They always tell you to start taking your oral contraceptive pills 5 days after the start of your period, so it’ll be effective. What happens if you start taking the pills in mid-cycle instead?
I know you wouldn’t be able to rely on them for contraception because you may already have ovulated by then. I’m more curious about what it would do to your period.
Would you jump over your regularly scheduled period and have one at the end of the pill cycle instead, or are the hormones in the pills not strong enough to take over in mid-cycle? Disclaimer: I’m not planning on doing this, I’m not asking for medical advice, I’m just curious!
My opinion: It really depends on your body. I’ve done this before and what happend to me, and what I think would probably be most common, is that I spotted a little when I otherwise would have had my period. I didn’t get my period until I stopped taking that pack. The pill can completely stop your period if you keep taking it, skipping the placebos, if it is not a tri-cyclen brand.
I was told it doesn’t really matter when you start them, but starting them when you have your period confirms that you aren’t already pregnant. The first time I went on, I started the same day my period arrived, and nothing changed about it. The next time, I simply waited until the day of the week I wanted and started, since it seemed silly to wait until I got my period since I hadn’t had sex in a year and a half and the chances of my being pregnant were approximately nil.