My Birth Control Struggle

[MonoNessa95]

Hey y’all. I came here almost to vent, but also get some help or insight. I travel for work and sometimes my birth control pills (MonoNessa) have to be left in the car for hours at a time without the AC. When traveling, I keep my pills in a coin purse inside an insulated lunch box inside my suitcase surrounded by clothes and a blanket on top. The inside of the lunchbox never feels hot and my blister pack and pills never look, smell, or feel any different, despite the temperature inside the vehicle definitely getting well above the excursion temperature (86 degrees F).

I’ve called my doctor, the pharmacy, and the manuafacturer, all of which gave me generic answers like, “call the (insert pharmacist/manufacturer.” I’ve read as long as they look ok, they should be fine.

It is worth noting I keep other meds in the lunch box, such as Zyrtec and Tylenol, and both seem to function properly, leading me to believe my pills are as well, but sometimes it’s nice just to hear/see someone say, “you’ll be fine.”

I cannot get an iud or other form of contraception until at least January because of my insurance, and this job lasts until October. We would like to continue not using condoms because I get rashes every time, even with latex free condoms, and that makes sex (and the days following) uncomfortable.

I guess I just want clarification that my pills should be okay since the pack/pills do not look/feel/smell altered in any way? I know it’s not a strict yes/no answer, but I figure if the OTCs still work with these conditions, then my bcps are doing their job as well.

[Heather]

I'd suggest you go ahead and start doing something different with all your medications. Can you NOT leave them in a hot car, at all, moving forward? How about switching to a pill box that lets you put your medications for a day or two into a smaller place so they can come with you into cooler places, and the rest of your meds can stay at home (or a hotel, what have you)?

We really just can't say for sure with any of this, unfortunately. But with BCPs specifically, the blister packs DO tend to show heat damage clearly, so if they have looked okay, chances are good they have been okay.

Per rashes with condoms, if you are getting them with both latex and non-latex, I suspect that is either due to not using lubricant or enough lubricant OR a reaction to the lube on the condoms. So, depending on which it is, you can try adding lube (which is always a thing to do with any condoms no matter what, both for helping everything feel best for everyone, but also to help keep them from breaking), or buying an unlubricated condom and adding a different kind of lube. If you want to try and troubleshoot this and know what brands and styles you have been using, we might be able to come up with some answers together, so just drop me a list if you like.