I switched birth controls last week to Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo. A birth control pill I'd been on back in 2007 with no issues. It was a much needed switch since the Seasonique was giving me horrible nausea and had caused breakthrough bleeding.

Unfortunately, I've totally messed up my hormones now I believe. Because even after switching, I'm still getting breakthrough bleeding. And it's much worse than before. Not only is it a different kind of bleed (less spotty, more like a normal period), but I'm having pretty severe cramps on a regular basis.

This is day 21 of the breakthrough bleeding. And I thought at day 11, I was done. But now, I'm so incredibly annoyed and frustrated that I can't even put it into words. All I want is to go back in time and not take the Seasonique. Or at least not without getting a period.

My doctor says to stick it out. That it should be gone by the first pack (which is 2 more weeks of hormones then the 1 week of placebo withdrawal pills). He could be wrong. He could be right. Or he could be something in between and the bleeding might stop shortly. I just don't know.

Nonetheless, I'm very tempted to just stop the pack right now, give myself a week of this and start a new pack. I'd be wasting a pack of pills (which is the biggest deterrent). And I'd also be risking throwing things off again and not resolving the issue. It's just that this type of bleed feels exactly like a period.

And honestly, I can't take 3 weeks of this. I'm in terrible pain, experiencing clots, and just in general disarray. So if the Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo doesn't fix this soon, I'm definitely going to lose my mind.

There isn't much research online about what to do in this situation. My options are slightly exhausted already. I could increase my pills, which I did for three days. I could take 7 days of estrogen, but my doctor doesn't see that as an option and really I don't want to do that. I can stay on. Or I can try going off.

I'm torn here. And wish that things were easier for me. With the pain that I'm experiencing today, I think I'm going to stop the pills for a week. I'll start back on Sunday, which basically is like giving myself a withdrawal bleed without finishing a pack.

Hopefully that lack of interference will allow my body to readjust and start back fresh. Wasting the pills isn't ideal, as I already wasted 2 months worth by quitting the Seasonique. But at this point, I think my sanity and overall health is more important.

I'm not even going to think about this not working. It will work. It has to work.

At least the nausea cleared up with the switch. And my blood sugars don't seem to be taking any massive hits with the hormone change.