Expert: Norman Solberg - 12/13/2008

Question
Hi there,
I've been on Levora since about February of 2008.  It's my first birth control
pill, and previous to this, I never needed one because I was never sexually
active.

I know you can skip the placebo pills sometimes so that you don't get your
period at an inopportune time, but I USUALLY skip the placebo pills.  Since
February, I've probably used them 3 times.  

Right now, for about 1.5 weeks, I've been having light bleeding.  It's not like a
normal period, it's darker.  

Did I cause this by skipping the placebos too much?  If I take the next set of
placebos, will it fix itself?  

Thank you!

Answer
Hi Darcy,
Yes, you probably caused the bleeding by skipping the placebos, but it's usually no big deal.  What I would do is stop the pills for one week and re-start.  It's like your uterus wants to have a period now, so let it.  With pills nowadays you can sort of have your period when you want it.  If you go too long without a period, you may get bleeding, and then stop for a week.  As long as you don't stop for more than a week you're protected.