Took Birth Control Early

[gatesy08]

Hello,

So this past month I accidentally took my birth control about 1 to 3 hours earlier that my scheduled time. 6 pm. I also had some diarrhea off and on for about 3 days but it wasn't watery just loose and did not exceed 6+ cups in 24 hours, which I heard was where you need to treat it as a missed pill.

My questions is with all that happened here, is my pill now less effective? My boyfriend and I use withdrawal with the pill and I'm just worried now.

Thanks!

[Sam W]

Hi gatesy,

Taking your pill a few hours early should not decrease its effectiveness. If you took your pill 2-3 hours before having an incident of diarrhea, then they should have been absorbed.

It sounds like you're not feeling super comfortable using the pill plus withdrawal as your method of protection. Do you use condoms as well? And do you feel like you'd be more comfortable with another method of hormonal birth control that isn't the pill?

[gatesy08]

My boyfriend and I used to always use condoms, however we have slowly stopped. I don't think I am ready for that and I will feel better if we go back to condoms.

Thank you for answering my questions.

[Sam W]

You're welcome. And yes, if you are not feeling comfortable without the condoms, going back to them is a good choice.