I missed my Xulane patch. How to monitor my cycle?

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

Since you missed your Xulane (Ehinyl estradiol and Norelgestromin) patch in the third week, your hormones likely dipped, which is why you are spotting now. That is more like a withdrawal bleed and not a true period.

You have already put on a new patch, so that is fine. We will just reset your cycle from here.

You might probably be experiencing hormone withdrawal due to missing the patch for several days. So I suggest you do a few tests, such as

1. Urine pregnancy test (if you had unprotected sex in the last five days).

2. Nothing else is needed unless bleeding continues for more than a week.

Other causes may include

1. Breakthrough bleeding.

2. Early menstrual bleeding.

3. Implantation bleed (if recent unprotected sex).

Your condition can be diagnosed as breakthrough or withdrawal bleeding from a missed patch. The treatment plan that can help you is as follows:

1. Keep the new patch on and treat this as the first day of your new cycle.

2. Continue wearing patches weekly as usual.

3. Use backup contraception (condoms) for the next seven days since protection may have dropped.

4. If bleeding is light, leave it alone; if it becomes heavy, seek a review.

5. Set a weekly reminder for patch changes. Avoid long gaps between patches, that is, when hormone levels fall and bleeding starts.

If you miss your next withdrawal bleed or the spotting worsens, repeat a pregnancy test and follow up with me. Update me after your next patch change so we can see if your cycle stabilized.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.