EC problems?

[milligrams.livejournal.com]

So, I have had my period twice with a week in between them. I took Plan B on the last day of my period.

This is what happened:
condom broke, he pulled out riiiiight before he ejaculated, we freaked out, got EC the following day.

My "period" started four days ago. The first two days it was like man-the-sandbags-a-flood-is-coming flow. I had to change my tampon every hour and a half or so and since halfway through the third day, there has been absolutely nothing except for the dark brown blood, and very little of that. Could this be decidual bleeding? The chances of my getting pregnant were so slim already and the added EC should have made it even smaller, close to nonexistent. I'm aware that EC can make periods strange, but two in three weeks and the latter being so wonky?

My boyfriend's mom said that all this blood meant I had a miscarriage and I was like wutttt, no way. So, I don't know what to think. I don't even know when I could take a pregnancy test after all this craziness.

I'm setting up an appointment to get a full exam to make sure everything is okay down there and get a birth control prescription at Planned Parenthood soon. I just need some piece of mind before that.

Comments

[musicgirl312.livejournal.com]

From what I've heard, decidual bleeding is nowhere near "man the sandbags". Also, even if you had gotten pregnant, you wouldn't have implanted for at least a week or so afterward, so you wouldn't have time to build up a huge uterine lining so I doubt this is a miscarriage. Even if it is, a miscarriage that early would mean that the particular egg was in the 50% that aren't viable for human life and miscarry anyway, so there's nothing you did.
You could take a pregnancy test about 2 weeks after the broken condom incident (which was 11 days ago? I think?) and it would be accurate, but I would be SHOCKED if you were pregnant.

[milligrams.livejournal.com]

I would be shocked, too, but I have taken Plan B before and it was NOTHING like this at all. I guess I am just freaked out.

[archangelbeth]

Indeed. I had decidual bleeding, and it was light and spotty, even though it once included a large, oddly fibrous/matted clot.

If it's a heavy, "man the sandbags" (hee!) kind of flow, I don't think there's much likelihood of pregnancy.

[milligrams.livejournal.com]

My boyfriend and his mom both died when I said man the sandbags. They made me stop talking just so they could laugh.

Here's to hoping it's just crazy influx of hormones induced period!

[pygmybugs.livejournal.com]

When I took Plan B, I spotted and bled on and off for 3 weeks. My doctor said it wasn't a common reaction, but it happens. Hormones just make my uterus wanna bleed, apparently. She gave me a prescription to stop the bleeding if it didn't stop in a couple of days, but I ended up not taking it because it did stop.

I wouldn't be too worried.

[gabardinedreams.livejournal.com]

isn't pulling out effective if he urinated since the previous ejaculation?
to me a condom breaking + pulling out wouldn't be insta pregnancy scare in my mind..
but maybe I'm just weird.

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

It all depends on an individual's level of comfort. For instance, for folks (like me!) who rely solely on withdrawal and are comfortable with its failure rate, a broken condom and no ejaculation in the vagina wouldn't be much of a scare.

But for people who desire and/or need a higher protection rate against pregnancy, then a broken condom and no ejaculation in the vagina would be a larger risk than they are willing to take, and a scare.

That said with all the factors in this case put together -- a single broken condom incident on the last day of the OP's period, with no ejaculation in the vagina, and with EC taken afterwards, is extraordinarily unlikely to result in a pregnancy.

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

I strongly doubt that this is a miscarriage.

More likely is that many women experience a delayed withdrawal bleed after taking Plan B. It works basically like a magnified version of "period" while on hormonal birth control; you take a huge dose of hormones, and after a period of time, the removal of that big hormone dose triggers your body to bleed.

Even if you hadn't taken Plan B, the last day of your period is very, very unlikely to be close enough to ovulation that Plan B would not be effective. In one British Medical Journal study, the earliest ovulation day observed in the women they studied was cycle day 8, and that was pretty rare in their study.

Plan B primarily fails when it's taken too close to ovulation to prevent ovulation. Since it would be extroardinarily unusual to ovulate on the last day of your period (or about Cycle Day 5), I strongly, strongly, strongly doubt that this is a miscarriage.

It is far more likely that it is a glorified withdrawal bleed triggered by taking Plan B, which is very common in women who take it.