OP: Birth control pill

The better brand is the one that works for you with the fewest side-effects. There have been a few posts lately about side effects that some women were experiencing. Among the major brands and label names (perhaps three dozen) there is no appreciable difference in effectiveness. Some can be tolerated more comfortably than others by certain women and there is no way to predict which for whom without trying them.

Breast tenderness and swelling, in the short term, is sometimes experienced. Actual enlargement is not really likely. What is more likely is the edema (fluid retention) that many of us experience with pms.

Some women need to try three or four different pills to get the best suited one. If you make breast enlargement a goal, you may have other side effects that accompany that. Focus on what the pill is for, listen to the prescribing physician, read all you can bout the one you choose and remember that condoms are still needed for safe sex outside a stable relationship

Brandye

Posted: 26 Sep 23:47

My gf recently started on Yaz, now the pill packet says if you miss a pill you are not protected for the next week (fair enough) but also that you are not protected for the previous week. Is that really true? If she misses a pill and we have had unprotected sex in the past week what should be done about it? I am not sure I completely trust the pill as an effective form of birth control on its own, but she is more than willing to just use it and doesn't want to go back to using condoms as well...

I am also not completely sure how it works, it says it prevents ovulation... But when she takes the sugar pills she obviously gets a period. Is it still safe all the time even then? What is it really doing, just preventing sperm from getting to the egg?

arutha

Posted: 30 Sep 02:16

Ive never heard that before.....Here I found this from the Yaz site.
Its a PDF, on page 12.
Basically, if u miss one, u take it as soon as you remember.. then the next one at its normal time... even if this mean you take 2 in one day.
Only if you miss 2 pills in a row... do you really need to use a back up method. Find Brandye's article called "Take as directed" in this forum section....it explains a lot about what to do if you miss a pill, side effects, and how the pill works.

Yes the pill prevents ovulation, then the days you take the placebo, the hormone levels drop so you can have your period. It also thins the lining of the uterus so that if somehow an egg did make it out, the lining isn't sufficient for implantation or an fertilized egg to grow.... hence why a lot of women have lighter periods.

demonbuttercup

Posted: 30 Sep 02:17

They are addressing a rather esoteric situation. If you have had unprotected sex in the past week, there may be some live sperm still swimming around the uterus. Four days is a more likely case. There is really nothing to be done about this except be careful for the rest of the month and hope for a regular and normal period. This risk is real but not high.

Demon, as always, is correct. Please take her advice and read Caution: Take Only as Directed. Read the entire thread and you will have a better understanding of how the female body work. Perhaps she should read it as well.

Most women in stable relationships taking the pill use no other form of birth control. About three women of a hundred will become pregnant each year using the pill alone. Women not in permanent or married relationships should use condoms as well. The condom reduces the chance of disease transmission. The pill does not. And the combination of the pill plus condom gives protection that approaches nil as a risk.

Brandye

Posted: 30 Sep 02:17

I feel like this is a silly question, and that I should know the answer but I'm afraid I don't and haven't been able to find it. My friend and I were having this discussion earlier tonight. We are both taking Ortho Tricyclin (lo) that we get from planned parenthood. We were wondering about what happens as far as risk for pregnancy when taking the green placebo 'reminder' pills. For both of us, it usually takes some time after starting the placebo pills before our period starts (about 1-2 days for her, 2-3 days for me) Now she very rarely ever uses a condom with her bf, and I often do but not always (I know, I know, I should always use 2 methods, don't need that lecture) So what we were wondering is what happens in those couple of days before the period comes but we are no longer taking the blue hormone pills; is there more risk of pregnancy, or does it not differ from any other point during the regiment (assuming no missed pills, taking them on time, etc, as we both do). We just wanted to know if we should be sure to use a condom and perhaps even spermicide during those particular couple of days.

raez

Posted: 30 Sep 02:37

The pill does not protect on a day by day basis; it protects you for your cycle.

In Women's Health and Birth control forums there are stickies that describe therapeutic levels and why you take the pill as directed.

Once you are established on the pill, take it always on schedule and do not take other supplements or medications that interfere, you are protected all the time.

Brandye

Posted: 30 Sep 02:37

No there is no additional need for birthcontrol. You use condoms to protect agaist STD's. You only need to add another form of birthcontrol if you miss a pill or if you take a medication which can interfere with the pill. Assuming you take all the pills you are covered.

sera300

Posted: 30 Sep 02:37

Gotcha, good to know. We knew that it was important to take it as scheduled, but were somewhat confused as to the actual mechanics. Thanks for sorting that out for us, ladies :) We figured it wouldn't make sense to not be protected just because of taking the placebos and not getting a period right away, but we also weren't sure if that happens to many people, especially like in my case where it takes a few days for the period to begin. No information that I could find addressed that specifically. Figured it was better to ask and know for sure.

raez

Posted: 30 Sep 02:38

I've been on the pill loloestrin24fe for months and I haven't had a period for months being on which my doctor said was normal with that pill. This month however I screwed up and accidentally took one of the white pills instead of the blue but they both are supposed to have hormones so I don't think that was too much of a deal. Then I was like twenty minutes late with another pill one day. I had to switch to an earlier time to take my pill cause my work schedule changed. Then I got sick with a virus and took a zpack. So with all this I got a period a week early this month and I've had it now for seven days. My question is do I just keep taking the rest of the pills for the pack, even the brown pills and then start my new pack? With my period so early is it going to still work as birth control with the new pack? I'm just afraid my body's going to be thrown off cause I'm having my period now still instead of tomorrow when I'm supposed to have one.

concerned128

Posted: 30 Sep 04:15

the Zpack will have cancelled out the contraceptive so you need to carry on taking the pills and not skip to the new pack. Changing the time you take the pill isn't that big a deal, your body will adjust to the new timing.

EvilEvilKitten

Posted: 30 Sep 04:15

Dumb Question...
Okay, so my boyfriend came inside me for the first time (without a condom), but I AM on the pill. I always take it before I go to bed, which is around 12:30-1-ish, but it isn't always at the same EXACT time. It's usually within an hour mark, though. There have been perhaps three instances in the last few weeks in which it was about 2-4 hours earlier, though. With that time difference, I was wondering if it's necessary that I take the morning after pill?

AutumnRose

Posted: 30 Sep 04:17

NO and not dumb at all
All medications have a therapeutic level - the concentration in the bloodstream required to do whatever the medication is intended to do. All medications also have a "half-life" - the time it takes for one-half of the dose to disappear from the body. The dosage of contraceptive pills is computed from these two metrics with a six hour, plus or minus a bit, margin for timing error. You should be quite safe and are to be congratulated for following the instructions so well.

Keep with the discipline. Recognize that if a woman takes a pill three hours early one day and three hours late the next, she is at risk for contraceptive failure. This need be considered when traveling across multiple time zones.

Brandye

Posted: 30 Sep 04:17

Thank you so much! I was
Thank you so much! I was really worried for a minute there because I've never had someone actually come inside me without a condom before. The only reason I allowed it is because I know I haven't missed a dose at all recently. Thank you again!!

AutumnRose

Posted: 30 Sep 04:17

Part of maturity as a woman is accepting the fact that every time you allow a penis into your vagina there is a chance of pregnancy and still having an active sex life. With the condoms alone properly used, fifteen of every sexually active women will become pregnancy. This is real life not, theoretical risk. With the pill, properly taken, three will become pregnant. With the condom and spermicide in your vagina, about four will become pregnant. With pill and condom, the risk is almost non-mensurable.

Only you can identify the risk you are willing to take while still being comfortably active. And you need to know exactly what you will do when you are three weeks late. That is maturity. The woman establishes the limits (requirements) and a mature man will comply.

BTW: With no protection, 85 of those 100 will become pregnant. Godspeed.

Brandye

Posted: 30 Sep 04:17