Hello! This is my first post on here but I’ve been an anxious wreck the last month and I wasn’t sure where to turn to so I thought I’d ask here:

I’ve been on birth control for about a year now consistently and although my periods became shorter, they were still pretty heavy blood and symptom wise.

However, my last two periods have been a bit different. Same symptoms (sore chest, mild stomach irritation), same day it’s supposed to come every month and stays for the same length, but it’s a little lighter and very brown instead of the usual bright red. It’s still too heavy for spotting though.

I am sexually active but only ever with a condom (+ the pill obvi). I thought maybe my period was thrown off last month because I traveled out of the country and took my pills according to their local time zone (5 hrs off) for about 7 days, but now I’ve been back for a month and my period is still abnormal.

Like I said, the only obvious difference is the color of the blood. But everything I read online has me all freaked out thinking I’m pregnant/ diseased/ dying so I was just wondering if anybody else has experienced something similar? I know sometimes over time the pill can make your uterus’s lining thinner or stress can also affect it, but I’m just not sure.

Thanks!!!