Dear DOLLY, I have been taking the pill for about three months now ... I tried to skip it one time, I didn't take the sugar pills, but I still got my period. Is this okay? I'm really confused. Emma
I'm assuming you went straight from the 21 hormone pills of one packet to the 21 hormone pills of another packet. If you simply didn't take the sugar pills (and took no pills for 7 days) you would still get a period. Taking hormone pills continuously from one packet to the next usually means skipping a period. But sometimes the brain 'overrides' this continuous hormone pill-taking and signals the uterus to shed its lining anyway.
There is nothing unsafe about this - it will vary from woman to woman, and might even vary for the same woman from month to month. It's just a bit annoying, because it's unpredictable. Doing the maths, taking hormone pills continuously means you'll go through more packets in a year, making it more expensive and if you are getting unpredictable periods it might not be worth it.
It's also not known whether there is an increased chance of any long term problems taking the hormone pills continuously for months and months, so many women might take 3 packets in a row, followed by a week of sugar pills, then another 3 packets and so on.
If you're using the pill for contraception, you are protected from pregnancy provided that you are taking the pill every day with no more than 7 sugar pills (or no pills) in a row. Taking the hormone pills continuously is also safe from a contraception point of view, even if you have an unexpected period.
Because it can be confusing, it's a good idea to write down what's happening - keep a period and pill diary - so that if you do need to talk to your doctor about it, you will have a record of what happened so she can explain it all to you properly.
