effects of the pill

[annie26]

Hi there. I have been in a 2 year relationship with my boyfriend. So it was 3 days after my last period got over that we were making out and our genitals were in direct contact. We didn't have sex, but he came, a little, over my vagina and vulva, not inside. We hadn't used any sort of protection since we hadn't planned on having sex that time, and on reading the articles on scarleteen, I was worried sick. So after weighing my options, I took a morning after pill, a little after 24 hours after we had made out. But 5 days after taking the pill, I got my period, which otherwise wasn't due in another 2 1/2 weeks. This period lasted 3 days instead of my usual 5. It's been 2 days since my period got over and now my boobs feel very sore and my lower back is hurting. There has also been a very mild pain in my lower abdomen, once in a while.

Normally, when I'm about to get my period, I feel this pain and soreness first, and then I get my period, during which, I feel no pain. I have read that taking the pill can lead to such side effects, but can your period come THIS early? I thought I had an idea of what would happen if I take the pill, but now I'm not so sure. Is everything that is happening just the side effects of the pill, or should I be worried?

Also, when should I ideally expect my next period to come; one month after this light period which I had, or a month after the 5 day regular period which I had earlier?

Thanks

[Karyn]

Emergency contraception (the morning after pill) can throw your cycle out of whack and cause some irregular bleeding, so what you're describing isn't really anything unusual as far as side effects go. Unfortunately, it's impossible to predict what effect this will have on when your next period shows up: there's just no way to know.

Are you comfortable with the method(s) of birth control that you normally use, and okay with making sure from now on that you have those on hand, not just when you've planned to have sex?

(Just an FYI, it's always a good idea to take a pregnancy test after using EC, to make sure that it did work, so you'll want to do that when enough time has passed since your risk to get an accurate result.)

[annie26]

Thanks for clearing my doubts. We hadn't had a situation like this before, so we plan to keep condoms handy henceforth, irrespective of whether we plan to have sex or not. Better safe than sorry, I guess!

Also, I know from your articles that direct contact between genitals is a risk, but how often does it actually cause a pregnancy, and that too, if it happens at a time, when your period has just gotten over (which is supposed to be a relatively safer time, even though not entirely safe)?

[Heather]

You're asking for a statistic no one has, mostly because to give the answer to what you're asking, everyone's fertility cycles would have to be the same and they're not.

The relevant data we do have to work with is that in one year of unprotected intercourse -- and since direct penis-to-vulva contact is basically the same thing when it comes to STIs and pregnancy, figure that's in there, too -- 80 - 90% of people will become pregnant.

However, since you used Plan B, that then wasn't unprotected, ultimately, even though it was at the time. Plan B, per the timing with which you took it, then only leaves someone with around a 5% risk of pregnancy.

So, like Karyn suggested, I'd make sure from here on out you both get some condoms, at least, and always each have them, both per STI and pregnancy protection. Sounds like it might also be a good idea to talk together about your sexual decision making to make sure that active consenting is always going on, as a start. When everyone is always asking each other before they do things, not only is that imperative anyway, it also carries the extra bonus of no one ever passively just going along with something, or people doing sexual things without any discussion of what they want or need to do those things safely!