An update! So I had scheduled an appointment for April 7th for the therapist I initially planned to see. A long wait but what can you do. Then I got a call a couple days ago that the therapist I had wanted to see is actually leaving the practice, but there’s another therapist who’s taking clients, a...

Good to hear! I kind of figured that the numbers shouldn’t change much, if at all, with long term use when used correctly. I also found in the footnotes of the article that they got these numbers by raising a certain rate to a power equal to the number of years of use. So if you have been on hormona...

Hi Scarleteen! This is purely a curiosity based question, although I figure this could be useful in reevaluating whether I want to switch to a more effective contraception. So I know that efficacy rates are determined over a period of one year through clinical study and surveys. But it seems that no...

Hi Sam, Certainly! I definitely plan on getting a feel for her before I commit to her being the therapist I tackle this issue with. I’m hopeful that she’ll be a match because she is a sex educator and her profile lists her as an LGBTQ+ ally, but of course I’d still like to get a feel for her approac...

Hi Scarleteen! I called a therapist today (yay!) and am currently waiting for her scheduling person to call me back to set up an appointment. I haven’t been to a therapist in years, and my last one was one my mom got for me from 12-16. It’s been a while and this is my first time doing this by myself...

Hi Heather!

Thanks, I get my pills shipped to me and I know they’re probably exposed to cooler temperatures during that but I just wanted to be sure.

Hi Scarleteen! I’m on the combined pill, I take it every day around the same time. Earlier I had sex with my fiancé. He used a condom and pulled out, although it was pretty close when he did pull out. The condom worked when we checked. I did have some white stuff on my vulva but it was most likely j...

My boyfriend left today for basic training, so I’m definitely not gonna see him for a while. We had sex a couple times last week and did our usual song and dance with birth control: I take birth control pills perfectly, he wore condoms that didn’t break, and pulling out early each time. I’m TERRIFIE...

I don’t smoke, never liked the idea. I take my pills at about 9:30 every morning, although sometimes it’s 10 ish, but I know that doesn’t make much of a difference. I don’t take my pill packs back to back, I actually prefer to have my period just to check up on my uterine health and make sure there’...

Hey there, I’ve been on birth control for two and a half years or so. Those past two years I have taken my pill every day, at the same time, and have only missed 3 the entire time last year. I’m specifically on the combination pill. When I was first taking the pill, I had breakthrough bleeding, but ...

Hey Sam, I never discussed pregnancy with my therapist because at the time I wasn’t sexually active so it just never came up. With that said I use what I’ve learned to keep myself calm. I use breathing techniques, grab my baby blankets (it’s ironic I use my baby blankets for pregnancy anxiety) and m...

Hey Emily, I’m sorry I haven’t responded, I’ve had a really busy weekend. For the most part my anxiety in other parts of my life is pretty tame (thank you magic SSRIs). I do get anxious doing things that could send me to the hospital if I screw up, I have a low pain tolerance and the idea of me gett...

I’m so tired of feeling so anxious around sex. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it. I do, a lot. I love my boyfriend and I love being with him I’m every possible way, but it’s so hard to have sex without the threat of a pregnancy looming in my mind. We use three methods every time. It’s probably overkill...

I am not up to date on STI testing or Pap smears. My boyfriend and I have been dating and monogamous since I was 14 and he was 15 and before either of us had sex of any kind, including oral, manual, etc. We also use condoms and correctly because I’m such a stickler about it. I trust him when he says...

Hi Heather,

I think it’s just been so long since this last happened that I just want to be sure. I also know that sometimes something that’s normal for one person with a uterus isn’t actually normal, even considering how different people’s bodies can be.

Hey Scarleteen, This morning I started a new pack of birth control pills. I’ve been taking them perfectly for the past two years, and have just came off of a period. My periods tend to end in spotting, and that seems to have carried over into this morning. It stopped at most a couple hours after I t...

Thanks for answering!

I had figured that was the case, but it’s still so cool to know! I think I’m always in awe at how unique the human (and similar primates) fertility cycles are compared to other mammals!

Hi Scarleteen, this specific question was born out of a thought train I had driving on the interstate that went from “wow biology and development is so cool” to “fetal development in mammals, especially humans, is so unique” to “wait, how would birth control affect the symptoms of pregnancy”. I know...

Slight update that made me feel better: I decided to look up what implantation bleeding looks like out of curiosity just so I can be sure to rule it out, and the big thing I saw was that it tends to be a brownish pink. The little surprise I got this morning was definitely a light red. Apparently imp...

I’m probably okay continuing to have safe sex. And as I’ve learned how to live with an anxiety disorder, I’ve also come to learn that a lot of random pains or feelings or whatever are caused by my stress. A few years ago I suddenly started getting aches in a muscle near my sternum, and they were con...

Hi Val, First off, my boyfriend and I are doing okay. I did end up getting my period so we figured we were safe to go back to having sex. I think it probably was just slight withdrawal bleeding. Now that I think about it, I have had cramps before taking a pill a couple hours later than what is typic...

Hey Scarleteen, I’ve been on the combination hormonal pill for two years now, so everything should be balanced out. I take it consistently and have only missed a pill on the rare occasion I did not get them on time, the last time this happened was a year ago. I tend to take my pills as soon as I wak...

I’ve directed him to the site if he needs it. He told me that looking back, he may have been overreacting. I’m actually studying biology in college. While I understand I’m no fertility specialist, I know enough about the fragility of human sperm and the absolute game of chance a successful pregnancy...

I did the math using y’all’s “Buddy System” article and told him that with all the birth control we used, there was less than a 0.09% chance all of it failed. Telling him that seemed to ease his anxiety some. I’ve told him that there’s really nothing we can do now except wait for me to get my period...

Hi Scarleteen, I’ll cut to the chase. Boyfriend and I had vaginal sex today. I’m on the pill, he wore a condom and pulled out. The condom was a thin one we wanted to try if that helps. Without getting too into the details, we were in doggy and he had finished. Apparently, he saw something on my back...