[mtkanon]

Hello! I am currently on my 7th pack of Lo Loestrin Fe and am still not entirely regular. For the last 4 packs, I have gotten brown discharge for two days at the beginning of weeks 2 and 4, but have never actually gotten my period when I am supposed to, as Lo Loestrin Fe only has two inactive pills at the end of week 4. I was wondering what the brown discharge during week 4 could be--is it the shedding of my uterine lining? Additionally, I had another issue during the 4th week of my most recent pack. On the last Sunday of the pack I had my normal brown discharge. I also had sex during that same Sunday, and I had not skipped/missed any pills for the entire pack. On Monday I forgot my pill in the morning and took it 7 hours late that afternoon. Tuesday I was really worried that I could have been unprotected since I missed my pill Monday, so I took Plan B Tuesday morning, about 36 hours post-intercourse. In all of my worry, I completely skipped Tuesday's pill, continued taking the rest of the weeks pill, and on Friday I realized I had skipped Tuesday's pill, so I doubled up. Now I am worried because I have not yet had any bleeding following Plan B. How do I know if it worked and when can I take an HPT since I never get a normal period on Lo Loestrin FE anyway? Has anyone else taken Plan B on Lo Loestrin FE? Thank you so much for your help!

[DoulaLC]

Hi mtkanon,

It happens for some women that all they have is some light spotting/discharge when they would expect a period when taking Lo Loestrin Fe. Some women never have a period while using it and others have periods on schedule.

Odds of pregnancy are very low since you were on your last week when you had the sex, and also took Plan b as a back up, which in a way simply took the place of the regular pill that you would have normally taken on Tuesday.

Don't worry about not bleeding after Plan B, many women do have some within a few days of using it, but others do not. The lack of bleeding does not indicate that it didn't work.

Since your periods are irregular, it will be difficult to use a lack of one as a possible indicator for pregnancy. You may want to try a pregnancy test in another week or two, or you could see your doctor for a blood test.