I Letf My Pills In a Hot Car

[juliapf]

Hi!
I recently ran across a tweet that said that leaving the pill chart in hot cars would cause them to lose their effectiveness.
Since I go to my internship at the time I take the pills I always leave them in my car (I live in a city where it is common for temperatures to be higher than 86ºF) so I don't forget to take them, which I never do.
After seeing said tweet I was very afraid (me and my boyfriend rarely have sex that doesn't involve a condom, I don't remember us doing without in the last month or two but it's also not impossible that we used the withdrawal method on some day instead of the condom).
On the 23rd I took two pregnancy tests to clear my conscience that stated they had sensitivity for 10 mIU/ml, I did it at night and not with the urine of the day because it had been more than 15 days since my boyfriend and I could possibily have had sex without a condom. Both came back negative and had no changes in the result window for at least two hours.
However, about three hours after doing the test I noticed that half a new light blue line appeared in the window (it was little faded) and I was very worried.
Since then my stomach has been feeling hard, a little nauseous (which can be stressed, it has happened before) and my breasts seem bigger (it has also happened that they get bigger as a result of this pill and then go back to normal).
Is there any chance that I could be pregnant? Should I test again? Were the pills that were left in the car really ineffective (I am no longer leaving it in my car, now it is at my nightstand)? What could be making my stomach hard and bloated?
Sorry for asking so many questions, I am really agonizing with this situation, especially the stomach part (of it feeling hard and swollen) as have anorexia and have stopped eating in order for it to "go down".

[juliapf]

Oh, and I don't know if this is worth mentioning, but I had some mild cramping for three days recently. It could have been from constipation, but it really felt similar to period pains.

[Carly]

Hey Juliapf -- welcome to the boards! So, about your pills... we can't guarantee that the pills haven't been damaged, but keep in mind that the appearance of birth control pill packs does tend to noticeably change if there's heat damage. So if the blister pack looks the same as usual, then odds are good that the pills have not been damaged and are still at their normal level of effectiveness. I would recommend keeping them in a cooler place going forward though, just in case.

I also wanted to advise you to not return to home pregnancy tests that were used hours earlier. It's really important to use and view the test in the time limit expressed in the directions of the test. If tests are left out and returned to, false positives are common because of the way urine evaporates. I'm thinking that happened here. I know it feels like you should test and know if you're pregnant ASAP, but it's actually best to take a pregnancy test after a missed period for the most accurate results. At home pregnancy tests measure spikes in pregnancy related hormones in urine that may not be at detectable until after a missed period.

Speaking of periods, have you missed yours? When are you expecting yours? The physical symptoms you're describing sound like the onset of a period. Constipation is pretty common just before and during your period, which could be the thing making your stomach hard and bloated. Are you experiencing any difference in your bowel movement schedule?

Also, I wanted to check in about not eating and struggling with anorexia. I'm sorry this is triggering you so much. Are you getting any kind of treatment for this?

[juliapf]

Thank you for the response!
First, how would the heat damage look like on the pills?
I don't get withdraw bleeding in between pill charts.
The placebo pills start this 15th and are going to end in the 18th. The test I took was on the first day of a new pill chart after the 4 placebo pills of the last ones.
Also, is not unusual for me experiencing things like the mild cramps (althought they usualy last for less then 3 days) and swolen breasts while on this pill.
I have had some alterations in my bowel movement, I have had an sinus infection for the last two weeks and it gave me diarreia for a while (although thankfully it didnt coincide with the time I take the pill everyday). Some days after that, I eat really badly and didn't poop for a day or two (coinciding with the cramping). After this, i took some laxatives and the day after I did the cramping disappeared.
Recently I have had some diarrhea due to the stress of believing that I'm pregnant in moments of peak stress, other than that my bowel has funcioned normally.
I think maybe is worth noting that I am both lactose and gluten intolerant, so I do normally go to the bathroom many times a day (and alredy track that with my timing taking the pills to guarantee absorsion).
About the anorexia, I do go to a therapist and have seen some improve but it is still a very long and hard road for me since I have started treating it when I was 14.

[juliapf]

Hey Carly, do you think I should retake the pregnany test today just to be sure or would that only make me more anxious?

[Mo]

If you followed the instructions for the earlier test, you can trust those results (the initial results, not what you saw when you went back to look hours later). You can take another test if you think it would be helpful, but it's good to keep in mind that sometimes people find that taking additional tests when they aren't needed just feeds into the cycle of anxiety they're in. So I think that's something you'll have to evaluate for yourself, whether you think you'll be able to trust the results of a second test or if it might keep you in that anxious state.

Since it sounds like this has been really stressful for you, it sounds like it may be a good idea to have a firm commitment to using condoms every time you have intercourse, moving forward; is that something that sounds good to you? Do you think you could talk to your boyfriend about that?

[Heather]

(I had more here, but Mo came in first and said much of what I was going to!)

Just FYI, heat damage to oral contraceptives will tend to make the pills look sweaty inside the blister pack, like a steamed-up window can look.

At this point, you could give us or anyone else all the extra health details you want, but ultimately, none of that can tell anyone if a person is pregnant or not. All you can do from here is:
1) Wait this out, and repeat your test in a couple of weeks if you feel like you need to.
2) Find a new place to keep your pills, and
3) Like Mo said, commit to backing up with condoms -- it sounds clear you do not want to become pregnant -- and let your partner know you need him to get on board with that. That way, even at times like these, you can know you backed up, so you won't have to go through scares.