Women's Health Community

Dear katb: Your birth control pill is a generic version of SeasoniqueLo. One of the issues with the continuous pill regimens is unscheduled breakthrough bleeding (BTB).

Among birth control pill users BTB frequently occurs after a missed or late pill. In your case it sounds like you are careful to take pills at the same time daily. More remotely, BTB in a pill user can arise if she has gotten a chlamydia infection. Yet, if you both are monogamous this is not going to apply.

When a woman uses hormonal birth control it can make the lining of the uterus more unstable--so it is easier to have some of it begin to shed. Sometimes the lining is less stable because the hormones make the lining much thinner (actually this is good as a thin lining is a healthy lining). Sometimes the lining is unstable because the hormones can make parts of the lining out of synch. In your specific case, because you have been on this very low dose pill for a year, my best GUESS Is that your BTB is caused by a very thinned out uterine lining.

Bottom line, BTB on hormonal methods of birth control is a nuisance side effect. The protection from pregnancy is still in effect--should that be a concern for you. If your poor cycle control persists you should return to your GYN or clinic. They can do a quick ultrasound to see if new fibroids have grown to a size where they are creating the bleeding. Should it not be fibroids, a change in the brand, or formula, of birth control pill will usually fix the problem.

Yours,
Jane