Birth Control Question

[natcmau]

Hi!

I just started taking birth control two days ago. I'm on tri-previfem. Am I supposed to feel a difference in my body? I used to be on Lo Lo Estrin, but it made me very depressed and I bled for a month straight, so I stopped taking it. I guess what worries me about this is that I don't feel any different at all, so I have no idea if it's working or not. I'm worried about this because my boyfriend and I had sex (protected with condom and withdrawal) the other day before I was on it and I'm anxious that somehow we messed up (even through there was no rips or tears and he definitely withdrew before ejaculation) and I'm not experiencing any symptoms of my BC because I'm potentially pregnant. I started this new pill in the middle of my cycle, so I should have been having my period in about two weeks, but now i won't have it for four if everything is all right. Is there anything else I can do to ease my anxiety?

[Redskies]

No, you're not "supposed" to feel different. Some people do notice small differences and/or get some (usually temporary) side effects, but some people feel no different. Getting or not getting side effects, feeling different or not feeling different, gives you no information at all about whether hormonal birth control is effective. If someone is using or taking hormonal birth control as they're supposed to, they can assume it's effective.

You said you started this two days ago, which may be too early for any different feelings to show up anyway, and at 2 days, it won't be effective. As you started mid-cycle, we strongly advise either not having the kinds of sex that pose pregnancy risks or using another effective method, like condoms, for the whole of the first pack. If you take that pack correctly, you can then be sure that your pill is at its full effectiveness.

For your concern about the intercourse when you used condom and withdrawal, have you seen my reply to your other post, http://scarleteen.com/bb/viewtopic.php? ... 1063#p1063 ?

We have suggestions for managing difficult feelings in the short-term here: Self-Care a La Carte

[natcmau]

I've had slight breast tenderness and was a tad nauseous yesterday. Everything feels pretty much normal today. Is that to be expected when starting BC?

[Redskies]

It might be connected to starting the pill; those symptoms are also things that can happen occasionally anyway, and for a day or other fairly short period of time, they're no cause for concern.

[natcmau]

Okay! Thank you so much! You just made me feel a whole lot better! From here on out, my boyfriend and I will be using both the pill and condoms to be as safe as we possibly can!!

[Redskies]

You're welcome