Expert: Diana Archer - 7/13/2009

Question
I am 26 years old.  I gave birth to my first child five months ago with no complications.  I am currently on my fifth packet of Loestrin 24.  The first two months went fine.  The third month I had breakthrough bleeding in the middle of my cycle.  Now on this packet I have started having pregnancy-like symptoms.  I am nauseous sporatically throughout the day.  I have headaches and menstural cramps.  I am also very bloated and moody.  On the second week of this pack I had more spotting.  There is very little chance I am pregnant.  I have been taking my pills regularly and we also have used a condom every time.  I have also taken two pregnancy tests and both have been negative.  This is driving me crazy!  Do you know if these are common side effects of this birth control pill?

Answer
Hey,

It sounds like you are not pregnant, as you have followed the birth control instructions well. Have you been having your period while on the inactive pills? If you have, you are definitly not pregnant.
Those are definitly pill side effects. What you can do, is take your pill with food and water (for example, breakfast in the morning) and drink plenty of water for the headaches, or take a painkiller, such as panadol. The moodyness is something you can't really cure, but getting regular exercise can improve your moods dramatically.
I suggest seeing your doctor to work out why the side effects only just started happening (may be related to giving birth).

Diana