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.
Birth Control Buzz is a service company that provides birth control prices, birth control types (prescription required), health administrative services, and birth control statistics predominantly to US patients seeking to purchase birth control on-line. For more information on types of birth control call 1-866-868-8850 or visit http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/.
Birth Control Buzz is a service company that provides birth control prices, types of birth control(prescription required), health administrative services, and birth control statistics predominantly to US patients seeking to purchase pharmaceuticals on-line. For more information, call 1-866-868-8850 or visit http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/.
Hi Tasha,
Whenever you miss pills, it is really bad because your risk of pregnancy is the highest. Definitely use back up contraception for at least a week or two. Wait for your period to come at the end of this pack. If it does, then you are not pregnant. If it doesn’t, take a pregnancy test.
Comment by Janine — June 27, 2011 @ 10:00 am
Dear an,
I would advise you to forget the 3 missed pills and wait for your period to come. Once your period comes and goes, then start the new pack. Try not to miss anymore pills because if you do, you should look into other alternative methods of birth control other than the pill because you will be in very high risk of becoming pregnant. Talk to your doctor about getting on the patch, implant, nuvaring, the shot, or even the IUD. Here is a comparison chart that can help you understand the other types of birth control available: http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/BirthControlTypesComparisonChart.aspx
Comment by Janine — June 27, 2011 @ 10:09 am
Dear Britt,
From my understanding, you have been on the pill for awhile now. It is strange how you have gotten your period even though you took saturday and sunday’s pill. Also, it doesn’t sound like you are taking your pills according to the dates on the pill pack or else you would have known you missed friday’s pill on saturday, not the following monday. I would recommend you to come off the pills for a month and when you get your next period, the Sunday of or after your period, start taking the pills from a brand new pack. This way, you are then following the days on the pill to remind you whether you missed pills the day before or not, and you will get your period when you normally do. Hope this helps.
Comment by Janine — June 27, 2011 @ 11:17 am
Somebody please help asap! Okay I forgot to take my pill on june 8 and had sex like 2:30 the next day. I took the pill like right after i had sex. My period was suppose to come on yesterday and it still did not come on. My stomach cramped a little as if my period is on but it still did not come on. Could that mean I am pregnant or is that my nerves???
Comment by marquila — June 28, 2011 @ 10:06 am
Dear Marquila,
It can be your nerves and stress that is causing your period to be delayed. Continue taking the pill as usual and if your period does not come, wait for your next period. If your period still does not come next month, take a pregnancy test. Also make an appointment with your doctor to get a more accurate pregnancy test.
Comment by Janine — June 29, 2011 @ 9:50 am
I have not taken my pills for a good week and have been sick that’s the only thing I can think of that’s making me not feel well. If I missed that many pills will my body be okay if I start a new pack and start taking them again? Please help me asap! Thank you, Autumn
Comment by Autumn — July 11, 2011 @ 9:45 pm
Dear Autumn,
You can definitely start on the new pack, but I would recommend you don’t start it until you get your period first. The sunday of or after your period, start the new pack.
Comment by Janine — July 12, 2011 @ 9:28 am
I have been on the pill for almost three years and have had no problems, but recently I left my pills at home when I was on vacation for 3 night I did not take my pill. After I played catch up and continued the last week and a half of my pack but did have sex about 5 days after all of this. My period did come at the end of the pack and I had a bit of spotting when I had missed the pills. I have started a new pack but I am scared (although my husband did not cum inside of me) that I could still be pregnant. What are the odds of this??
Comment by sarah — July 20, 2011 @ 9:42 pm
Hi Sarah,
Well, if you did get your period at the end of your pack sounds like you are protected. Wait for your next period to come, and make sure you don’t miss any pills this pack. If it does come then you are definitely not pregnant. If you don’t get your period, take a pregnancy test.
Comment by Janine — July 21, 2011 @ 9:32 am
Hello,
I have been on birth control for almost a month now. And I missed a day this past weekend but the next day I went ahead and took the one I missed and then waited at the normal time to take the other one. Now I feel like I am on my period because I have been bleeding a lot for the past day now. I am not suppose to start my period for another 2 weeks. Is this normal? Cause I am worried!
HELP!!!
Comment by Hope — July 24, 2011 @ 3:44 pm
Dear Hope,
Since this is only the first month of being on the pill, the bleeding is normal, especially when a pill is missed. Continue taking the pills as you normally would. It is very important that you do not miss any pills because that is when your risk for pregnancy is the highest.
Comment by Janine — July 25, 2011 @ 9:47 am
Hi, This is my first month on Sronyx and i have been taking all of my pills consistantly until the second and third day of the third week. I remembered the fourth day and took a pill immediately and then another at my regular time. I threw out the second one i missed. I took the next 3 pills as scheduled as well, finished the last active pill today and started my period yesterday. Is it safe to take the reminder pills or should i start a new pack tomorrow?
Comment by jean — August 5, 2011 @ 11:07 pm
Dear Jean,
You’re at the end of your pack where you should be having your period anyway and it just started a couple of days early which could happen for girls who are on the first month of oral contraceptives. I would suggest you to take the reminder pills and then start the next pack when you finish the reminder pills. Make sure you don’t miss anymore pills from here on out because your risk of pregnancy is highest.
Comment by Janine — August 8, 2011 @ 10:22 am
Hi Im just wondering I miss two pills in my first week of bc pills. I asked someone what i SHOULD DO AND THEY TOLD ME to just take the pills that come after it and not to take the ones i missed. ive been doing that and i got my period for almost 2 weeks now. I dont know what to do because now im reading and it says i shouldve taken them right away. so should I just start a new pack and stop this one or should i just finish theres only one week left of it. its the tricyclen 28 day one. Please any info would be great.
Comment by serean — August 13, 2011 @ 5:38 pm
Dear Serean,
Whenever you miss any pills, your risk for pregnancy is the highest. I hope you are using back up contraception during and after the time you had missed the 2 pills. In your situation, if you missed two pills and carried on taking the pills without taking the missed pills, you should probably carry on finishing the pack especially if there is only 1 week left. The bleeding you are experiencing now may be because you have just started on birth control pills. Some girls do experience breakthrough bleeding during the first couple of months of starting a pill because your body is getting used to the pills. It is also because you missed 2 pills. Finish off the pack as you normally would and hopefully you would get your regular period afterwards.
Comment by Janine — August 15, 2011 @ 10:21 am
Hello. This past weekend I missed two days of pills. I was finishing up the second week and missed Friday and Saturday, so I took two pills as soon as I remembered Sunday morning, and then took Sunday’s pill later in the day at the normal time. Today is Monday, and I’m bleeding like I’m starting my period – pretty much a week early. Is this normal? Or will my period go away in a couple days and start as usual next week when I usually get it? I’m just concerned and was wondering if I did anything wrong with the missed pills.
Any information would be extremely helpful! Thank you.
Comment by Ashley — September 19, 2011 @ 8:09 am
Dear Ashley,
Whenever you stop taking or miss pills, your body thinks it is supposed to have your period. The bleeding is normal and may or may not stop this week. Continue taking your pills as your normally would and when you start your next pack, your period should have definitely stopped. Whenever you miss pills, not only will you be at risk of pregnancy, but may also start bleeding (if you miss 2 or more pills). This is why it is very important not to miss any pills while on oral contraceptives.
Comment by Janine — September 19, 2011 @ 9:44 am
Hi I have a question. So if I have been on birth control for 7 months. If I miss one day and I start ovulating on that day that I missed, is it pointless to continue taking the rest of the pills for that month since ovulation already occurred? And if I have unprotected sex while I’m ovulating then it’s possible pregnancy so if that were to happen should you just not have sex for the rest of that month unless other bc is used?
Comment by A — February 7, 2012 @ 10:54 pm
Dear A,
If you miss a pill you do not start ovulating right away. Usually when a pill is missed, some bleeding may occur. If a pill is missed take the missed pill right away as soon as you remember.
Comment by Janine — February 8, 2012 @ 10:12 am
Am on Levlen. Forgot to take the active pill on the Wednesday of the last week and again on the Friday – not a good week for remembering – so I thought what I was meant to do was skip the placebos and start a new pack. But now I have my period and am on the new months active pills. Do I keep taking the active pills?
Comment by CB — February 13, 2012 @ 1:04 pm
Im usually very regular with my pills but lately I’ve been busy, and I missed 4 pills in a row. The last 2 of Week 1 and the first 2 of Week 2. But now Im bleeding heavier than I do on my actual period, is this normal?
Comment by Caity — March 15, 2012 @ 10:52 am
Dear Caity,
The bleeding is normal because of the missed pills. Take your birth control pill for today, and take yesterday’s missed pill today (yes you will be taking 2 pills today). Leave the other missed pills and continue the rest of the pack as normal. Starting today, use back up contraception for the next 7 days. If you were sexually active during the missed pills days, you may need to use emergency contraception (ie. Plan B). To be safe you can also, skip the inactive pills for this month and continue the next pack without getting your period.
Comment by Janine — March 15, 2012 @ 2:00 pm
I’m in my second week of birth control and i just started. I’m taking necon 1/35. I went to camp recently and had to hand over my pills to the nurse, and when it was my scheduled time for my dose i couldn’t find the nurse. I ended up skipping two days. (Friday and Saturday) sunday morning i got my period and i took two pills at my scheduled time and am planning on taking two tomorrow to catch up. Am i doing the right thing?
Comment by christi — March 18, 2012 @ 7:09 pm
Dear christi,
You don’t have to take two doses the second day. Just continue the rest of your pack as normal and use back up contraception for a week. If you are having unprotected sex, you may need to start the next pack of pills without a break by skipping inactive pills from your last pack.
Comment by Janine — March 19, 2012 @ 11:13 am
I have a question! I was suppose to take my active pill Saturday and I miss and took it Sunday when on Sunday I was suppose to start my placebo pill on Sunday.my period is suppose to start wedensday and my boyfriend and I had sex Sunday without a condom! I don’t know what to do to get a plan b or ill be fine
Comment by A — March 24, 2013 @ 7:20 pm
Dear A,
Just in case you can take Plan B to be on the safe side.
Comment by Janine — March 25, 2013 @ 1:13 am
What are the chances of ovulation if I’ve been on the same bc for the last 2 years (aviane) and missed one day on the 6th day of a new pack?ive never missed before and always take at same time each morning. The day after I missed I took 2 pills. My husband and I had intercourse on Tuesday (3rd day of pack) so I realize I was protected that day but if sperm can live for 3-5 days that might make them still alive by Friday or sat if I ovulated. What are chances of pregnancy. Will cervical mucous be too thick for sperm to get through by Friday or sat.? Will lining of uterus be too thin for implantation if for some reason egg was fertilized )
Comment by sp — April 10, 2013 @ 7:20 am
Dear sp,
Since you made up for the missed pill, chances of you becoming pregnant is very low.
Comment by Janine — April 12, 2013 @ 3:58 am