Breakthrough Bleeding...time to Change?

I never had breakthrough bleeding on ovcon 35 though I had a lot of other problems including huge water retention and moodiness & anxiety & zero sex drive. Unfortunately, it looks like a higher estrogen pill may be your only choice...Other than putting up with the breakthrough bleeding or going off the pill altogether. Did you have bleeding between periods before going on the pill or just after starting on them?

Yes, I had breakthrough bleeding/spotting before I went on the pill. The pill has definitely helped, but its still happening.

I actually started on yaz but that did nothing for the spotting, so my doctor upped me to ovcon-35.

I'm just afraid to step up the estrogen with the history of estrogen related breast cancer in my family. I don't know if thats a valid concern or not...

Actually, if you had breakthrough bleeding before the pill, it is usually a hormonal imbalance caused by low progesterone and going on the pill tends to make it worse by upping the ratio of estrogen to progesterone in the body. You might try going off the pill again (with your family history of breast cancer it might be wise anyway). Then, note where in your cycles the bleeding occurs--is it around mid-way (ovulation--it's actually normal to spot then) or is it in the 2 weeks between ovulation and your period? If it's in the luteal phase (the time between ovulation and your period), it's almost definitely a low progesterone situation. There are some things you could try--taking vitex (chaste tree berry), taking 100-200 mg vitamin b6 daily (sometimes this defect is caused by low vitamin b6, but don't take more than 200 mg of it daily, it's dangerous in higher doses--good to take it in a b vitamin complex since all the b vitamins work best together), trying natural progesterone cream. Or, if the spotting is still bad, see about testing your progesterone 7 days past ovulation (cycle day 21 for a 28 day cycle usually) at the gyno or an endocrinologist. They can prescribe progesterone supplements. Good luck to you!

Another thing that might help if you go off the pill is charting your cycles (basal body temperatures). This is used by a lot of women trying to conceive or using fertility awareness method to avoid pregnancy. If you have a short luteal phase (less than 10 days), that's almost a red flag for low progesterone. I have had low progesterone since stopping bcps 7 months ago, that's how I know so much about it, unfortunately. If you're interested in this, the site

http://www.Fertilityfriend.Com

has info on how it works and lets you chart online for free. If you suspect you might have low progesterone, it might be worth it to chart and see what your cycles do.