Birth control effectiveness!? help?

Is this your first pack of pills? The pill affects your hormone levels and suppresses ovulation. However, hormone levels take a while to adjust. If I’m not mistaken, “they” say that you should assume it won’t be effective for the first three months.

It’s said that, when taken correctly (which it sounds like you’ve been doing), birth control pills are about 97% effective. If you’re really that worried, the “morning after pill” is an option. I know that in Canada you can get it from a pharmacist; I’m not sure what the system is like in the US but I believe it’s similar.

If you have been taking it religiously everyday for a extended period of time you should not have problems at all.

The other thing you might do, to be doubly absolutely safe, is have him wear a condom. That would be extremely effective and would go a long way to letting you not worry about getting pregnant—which, if you don’t want to be, can really take some of the joy out of sex.

@Seelix It’s actually 6 weeks.
You are supposed to take the sugar pill week. It doesn’t effect the effectiveness of The Pill.

Since you have been taking the pills consistantly you should be fine. It does not matter what part of the month you have sex. It does not really take months for the pill to start working. If you are on the hormone, you are. Every month is a new month. Bleeding is the absence of the hormone, and then you introduce hormones in a new month. The tricky thing is in the first month many times people start on a Sunday, rather than starting on a specific cycle day, which means the hormones may not be perfect. Also, in the first month you do not know yet if you are having breaktrhough bleeding, or some sort of sign that the hormones are not enough for you. Since you have started your colored pills, did you get your period?

My apologies for overestimating the caution period; I guess I just think “better safe than sorry”.

No I have not gotten my period yet. Tomorrow will be my fourth colored pill.

Which type of pill is it? The one with 4 placebos, or 7?

7.

And this is your first month taking the pill right? So you don’t know what day you “usually” start your period?

Definitely take a pregnancy test before starting your new pack of pills if you don’t get your period. I think I used to get my period the third day on placebos if I remember correctly, but everyone is a little different. I know many women who have much lighter shorter periods on the pill; and I was never different. I would not be panicked.

it’s not my first month. it’s my second month. After i finish the next 3 colored pills; i’ll be starting my third month.

oh and last month; i got my period on the third colored pill.

Ok, so you are not very late yet. If you took your last pill of the month a few hours late it could push your period to day 4 of placebos. Again, don’t panic. If you don’t get your period tomorrow, buy a pregnancy test if you are very concerned, so you feel better. The chance you are pregnant is very low.

so, technically i shouldn’t worry because the BC’s supposed to protect against pregnancy every day right? even if he finishes inside?

Right. Every day. The BC pill prevents you from ovulating, there is no egg to fertilize, not on any day. But, on very rare occasion, it is very rare, some people release an egg, but it is extremely rare. I guess each person is an individual, so once in a blue moon the hormones are not enough for a small percentage of people, or they did not take it consistently. I took the pill for 8 years. The first three years I had sex almost every day, never got pregnant. Even if you screwed up your pills this month, I think unprotected sex so late in the cycle would be unlikely to cause a pregnancy. The eggs would be overripe.

Let us know if you get your period tomorrow.

what do you mean by the eggs would be overripe??

and i shall let you know :) thank you.

I don’t know if that is true about the overripe, I am just thinking it through logically. Each cycle we have several follicles develop, basically several eggs in the ovaries, but only one releases on our ovulation day (on occasion two, that would be fraternal twins, if they became babies. More than that is very very rare) and the rest just dissappear within the ovaries. Eggs that have been there for 20 days, well it is a long time, they are probably past their prime. But, I am not sure if it works that way when you are on the pill, again just trying to think it through.

To have it make more sense, or conuse you more, when a woman does in vitro, the drugs she takes make all of her follicles for that month mature, but it does not create more follicles. So lets say every month, if they did an ultrasound on you on day 3, they would probably find 5 or 6 follicles in each ovary. If you take the drugs to do in vitro you would get 10–12 eggs that could become babies. If you did not take the drugs, only one would mature. On the BC pill, none mature and pop out.

oh okay. i think you just blew my mind; hahaha. but, thanks for the information!!

i’ll let you know when i do get it. thanks so much leslie!

@Aubs427 All of what I just wrote will make sense in the future, when people you know start needing help getting pregnant. I have the feeling you are young, and everyone you know is trying to not get pregnant :). It’s like math, this chapter makes sense two chapters from now. Good luck. I’ll log on tomorrow to see if you got your period. :)

Yeah, I’m way too young to be having kids. And, thank you again! I’ll keep you posted.

If you haven’t missed any pill… you are protected! don´t worry :)

So? Period yet?

Yeah! I got my period. Thanks for all the great answers. Now I won’t worry in the future!

Yay! You should get very regular, and you can basically be worry free. I used to get my period around the same time of day every month like clockwork.

Oh okay. Excellent. I’ll be starting my third month in a few days.