is birth control enough? - Birth Control Message Board

Shaw · 10-11-2005, 01:43 PM

I am 18 years old and am very sexually active with my boyfriend. I have been off and on birth control for about 3 years now. I just recently got back on my pills (i am taking Yasmin) and have been on them for the past one and half months. I try to take them near the same time everyday, but i know for a fact that i am not taking them at EXACTLY the same time. I know not taking them perfectly makes the pills less effective. Recently ..for the past 4 days... my boyfriend and i have had a lot of unprotected sex and he ejaculated inside of me. We both have been tested for STD's, HIV, etc...and we are both clean so that is a reason i felt more comfortable with being unprotected. However, i am not sure if the pill is going to be enough to protect me from pregnancy... (because of how many times we have had sex recently.) Does it matter how many times? Should i get emergency contraceptive? I do not know what to do.. please help!

omalll · 10-11-2005, 05:10 PM

i think you're probably just fine. How far apart are you in taking your pills each day? if its just like an hour, i dont think its a big deal, and you probably dont need to worry about using another form of birth control. If you're like 4 or 5 hours inconsistent, technically you're still OK because on Yasmin, a pill isnt considered "late" until its 12 hours late. and i think its only after missing 2 pills in a row that you have to worry about ovulating. but still you should try to be as consistent as possible. Can you set your cell phone or watch to go off when you're supposed to take it? Mircette is the type of pill Im on, and on their website they have a little alarm you can buy for 2 bucks, the size of a credit card, and it goes off the same time everyday, if thats something you're interested in.
Other than that, if you're taking your pill everyday at around the same time, you should be fine.
It IS a good idea to have some emergency contraception on hand though (you can get it at planned parenthood), incase you miss a couple pills and need the protection.

ps: it doesnt matter how many times you have sex - the pill works by preventing an egg from being available for fertilization... if theres no egg, it doesnt matter how much intercourse you have, since theres nothing to fertilize.