I know I've posted this here before....but I'd really like some input from someone who has also had this problem. I've been experiencing bleeding just during sex for the past few years and I need an explanation. It all started when I switched from Orthotricyclen to Ortho Lo. That whole year I would always bleed during sex the week before my period. My doctor switched me to Yasmin and it happened again the 2nd month I was on it. So now I'm back to regular Orthotricyclen (generic, Trinessa) and I'm honestly just too scared to even have sex so I don't know if it is still happening. I'm so scared I have some type of cancer, endometrial, uterine... My last two paps have been normal. Is what I'm experiencing just due to birth control? Please help.

We've had this conversation here so many times and on the other board. You've already gotten so many other women posting that the SAME thing happens to them. You are entirely too obsessed with this problem and it's extremely unhealthy for you to give this so much energy.

I don't know why you refuse to accept the FACT that the pill causes YOUR SPECIFIC PROBLEM, but it's THE TRUTH. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. You're not sick, you're not dying, you don't have cervical cancer! You are experiencing the exact same kind of side effects that many other women (who by the way have replied to your thousands of messages about this question) have gone through before.

I just can't understand why - when a doctor has told you that there's nothing wrong with you, and then at least 20 other women have posted on this board and the other one answering your questions, why you keep saying that you still need to hear from other people having the same problem. How many more people do you need to hear from before you accept that it's your pill causing this problem?

I'm telling you that you need to stop this. It's not healthy for you to keep obsessing like this. You need to start focusing on something positive and healthy and just quit worrying about this.

Normally, women don't get this bent out of shape over a side effect from their pill. But if you honestly can't handle it anymore then you need to quit the pill and find an alternate form of birth control that you won't obsess about so much. Your constant obsession over this minor side effect is actually more unhealthy for you than if you were on some other form of non-hormonal birth control that won't cause your spotting.

Actually there has NOT been 20 other women tell me they've had the same problem. The ones that have had this problem had a cervical erosion, which I do not have. I've researched this problem extensively and none of the information I've read says anything about birth control. In fact, most of it says it does not have anything to do with birth control. And yes, I've posted about this many times, and that's because not yet has anyone explained to me WHY this happens. If you are that fed up with me posting about this then stop opening my posts.

SweetPea,

I don't have that problem, but I would just try another pill until something works for you (give the one you are on a fair chance). It's trial and error with the pill. I know it's hard not to stress about this, I recently have freaked out because Yaz is making my hair fall out (I think about this way too much). Before that, I was the poster girl for this bc. I'm going to try Mircette instead (fingers crossed).

So, while it's normal to be concerned...worrying won't help. But, listen to your gut. In my opinion, it is probably the pill. Bracelet has no idea if you are not going to die from birth control pills, wouldn't she feel like a jerk if you really did? Just my two cents....there is no need for anyone to attack and nag you like they are the boss of the universe.

My advice...have sex, enjoy it, TRY to not think about it, and see the results. If you aren't in pain, then it's just a little blood and might go away (remember it takes 3 months for bc to get in your system..even when you switch).

And heaven forbid you post your concerns on here again..you might not get your head back! Good Luck and relax chica. ;)

Thank you Fairest for your KIND response. I really do appreciate it. Guess it was my mistake to think that a birth control forum was actually a place to voice birth control concerns! ;)

I know I should just relax and have sex but I honestly can't. Every time it happens I panic. That's why I've been hoping to find someone with the exact same problem to help me feel better.

I apologize, I am not trying to be mean, I'm just saying that I've read your posts and the replies that other women have told you and they have also said they had bleeding and/or spotting after sex while on the pill.

I understand you're worried and that's normal. However, you've been told by your doctor that you are fine. If you don't trust this doctor, you can always get a second opinion or third or fourth. There's no reason why you can't find another doctor. The doctors would give you a much more concrete answer than what you could find on here, anyway.

There comes a point where you have to trust your doctor, and if you don't feel like you can trust your doctor's opinion, then you should definitely seek another doctor's opinion. Seriously, what's stopping you from going to get another doctor's opinion?

I just wish you'd understand that the pill is a synthetic compound that affects every woman in some way, shape or form. And ANY bleeding or spotting is expected and common while you're on the pill. It doesn't matter when it occurs because it just does. If you don't like that as a side effect that you just seriously need to find another method of birth control that won't cause that to happen.

Hi Sweetpea
Bleeding after sex can also indicate infection, such as chlamydia, which is not pill related. Have you had any other swabs/tests done to rule this out?
This would not necessarily be picked up by pap smears. if you are worried, why not go for sexual health screening.
I can understand you wanting to get it sorted out, i would be the same.
Hope you get some answers soon.
Maya

I understand what you're saying Bracelet. I'm not saying you're wrong, in fact, you are probably right and it IS just the pill. As I've said before I suffer from anxiety and when I have problems with my health my anxiety just skyrockets. Reassurance is the only thing that ever makes me feel better.

Maya - I have not had any swabs or anything like that. I'm sure of no STD's though, I've only been with my fiance....and we've been together for five years. This problem has been happening since 2004....just a few months after starting OTC Lo. That whole year it happened I never worried about it or even gave it a second thought b/c it always happened only the week before my period. I guess I started worrying the time it happened two weeks before my period and then again on another pill.

Anyway, I'm getting ready to start my 4th month of Trinessa....should my hormones be back to normal by now?

Two thoughts:

1 - the pill can make anxiety a LOT worse in women who have problems with that, so please keep that in mind.

2 - You really should be tested for everything, STD-wise, just to ease your mind. Even if you're sure you don't have one, having concrete proof makes it one less thing to worry about.

I do believe birth control has played a part in my anxiety... I'm taking Zoloft now, and it is helping...so we'll see how that goes.

I'm not at all worried about STD's and my doctor hasn't been either. If it were an STD I don't think my symptoms would've started when I switched to Ortho Lo.

Sweetpea, I strongly believe some doctors are extremely pro-hormonal BC. I had a gyno for eight years who told me my complete loss of libido had nothing at all to do with BC, that it was all in my head, and that if I didn't just grin and bear it and do my "wifely" duty, my husband would eventually cheat on me.

After the new study came out this past January in the Journal of Sexual Medicine about libido, the liver and hormonal BC, I went to another doctor who immediately took me off BC pills.

The fact that you've been bleeding now for a couple years after/during sex makes me think you really need to seek out a new physician who can address that. The last I checked, spotting is a listed side effect of hormonal BC. You're spotting, have normal paps and you're on the pill. My first guess would be the pill causing this. I'm not a doctor, tho, and I think you need to find one who doesn't give out scripts for the pill like candy to a child on Halloween.

From experience, I don't believe in all this switching pills. Been there, done that, and I wish I never had. One year, I traded spotting for complete loss of libido. Another time, I traded getting my libido back for migraines. Then I traded migraines for anxiety and pissy moods 24/7. Synthetic hormones just don't work for some women, no matter what the concoction of hormones is. Some doctors out there are finally starting to accept this and promote other forms of BC for women who just don't do well on hormones.

FWIW, I spotted a lot -- sometimes it was just like a continuous light period depending on the type of pill I was on -- during my 20 years on the pill.

Just curious: After years of being on different pills and having all these issues, has your doctor ever suggested just going off for, say, a year to see if the spotting resolves? Or is handing out another script for Zoloft the answer?

Pharma must be very happy. We're all being fed pills that make us need more pills.

Hi StenoLady...thank you for your response to my issues. If it is spotting from my pill I can handle it...it's wondering if it's cancer or something else horrible that bothers me. I didn't really consider it spotting since it only occurs during sex...no other time throughout the month, but I guess I'm wrong. If this is in fact, spotting, fine, I'm not worried.

My gyno has not suggested going off of birth control. I thought about it myself though. If this last try with Trinessa does not help I am going off for good.

BTW, my gyno isn't the one who prescribed the Zoloft, my GP did.

So I still haven't received any clarification as to whether or not this bleeding I'm having is considered "breakthrough." Anyone know?

I spotted after sex and at other times during my cycle on every pill I tried. My doctor suggested the nuva ring and I never had an issue again. I don't know why that is, but for some reason my body just doesn't tolerate the pill.

If I had spotting at other times throughout my cycle I might not be as worried....but only during sex makes me wonder what it is and why it's happening.

If it's just a little blood, then it's spotting. But if it's as much blood as what you get during a period, then it's considered breakthrough bleeding.

Again, it doesn't matter that it only happens after sex. It's still pill related. Any woman who is on any form of hormonal birth control and has any kind of bleeding that happens outside of their withdrawal week is experiencing either spotting or breakthrough bleeding, depending on how much bleeding it is. It is extremely rare for it to be anything other than spotting or breakthrough for a woman on the pill. I hope that you understand that you would ONLY have to worry about this if you were NOT on the pill and having this problem. THEN there might be something more serious going on. But since you're on the pill, then it's definitely either spotting or breakthrough bleeding.

Is it a lot of blood? Then it's breakthrough bleeding. Or is it just a little blood? Then it's spotting.

It's more like a period, only it just lasts during sex and briefly afterward and then it's gone. It may be breakthrough bleeding, but then why did my doctor note it as dysfunctional uterine bleeding the last time I saw him about it?

Have you considered going to another doctor? I think it might help you to get a second opinion. I don't advise going to male gynecologists anyway because all of the book smarts in the world won't give them half a clue what it feels like to have a woman's parts and so on.

My best advise to you would be to seek out a female gynecologist, tell her your concerns, and let her know. Because doctors are there to help us and make us well. Your current doctor doesn't seem to understand how majorly upset you are about this. You really need a doctor who will listen to you, give you some good information, and do whatever tests are necessary to help alleviate your fears.

Seriously....I think your next step should be finding a new doc and getting a different opinion. I just went through this where I was with a doc for 8 years who did not diagnose my true problem. When I finally switched docs and relayed my symptoms, she diagnosed me right away and took care of the problem. If I would have sought out the new doc sooner, I could have avoided these last 8 years worth of not knowing what was going on. That's why I highly reccommend you go find a new doc and have a fresh pair of eyes looking at your problem. I really think it would help you to ease your worry. I really, really do.

Bracelet, you can really ignore my posts...you're probably tired of explaining all this to me.

Anyway, not getting a second opinion is definitely my fault and while I know I should...I just haven't, I really have no other excuse. Gyno visits are something we all dread, and once you've found a dr. you're comfortable with it's hard to go elsewhere and start the process all over again. If the bleeding continues, and hopefully it won't, I will most certainly have to see another doctor, there's nothing else I can do.

I guess I came to these boards in hopes that everyone would say hey I experienced that too and it's nothing to worry about, it's just the crazy hormones in birth control, you need a higher dose. And while some people have actually told me that, others urge me to get it investigated, as it could be something worse.

I'm not telling you because I think it's something worse, I'm telling you to get a second opinion to help you realize that it's really nothing to worry about.

I know that it's hard to accept sometimes, what people tell you. But I'M telling you that I have also had this problem, and I know there have been other women who have said they have had this problem as well.

Something you said too, leads me to believe it's pill-related ----, you said it happens the week before your period when you have sex. So, the week before your period, your uterus is preparing to shed its lining anyway, while the pill (and true the lower the dose, the more likely for breakthrough bleeding) also causes your blood vessels to be more brittle and therefore having sex can cause you to have some bleeding early. That is most likely what is happening to you because of the pill.

It's extremely rare, we're talking like you'd have a better chance of winning the next $250 million dollar lottery, for your particular symptoms to be anything more than breakthrough bleeding. And truly, the only way you'd know for sure is if you go back to your doctor and demand some answers, or find a new doctor who will listen to you and try to help you understand why you're perfectly healthy.

You really can't go on like this, because it's no way to live your life. I don't think you want to deprive yourself of intimacy due to this fear, and that's why you need to take some action to help yourself. Getting peoples' opinions here on this board and on the other one is fine, but we are only making guesses and giving you our opinions. A doctor would be the best person to help you and hopefully then you can rest easy about this.

I know you're really worried. But I'm asking you to please go back to your doctor or see a new one to get some better answers. I'm just saying that it's highly likely that you're just having breakthrough bleeding. I would be absolutely stunned if it were anything more serious than that. I really, really would.

Sweetpea, you've been posting about breakthrough bleeding/spotting for months now. You have questions about why your doctor would give you a certain diagnosis. You really need to ask him why he did.

If you're not comfortable with the diagnoses your doctor is giving you, set up an appointment with another doctor. It's really very, very simple. Not every woman dreads a gyno appointment. Just do it :)

You said you were a bit of a hypochondriac when you posted about your concerns of a backache being ovarian cancer. Please take the advice that virtually everyone's given you in this thread and either get some answers from your own doctor or go see someone else so you can put your mind at ease. I think you're only going to continue to get yourself more worked up and nervous by relying on the internet so much.

You're both right. I'm not going to post about this anymore. I guess I'll just see what happens and if it does happen again, I'll see a doctor. Thank you all for your responses and for putting up with my worries.

I don't usually take these web-based doctor's opinions very seriously myself, because I find that you can get a much more effective diagnosis from a face-to-face exam by your real gynecologist. Did you find out whether this doctor has any cred? Is this doc truly a gynecologist or does he/she just play one on the internet? Remember that the internet is a playground for people who like to lie a lot.

That being said though, if you're still worried then I go back to what I stated on the last page, and that is - go see your doctor! I think that needs to be your next step. It's the only thing you can do at this point. You really don't have any other options. And again, as I posted before, if your doctor doesn't give you a clear answer and you're still left with questions, then find another doctor and get more tests done.

However, the bottom line is still that your symptom, regardless of what this alleged doctor told you online, is that breakthrough bleeding is probably the most common side effect experienced by women on the pill. And if your doctor originally said something to you about dysfunctional uterine bleeding and that worried you, then it's up to you to demand some answers or treatments from your doctor. He is there to serve you and try to make you feel better. If you can't get that level of service from him, then you have to go elsewhere to find it.

So, I'm really hoping that your next post on here will be, "I just made an appointment with my doctor" and the next one will be, "I'm going to be just fine, he said it was nothing." That is what I hope to see next from you.

I know you can't always trust these web-based doctors but it concerned me that he said bleeding on bc can happen, but it isn't from sexual contact.

In any case, my dr. has told me 3 times that it is hormone-related. I really don't think I can go back to him and ask the same questions again. I will just feel stupid.

Ah, an internet doctor, eh? Yeah, I'd put an awful lot of stock in that.

What family history did the two of you discuss?

Were you able to forward your medical chart and any past diagnostics to this doctor before this "opinion" was rendered?

What feeling did you get from this doctor when you had this discussion? Was he frank with you? Did he look you in the eyes? Did you get the feeling you were being rushed, that he didn't really address all of your concerns?

How about his staff; did they take their time with you, treat you in a professional, courteous manner?

I'm genuinely curious about a real diagnosis (or even differential!) on what's going on with this bleeding of yours. Aren't you? Why are you wasting sooooo much time on the internet with this? Just the amount of time it's taken me to log in and type this post, I could have called three good friends, gotten the name of three gynos, made an appointment with one and called my existing doc to have my chart forwarded.

I'm sure you're worried -- I would be, too -- but what I'm confused by is the fact that you're compounding that worry by asking internet "doctors" what's wrong with you and coming to public message boards posting about a problem you've had for months now. I mean, do you realize that if you spend about ten minutes making a couple calls, the wheels will be in motion for a second opinion and probably a resolution to this?

At this rate, you're going to become a regular over at the ulcer/digestive disorder board, sweetie.

One other perspective: What if your best friend, mother, sister or cousin confided in you about the same problem you're having. Months go by and the problem doesn't resolve. Their own doctor kind of pushes them off, doesn't give them any real answers. Your friend/loved one is obviously stressed and worried over this. They read on the internet every day all the horrible things this could be, even consult someone who identifies themself as an online doctor (sorry, but this is laughable). What would you suggest they do?

I don't know what's keeping me from a second opinion...besides the fact that maybe I'm scared there is something wrong and I don't want to know if I have some type of cancer or something. I want to believe and trust the diagnosis I've been given already, three times, but everything I read is just so contradictory and I can't help but doubting my doctor's words.

I don't know what's keeping me from a second opinion...besides the fact that maybe I'm scared there is something wrong and I don't want to know if I have some type of cancer or something.

Okay ... worst-case scenario: This is cancer. Even though you've been closely followed by your current gyno for this specific problem, had bloodwork done, somehow your doc never made the connection that hormonal spotting/breakthrough bleeding (all the while changing your BC pills -- hormones) is cancer. Wouldn't you want to catch it early and survive? Sure, it would be devestating news, but I'd rather find out early when I have a chance of getting rid of it than having it spread and fester over years to the point of no return.

I want to believe and trust the diagnosis I've been given already, three times, but everything I read is just so contradictory and I can't help but doubting my doctor's words.

Get a second opinion from a trusted professional in your community. Stop looking to the internet for answers to this. You are probably too young to remember this, but folks lived long and healthy lives trusting their personal doctors in very recent years. There was no internet to turn to. If one questioned a diagnosis, you made an appointment with the guy across the street for him to give you his thoughts. If someone was diagnosed with something serious, they went to the local library and read the same books the doctors do. Does your doctor trust the internet for a diagnosis? Of course not! Why in the world would you?

You're right...exactly right and I can't argue anything you've said. But I know I won't force myself to see another doctor...I'll just see if it happens again....if it does, I'll be back in my doctor's office asking him for other tests I suppose.

Great news!!! Had sex today and NO bleeding. I am so so so relieved. Guess it was just the other pills afterall!

Great! That's great news! See? Now don't you feel a little ridiculous for getting so bent out of shape and for depriving yourself for 3 months just because of fear? I think you should take this as an opportunity to realize that while fear is a normal human emotion, that fear of the unknown is the reason why many people go into unknown situations is so they can face that fear head on, and learn from their experience.

Congratulations, though. I knew you would be fine, and I'm glad you feel better about the whole situation.

Thanks Bracelet. And thanks to everyone for putting up with me and my worries! Hopefully this is resolved and I won't have to post anymore! :)

This happened a few months ago too though, once I had sex and didn't bleed and then a few days later during sex I did bleed. But I'm taking comfort in knowing that it's most likely not something serious or else I would bleed every single time I'm sure!