily face; and darkening of the skin over the back of the neck, inner thighs, and undersurface of the breasts. PCOD will not allow ovulation to occur on schedule, and hence, you cannot get pregnant until you are treated. It also increases your chances of early pregnancy abortions.

But this has a solution, namely, weight reduction. In your case, your target weight is 115 to 125 lbs. Once you get your weight to the normal range, you will not need any medication to get your periods or to get pregnant, and your pregnancy will be healthy.

To reduce weight, I suggest the following:

1. Avoid fasting, junk food, fast food, red meat, and snacking between meals.
2. Have low-calorie food with high protein.
3. Regular exercise, especially for the waist and hip area, aerobics, yoga, and brisk walking (swing your hands well).
4. Try to reduce 4 to 8 lbs per month. Do not hurry on weight reduction, as it will be difficult to maintain. As soon as you reduce 11 lbs, you will start seeing the changes.
5. Bloating is due to the side effect of the hormonal imbalance. It will get rectified automatically.

Now, to control bleeding and have everything corrected, this is what we can do:

1. Have two tablets of the tablet Primolut-N or Norgest 5 mg (Norethisterone), twice a day till the bleeding stops. It will stop in a day or two. Then have two tablets twice a day for two days, followed by one tablet twice a day for 18 days. You will have your period 5 to 10 days after you stop taking the pills. This is called medical D and C. The whole thickness will come out in one piece, leaving the uterus clean for a new start.
2. From the start of the next bleeding, take your prescribed birth control pills once a day for three to six months, cyclically. This will regularize your periods as well as hormones, and also give you time to reduce a few kilograms. After that, your periods will be neither irregular nor heavy. You will have excellent contraceptive protection too.

Hope I have clarified your query.

Do write back if you need assistance.

Thank you.