Scarleteen

Hi there,

I've been taking BC for about 4 years now due to hormonal problems, and I am a virgin. My boyfriend and I are planning to take our relationship further on a vacation. I have been on lutera this entire time and in the last couple months my pharmacy decided to switch me to aviane instead. Both are generic pills of the same thing with the exact same active ingredients (inactive may be different) I was having some vaginal irritation and put it down to aviane, so part way through the pack went back to lutera because I still had some left, im running out now and my insurance wont let me get another pack of lutera for 2 months, so I am going to have to switch back to aviane now. My boyfriend and I may potentially have sex in just under 3 weeks (19 days or so), should I be protected still despite switching my pills back and forth? Also, I went on fluconazole for a yeast infection just over a week ago, and may potentially need antibiotics for a UTI. Despite all this and potentially having to go on antibiotics, how long should we wait to have sex? We are going to use a condom regardless but I want to make sure my pill is working too (I take it virtually perfectly timed every day)

Thanks!

Per changing your pill: so long as you're always taking the right number of pills in total in each cycle, in the right order and at the right time, you'll have your pill's proper contraceptive protection. Switching from one brand to another won't matter.

When you take other medication, always ask the person who prescribes it for you if it will interact with any medications you're already taking, including your pill. If you forget to ask, you can either call them later or ask any pharmacist. We also have some information on the site about what things do, don't or may interfere with the pill: Something You Can Worry About Less: Interference and Hormonal Birth Control

We would strongly recommend not having any sex that involves your genitals if you think you might have a genital infection, you're being treated for an infection, or you're still feeling sore from any health issue. I know that can sometimes put a bummer on plans! But if your genitals aren't feeling great or you're still recovering, sex is likely to aggravate whatever you have and make it worse, or at best slow down your recovery. Genital tissue is pretty delicate, and while we're still on the road to recovery from a health issue, it tends to be very tender and easily hurt and irritated. Obviously that leaves you feeling less good overall, but it also tends to make the sex be awkward or ouchy where it wouldn't be otherwise. Pain, irritation, and feeling decidedly un-sexy was probably not what you had in mind for your sex plans! You're best off waiting until you've finished any treatment and you're feeling better.

So, if in a couple of weeks, you've finished any treatment and everything's cleared up and you feel fine, health-wise there would be no problem with wanting to have genital sex. If something's still not quite right, it's best for your health and for your sex life to wait until you're fine again.

Make sense? Is there anything else you'd like to know?