IBS and Birth Control

[Sara123]

I am pretty sure I have IBS, but not 100% though. For the past year, after eating certain foods I’ll (sometimes, sometimes not) immediately have diarrhea (sometimes watery or loose). Anyway, I take my birth control pill (loloestrin Fe) around 6pm every day. I usually don’t have to go after, but say I’ve had diarrhea multiple times a week, but never really after taking the pill. Is the pill still preventing pregnancy?

[al]

Hi Sara123, and welcome to Scarleteen!

This is a good thing to be thinking about, because diarrhea can have an affect on the body's ability to properly absorb the components of any medication. But it's probably one that's best suited for your pharmacist or the provider that prescribed the pill to you, because they can get into specifics of the diarrhea, your body's metabolism, and the specific half-life your pill.
Are you currently talking with a doctor or getting care for these IBS-like symptoms? Have you talked to anyone else about them? What do you do to take care of yourself when you experience them?

As for mitigating pregnancy risk, do you use any other methods besides the pill, such as condoms, spermicide, or the withdrawal method? We usually recommend that users experiencing vomiting or diarrhea use those backup methods if they're taking the pill, just in case their hormonal method isn't at its full efficiency.

[Sara123]

I’ve mentioned that I have diarrhea to my OBGYN, but not in much detail. I’ve seen a gastroenterologist recently though, so I am talking to a doctor about it. I try to eat healthy and drink water, but the diarrhea still occurs. I normally use condoms, but the other day I didn’t and he finished inside me, so I am worried now. I took plan b 77 hours later, so I hope that was enough time and that it was also absorbed.

[Siân]

Hi Sara,

I'm glad you've got a gastroenterologist on your side! It sounds like time to have a more thorough conversation with your OBGYN about this. As al says, they are the best person to advise you on how the diarrhoea might impact on your pill. If you decide you might be happier with an alternative form of birth control then we can talk you through that what do you think?

[Sara123]

Yeah, maybe the shot or IUD would be better. I’m also curious if you think my chances of being pregnant are high, even though I do take the pill regularly and I took plan b? I normally don’t go to the bathroom every day, and like I mentioned before, it’s usually never after I take the pill. If it is, it’s always a few hours later.

[Heather]

We won't/can't engage with pregnancy scares here, and we also can't give you any more information about how effective your methods of BC (the pill and Plan B) beyond the information already on the site per their effectiveness ratings.

* * *
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Please do not post this kind of question. If you are seeing this text, and your thread is locked, it is because you have posted this kind of question.

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