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Took birth control late, 101 hours after intercourse

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 6:13 am
by rayo
I have been taking the birth control pill Mylan at the same time every day, but fell asleep and took it 7 hours later than I should have last night. I am not sure if it is a combined pill but they are Levonorgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets that I was originally prescribed for reasons other than just birth control. I am worried because I had unprotected sex with a male 101 hours before I took the pill and was hoping to rely on the current pill I am taking as protection. It began as protected sex with a condom but the next morning he did not use one and am scared something may have been left over, though he insists it was only precum. I tried looking at emergency contraceptive pills but even with coupons I do not currently have enough money and can not talk to my parents about it.
Thank you for your time,
Paranoid

Re: Took birth control late, 101 hours after intercourse

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 6:18 am
by rayo
To clarify: I have taken the pill at the correct time every day before and after I had intercourse, except for the most recent one. I still have 4 more "regular" pills to go before the reminder pills.

Re: Took birth control late, 101 hours after intercourse

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 8:16 am
by Sam W
Hi Rayo,

So, with the pill, you have a 12 hour grace period before the pill is considered late, so your effectiveness should not have been decreased.

I want to check, how come you two did not use a condom the second time, as it sounds like not using one makes you anxious?

Re: Took birth control late, 101 hours after intercourse

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 9:28 am
by rayo
I'm still unsure how effective the pill is, so it just made me really worried after since I have read that there is still a chance you may get pregnant. Is it safe to just take the pill alone? I didn't actually realize he wasn't wearing one till after, but I talked to him about it so he would let me know next time.

Re: Took birth control late, 101 hours after intercourse

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 9:32 am
by Heather
NO method -- not a single one -- is 100% effective at preventing pregnancy. Using dual contraception -- pairing one method with a second -- is the way to get as close to 100% as it gets, which is awfully close. So, if that's what you want, you'll need to make sure moving forward your partners are using condoms, and you do that by being sure to make clear in advance they need to, okay? :)

(Too, your partners should always be asking you about this ahead of time, not making these decisions on their own. This is an important part of sexual consent.)

The pill is over 99% effective in one year of perfect use, and around 91% effective in one year of typical use.

Re: Took birth control late, 101 hours after intercourse

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 9:34 am
by Heather
By the way, since you're in California, do you know about familyPACT? If not, you may want to check it out. It's a statewide program that subsidizes BC, including the pill, EC and condoms: http://www.familypact.org/