When should EC start kicking in?

[ambitiouskyo.livejournal.com]

I had unprotected sex - twice - on the afternoon of the 26th, using withdrawal. (He didn't ejaculate inside me at all, at least not that either of us felt; it's mostly leakage or pre-cum I'm concerned about, especially since the second time was right after the first.) We usually use condoms, but it was kind of a spontaneous thing and we figured that if we used withdrawal this once, our chances were slim.

My periods have been 13th Oct, 13th Sep, 12 Aug.

Anyway, just to be safe, I took EC (two Postinor pills) today, around 48 hours after the sex, give or take a few. Tried to get it earlier, but couldn't.

The packaging and things I've read all say to take one, then the other after 12 hours, but the doctor told me to take them both at once. (I asked twice.)

I've read that EC can make you reeeally sick, but it's been almost four hours and I haven't felt anything so far. My question is: when should I start feeling the nausea, if I get it? Secondly, was it a bad idea for me to take both pills at once? I've checked the tags, but haven't really found any information about either of these things.

Oh, and lastly: assuming I was ovulating on the day of sex, but we used withdrawal and I took EC 48 hours after...I should be pretty safe, right?

Comments

[chiyo-no-saru.livejournal.com]

It's not a guarantee that you're going to feel sick from it! :)

[atalanta0jess.livejournal.com]

You won't necessarily feel anything....some people don't get bad side effects from it at all. And its totally fine to take both pills at once. I believe the reason they say to take them separately is to reduce side effects, but that there isn't any evidence that that actually works (to reduce side effects) so you might as well take them together.

Unfortunately, if you ovulated before you took the EC, it won't necessarily help you. It primarily works by delaying ovulation, and although it is sometimes said that it can also prevent implantation, I think that studies have failed to find any evidence of that. It may be that you hadn't ovulated yet though - unless you are tracking your temperature it can be awfully hard to say for sure. Also, since you used withdrawal, you should still be pretty safe. Pre-ejaculate is thought not to contain sperm, as long as he urinated between ejaculations.

[archangelbeth]

(I think that's the issue, that he didn't actually urinate between ejaculations?) Other than the parenthetical, yes, this -- fine to take both pills at once, the "take them separately" is to reduce chances of side effects such as nausea, may not experience nausea, and it prevents ovulation.

Good luck!

[ambitiouskyo.livejournal.com]

He didn't urinate between ejaculations, though.

My period usually comes pretty regularly on the 12th/13th, so supposedly my ovulation only happens on the 29th/30th. Like you said, though, it's awfully difficult to know if I was really ovulating or not.

Does that mean that if I'm ovulating and I have unprotected sex, there's nothing that can be done about preventing a potential pregnancy?

[atalanta0jess.livejournal.com]

My understanding of it is that the only thing that could be done is to get a copper IUD inserted. They are highly highly effective as emergency contraception, whether or not you have ovulated.

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

Does that mean that if I'm ovulating and I have unprotected sex, there's nothing that can be done about preventing a potential pregnancy?

Other than getting an IUD inserted prior to implantation, no, there isn't anything. Plan B has been theorized to interfere with implantation, but this has never been proven and some limited research suggests it may only work by delaying ovulation or hindering fertilization.

Anyway, I sort of agree that it's not super likely you'd get pregnant from two incidents where no ejaculation occured in the vagina and Plan B was taken afterwards.

It's just fine that you took both pills at once, the only reason they suggest them apart is to reduce side-effects. Remember too that Plan B can throw your cycle out of whack too. :)

[whatwe-know.livejournal.com]

if you ovulated around the day of the sex, then the EC won't do anything. it works to prevent conception mainly by preventing ovulation (to a lesser extent it may prevent fertilization and implantation of an egg), which is to say that if you've already ovulated, it may not help as much.

BUT withdrawal (when used correctly) does significantly reduce your chances of conceiving, so chances are you didn't just get knocked up. :)

as far as taking the pills at once time: i believe i read somewhere that taking the pills simultaneously actually helps the EC work better, but you lose little effectiveness by spacing them 12 hours apart and it reduces the chance of nausea, etc., so usually people are told to space them. it just sounds like you have the stomach of steel :)

[ambitiouskyo.livejournal.com]

Heh, thanks :) It's been about 5 or 6 hours since I took it now, and I feel fine, so I'm glad.

I didn't know that EC wouldn't work if you'd ovulated already. In that case, I really hope I haven't ovulated yet. Supposedly my ovulation time is around the 29th or 30th, but I did get some egg-whitey discharge yesterday and today. Maybe I'm just psyching myself...

[whatwe-know.livejournal.com]

Chances are you'll be just fine. Good luck waiting to get your period though, that is the hard part! :)

[hiriel1804.livejournal.com]

And remember that EC can disrupt your cycle. It's a hormone bomb, after all. If you don't get your period at the normal time this month, it doesn't have to mean you're pregnant.

[luxxlife.livejournal.com]

all three times i have used EC, i took them both at once. that is was i was advised to do all three times. and i didn't have any side effects any time.

[ends-and-means.livejournal.com]

I took both at once in addition to my regular HBC, and I never had any side effects whatsoever. People react differently.