I wasn't sure whether this belonged in the menopause section or the contraception section, but thought that I'd put it here as I suspect it's related to my age (49) rather than anything else!
I've been on the mini pill (Cerelle) for about 9 years, and have had no periods at all for that time (after the first few months settling in). I had a 7 or 8 month break from the pill at the start of covid, when it was difficult to get appointments and medication, but apart from that I've been on it continuously, with no bleeding at all.
Yesterday, I had terrible cramps very low down in my abdomen. I thought at first that it might be trapped wind or constipation (although this is never normally an issue for me). This morning, I realised that I'd started bleeding - I assume it's a period. Because of the pill, I have no idea what my natural cycle might be, but I started taking Cerelle because my periods were getting increasingly heavy and close together (about 22-23 days). For a couple of years, I was using HRT patches (Evorel Conti - I was advised to use these, even though not post-menopausal, because I didn't have periods). However, I stopped using these about 3 months ago.
I'm not quite sure what my question is! I guess I'm wondering whether I should consider my current bleeding to be "normal" (i.e. just a period), or whether it counts as unusual (which it is, for me). I'd feel like an idiot asking my GP about having a normal period
But I'm also a bit freaked out by it when I've had 9 years with no bleeding at all. Is this just peri causing such hormonal swings/heavy cycles that the pill is no longer able to suppress it?