I've heard some people say that taking the BCP even when not sexually active can help make menstruation more regular. I never thought to ask anyone before, but is the BCP a prescription-only thing? I certainly don't think I've ever seen it sitting in someone's shopping cart in the 10-items-or-fewer lane.

Yeah it is a prescription thing...you have to go to the doctor and the doctor will usually give you an exam (AHHH!)... Also it is supposed to keep you regular...my friend was on it and that's why she was on it. But you might want to make sure about the ingredients...I'm not sure it's vegan (if that's what you are)

Yes it makes menstruation regular. I was very irregular and now I get my period every 28 days like clockwork, which is actually annoying because I got it a lot less before. But if I skip the placebo pills (and thus my period) I get nasty side effects and my next period is really bad. Some people stop menstruating all together on birth control pills, but I haven't been so lucky. I take it for the birth control part. I know people who started taking it when they were in their teens because of cramps or acne, although from my experience the pill hasn't helped much with either of those things.

It is prescription only, at least in the U.S. There are some ways around that if you buy them online, although I'm not sure that's exactly legal.

It's more expensive if you buy them online, too.

I'm on bcp for an endocrinological disorder, not contraception. (Although I could get pregnant, the fetus would die by the second trimester.) I refused to take them for ten years for a variety of reasons, most notably companies' unethical decisoins to test on poor Puerto Rican women without their consent, the fact that bcp makes people less likely to use condoms, and doctors' mistaken belief that any woman's health concern can be solved through hormones. (I knew in my case that wasn't true becuase I have LOCAH, but I didn't want to reinforce my doctor's general belief.)

I found that Ortho Tri Cyclen really does help with acne, but variants, including Ortho Tri-Cyclen LO, don't. I don't know about cramps; I'm one of the very lucky few who've never gotten them.

Terra

I started on BCP at 21 because from the time I was about 13 my periods were hell. They just kept getting worse as I was older. I had really bad periods, very bad cramps, as I got older they got extremely irregular, for a while I was getting it every 3 wks, and it made me sick for at least 2 wks every time I got it (the week before, the week during), so I was sick JUST from my period 2 wks out of every 3. It SUCKED!!! Now its 28 days on the nose, and virtually painless. Woo!

I think it depends on the brand, because when I tried BCP's they completely screwed up my period.

i use a monophasic BCP (same dose of hormones in every pill) and control my periods that way. i don't take the placebo for 3 months in a row and only have 4 periods/year!!! you can do this with any monophasic pill.

On the pill, I get my period every 28 days like clockwork too. But I was very regular before-hand too.

If you're in the U.S. and don't have insurance, you can get the pills from Canada MUCH cheaper. You still need a prescription, and it's legal. You fax it to them, a doctor checks it out, etc...

It is a prescription medication. You can get a prescription from your doc or from a clinic. They will give you a pelvic exam beforehand to make sure that everything is alright and all. It does regulate your system due to the hormones... for 3 out of the four weeks you get a varying level of the hormones, and for one of the weeks you take a "reminder" pill and that is the week when your period will arrive. It is good for a lot of people for cramps as well.

Oh yeah, and it you go through a clinic you can get them for not too big of a price. I know that Planned Parenthood works on a sliding scale. A friend of mine even got hers for free. I know it's covered by insurance as well.