Scarleteen

Hi guys sorry to bother you with this, just want to pick your brains about something.

Me and my boyfriend had sex on Sunday (without a condom) and at this point i had taken pill 6 in my packet (i am currently on marvalon 21 day pill). Prior to this, about 5 days before finishing my previous packet i think i accidentally took a pill around 13 hours late (i was unsure whether i had forgotten to take it or had accidentally taken one from elsewhere in the pack). So, my question is that by taking that late pill, then taking the next 5 or so pills and a 4 day break followed by 6 further pills would i be
covered enough to prevent pregnancy? I usually take my pills at 8am every morning exactly, so i am usually fully protected and have been on contraception consistently for 2 years. Just want to know whether to be worried!


Feel so silly about it now as i thought i was further on in the pack than i was! Thanks for your time and i look forward to replies!

I would be really grateful if anyone is able to provide a response thanks!

If you had one late pill, you'll want to figure that the kind of effectiveness your pill is giving you is most likely in line with the pill's effectiveness in typical use: that's 91% over a whole year.

If that doesn't feel enough for you, a good option for the future is to team your pill with another method, like condoms. Using two methods correctly makes the chance of pregnancy minuscule, and gives you extra peace of mind for any mistakes with your pill, because even the most conscientious person makes occasional mistakes! Of course, condoms also protect you from STI transmission. Are you up-to-date with your sexual healthcare, including STI testing?

Thanks for your reply
So would you say I am at risk of potentially falling pregnant? Would you say my pill wouldn't have been that effective on day 6 after a potential mix up? I had been taking it for about 5 days after the mix up but then had a 4 day break. I usually use condoms as well, but typically the time I didn't is the one time I messed up my pill! I usually take my pill at 8am on the dot, its so silly really!

All up to date yep and I will ensure that I use condoms 100% in the future!

A late or missed pill only every now and then will put someone at the typical use rate for oral contraceptives, which is 91%. And that IS typical: I'd say very, very few people are going to take a daily pill -- be it birth control or any other kind! -- without ANY mistakes in one full year, which is the only timeframe we can measure effectiveness in accurately.

In other words, you, like most people, probably have always been at that typical use rate, since life isn't at all like a clinical trial, which is where perfect use rates come from.

Ok, so I will try not to panic about it too much then and I will take a test when I can. I suppose if I've always been taking it as a typical user hopefully I shouldn't be pregnant. Will definitely be using condoms from now on!!!

Thanks very much

Again, the typical use effectiveness rate is 91% in one full year, but that is only for that ONE method, and over a whole year. So, since you usually use two methods -- pill + condom -- but just this once didn't, you still will be looking at less than even just that 9% risk in one year from this one time of a very minor bit of pill lateness.

Ok great! That puts my mind at rest thank you very much!

Hi there, sorry to bother you with questions again! Since this morning I've been having some pain in my left breast, almost a soreness/ache. I know this can be a symptom of pregnancy, but could there be another cause? I guess its either a symptom of pregnancy or just really badly timed to make me worry!!

Hi guys, so its been 13 days since the risk I first spoke about and I've noticed a very light bleeding/discharge which seems to be brown in colour. Could this be a sign of pregnancy? Its scared me quite a lot to be honest, but I'm not sure if I'm worrying over nothing? I'm also experiencing some slight period type aches, but not much. I have 2 more pills left to take until the end of my pack and it has occasionally happened where I do start to bleed lightly/ have some pains towards the end of my pack but I'm not sure if that's the case this time as I've been on this pill for quite a while.

Sorry to bother you with this again and thanks for your patience!

Here is a walkthrough for you if you are, as it sounds, having a pregnancy scare: The Pregnancy Panic Companion. "Signs" of pregnancy are not a reliable way to think about any of this, because people who ARE pregnant often will not feel differently than anyone else in early pregnancy and won't have anything happening they can notice that can't happen when NOT pregnant.

It will tell you what steps you can take now, and what NOT to do.

Thanks very much

You're welcome. Hang in there. I know that it's hard to get through feeling scared and uncomfortable, but you are in the end stretch here, per timing with your period or when you can test, so you really just need to get through this for another few days.

And if you haven't yet talked to your partner about the limits you know you need to set for yourself moving forward, having that conversation will probably help. It's very hard to let go of something stressful if we don't feel as sure as we can that we won't wind up in the same spot again soon enough.

Thank you I will definitely have a conversation with him to make sure we are making the right choices moving forward.

I cant decide whether I truly believe I've had a risk of pregnancy...everything you've told me makes sense but I think that I've talked myself into it a bit if that makes sense. But as you say at least I'm at the end of the road and hopefully all will be ok!

Thanks again