Plan B

[helloleanteen]

So yesterday (1/25/16) I had sex twice, one round with a condom the second unprotected. I took plan b a couple of hours later. This morning (1/26/16) I had sex again unprotected and I have no idea if he
pulled out quick enough so I got another pill. I was fertile yesterday (1/25/16) and today (1/26/15). I suppose to ovulate the 30th, in 4 days but I know period trackers aren't always accurate or if the first plan b pill threw me off. Pretty much I just want opinions on if I should take the second pill or no... !

[Sam W]

Hi helloleanteen,

If you want to minimize your chances of getting pregnant from the most recent incident, then taking the second Plan B that you bought is the best way to do that.

It sounds like it might be time for you and your partner to discuss using condoms every time you have sex (as using protection is the way to cut down on this kind of stress in the future). We're also happy to talk with you about other contraception options, if that's something you're interested in.

Also, just to check, are you and your partner up to date on your STI tests?

[helloleanteen]

Will it be as effective if I'm fertile? & Yeah we're up to date on tests.

[Redskies]

Do you chart daily - like what's described in Get With the Flow: All About FAM - and have been doing that for a least 6 months? If not, it's not really possible to know exactly when you're fertile, because tracker apps that don't ask for that physical data can only give estimations rather than information based on your own body.

Plan B works by delaying or inhibiting ovulation, and inhibiting fertilisation. No method of contraception is 100% effective; emergency contraception prevents around 7 out of 8 pregnancies that would have happened without it, and is most effective the sooner it's taken after a risk. So, if you don't want to become pregnant, your best chance of avoiding that is to use emergency contraception.

Do you need any information about regular methods of contraception for the future? While EC is great for emergencies, it's less effective than regular methods, and certainly gets more expensive!

[helloleanteen]

I've been using this app for a while now and it's pretty accurate when predicting my period

[Eddie C]

Unless your app is asking for your basal temperature and cervical mucus, is really hard to know when are you ovulating.

[helloleanteen]

So I took two pills because of two incidents days before ovulation, do you think my chance of pregnancy is high?

[Sam W]

Hi helloleanteen,

Do you mean you took two Plan B pills? If so, as long as you took them within 72 hours of the incident, your chances of pregnancy have decreased.

[helloleanteen]

Yes. I took two plan b pills the same week of ovulation but before I ovulated but I'm still very worried

[Heather]

Feeling worried is a mental health issue, and something that generally gets resolved by just going through it and doing what you can to take good care of yourself emotionally in the process.

Ultimately, at this point, all you or anyone can do is wait things out, take care of yourself to manage the stress it's causing you, and then make different choices moving forward that better fit what you want, like always backing up with condoms because you know you don't want to take big risks of pregnancy like you did here.

Again, though, almost all of these kinds of apps do NOT predict or estimate ovulation properly or accurately. So, if yours isn't asking for screening questions like if you have had very regular periods for at least six months or so (without that, no app or person can predict ovulation accurately), isn't striking out any data about fertility and knocking you back to square one with it if and when you're not regular, and/or asking for things like basal temps or cervical mucus, it's not sound to be focused on ovulation, because the data your app is giving you is most likely useless or inaccurate.

[helloleanteen]

Hypothetically speaking, if I hadn't ovulated, wouldn't the sperm be dead by now, resulting in no pregnancy risk?

[Heather]

The risk of pregnancy from a given sexual activity doesn't last forever, where someone has sex once, and then would be somehow forever at risk. It's a very limited time window, regardless of when someone ovulates.

To find out more about this and all the other facts about how human reproduction happens, check out: Human Reproduction: A Seafarer's Guide.