I am thinking of asking my pcp to put me on the pill for a couple of months before and after surgery so that I don't have to deal with my period, esp. at the hospital. Is there any reason this wouldn't work? I am assuming I'll be able to choke down a small pill within a day or so of surgery to stay on track.

well actually most birth control pills do not take away your period- unless you are talking about the "4 periods a year" kind??

you can use the pill to skip periods just by taking the regular pills all the way through, and not the 7 day "dummy pills" that allow you to have something like a period every month (it is not an actual period). A lot of women do this for travel, their wedding, etc.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/womens-health/WO00069

My surgeon actually made me go off birth control at least 30 days before surgery because the estrogen effects bleeding during surgery. I can't start taking it till at least a month after surgery.

My surgeon requires 4 weeks off the pill before and 6 weeks after. Women on birth control have a greater risk of blood clots. So they want it to be out of your system to reduce the risk of blood clots post surgery.

well, drat. There goes my big plan.

you can use the pill to skip periods just by taking the regular pills all the way through, and not the 7 day "dummy pills" that allow you to have something like a period every month (it is not an actual period). A lot of women do this for travel, their wedding, etc.

http://www.mayoclini...-health/WO00069

ah! I have heard of this!

For whatever reason, I was told not to go off of birth control for surgery. The nurse said it was imperative to not get pregnant, so I needed to continue taking them.

I have mirena in and not one word from the surgeon.

I asked my surgeon about my birth control pills. He said I could continue taking them as normal since they are such small pills. No issue with having to stop them beforehand or afterwards either.

I'm so happy my hubby is getting snipped on the 3rd because as soon as we get the all clear I'm done with birth control. Plus I hate the pill because it makes me so hungry but I should be off of it by the time my husband gets the all clear and before I get surgery.

well, drat. There goes my big plan.

This has been discussed previously and my doctors had a much different reaction. My mother was worried because there is an isolated family history of blood clots. She made me check with everyone I talked to! lol My bariatric surgeon, his nurse practitioner and my primary care doctor all said it was fine to continue the birth control pill throughout. I never went off it.

However, I was due to start the day before surgery and I tried to do what you are talking about- skipping the placebos. I ended up starting the day AFTER (so two days late) and had a fairly light to normal period. THEN I started up again less than two weeks later and was on for 10-11 days. It was not just spotting, it was a full blown period. Then it got time in my pill pack for my placebos again (meaning to start) and I skipped them again to end the 10 days period. That finally worked! I've NEVER had issues with irregularity when I've been on the pill so I was not happy with this. I'm thinking if you just start the pill a few months before surgery skipping your placebo might not be that effective at that point because it can take a few months to fully regulate. Point is, if you read anything in the powder room forum, you will see that your hormones are going to be whacked out no matter what so who knows if anything will make a difference!

My only concern with this it's that I take the pill due to my pcos. Otherwise, I would go forever without a period, which seems great but isn't as it just continues to build up as a super thick lining in my uterus which then leads to pre-cancerous cells forming: NOT GOOD! So I'm definitely gonna check this out with my docs. Thanks to the op cuz I never would have thought of this otherwise.

My only concern with this it's that I take the pill due to my pcos. Otherwise' date=' I would go forever without a period, which seems great but isn't as it just continues to build up as a super thick lining in my uterus which then leads to pre-cancerous cells forming: NOT GOOD! So I'm definitely gonna check this out with my docs. Thanks to the op cuz I never would have thought of this otherwise.[/quote']

I have Pcos too. My doc took me off before and after surgery. My cycles got worst. I had large clots. My ob had me to take 3 birth control for pills for 3, two pills for 2 days and my normal one. My cycle would not stop. It slowed down for a while then it started heavy again. I had to end up getting a blood transfusion 2 weeks ago. My ob put me on estrogen. It help a little. My heavy clots again. So today I went to my primary doc she put me back on birth control. She said the birth control will help my cycle. If, I were don't trying to have a baby I would get a hysterectomy. It will be a year for me next June

"GOD IS WORKING ON YOUR BEHALF ,SO Keep having faith."<br />Your Sleeve Buddy <br />Zeta<br />

My only concern with this it's that I take the pill due to my pcos. Otherwise' date=' I would go forever without a period, which seems great but isn't as it just continues to build up as a super thick lining in my uterus which then leads to pre-cancerous cells forming: NOT GOOD! So I'm definitely gonna check this out with my docs. Thanks to the op cuz I never would have thought of this otherwise.[/quote']

I have Pcos too. My doc took me off before and after surgery. My cycles got worst. I had large clots. My ob had me to take 3 birth control for pills for 3, two pills for 2 days and my normal one. My cycle would not stop. It slowed down for a while then it started heavy again. I had to end up getting a blood transfusion 2 weeks ago. My ob put me on estrogen. It help a little. My heavy clots again. So today I went to my primary doc she put me back on birth control. She said the birth control will help my cycle. If, I were don't trying to have a baby I would get a hysterectomy. It will be a year for me next June 26. After I have a successful pregnancy, the doctor can take everything out. I was on metforin for my cycles. My doctors took me off

"GOD IS WORKING ON YOUR BEHALF ,SO Keep having faith."<br />Your Sleeve Buddy <br />Zeta<br />

I would not be looking into starting any new medications soon before surgery, but that's just my 2 cents. You never know how a specific medication is going to affect your body, and some people tolerate different types of birth controls differently. I thought about this same thing before surgery, because I used to be on birth control, but I have worked in the medical field and I've actually met a few young women who have had blood clots related to being on the pill. It was enough to make me certain that before surgery is not the time to take it. Especially since immediately after surgery you'll be laying around more.

It would be a bummer to have your period on/directly after surgery, but I guess that's just part of life.