Scarleteen

I have a question regarding plan b. I have tracked my cycles for years and am very regular with them. I took plan b last month on the day before my first fertile day. I got my period 3 days earlier and the first few days were pretty heavy. Lasted 5 maybe 6 days. I'm now experiencing tender nipples and mood swings. (I'm in my fertile window but have never experienced this before). I was wondering if the period I had was "real" because I've read that plan b forces you to have one. Basically, I'm not sure if I should grab a test even though I had a full period.

A menstrual period and vaginal or uterine bleeding aren't necessarily the same things. Menstrual periods, as you know from charting, happen specifically because of being at that phase in the cycle, with a long buildup of hormonal changes to get there.

Instead, given the timing, what you had was bleeding as a side effect of using Plan B, which is very common and can resemble a period. (That said, Plan B doesn't force a period or bleeding: bleeding can just be a side effect, but also doesn't happen plenty of times, too.) Additionally, there are other side effects, like mood changes, that can occur as well.

It's generally advised to test after using emergency contraception if, when it is time for your menstrual period, it is late. Of course, you can also test if that is just something you want to do.