One Wasted Month

I had a horrifying discovery last night as I refilled my weekly medication containers...I have been taking one of my medications completely wrong for an entire month. No wonder my hormones are off the charts and I am having a 9 day period!

You wonder how that can happen, especially to me who is generally 'over educated' when it comes to the medicines I take? Simply, I followed the medical 'professionals' directions on how to take the medicine. Instead of reading the enclosed pamphlet or researching it on the internet like I usually do, I followed the advice of my gynecologist's nurse who gave me the pills. Ugh!

The nurse explained to me that I was to start the pill pack the first Sunday after my period ENDED, and thus I did. I trusted her 'professional' opinion and knowledge since I claim absolutely no understanding or knowledge in this field of study. I threw the enclosed paperwork/instructions/pamphlet away when I started the first pill, thinking I did not need to read it. I was slightly curious when I started my monthly hemorrhaging as to why I had so many pills left in my pack. Something was making me question it, but again I figured it must be nothing. I was following the doctor's orders, right?

So last night, as I do once a week, I refilled my weekly medication containers. I discovered that I was on the last pill of the pill pack the gyn had given me, so I opened the next pack complete with enclosed leaflets. As I was about to throw the pamphlet away, I thought to myself, "I might as well read it and see when the great changes I have been promised will start to take effect." And to my great horror, shock, surprise I read that the pill pack is supposed to be started on the FIRST DAY of your period, NOT WHEN IT ENDED. And on WHATEVER DAY OF THE WEEK your period starts not necessarily on SUNDAY.
Talk about being peeved and at 2am on a Saturday morning, it took me a while to calm down.

Not only had I taken the pills wrong for the first month, but now I could not even restart them again for another month as I was now into my 8th day of my period. To top that off, to avoid a possibility of getting pregnant during the first month of pills (as I was advised to do), my dear sweet husband and I had been abstinent. One month was hard, and now I have to explain to him we have to do this for another 2 months? This just is NOT going to work.

I will be looking for a new gynecologist in the next few days and this time I will study up on medications and procedures for sure. And while I am at it, I think I will bring up the hysterectomy issue in the first visit until I find a doctor who will just get it over with. No more pills, please.