ask: I missed 3 days of my birth control pills

Hi, Sarfis,

Welcome to EmpowHer, and thank you for your question. Let's see what we can figure out.

I actually see several worrisome signs here that yes, you could have become pregnant. Let me take them one at a time:

When you miss two or three pills, you are in effect unprotected. Your body can ovulate and if it does and you have unprotected sex, that egg can be fertilized and you can be pregnant. So that's worry No. 1.

Worry No. 2 is this: Your two times of unprotected sex (especially the first, when he ejaculated) would have been on the 10th and 12th days of your cycle. That falls right around the time your body would ovulate on its own. (It would be less worrisome if, for instance, the days of unprotected sex had been either very early or very late in your pill pack).

Worry No. 3 is this: Your antibiotics. Antibiotics do, as you said, lessen the effectiveness of birth control pills. So this is working against you as well.

On the good side: Many times when women WANT to get pregnant and start taking the pill, it takes their bodies a month or two to start ovulating on their own again. And even when they have sex at the perfect time for ovulation, they may not become pregnant for several months. And that's without any birth control at all. So even though your chances are higher, it's by no means certain that it would have happened.

If this ever happens again, where you miss a pill or two and have unprotected sex, you can go to the pharmacy within 72 hours (3 days) and get Plan B, the morning-after birth control pill. Unfortunately, it's too late to go that route this cycle.

Does this information help? After you missed the pills, did you try to make them up or start a new pack?

Hi Sarfis,

Well in most cases, if you miss three days of pills, you take two on one day and two the following day to catch yourself up. If you miss a fourth day, you stop and have to start a new pack after your period.

It all really depends on the type of Pill you are taking and all you need to do is make a telephone call to your Pharmacist. He/She can certainly answer that question per your specific prescription. Good luck!

I take orthotricyclen lo

Hi again Sarfis,

Drugs.com provides great information about side effects and information about many prescription drugs if you ever needed information. Since I am unsure what week you were in when you missed the pill, I will copy what the instructions are for your specific pill. It reads as follows:

If you miss one "active" pill, take two pills on the day that you remember. Then take one pill per day for the rest of the pack.

If you miss two "active" pills in a row in week one or two, take two pills per day for two days in a row. Then take one pill per day for the rest of the pack. Use back-up birth control for at least 7 days following the missed pills.

If you miss two "active" pills in a row in week three, or if you miss three pills in a row during any of the first 3 weeks, throw out the rest of the pack and start a new one the same day if you are a Day 1 starter. If you are a Sunday starter, keep taking a pill every day until Sunday. On Sunday, throw out the rest of the pack and start a new one that day.

If you miss three "active" pills in a row during any of the first 3 weeks, throw out the rest of the pack and start a new pack on the same day if you are a Day 1 starter. If you are a Sunday starter, keep taking a pill every day until Sunday. On Sunday, throw out the rest of the pack and start a new one that day.

If you miss two or more pills, you may not have a period during the month. If you miss a period for two months in a row, call your doctor because you might be pregnant.

If you miss any reminder pills, throw them away and keep taking one pill per day until the pack is empty. You do not need back-up birth control if you miss a reminder pill.

Read more: http://www.drugs.com/mtm/ortho-tri-cyclen.html#ixzz0sBBGaHRE.

I hope this helps.

Hi...Im 36 yrs old and I've been on the pill for 10 years now..My boyfriend and i had sex on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I am on the birthcontrol pill so we decided not to use a condom. I forgot to take my pill on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Could there be a chance of me getting pregnant? I've been on the pill for so long? What are my chances to get pregnant this quick?

RR

Anytime you have unprotected sex and miss several pills in-a-row, your chances of pregnancy increase significantly. Your pills are 99% effective at preventing pregnancy when taken consistently and correctly; when you miss several pills, this effectiveness rate decreases.

Each cycle is counted as its own separate cycle each month, and it is irrelevant if you have taken the pill previously for 3 months or 10 years. If you miss pills during one cycle, that one cycle you can ovulate, and if you have unprotected sex, the sperm can fertilize an egg. It only takes one time. Some women need to be off of birth control for a month just to know when their normal period begins (women do not have periods when taking birth control pills, the bleeding you experience is actually "withdrawal bleeding"); it is not a requirement to be off of birth control in order to become pregnant. You can get pregnant "quick" with just one instance of unprotected sex and not taking pills (especially missing 3 in-a-row).

Having sex before missing pills also is not a safe choice, as sperm can live inside your body for 3-5 days.

I wish I could offer some reassuring words. Did you make up the pills that you missed? Did you choose to take emergency contraception?

ok so im 15 yrs old. and ive been on the pill for around 6 months i think. and last night my boyfriend and i had unprotected sex. and i figure things are just fine if he pulls out in time. but last nigh he didnt. and he happened inside me. he didnt even know he had done it. also i havge misswwed mayube 3 or 4 pills this month. ive made each of them up by taking 2 a day the next day. do you think that because he came inside me i may be pregnant...?? plz let me know

Hi Anonymous,
There is always the possibility even when your on birth control to get pregnant. The only way to find out if you are pregnant is to wait and see if you miss a period and take a pregnancy test to be sure. For more information, please review these articles: Answers for Women: Am I Pregnant After Unprotected Sex?.

For future reference, you should also use condoms whenever engaging in sexual activity since condoms will not only help reduce pregnancy but will also protect you from sexually transmitted diseases. Will you please keep us updated?

Good luck,
Missie