Important Birth Control Pill Reminders

[Heather]

One of the tough things about information on the pill, even just in terms of general effectiveness rates, when it comes to Scarleteen users, is that all things aren't equal when it comes to adolescents and adults. For instance, it is well documented at this point that typical use effectiveness (not perfect use) is far lesser amoung adolescents with the pill alone than it is with adults (probably mostly due to adolescents having to hide the fact that they take pills, so missing a lot of pills, or just forgetfulness and not being in the habit of taking a daily medication).

So, just so's ya know, and for this particular population:

• With ALL BCPs (birth control pills), you want to do your level best to take your pill as close to the same time every day as is possible, ideally within a window of a few hours: if you do that, every day, then you're a perfect pill user -- that doesn't mean you get a gold star (unless you want one, in which case, by all means, star yourself!), but it does mean that unless you have any other misuse (such as other drug interactions, or vomiting pills up, etc.) you can rest assured you have the highest effectiveness in terms of pregnancy protection possible from your pill. To simplify that, what's important is not that you take the pill at the EXACT same time every day (as in, "Oh god! I usually take it at 10:32, and it's 11:03!"), but in the same time of day: for instance, always in the morning or always somewhere around your bedtime.

• With ALL BCPs, to be as safe as possible, and in the interest of advocating for you to have as much protection as possible, it is strongly advised, especially for adolescents (for effectiveness but also because STIs are such a higher risk than they are for older adults) to back up the pill with condom use when using the pill as birth control.

• With ALL BCPs, to be as safe as possible if you are NOT going to back up with condoms, we strongly advise you to wait one full month before using ONLY the pill as birth control, even though for many users, so long as they they Sunday start or start on the first day of their periods, the pill will likely be fully effective within seven days. Missing pills by mistake in the first month or two of use is very common, so this is about not relying on taking the pill properly two days from now when you may not. If you have gone without a backup method in those first seven days and had sex with only the pill, it is advised to call your healthcare provider and ask about emergency contraception.

• With ALL BCPs, a "missed" pill is one that was not taken within 24 hours of the last pill you took. A missed pill should always be taken as soon as you realize you have missed it, but there is likely no risk from one missed pill or a need for EC. A "late" pill varies more in definition among various sources, and to some degree from pill to pill, but with any type of pill, if you have taken a combined pill more than 12 hours late, you may want to consider using a backup method of birth control for the rest of your cycle. If you are using the minipill (POP), a pill taken more than 3 hours late, not 12, is a late pill.

• With ALL pills, if you have missed more than one pill, you will need to take the pills you missed as soon as you know you missed them (so long as it is not more than three, in which case, with most pills, you'll want to wait until the following Sunday, then just start a new pack entirely, but use a backup for that whole cycle), and we'd advise a backup method of birth control until your next pill pack begins. If you have missed several pills and have had sex in that cycle without a backup method, we advise emergency contraception. When in doubt, always contact your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

• With ALL pills, do read your pill packet information. Pills -- how they're taken, when effectiveness is compromised, what side effects and risks are most prevalent, and the best ways to take them -- can ALL differ from pill to pill. So, be sure if you're on the pill, to read those inserts and to talk to your healthcare provider prescribing the pill for you and ask ANY questions you have: there's just no reason to fly blind with your birth control or any other medication you may take.

Please understand that more often than not, we DO err on the side of caution here at Scarleteen, both because in many aspects the population we serve is unique (and largely underrepresented in many studies on everything to do with sexuality and sexual health) and because we are certainly visible and accountable for the information we give you and want to be sure we're doing the very best we can to help you stay as safe as possible if you're going to be sexually active. We always review a myriad of credible sources with our information (and as you know, they often vary), and do our level best to look at that information as a whole and draw whatever conclusions from all of it which we feel the most confident will help you to be the most safe.

As usual, we will always encourage you to seek out a second opinion from your healthcare provider whenever you like or feel a need.

(Reposted from the old boards here: http://www.scarleteen.com/forum/ultimat ... 01216.html)