Inert week

[Jellyfish777]

So I had protected sex with my boyfriend the first day of my placebo pill week with my boyfriend. This was about two weeks ago. I didn't miss any pills or anything and we used condoms (plus pulling out) as well. I got my period like normal about two days later. I'm not really worried about being pregnant because I got a regular period (not implantation bleeding- had red blood, closets, increasing in flow, 6 days, etc) but I'm wondering if it's possible if you could have sex, have an egg fertilized, get your period, and then still be pregnant? Or is everything like just flushed out? Also, the placebo week still has protection, correct?

[Redskies]

Yep, you have your pill's full contraceptive protection throughout your placebo pills (so long as you're taking it according to the instrucions, of course). The pill is equally effective at all times of the cycle. If you'd like to know how that works, How do birth control pills really work, even during the placebo period? should have you covered.

Wondering about pregnancy in the way that you are here doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you're taking the pill, because the pill is expressly designed to prevent pregnancy. It's sounding as if your concerns here might be coming from a similar place to the ones you've mentioned to us before, about finding it hard to be confident in your contraception. Have you been able to make any progress in finding a counsellor?

[Jellyfish777]

Yes actually! I have an appointment scheduled with one next Friday and she helped my little sister through extreme OCD so I know she does a good job. I'm trying every way possible to let myself relax and just trust my contraception, I really hope this helps out.

[Redskies]

That's good to hear! Well done you

For getting yourself through the time until your appointment as best you can and as kind to yourself as you can, have you seen our Self-Care a La Carte? Any extra suggestions there that might be helpful to you?

[Jellyfish777]

Thank you! It's not the easiest to always remember that worrying just makes you miserable rather than solving anything and that I should feel happy in my own skin. However, as mentioned in the article, my worrying tends to take off when I pay too much attention to physical symptoms, i.e. Breast/ back pain and being convinced it's pregnancy despite multiple periods and negative tests, or chest pain that's more likely due to a panic attack than my heart going berserk. what should I do when I'm completely stuck in worry?

[Redskies]

That's the exact right kind of question to take to your counsellor, and what'll likely happen with that is that the two of you will figure out some strategies and a plan of action over some time, adjusting according to what helps you and what your needs are. Those observations you just made will be helpful to you both for tackling this - it's really good that you've been able to make that kind of start yourself.

In the meantime, it's about you getting through the time as best you can, and trying not to feed or amp up your worry. If worry is worse when you're focusing on particular things, might it help to try to distract yourself by doing something else or focusing on something else? It's not about trying to make the worry go away (oh that it were that easy!), but instead finding ways that'll turn the volume down some. Any of the suggestions in that big long list strike you as things that might take the edge off a little bit, make things a bit more bearable? Things that you might like to do instead of focusing so strongly on worry, or could persuade yourself to do instead?

What you're describing sounds like it may be in the spectrum of anxiety. These might also be of some help - more help than us folk here, because providing proper help for this is outside the scope of what we do - to you:
Anxiety and Other Mental Health Resources
Anxiety Lies

Too, do try to cut yourself some slack about having trouble with worrying! Some people do have this kind of trouble. While it's helpful to remember that worrying won't achieve anything, it's also true that simply trying very hard not to worry is almost never a successful strategy for anyone. It just doesn't work like that, unfortunately. On a basic level, it's the same thing as you can't mend a broken leg simply by willing very hard for it to get better. So, you're not doing anything wrong when you find you can't make this all fine by yourself and can't simply feel happy. You've started taking steps that actually can help - getting a counsellor - so you really can feel good about that

[Jellyfish777]

Thank you so much! This has been super helpful and kind of a reality check of sorts? It would probably be good for me to stop paying so much attention to my body's "signs" or worries and just try to enjoy myself.