Birth control, antibiotics and retroactive protection...

[xasgoodasitgets.livejournal.com]

Alright, so I'm SUPER paranoid about getting pregnant. I take my pill the EXACT same time every day, and have for 8 years now. I don't take any chances.

I'm getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow morning. The oral surgeon prescribed me some Amoxicillin to take to prevent infection. Now, I know that antibiotics can possibly decrease the effectiveness of the pill. I also know that some people say it's not ALL antibiotics, and it's not definitely the case, but like I said...I'm super paranoid and take no chances.

I'm definitely going to use a backup for the course of my antibiotics and for a month afterward (paranoid!) BUT my boyfriend and I had sex without a condom last night and he came inside of me. I didn't even consider it, because I haven't started the antibiotics yet.

I've heard that sperm can live inside of you of up to a week. So...if I start antibiotics tomorrow, am I still protected from the sperm that are already inside of me? And if so...how? I mean, don't you need s steady stream of the hormones to protect you? If that 'stream' is interrupted and sperm are inside of me...isn't there a larger chance that I can get pregnant? I'm feeling really uneasy about it, and am considering not taking the antibiotic. I mean, everyone says to use a backup for the course of the antibiotics, but no one says anything about not having sex for a week BEFORE you start the antibiotics.

I need some opinions, please! I'm freaking myself out here. Thanks!

Comments

[anowyn.livejournal.com]

I had this same fear when I was getting a root canal a while back. I just did another google search just in case and found this:

Amoxicillin can make birth control pills less effective. Ask your doctor about using a non-hormone method of birth control (such as a condom, diaphragm, spermicide) to prevent pregnancy while taking amoxicillin. Take this medication for the full prescribed length of time. Your symptoms may improve before the infection is completely cleared. Amoxicillin will not treat a viral infection such as the common cold or flu. Do not share this medication with another person, even if they have the same symptoms you have.

- drugs.com (http://www.drugs.com/amoxicillin.html)

As well as this:

Experts rarely agree, and there is a lot of controversy on the significance of the interaction between birth control pills and antibiotics. Amoxicillin is said to interact with birth control pills 1 percent of the time. That is a small number, but for most women, an unplanned pregnancy is a significant event. Most doctors recommend using a back-up method of birth control while you're taking antibiotics and for seven days after the antibiotic course is complete, just to be safe.

- Livestrong.com (http://www.livestrong.com/article/33056-amoxicillin-effects-birth-control/)

So just to be safe I would use condoms if you plan to be sexually active during the course of the treatment, as well as a week after the treatment is finished.

ETA Sorry, reading fail. Gah! Hmm, have you talked to your dentist/doctor about that? I would assume you'd be okay.... but then again I'm not a doctor.

Sorry for the huge comment and reading fail. :(

[sweetchild92.livejournal.com]

Sperm don't live that long when you're on HBC-it makes your cervical mucous very inhospitable.

[misspaigeb.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Sperm only live for up to a few hours when you're on HBC, that's one of the mechanisms that it works by - making your cervical mucus inhospitable to sperm.

Also, if you're going to use back up for that long anyway, you may consider just quit taking your pill all together, as HBC has been linked to dry socket. I know I was going to try to have mine done when I was on an off-week or just quit using it during the week I get it done. Here's a link, although if you Google "HBC and dry socket" you'll get a bunch of VP posts also discussing it.

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/dry-socket-7

[sweetchild92.livejournal.com]

This comment pretty much sums it up:

http://birthcontrol.livejournal.com/5164254.html#comments

[xasgoodasitgets.livejournal.com]

Thanks for responding, guys! I did take the antibiotic...I didn't want my paranoia to cause any unnecessary infection. I'm nervous, but I'm hoping it'll be okay.