Ugh annuals

Blackbird230 · January 2014

****TMI DISCLAIMER****

I officially hate the shift from college to post college life. I've been trying to get a gyn appointment for months now. The place I was calling kept saying they weren't scheduling March. My last year's was March 5 at my college health center. I called up my previous place and managed to get an appointment for March 6, but one big issue. I'll have my period that week. But my birth control pills are up on March 8 so if I don't go to the appointment, I'll have to be a month off pills. No idea what to do. The school won't extend my prescription a month.

RWS2011 · January 2014

Based on your age, are you due for the full works? If your previous paps have been fine, you might not be due for one for another year or so. You might just have a regular physical. It really bugs me when you have had the same medication for a while and NOTHING happens at the appointment, so really what is the point in going in?

buddysmom80 · January 2014

Kait said:

****TMI DISCLAIMER****

I officially hate the shift from college to post college life. I've been trying to get a gyn appointment for months now. The place I was calling kept saying they weren't scheduling March. My last year's was March 5 at my college health center. I called up my previous place and managed to get an appointment for March 6, but one big issue. I'll have my period that week. But my birth control pills are up on March 8 so if I don't go to the appointment, I'll have to be a month off pills. No idea what to do. The school won't extend my prescription a month.

Depending on if you go to a larger ob/gyn practice they may have oral BC available in their office from pharmaceutical reps. It's okay to have an annual during your period, if anything comes back funky on a pap smear they'll have you come back when you're not having your period.

Also, if you're worried about not being on BC, use another backup/barrier method (condoms, etc).

labro · January 2014

Kait said:

****TMI DISCLAIMER****

I officially hate the shift from college to post college life. I've been trying to get a gyn appointment for months now. The place I was calling kept saying they weren't scheduling March. My last year's was March 5 at my college health center. I called up my previous place and managed to get an appointment for March 6, but one big issue. I'll have my period that week. But my birth control pills are up on March 8 so if I don't go to the appointment, I'll have to be a month off pills. No idea what to do. The school won't extend my prescription a month.

I was in a tough corner once post-college. I ended up being able to get an appointment with Planned Parenthood and renew my prescription there. You can also try calling the gyn office you're going to in March and explaining the situation with your pill. They may either try to get you in earlier for your appointment or just write you a scrip for an extra month of pills so you can continue without any breaks.

Blackbird230 · January 2014

@Imhollister, that's what I'm hoping. I can't do in earlier because of my insurance. March 6 is the first day the insurance will cover the visit.

phira · January 2014

I'm not sure annuals are required for BC anymore. Doctors might prescribe without one (even if it's against the rules). Worst case scenario, are there any Planned Parenthoods near you?

Blackbird230 · January 2014

There are some Planned Parenthoods yea.

Dignity100 · January 2014

This might sound wonky - but I'm going to try to explain it. With my BC, if I have an event what I'll sometimes do is start taking the sugar pill on a Thursday instead of Sunday so Mr. Monthly comes sooner and is over by the time I need it to be. Could you possibly try something like that?

blabla89 · January 2014

Have you asked your GYN office if they could extend the prescription for you? They might be willing to for one month, since you've already been taking it for a while. Or do you have a regular doctor (GP) that you could ask? Like a family physician you saw before college? They may be willing to write a prescription for one pack.

I'm sure Planned Parenthood offers BC without an exam - it just may end up costing a little more depending on whether they take your insurance.

Blue & White · January 2014

@Kait You can get an annual exam at your regular doctor, just FYI. Which means your regular doctor can extend your birth control for a month if you explain the situation

Also, unless your period is uber heavy, does it matter? (I apparently have not encountered this situation before...and am thus uninformed.)

GoldenPenguin · January 2014

I could only have my IUD put in while I was having my period. It's a gynecologist - he/she knows what a period is - I'm sure you're not the first one to have your period during an exam. And like @buddysmom80 said - if something comes back wonky, they'll just have you come back in.

Blackbird230 · January 2014

Yea. I may just call them up and see what they say. If I have to, I'll go to PP and get a month's worth just to tide me over. Thanks ladies!

minskat30 · January 2014

Dignity100 said:

This might sound wonky - but I'm going to try to explain it. With my BC, if I have an event what I'll sometimes do is start taking the sugar pill on a Thursday instead of Sunday so Mr. Monthly comes sooner and is over by the time I need it to be. Could you possibly try something like that?

Maybe I don't understand this properly but are you saying you don't complete your pack? If so, you could be risking getting pregnant. The only way I could see doing this would be in you were on the pill continuously (i.e., you don't take the suger pills except a few times a year). Then, it wouldn't matter when you stopped so long as you had been taking the active pills for 21 days before taking the sugar pill. I'm tired today so maybe I'm not getting it though.

ETA - I can't believe I have to ask this given my age and how long I've been on the pill but is it 21 days of active pills that is necessary to protect against pregnancy or 7 days of active pills and so long as you take your active pill again with no more than 7 days of sugar pills in between?

Dignity100 · January 2014

@minskat30 - basically what I've done before was you have the 21 days of 'active' pills (X) and the 7 days of 'off' pills(0) - so a normal pack would look like:
X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X
0 0 0 0 0 0 0

So what I have done (a doc a long time ago said it was OK to do this, but it wasn't my normal OB doc and not one I went back to):
X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X
X X X X X 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 X X

In order to move up my cycle - so I do finish the full 28-day pack.

phira · January 2014

Okay so I feel silly, but I just remembered that when I was in college, I had my GYN appointment when I was having my period. This was back when you had to have a Pap smear annually or you couldn't get your BC refilled (specifically Pap smear--a pelvic wasn't enough). My doctor did it anyway, and didn't seem the least bit fazed by my period. The only problem, she told me, was that if my period was too heavy, I might have to have the Pap smear redone, but that she could still refill my BC that day. (Yes, my period was too heavy so I had to get a second Pap smear. Uuuugh!)

But like @BriSox81 experienced, most women who have IUDs inserted have it done during their period (cervix is slightly more open). I didn't due to a scheduling issue, but obviously, GYNs are used to menstrual blood.

I DO think it's worth calling your doctor and finding out if you need your annual ... because I definitely have had doctors refill my BC prescription (the whole year's worth) without an appointment. For a while, you had to have your annual done, but I don't think it's really true anymore, or maybe it varies by insurance.

@minskat30 I'm honestly not sure!

Blue & White · January 2014

@phira last I checked, the rule of thumb was if you have 3 paps clean in a row, you can skip a year. Or something like that. I think you also have to be over 21 and sexually active for a certain number of years, etc.

I obviously have no idea. My paps are boring as anything lol

phira · January 2014

Blue & White said:

@phira last I checked, the rule of thumb was if you have 3 paps clean in a row, you can skip a year. Or something like that. I think you also have to be over 21 and sexually active for a certain number of years, etc.

I obviously have no idea. My paps are boring as anything lol

Oh, I meant in terms of getting BC renewed. You can definitely skip a year now if you have several clean Paps in a row.

Which is the BEST because no thanks.

labro · January 2014

Blue & White said:

@phira last I checked, the rule of thumb was if you have 3 paps clean in a row, you can skip a year. Or something like that. I think you also have to be over 21 and sexually active for a certain number of years, etc.

I obviously have no idea. My paps are boring as anything lol

How did I not know this??? Why have I been going in for a pap every year then? Ugh! This sucks...

I've never had an abnormal one...so unfair. I need to go this year anyway...I want to talk to my gyn about an IUD anyway so it doesn't matter for this year at least.

Swazzle · January 2014

@lmhollister - I think that's something new in the past year or so and not all doctors are on board with it from what I understand. I've had irregular paps and other issues in the past so I'm lucky to only have to go every year now.

Ditto PPs, you can go for an annual while you have your period.

Dignity100 · January 2014

In the office I go to - one of the doctors will do the once every 3 years while the other doctor says he doesn't trust it and wants one done EVERY year... I typically go to the doctor that wants it done every year because he doesn't seem to take as long with his exam.

buddysmom80 · January 2014

My gyn does a pap every year, but now that I think about it, I had an abnormal pap in 2009 or 2010 so maybe that's why. Either way, the abnormal pap I had was after I hadn't had an annual in a few years, so that kind of forced me to have an annual every year. I can walk to my gyn's office from my office so I really have no excuse!

leia1979 · January 2014

My HMO now only wants me to see the gyn once every three years. Not only is the pap only every three years, so is the exam! In reality, I go in every 2-2.5 years.

Ugh annuals

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