Elizabeth20 asked
I just switched birth control brands to ocella and switched right after finishing the placebo pills in the old brand and now I am 3 days late on my period and freaking out!
Answer
It is not uncommon to experienced missed periods (known as amenorrhea) when switching to a different brand of birth control. In fact, missed periods can happen fairly often in those that taking one brand consistently. Current data suggests that between 10% and 40% of non-pregnant individuals will experience amenorrhea, with slight variations depending on birth control product being used. Per the package insert for Yasmin (the brand name for Ocella), the incidence rate or amenorrhea is around 10%.
When you miss your period when taking birth control pills, it is always important to rule out pregnancy. Therefore you should be sure to take a pregnancy test or make an appointment with your doctor to confirm you are not pregnant. If you are not pregnant, know the not having menses after finishing your active pills, or when switching birth control brands is fairly common and there doesn't appear to be any negative effects associated with it. Nevertheless, you should let you doctor know about what you are experiencing so you may be properly evaluated.
