Expert: Mia - 8/23/2008

Question
QUESTION: I am on ortho-tricyclen lo and I get my period on saturdays and end on
wednesdays.  My boyfriend planned a trip for us for tuesday and I don't want
to have my period.  I was wondering if I could just start taking the new pack 3
days earlier than I should start it so that I won't have my period on Tuesday
night.  Will this mess things up?  I am supposed to start the new pack on
Wednesday, but instead I would start it on Sunday night.  We will be having
sex on Tuesday night though but I don't see a problem with that because I
will have already started the new pack.  I just don't want it to mess up my
body or my regular periods for the future.

ANSWER: Hi Kayla,

Are you talking about this week? Have you already started your placebo pill week? If so, it may be too late to try and delay it.

In general, it is possible to delay your period in this way, but I don't think it is recommended with ortho-tricyclen because the level of hormones change each week. It does work for some women, but not for others. The most common side effect is spotting between periods the first month or so after the switch.

I think this question will be best answered by the doctor who prescribed your pills, especially since the ortho-tricyclen weeks can be confusing. This is a very common question that he/she has probably answered many times before, so your doctor will be able to advise you.

I hope this has helped. If you have further questions, let me know and I will try and help.

-Mia

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes I am talking about this week.  I was just wondering if I could start the new
pack of pills 3 days before I usually do.  I will now only have my period for 2
days instead of 4 but is there anything wrong with that?

Answer
Hi Kayla,

There is nothing wrong with doing that but you may get your period anyway. Since your levels of hormones has started to drop due to being on the inactive pills, your period may still come as scheduled. I don't think there is enough hormones in the first week of ortho pills to prevent that. Doing this will change your schedule for the future since you will now be starting a new pack on Sundays and your period will arrive on the Wednesday of the 4th week.

I hope this has helped. If you have further questions, let me know and I will try and help.

-Mia