Missing pills and fertility

[diamondxavenue.livejournal.com]

I just started taking the Pill (I've been on the Ring before) and I'm a little curious as to what the exact specifications of it are. I know that if you start it on any day but the first day of your period, you need 7 days of protection; I would assume that if you miss a pill or are late on any specific day, 7 days of other protection will suffice to keep you from getting pregnant. Is this true? So if you have sex on say, Sunday, after taking the pill for a week and miss a few days of pills, will you still be protected? Your ovaries are already asleep (for lack of a better word), so it'll take a while to start them up again, and by the time you produce an egg it seems the sperm would have died already. Is that correct?

Comments

[kaz-lynx.livejournal.com]

How many days did you miss? My HBC's (Alesse 28) information booklet states the following for all "What to do if you miss pills" (one pill, two pills, or 3+ pills):

a. Use a nonhormonal back-up method of birth control if you have sex in the seven days after you miss the pill(s).

b. [if you've missed 2+ pills in a row] You may not have a period this month.

c. If you miss two periods in a row, call you doctor or clinic.

If you had sex on a Sunday, and missed a few pills the week before Sunday, then no, you're not protected (according to my info-dude), 'coz you're supposed use nonhormonal BC for the next 7 days following the last missed pill.

If you had sex on a Sunday, and missed a few pills the week following Sunday, it might be a good idea to use a backup and monitor things anyway. I think sperm can live up to 6 days in the vagina, and you're ovaries might "wake up" before they all die off. Backup would definitely be a good idea if you have sex any time during this week.

[herloved-beauty.livejournal.com]

what specific type of HBC are you taking? more often than not, there is a specific website that covers everything you need to know.

The pill is basically the same as the ring, only taken orally. Missing a pill or being late after having taken the pill PERFECTLY can be alright (depending on if you're on a monophasic or a triphasic, or if you're on the mini-pill). The brand I'm currently on, Loestrin 24 Fe (and what I was taking before, YAZ, both being monophasic) lists this for missed pills (http://www.loestrin24.com/using.php#miss):

if you miss one white pill, take it as soon as you remember. you will not need to use backup contraception.

if you miss two white pills in either week one or week two, take two pills the day you remember and two pills the next day, then continue use. you MUST use backup protection for the next seven days.

if you miss two white pills in either week three or week four:
if you are a DAY ONE STARTER, throw out the pack and start a new one that day.
if you are a SUNDAY STARTER, keep taking them. throw them out the next sunday and start a new one.

if you miss three white pills in any week, follow the same rules as missing two pills in week 3 or 4.

i looked up ortho-tri cyclen lo and it seemed that the rules for following missed pills were the same.

say, if you have sex on sunday, after taking the pill for a week and miss a few days of pills, are you still protected?
absolutely! if you are a sunday starter, you are protected the moment you take your seventh active hormonal pill. any sex you have after missing a couple of pills WILL need a backup method though, if you miss more than one pill and it is in week two, three, or four.

[mandarrrr.livejournal.com]

I never understood that; why does it advise to throw out the rest of the pills?

[herloved-beauty.livejournal.com]

i suppose because it is inadvisable to try and make up all three pills, and starting a new pack would keep you better on track with the rest of the month. however, for monetarial concerns, i'd just continue on with the pack to regulate my period and use a backup method until i was seven pills into the new pack.

[mandarrrr.livejournal.com]

omg! hormone overdose. I definitely never thought about that, I just thought about how I didn't want to go pay another $15 copay before I had to.

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit confused by the exact details of your question, but I can shed some light on the risk of missing pills.

When you first start HBC (either the Ring or pills), after seven days the pill is guaranteed to have fully put your ovaries to sleep and prevent ovulation.

Now, after that point, if you are observing a seven-day hormone-free week, your ovaries do indeed begin to "wake up" during that period of time. However, extensive research showed that the ovaries do not reach the point required for ovulation in that time, before you start a new pack of pills (or a new Ring or patch) and they're shut down again.

The risk of missing pills is that, combined with the placebo week, this creates too many days in a month without hormones that may allow the ovaries to release an egg. For that reason, extending the placebo week is the riskiest mistake a pill user can make; but missing pills at other times during the month can add up to increase the risk of ovulation.