[BlueSkyy]

Okay, so normally I take my BC pills 3 months in a row, skipping the periods in between. This cycle was going great, until I got a UTI. They put me on Bactrim and Cipro, which of course caused a yeast infection so they also put me on Fluconazole. I started the Bactrim the 23rd, and the Cipro and Fluconazole on the 25th.

Well, on the morning of the 1st, I woke up and went to the bathroom. I looked down into the toilet bowl once I had finished urinating and nearly passed out. The bowl was FULL of blood. It looked like a murder. It was a terrifying sight, and I immediately thought it had come from my urine and that I needed to get to the hospital. I wiped and wiped and more blood (bright red) kept coming and then black clots started coming...

I grabbed a hand mirror and flashlight and finally confirmed that the blood/clots were coming from my vagina, thank god, not my urethra. However, I was in the middle of my second month of pills, nowhere near close to my period time. I've never missed a pill and take them within a 15 minute window every night. There was no cramping or pain before, during, or after the incident, and by noon my pads/tampons were completely clear of blood. I haven't had a spot of blood since. I'd estimate maybe 1/4 cup of blood+clots came out during just that hour, maybe more. It was a lot, very scary.

So, I was wondering...Is this breakthrough bleeding caused by the 2 antibiotics and the Fluconazole? All three of them warned that they can interfere with BC pills...Perhaps they reduced the hormones and caused this to happen? I haven't had sex at all since starting the meds, and I took a pregnancy test (negative) the 19th, before I even got the UTI (because I have a horrible crippling phobia of becoming pregnant, I need to test every now and then to keep myself sane, even though I'm on the pill and my boyfriend pulls out every time.)

OMG AS I WAS TYPING THIS I JUST HAD ANOTHER BLEED ATTACK. I was just sitting here typing, felt a warm hot gush, and just bleed like crazy, bright red with more dark clots, no pain at all! What's going on with me??? Please help, I'm really scared now that this just happened again!

[BlueSkyy]

Okay, so I had a gyno appointment this morning. He laughed off the idea that the bleeding was caused by the meds, so I guess I'll take his word for it.

I had another "bleed attack" during the pap smear. He said my cervix started bleeding as soon as he touched it. It was a real gusher, none of this spotting or light bleeding you may expect. I got blood ALL over the exam chair, his gloves, the floor, my legs and hands; it was a mess. I felt so ashamed, like a puppy that piddled on the floor.

I'm no closer to understanding this. I'm expecting a call when the pap, urine, and blood tests come back in, but in the meantime, can ANYONE offer me some advice/compassion/sympathy? I feel like I'm completely alone.

[augurey]

I really don't have any advice and am not really sure what to tell you as far as to what could be going on, but please don't feel ashamed at what happened at your doctor's office. I can understand that you might feel bad about what had happened, but you had no control over it.

I think the main thing is that you got in to see your doctor. I hope you get some answers soon and hopefully it's nothing major.

[ItsASecret]

Your doctor likely called it spotting, which can happen without warning even while on the pill. The antibiotics do interfere with bc pill, they lower the effectiveness of preventing pregnancy (in other words use a condom if you choose to have sex) but they will not directly cause a bleed. If the doctor thinks it is something more serious he will let you know.

[Alexa Hook]

This frustrates me, that your doctor laughed off the idea of the bleeding being caused by the meds. I'm going through the same thing. I've been bleeding for 12 days on and off now, no blood, and then lots of blood, and it all started when I began a heavy dose of antibiotics (cephalexine 500mg, 4x a day). My doctor told me it couldn't be the antibiotics...but then....what else would have started this? If the antibiotics can affect your birth control, would it not then affect your period? I think experience speaks louder than the doctors on this one.

[VenusD]

Hi! Any update about this? I too bled after taking Clarithromycin(500mg twice a day for 10 days), it is also an antibiotic. Well, not really bleeding but spotting. I first see brown discharge on my panty on the last day of medication. I am already having brown spotting for 17 days now.