Abnormal bleading

I am on yaz birth control.  I started bleeding 2 weeks before my sugar pills.  It was very light and stopped a few days before my period.  I got my period on the normal day and it ended when I started my new pack of pills.  After the first week into my new pack of pills I started bleeding again.  I have had intercourse during the first week of the pill.  I am a little nervous as to why I bled so much last month and why I have started bleeding again during the first week of my pills.

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
You are having classic break through bleeding.  The most common cause is missing a pill now and then.  If you haven't missed any pills, you might need to consider switching pills for awhile.  For my patients who are newly on pills, I often use progesterone to clean out the uterus before starting pills.  For my patients who have been on pills for a long time, I use estrogen to build the lining back up again.  A lining that is either too thick or too thin can cause bleeding.

Good luck!
Dr B