Scarleteen

Hi!
I have just recently started to have sex with my boyfriend. He is being really supportive and taking things slow however he did finish during sex the other day and I am slightly freaked out.
I was wondering the following questions:
If you don't leave space at the bottom of a condom can the semen sneak up the sides and out the open end?
How quickly should a guy remove himself after he finishes?
Can a condom leak and not break?
And finally... have you ever heard of someone suffering from cramps after being put on the medication prednisone? I am on day two of taking it and dealing with severe cramps no where near my period.

Thank you!

Hi there Hannah21, and welcome to Scarleteen!

All the questions you've asked about condoms and more can be found at Condom Basics: A User's Manual. Have you considered using any other backup forms of contraception along with condoms?

As for your question about prednisone, we aren't doctors so unfortunately, we can't provide any sort of medical advice. But if you're experiencing symptoms that are troubling you, you can always call the pharmacist or the healthcare provider that prescribed the medication to check in about it!

Hi!
I have an appointment to get the birth control implant next week. For the time being we are just using condoms. I am worried about the medication because I am having bad cramps today and my period is not for another week. I made the bad mistake of googling and realized cramping out of period time can be a pregnancy side effect. My boyfriend and I had sex last week and we used a condom however I was worried about sperm escaping through the open end. You article however said that if the condom did not visibly break or slide off you can assume it did its job.

Hi Hannah,

You're spot on in that googling symptoms can definitely be a bad idea; I always joke about how WebMD is always telling me that my headaches are a brain tumor. But googling that stuff can be especially harmful if it's about pregnancy risk, because if you already have anxiety about it, those rare experiences/scenarios really only feed into the anxiety and make it worse.

That's why on our site, we have a fairly strict policy (Pregnancy Fear and Anxiety Policy) when it comes to talking about pregnancy risks, especially when someone hasn't actually engaged in a sexual activity that could pose a significant risk of pregnancy. You can read more about what the different risks look like at Can I Get Pregnant, or Get or Pass On an STI From That?.

But, what we always end up turning people back to is those facts! And the fact is, if you didn't notice an obvious sign that the condom failed (that it ripped open, that it slid off and got caught inside of you, etc), then you can reasonably assume that you were protected, and that any other symptoms you're experiencing are caused by something else.