Spotting while on bc pill

[Clara_b79]

I searched and couldn't seem to find a similar question...

I am on the bc pill and my period finished the day before I started w30. I have taken my pill each day since, and today (day 9) have had a bit of bleeding, slightly more than I would say is spotting. Is this normal while on the pill during a w30? Anyone else had this happen? Usually it only does this if I have forgotten to take the pill a day or 2. I don't rely on it for contraception lol... I have been mainly taking it to control migraines.

[Karen]

It's common on the whole 30 for women on the pill to either spot or get their period early. I'm on my phone now, but I'll see if I can find some threads later.

[Karen]

http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/6028-i-just-started-my-period-8-days-early/

[Clara_b79]

Thanks Karen, that helped me understand it a bit. Amazing that it can happen so quickly, and that diet has such a profound effect on the body's hormonal mechanisms! Even when on the pill.

[instagraves]

I actually am in the same boat. I am on day 11 and I finished my period a few days before I started my Whole30. I noticed this morning that I forgot to take my birth control yesterday, so I took both of my pills hoping it would get my uterus to calm down. Alas, I still have some slightly-more-than-spotting. I thought the diet change might be contributing as well. I quit smoking cigarettes earlier this year and I got my period a week early during the first month. Glad to know I am not alone! I know you posted this like a week ago, but did it stop quickly or did you go in a full blown cycle? Sorry if that is TMI lol, just want to know what I may be expecting in the immediate future.

[MyssLyss]

I am also on BC, a form that makes it so I never get a period (maybe oce or twice a year). All the sudden, on day 20 I started spotting off and on. What gives?

[instagraves]

I'm still spotting on and off and have been now since day 11 and I am finishing up day 17. And it came a little over a week early. Arg.

[30at40]

I've also had breakthrough bleeding while on the pill, the one that gives you a period 4 times a year. My gyn kind of dismissed it (esp when I asked if it might be due to stress), and said that the body wants to have a period sometimes, and no amount of hormonal interference (aka bc) can stop it. I thought that was kind of a lame reason, but I haven't seemed to find any rhyme or reason for breakthrough bleeding while on the pill. I was super stressed recently, and didn't have any spotting. I've had the bleeding and cramping on Whole30s and while mostly Paleo, but most months, no spotting or cramping. As long as well all get our regular checks, maybe it *is* normal in most cases?

[Karen]

Whether you're on hormonal birth control or not, your body bleeds when it senses a drop in hormones.  That's what triggers bleeding when not on the pill (progesterone naturally drops about 12-14 days after ovulation, assuming you're not pregnant).  That's also what triggers bleeding when you stop taking the pill and switch to the week of placebo pills.  Drop in hormones = bleeding.  I'm generalizing here, but you get the idea.

 

As you'll see in multiple threads here, diet can also affect your hormones.  As hormones "even out" through diet, your body can perceive some of those shifts as a drop in hormones, and your body bleeds.  That's it.  And yes, even when you're on the pill, your body still makes some hormones, so the same thing applies.  

 

And, yes, saying your body just wants to bleed is a lame excuse.  It's just a normal biological response to a shift in hormones.  

[BKSara]

Hi there - I'm glad to see this thread, and the other one that Karen mentioned. I'm on traditional BC, on day 10 of W30, and started my period yesterday, which was almost two weeks early. This was alarming until I read that it has happened to others. Nonetheless, I was wondering if there are any recent updates from a moderator on this topic? Anybody learned something new? Thanks!!