When to start using the pill
Starting The Pill
hi it's dr. Lewis again and I want to do
this video on how to start the pill
because I know that sometimes people
forget what I say in the office and this
will help you remember what day to start
the pill first of all remember that a
lot of pills come on just a piece of
cardboard and it looks something like
this I put a made a big one for you and
this this pack of pills has three weeks
of active pills plus three more days and
in the last week and then four weeks
four days of duds or just your sugar
pills and older birth control pills they
come with three weeks of active pills
and then one week of sugar pills and I
call them your duds extremely old pills
can come with three weeks on and no duds
on the bottom so remember why do I think
it's good to be on the pill number one
you can control when you have your
period you can even decide if you want
to have a period so that's really the
coolest thing about the pill and it's
totally healthy not to have a period
when you are on the pill secondly it
lowers your risk for certain cancers
it'll lower your risk for cancer the
lining of the uterus it lowers your risk
for colon cancer and the longer you're
on it it lowers your risk for ovarian
cancer one year is good and five years
is better to lower your risk of ovarian
cancer by half so that's another really
good thing okay so let's start on how to
take the pill there's two ways to start
one is to wait until the first day of
your period and that's the first thing
that you start bleeding is the first day
of your period and start the pill that
day the second way to start the pill is
you wait for the Sunday after you start
bleeding so if you started bleeding on
Wednesday that coming Sunday you start
taking the pill if you start bleeding on
Saturday then the next day you start
taking the pill if you start bleeding on
Sunday then
you start taking the pill so let's say
we use this pack and you want to do the
easiest way which is to start taking the
pill on the first day of your period and
you started your period on Wednesday
well all the pill packs come with these
stickers on the days of the week but the
different day for each week each a
different strip for each day of the week
and you just stick it on if you start
your period on Wednesday that's the day
you start taking the pill and just take
a pill a day like nothing's happening
let's say you get down here
and you start bleeding again you
thinking whoa that's not right you still
take a pill a day like nothing's
happening go down to the next week and
start taking the sugar pills well let's
say you start taking the sugar pills and
nothing comes out don't even think about
it just open the next pack and start the
next Wednesday on your next pack and
eventually you'll get unto the schedule
of having your period down when you're
having your sugar pills so that's why a
lot of people want us to do a Sunday
start the Sunday start is really popular
so that you won't have periods on the
weekends so what you do is you start
your put your the birth control pill you
put the strip on so the Sunday is on the
first day and the Sunday after your
first day of bleeding is when you start
taking the pill not the last day the
first day of your period you'd start the
Sunday after so if you started on
Saturday then the next day start taking
the pill same thing if you start on
Wednesday then you can wait for the
coming up Sunday if you start on
Saturday I mean on Friday you wait till
that Sunday coming up and then you just
start taking the pill and hopefully
you'll have the periods like Tuesday
through Friday maybe is when you should
start having your period and should be
done at least by that weekend so that is
how you start the pill
so the last thing I want to remind
everybody are the are the top 4
questions that we get about taking the
pill number one what do I do if I don't
have a period when I'm supposed to have
when I'm taking my sugar pills the
answer just go right into your next pack
I didn't have a period for 25 years and
I took my sugar pills nothing came out
and I started my next pack so you would
just see a lucky duck if that happen
the second question number two what if I
start bleeding in the middle of a pack
if it's especially when you first take
the pill you can bleed in the middle of
pack until your body regulates to the
pill cycle so if you start bleeding in
the middle of pack you just take a pill
a day like nothing's happening going to
the last week whether or not you have a
period you just start the next pack
don't go by your periods just go by the
pack once you start the pack the third
thing is what if I'm not feeling that
great starting starting the pill like I
don't really like how I feel or even
though the birth control pill is
supposed to lower your risk for acne
what have you started breaking out more
well don't stop in the middle of the
pack or you'll screw up your periods for
months so what you have to do is call
ahead and say I don't like this pack can
I try different brand and finish this
pack and then start the new brand on the
pill schedule don't wait for your period
to start the next pack of the new or
brand on that schedule the last thing I
wanted to remind everyone is that you're
only supposed to gain six pounds at the
most if you do gain weight on the pill
and I'll just be honest I weighed myself
all the time when I started the pillow
because I thought I was going to gain
and I might have gained a little bit but
I went back down and I stayed the same
for the rest of my life so six pounds is
what the books say would be the maximum
you can gain from the pill
you
