Scarleteen

Another birth control question here! Last Friday I got sick (today is Wednesday) and I'm not quite sure what it is. I have nausea, loss of appetite, I used to have a fever and my stool has been looser than normal, but it has not been more frequent even though I've felt the urge to "go" more often than usual. I started a new pack of birth control pills on Sunday and had sex without a condom (with withdrawal) on Monday. My question is- if I am having looser than normal stool and on Tuesday night I went to the restroom an hour after I took the pill, am I at risk for pregnancy? We have been using condoms since then for all intercourse but I'm a little worried that the pill isn't working.

Thank you so much

Hi Smile1234,

Diarrhea is considered a pattern of very loose stool, typically occurring over several days. It can impact the effectiveness of the pill if it happens within two hours of taking it or if it continues over a long period of time.

But "looser stool than normal" doesn't sound like that to me, but we can not be certain. Just having a bowel movement will not affect the pill. Withdrawal does provide an additional layer of protection but we recommend always backing up with a condom or scaling back sexual activity if you are worried about effectiveness of your birth control.

Are you constantly worried about your birth control working or did getting sick trigger your concerns?

Thanks for the reply! My boyfriend and I use condoms for every PIV sexual encounter except 3 occasions and that was one of them. I'm usually very confident in the condom + birth control combination, and so the sickness plus not using a condom is what's causing me to freak out a little. I told my boyfriend I only feel comfortable with using condoms as well as the pill. I'm just a bit worried for the situation I'm in currently.

Cool. Just wanted to check in and make sure you were feeling comfortable with your birth control