Birth control question
 

I searched, and found a lot of interesting and useful information, but not what I was looking for. I was hoping you ladies could help me :) I read somewhere that if a person has unprotected sex during the third week of the pill they are at higher risk for getting pregnant. Now that confuses me because according to the information that came with my pill (ortho tri-cyclen lo) it says it becomes effective after 2 weeks, but I have heard and read that I should wait a month :confused: please help, any advice is appreciated.

well I know from personal experience that I only waited a week and was fine :P

It depends on when you start taking it. If you start taking it within 6 days of the start of your period, it should be effective immediately. This is because the pill works by preventing ovulation, and you are highly unlikely to have ovulated in the time when you're actually having your period. If you start taking it in the middle of your cycle, you could have ovulated already, or you could not be taking the hormones for long enough to prevent ovulation before it normally occurs, so it's not considered effective until you've had a period and started the cycle with the proper preventive doses of hormones to prevent ovulation.

i was always told by doctors to wait a month before having unprotected sex. <shrug>

Yep, I always thought it was safer after a full 28 day cycle.

ditto...my doctor also told me to wait until the 2nd pack and I started taking mine the first sunday after I started my period

I was also told to wait til the first pack's over and then it was okay. :shrug: Makes sense anyway. Better safe than pregnant, right? ;)

yeah, I started on the sunday after my period, as anxious as both my boyfriend and I are, we'll just wait out the full month before not using condoms like sillygirl said better safe than pregnant. And it is okay to have sex during the third week right contrary to what I read somewhere right?

it's safe. Where did you read that?

I don't remember, I've been reading up on it a lot lately just because I wanted to know more about it and that just kinda stuck out in my head...i'll post it if I find it.

I used to work in a family planning clinic and spent a lot of time typing pamphlets and such for the various forms of BC . Technically, you should be ok after only a week, but most doctors will tell you to wait a month before using it as your only method. You should be ok, but if you're at all worried, don't risk it. It's ALWAYS better to play it safe.

Like they all said, you should be safe after a week, but you may want tto wait a full cycle. I started out on one dosage, and waited a month and was fine (that's just how it ended up happening). After I switched to the low dose, I honestly don't remember how long I waited. Still not pregnant.

May you read something about having sex during the third week after having missed a pill. That was just my thought. If you take the pill like you're supposed to, then you should be fine.

Be safe!

im on the patch and the told me after the first month as well. your cycle needs to get on to its new cycle if that makes sense.

How do you like the patch? I am at my wit's end with Ortho Tri-cyclene Lo and looking for a better alternative. I know that everyone woman can experience different side effects, but if you don't mind me asking, do you have any unfavorable effects?

Thanks!

what don't you like about ortho, if you dont mind me asking.

My SO and I have decided to play it safe rather than risk it so condoms for the next two weeks it is, not a big deal, thanks for all you ladies' advice :thumbsup:

Both Ortho Tri-cyclene and Ortho Tri-cyclene Lo are rough on me the week before and week during my period. The week before I break out like crazy all over (and I have a really great skin regimen that leaves me with nice-looking skin the rest of the month) and am seriously bloated. My breasts will be very, very heavy and sensitive to the point at which just my shirt grazing my nipples can hurt. During my period I am extremely moody and the cramps can get to be a bit much. When I wasn't on birth control or was on continuous, no-period birth control I never had any of these problems. Unfortunately, my doctor won't let me go period-free anymore and therefor will only write me a 'script for thirteen packs a year instead of the eighteen she used to, damnit. :|

I've researched other methods but have been unable to find anyone with real-life experience with anything other than Ortho and my doctor seems to think that if I have bad side effects with one, I'll have them with all. Now that I've moved I'm hoping to change both my doctor and my birth control method!

greeneyes, good luck to you, i would think that theres a reason for there being so many different types of BC pills out there. you said you only have tried ortho, others have got to be different...i cant believe the doctor would make an assumption like that.

i went on ortho lo to take care of my cramps, lighten and shorted my period, being that i am anemic, and so i just be safe and not get pregnant. I noticed that about 5 -7 days into taking the pill my breasts started to hurt as if i was going to get my period, not major pain for me so i was ok with it, but now almost 3 weeks into it they still hurt...i dont know if thats normal or not, but from what ive heard, im assuming it is. Also like you said about the breaking out, i normally dont break out a lot only usually before my period but since being on the pill i have broken out more than normal...i thought it was supposed to help with that. Wow, sorry if this doesn't make sense, its a bit late and im just rambling :)

icksters: I've been on some type of Ortho for four years now and in the beginning I had all of these problems but to a much lesser extent. Maybe it's just the years of exposure that do it to me, who knows? I just keep telling myself that all of the side effects are still better than being a mommy and I know my boyfriend would rather see a few pimples than a round belly! :lol:

lol, yeah, i definately agree with that. at this point in my life i am better suited to deal with mild acne and sore breasts rather than waking up to a crying baby, perhaps in about 6 years i see that happening.