What happens if I miss a pill?
We all get busy and sometimes remembering to take the pill is at the back of our minds - until it's 4am and that light goes off! "What do I do now?"
Panicking about missing a pill all depends on which one you forget to take. The "active" pills may not be as effective in preventing pregnancy if you miss the first few or last few pills in a pack. If you miss the "reminder" pills there's no need to worry because this is when you get your period - although, for peace of mind, don't be afraid to use a back-up method like a condom.
What to do if you miss your "active" birth control pills
- Take the pill as soon as you remember then take the next pill at your usual time. Unfortunately this means you may have to take 2 pills in 1 day and you may experience nausea.
- If you miss 2 active pills in a row in Week 1 or Week 2 take 2 pills on the day you remember and 2 pills the next day. Then follow through with 1 pill a day until the pack is finished. Pregnancy may not be prevented if you have sex during the 7 days after you restart your birth control pills. Use a condom or another method of non-hormonal birth control as a back-up for those 7 days.
- If you miss 2 active pills (in a row) in Week 3 there's two things you can do and those depend on when you started your pack. If you started on Day 1 of your period throw out the rest of the pack and start a fresh one that same day. If you started your pill pack on a Sunday keep taking 1 pill every day until Sunday. On Sunday, throw out the rest of the pack and start a new pack of pills that same day. You may not get your period this month. Here again the risk of pregnancy is high so use a condom or spermicide for the first 7 days after you start taking the new pill pack.
- If you miss 3 or more active pills in a row (during the first 3 weeks) and you started taking the pill on Day 1 of your period throw out the rest of your pack and start with a fresh one that same day. If you started your pill pack on a Sunday keep taking 1 pill every day until Sunday. On Sunday, throw out the rest of the pack and start a new pack of pills that same day. You may not get your period this month. Here again the risk of pregnancy is high so use a condom or spermicide for the first 7 days after you start taking the new pill pack.
- If you forget to take any of the reminder pills in Week 4 just throw out the pills you missed. Keep taking 1 pill each day until the pack is finished.
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posted by BirthControlBuzz @ 9:24 AM
8 Comments:
Ok I have a question if anyone has an answer:
I am relatively new to the birth control thing. I have been taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo for a month now. Well my period came 2 days before I was supposed to start the placebo pills, therefore it will end only a day into the placebo pills (my period is usually short)
So should I continue with the rest of the 6 placebo pills or start a new pack instead of even starting the placebo pills?
The reason for this is my boyfriend is coming in a few days and I want to make sure we are as protected as possible. So if I am done with my period but still on the placebo pills won't it be similar to skipping a pill therefore making me more susceptible to pregnancy??
Thanks!!
"So if I am done with my period but still on the placebo pills won't it be similar to skipping a pill therefore making me more susceptible to pregnancy??"
It's not similar to skipping a pill. If you are taking the Pill correctly and consistently everyday you are 99% protected. I think it would be best for you to keep taking your reminder (placebo) pills then start your new pack as usual.
If you don't feel confident about being protected use a secondary birth control method like a condom or spermicide.
Hopefully that helps!
i have a couple of questions. first, does cipro react with BCPs at all? also, i skipped 2 pills in my pack around the 14th day of the pack. i've read that that is around the time a woman ovulates. when i'm off the pill, i have the most irregular period. so when i'm on the pill do i ovulate regularly? i'm wondering if my odds are high of getting pregnant. i've had sex twice with no backup method during this week of the 14th day. thanks!
That did help thank you ! I just kept taking my placebo pills and voila.. I'm safe and baby free. hehehe. Thank you for your advice ! :)
Anonymous from Sept.06/07 - First off sorry it took so long to reply. There are certain antibiotics which doctors say can cause decreased effectiveness. Antibiotics that are listed as interfering include:
Rifampin
Penicillin
Amoxicillin
Sulfonamide
Ampicillin
Cotrimoxazole
Tetracycline
Griseofulvin
Minocycline
Phenobarbitol
Metronidazole
Nitrofurantoin
Cipro doesn't appear to be on the list but that doesn't mean it couldn't still affect your birth control. It's always better to be safe than sorry. Use a condom or spermicide during the run of your antibiotic and make sure to continue for one week afterwards.
I took the first grey "active pill" a few hours late, because i forgot to pick up a new pack. Later that week, after taking the pills at the correct time each day, i had sex. We were using a condom, but it broke ad we never finished. Later on, we went at it again, this time without a condom, but he pulled out before he came. The next morning, i woke up late and took the pill a few hours late. I was just wondering if this could cause me to get pregnant?
Ok so I'm on the pill. In Nov of 08 I forgot to take it for 3 days in the 2nd week and got my period. On the first day I got my period I had unprotected sex. I have gotten my period every month since, and have take 1-2 HPT's every week (I know obessive) and they are all negative. I have also been to the doctor in Feb. Would I be in the cleaR?
If you've had your period every month since last November, and all the home pregnancy tests have come back negative (plus the test administered by your doctor), then it's probably safe to assume you're not pregnant.
Of course, if you still feel uncertain, make an appointment with your doctor for another test.
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