I’ve been taking my combo pill 3 packs (63 pills) back to back following with a 4 days break. However, Ive been getting spotting/breakthrough bleedings during my 3rd pack and was advised to stop taking the pill and wait until the bleeding stops. And then I can continue with another 3packs back to back. I just wanted to know if I’m still protected during that period of time? And has anyone experienced bleeding for more than a week while you’ve stopped taking the pill? Usually I have 4 days of ”period break” and after the 4 days I start the new pack even if I’m still bleeding so I wasn’t sure how this method works.

Stop taking the pill until the bleeding stops???? For like how long? How long has it been since you stopped taking the pill?Who gave you this advice?

@bluerose9 I went to the GP and a nurse told me to do so, but I haven’t done that yet since I’ve never heard of this method. Im currently on my 3rd pack and experiencing spotting so was wondering if I should listen to the nurse… Also it was the same nurse who told me to take 3 packs back to back. Was this an unusual advice????

This is not how the pill works or how it’s supposed to be taken. 7 days is the maximum number of break days the pill allows. Any more and you risk being unprotected, and also missing pills often leads to unwanted side effects like irregular bleeding. So the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve lol Irregular bleeding is a common side effect of the pill and like any other potential side effect of hormonal contraception it can happen at ANY TIME while on the pill - whether you’ve been on it weeks or years, and if you’ve never experienced before then. Side effects are particularly common when you first start the pill. Skipping break weeks may lead to experiencing heightened side effects but skipping break weeks regularly and taking 4 day break weeks is now recommended by many doctors. Generally if you get irregular bleeding you’re best to just keep going and just wait it out, but you can also try taking a break week (for a max of 7 days) (you need to have taken a minimum of 7 pills consecutively and correctly in order to be protected during the break) but that’s not guaranteed to stop the bleeding immediately. There’s no quick fix or guaranteed method to stop bleeding unfortunately. Very often users don’t stop bleeding until a day or two after they start taking their new pill pack. So feel free to take a break week if you’re experiencing a lot of bleeding but absolutely do not listen to the advice about stopping the pill until the bleeding stops - take a max of 7 days off the pill. Any longer will potentially leave you at risk of pregnancy.

@bluerose9 That’s makes so much more sense, thank you!! Also, should I go back to taking 1 pack with a break instead of 3 back to back??🥹 I only started taking back to back pills recently after talking to the nurse, wasn’t sure if taking 1 pack and 3 packs make any difference.

@bumblebee02 you can do either. Maybe try out both ways for a few months each and see which way you like best/works best for you

@bluerose9 I’ll try out both, thank you xx