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Late pills questions

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kert96
not a newbie
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 6:18 am
Age: 28
Primary language: Spanish or English
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Costa Rica

Late pills questions

Unread post by kert96 »

Hello there,
I was hoping you could help me clear some doubts about the intake time of the pill.
I'm on my second pack ever of combined BCP. I'm very strict with the hour I take them (normally around 9 pm, sometimes 9:30 pm top). The thing is, last Friday I went to a party and forgot to take the pill, so I took it the next day (Saturday, around 7 am). This same day (Saturday) I had sex with my partner without a condom. He did not ejaculated inside, though.
I've read in some articles that a window of 12hrs after your normal "intake hour" is still considered as an "on time" pill, in others they say is not safe depending on which week of the pack you are on (I should mention that I was on the last week of active pills)... Anyway, I would appreciate if someone could spare this doubt... should I worry for this "late pill"? Does a pill work just for 24hrs period and is that the reason we just take it at the same hour every day?
Thanks :)
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Sam W
previous staff/volunteer
Posts: 10320
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:06 am
Age: 33
Awesomeness Quotient: I raise carnivorous plants
Primary language: english
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Sexual identity: queer
Location: Coast

Re: Late pills questions

Unread post by Sam W »

Hi kert96,

You do indeed have a 12 hour "grace period" before your pill is even considered late. Since you took your pill within that 12 hour period, you can assume the effectiveness did not decrease. The reason it's recommended that you take the pill at the same time everyday is that doing so reduces the odds of you forgetting a pill on any given day. You can read more about that here: Combined Oral Contraceptives (The Pill)
And you to whom adversity has dealt the final blow/with smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go/turn to and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain/and like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.
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