<s>[INST] im taking althea oral contraceptives. on the first day, i took the pill at 4pm. on the second day at around 6pm. and on the third day at around 5pm. and from the 4th day onwards, ive been taking it at 4pm everyday. ive been taking it for 10 days now. On the first week i was taking it, i was experiencing lightheadedness, i get tired easily, and really bloated. My partner even noticed i gained weight so quickly. But what most alarms me is that i would sometimes get light sort-of-painful sensations around my belly where i would experience cramps when i have my period before. And with this, i would have a brownish discharge and (sometimes) urine, too. Is this normal? What should i do? [/INST] Hallow Dear, You seem to be from the Philippines. Althea is mainly available in the Philippines. These pills contain Cyproterone which is a progestational agent, and Ethinylestradiol which is an Estrogen product. Both these medicines cause nausea, sometimes vomiting and pain in abdomen due to the fact that they increase acidity in the stomach and secondly due to the fact that they are intoxicated in the Liver. From your history, it seems you are not consuming these pills after dinner. Please change the timings of these pills to post dinner time. On full stomach, the gastritis effect is much minimized. Stick to one specific time for consumption of these pills. Moreover, you may take some proton pump inhibitors like Pantoprazole every morning on empty stomach which will help you control the gastritis. All the gastro-enteric symptoms you are experiencing are known with the birth control pills due to hormones in them. Usually they stop after a month or so; however if they continue, you may try Pantoprazole. If still they persist, you may change the brand with the help of your Gynecologist. The brownish discharge you had is known as breakthrough bleeding which is a hormonal effect. If it continues, you may take two pills on that day which will stop the bleeding. Yes, putting on weight is a known (side) effect of birth control pills. It is due to water retention as well as fat deposition. You may try to control it by restriction on salt intake and consuming high protein, low fat and low carboy Chat Doctor.  I am sure this would help you.  </s>