NO, do not stop your pills at all!!

You NEED ALL your active pills in order to be protected!

There is a rule of thumb with birth control.. You need at LEAST 21 active pills to be protected from pregnancy, then you can have a period 'break'.

You could take 22 active pills, 32, 50, 60... so on.. JUST no less than 21. This was all figured out during testing of birth control pills.

You will not AUTOMATICALLY skip a period by skipping placebo pills, it takes time for your body to synch up like that. You could end up with spotting for 2-3 weeks.

WHENEVER you miss a pill spotting is hgihly likely to happen. Your best bet is to keep on with your normal pill schedule and also have your period week.

IF you try to alter it you will likely end up with even longer spotting.

So wait... if I had unprotected sex before I stopped my pills... and then I stop them... I won't be protected???? That doesn't make sense to me if it already happened, you know?

I thought altering would maybe make the spotting go away by starting a new pack.

I am a health professional.. I deal with birth control,abortion and womens health DAILY.

SPERM can live inside of you for 5-7 days.

Missing 3 pills puts you at HIGH HIGH risk of ovulation. You ovulate, then that sperm can fertilize an EGG .

You may think WOW, that seems odd.. BUT SO many women who come for an abortion do not realize that you cannot do that with your pills.

THIS is often how women become pregnant during birth control use, they do not understand these things.

You may be wondering "WHY can I have a 7 day break?" That is easy. During PILL testing trials they found that taking at LEAST 21 pills before a "period break" will prevent ovulation during those 7 days ONLY.

This is why starting a NEW pack late is dangerous, you can ovulate during that time.

I thought altering would maybe make the spotting go away by starting a new pack

NO. You could have spotting during what would have been your period week, and then have spotting during the next 2-3 weeks.

You ever see those commercials for "Seasonale". where you only have 4 periods a year?

MOST women will bleed for 3-4 weeks while their body 'learns' to skip a period. Skipping is not instant, it takes time.