Many Colours
07-27-2005, 10:14 AM
Im 26 and Ive never had a sexual intercourse in my life before. So because of this Im really afraid of being pregnant when I do have sex so Im willing to explore some bc methods. I will def use a condom, but to be really and extra safe, what else do you recommend? And being first time, im not really sure how the bcp, patch and implanon actually works.. ive read the sites, books and stuff but im really confused as to 3 weeks on active and 1 week placebo. and why must the pill be taking either during period, or the sunday after period? Why sunday? and why is the 4th week placebo, and not 2nd or 3rd week placebo? and if my sexual experience is just a one off thing, does that mean i can drop the pill/patch after sex and resume my normal life (as long as i dont have sex)? All these just reflect my ignorance.. but i have to begin somewhere. reading the posts here just made me more confused :rolleyes:
Would appreciate if someone can help...
Would appreciate if someone can help...
Sponsor
Daisy_lmb
07-27-2005, 12:12 PM
I know it seems all confusing at first, but hopefully what I tell you will help you. I started with using the patch in which I put my first patch on the day my period started then the next week I would put a new one on and take the old one off...then did the same for third week. The fourth week you take the patch off, but do not place a new one on...this is the week you should get your period. The one problem I had with the patch is that I was always afraid it would fall off...especially swimming and excercisin. Now I am on Tri-Sprintec generic form of Orth Tri-Cyclen. You take a pill each day at near the same time...and the 4 week of pills are ones that are kinda like "sugar pills" that way your period comes that week. Hope this somewhat helps you!
Many Colours
07-28-2005, 11:33 AM
But why do we need to limit 3 weeks and 4th week off? Why not off on 2nd or 3rd week? and can i avoid the 4th week and continue a new patch (meaning i skip a period and have sex on that 4th week?) I want to avoid taking pills because i have a tendency to wake up at diff times everyday (esp weekends) so i wanan avoid different timings.. and i may forget.
Daisies4monkeys
07-28-2005, 12:39 PM
21 days in a row of getting hormones are needed to suppress ovulation.
I posted a very in-depth explanation of how the pill works a while back. Here it is:
In your brain is a gland. This gland is called the pituitary gland, and it is responsible for making Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH).
If you are not on the pill, then towards the end of your period (around day 6), the pituitary gland releases a small amount of FSH and LH.
The FSH signals the ovaries to start preparing an egg, which begins to grow/mature in a tiny "sac".
As the egg grows, the ovary produces estrogen, which thickens the lining of the uterus. As estrogen levels grow, the pituitary gland produces LH.
The surge of LH causes ovulation (the release of the now-mature egg).
The egg travels towards the uterus,and is viable for approximately a day.
The now-empty egg sac in the ovary causes the production of progesterone, which helps to thicken the uterine lining.
If fertilization occurs, the embryo burrows into the uterine wall and the high levels of estrogen and progesterone keep it firmly stuck there. The embryo releases hCG, the pregnancy hormone, which signals the body to keep pumping out the estrogen and progesterone.
If fertilization does NOT occur, the egg dies, and hormone levels begin to drop. Once hormone levels have dropped a lot, the uterine lining begins breaking down and you have a period. Then the cycle starts all over again.
On the pill, the hormones in it signal brain to not produce FSH or LH. Even IF her body started to produce FSH and LH at the very end of her placebo week, once she started taking the active pills again, no more would be produced, and the egg would stop maturing and eventually be reabsorbed into the body.
Without FSH, no egg can mature, and without a mature egg, ovulation and fertilization cannot occur. The lack of LH means that the uterine lining does not build up very much.
When a woman takes her placebo/sugar pills, the hormone levels in her body drop, and the uterine lining breaks down and bleeding occurs.
As I previously said, there is a small chance that during a woman's placebo week, an egg may have started to mature. It would not have had time to fully mature, and once the active pills were started, no FSH or LH would be released. However, it is slightly possible that when a pill is missed, the body could seize the oppertunity to start making FSH in response, and the egg could finish maturing and be released. Generally, it takes more then one missed pill to allow this to happen, which is why many pill packages will tell you that for one missed pill only, no back-up is needed.
However, the more pills you miss in a row, the more likely it is that an egg will reach maturity and be released.
It is so very important that a woman not take more then seven days off the pill each month in order to ensure her body has not had the chance to mature an egg.
Taking 21 pills in a row ensure that by the time a woman reaches her placebo week, even IF a partially mature egg was present at the beginning of the pill pack, it would long since have been reabsorbed into the ovary, and thus no ovulation will occur during the placebo week,and hence, pregnancy cannot occur.
I posted a very in-depth explanation of how the pill works a while back. Here it is:
In your brain is a gland. This gland is called the pituitary gland, and it is responsible for making Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH).
If you are not on the pill, then towards the end of your period (around day 6), the pituitary gland releases a small amount of FSH and LH.
The FSH signals the ovaries to start preparing an egg, which begins to grow/mature in a tiny "sac".
As the egg grows, the ovary produces estrogen, which thickens the lining of the uterus. As estrogen levels grow, the pituitary gland produces LH.
The surge of LH causes ovulation (the release of the now-mature egg).
The egg travels towards the uterus,and is viable for approximately a day.
The now-empty egg sac in the ovary causes the production of progesterone, which helps to thicken the uterine lining.
If fertilization occurs, the embryo burrows into the uterine wall and the high levels of estrogen and progesterone keep it firmly stuck there. The embryo releases hCG, the pregnancy hormone, which signals the body to keep pumping out the estrogen and progesterone.
If fertilization does NOT occur, the egg dies, and hormone levels begin to drop. Once hormone levels have dropped a lot, the uterine lining begins breaking down and you have a period. Then the cycle starts all over again.
On the pill, the hormones in it signal brain to not produce FSH or LH. Even IF her body started to produce FSH and LH at the very end of her placebo week, once she started taking the active pills again, no more would be produced, and the egg would stop maturing and eventually be reabsorbed into the body.
Without FSH, no egg can mature, and without a mature egg, ovulation and fertilization cannot occur. The lack of LH means that the uterine lining does not build up very much.
When a woman takes her placebo/sugar pills, the hormone levels in her body drop, and the uterine lining breaks down and bleeding occurs.
As I previously said, there is a small chance that during a woman's placebo week, an egg may have started to mature. It would not have had time to fully mature, and once the active pills were started, no FSH or LH would be released. However, it is slightly possible that when a pill is missed, the body could seize the oppertunity to start making FSH in response, and the egg could finish maturing and be released. Generally, it takes more then one missed pill to allow this to happen, which is why many pill packages will tell you that for one missed pill only, no back-up is needed.
However, the more pills you miss in a row, the more likely it is that an egg will reach maturity and be released.
It is so very important that a woman not take more then seven days off the pill each month in order to ensure her body has not had the chance to mature an egg.
Taking 21 pills in a row ensure that by the time a woman reaches her placebo week, even IF a partially mature egg was present at the beginning of the pill pack, it would long since have been reabsorbed into the ovary, and thus no ovulation will occur during the placebo week,and hence, pregnancy cannot occur.
starsofglass
07-29-2005, 03:40 AM
If you know you'll have trouble remembering BCpills, maybe consider using Nuvaring? It's a small flexible plastic ring that you insert into the vagina, and leave there for three weeks (it releases hormones). Then you have a "ringless" week where you have your period, and then three weeks with a ring etc. I love it, and it's very good for people (like me) who can't remember to take their BC pills.
Jayfoxey
07-29-2005, 05:25 PM
Yes! I can't remember pills either! I am also on NuvaRing and love it. I love that you only have to think about it once a month! I also love the little timer it comes with-It counts down the days the ring is inside and when it is time to take it out, it beeps to remind you! However if you are prone to yeast infections, you should be extra careful with this method. I had never had a yeast infection until I started using it, but i have learned to rinse off the ring a couple times a week and also eating a lot of yogurt helps to keep everything ok.
Many Colours
07-30-2005, 10:42 AM
ive not 'stuffed' anything in before.... not even a tampon. so im not too sure if i know how to use it :p
butterfly84
07-31-2005, 02:02 AM
ohh i am with you on that haha :)
really dont stress or confuse yourself. look at the different choices, maybe talk with your doctor about it, and decide which one you think would work for you.
as for reminders.. for me once i got in routine i just pretty much remember.. i have a friend who set an alarm clock.. at one point my boyfriend used to call and remind me sometimes lol, i used to have a sticky note on my computer that said "take your pill at 2!", and me and my roommate would remind each other.
there's a lot of good ways to remember if youre worried about that.
as for avoiding diff timings.. i am the same, i wake up at different times and go to bed at different times, so i pick a time that is in the middle of the day. sometimes i am in class, or at a concert, or some other random thing, but i just take it with me and take it within like 15 minutes or so of the time.
and the sunday thing isn't alway necessary. it is good to just start on sunday so you dont get confused, but many pills come with a sticker that you can place over the days of the week to change them to whenever you started.. and ortho tri cyclen's plastic case has a dial with the days so you can turn the dial to what day you started. a doctor can probably explain this better than i can.
really dont stress or confuse yourself. look at the different choices, maybe talk with your doctor about it, and decide which one you think would work for you.
as for reminders.. for me once i got in routine i just pretty much remember.. i have a friend who set an alarm clock.. at one point my boyfriend used to call and remind me sometimes lol, i used to have a sticky note on my computer that said "take your pill at 2!", and me and my roommate would remind each other.
there's a lot of good ways to remember if youre worried about that.
as for avoiding diff timings.. i am the same, i wake up at different times and go to bed at different times, so i pick a time that is in the middle of the day. sometimes i am in class, or at a concert, or some other random thing, but i just take it with me and take it within like 15 minutes or so of the time.
and the sunday thing isn't alway necessary. it is good to just start on sunday so you dont get confused, but many pills come with a sticker that you can place over the days of the week to change them to whenever you started.. and ortho tri cyclen's plastic case has a dial with the days so you can turn the dial to what day you started. a doctor can probably explain this better than i can.
starsofglass
07-31-2005, 04:00 AM
One other reason for me for taking nuvaring instead of BC pills, is that BC pills can become unreliable if you have to throw up or have diarrhoea.
Anyway, my doc had an agreement with the pharmacist to sell me just one nuvaring, to try it out. Maybe your doctor has samples?
Anyway, my doc had an agreement with the pharmacist to sell me just one nuvaring, to try it out. Maybe your doctor has samples?
Bonitagirl
07-31-2005, 11:48 AM
I too had used the Nuvaring and it is great! I've tried about 5 different birth control pills and this the only one I didnt mess up :D And the side effects are real low, no cramping or moodiness.