I wanted to share my experience with Plan B in hopes it will calm some fears of others who were in my position.
I had protected sex, with a condom, when it slipped off while being withdrawn. This was after he ejaculated. Not being sure if any sperm had leaked out or somehow presented itself, I took action into my own hands. My partner claimed I had nothing to worry about, but I wasn't so sure. I was never one for charting my ovulation, nor was I highly aware of it, BUT the night this happened I could have been ovulating. I panicked. I did not want to have a baby, so I rushed to my local 24 hour drugstore. I picked up Plan B. It ran me $50 and it's now found on the shelf in the family planning aisle. It was Plan B one step. I took the one pill about two hours after we had had sex. Then the waiting began...
The night I took it, I felt pretty decent. Next day, nothing. It wasn't until about a week after taking Plan B, that nausea, little hot flashes, dizziness, and breast tenderness started setting in. The second week after taking Plan B, my breasts got so sore, I couldn't barely put a bra on, shower water hitting them was like daggers, it was awful! I was pretty concerned as it's normal for me to experience tender breasts about a week before my period but my period was still a while away and my breasts had NEVER been this sore. But I dealt with it, and reassured myself that I was okay. At the end of the second week, I started feeling cramps, really really bad cramps, spotting occurred, brown at first, then pink, then about two days later I broke out into a full bleed. I bled straight for 4 days, pretty much the length of my normal period, however this one seemed more heavy, and more bright red blood than I was used to, but on the 4th day of it, it stopped.
So to recap, I took Plan B around the possible time of ovulation. I experienced symptoms within a week, VERY sore breasts that lasted about three weeks, cramps, bloating, zits, dizziness, just awful. However I received my period 3 days earlier than when it was due.
Did I feel relief? Yes. Did I think this ordeal was over? Not quite. Even after my "period" had ended I ended up being the worry wart I am, taking a pregnancy test. First morning urine, about 3 weeks after the sex had happened, negative. At that point I was convinced Plan B had caused my bleeding and that I could consider that my period and the pill worked.
So when do you count your next cycle from? Well I ended up counting my next cycle from the day the new bleeding started from taking Plan B. My cycle is usually 30 days and I'm pretty regular. I am also NOT on any additional birth control, I only use condoms. So I sat here waiting or my next period to show, the next period after you have already bled once on Plan B. Now I know cycle changes are one of the side effects from Plan B and can go on for months, but again, what girl isn't worried about her health? And if you are like me, you want to be double, triple, quadruple sure you are okay?
So 30 days since I bled after taking Plan B, I had NO signs of my period coming. Very light soreness in my breasts, a twinge of pain in my abdomen, but nothing like what usually indicated it was coming. Day 30 came and went, nothing. Day 37, nothing, I was panicking! I took more home pregnancy tests even though probably not needed but to ease my mind I did. They were negative. I got so worked up that something was wrong I actually went to a free clinic for testing and they only did urine samples, negative. No one could really give me a real answer if Plan B was causing this and they seemed to have no information for me, just telling me everyone woman is different. Which I understand, but the last thing you want to hear when you are in full out panic mode is an, "I don't know, come back in two weeks", I mean this ordeal has been going on for almost two months now and the immature guy I was with jumped ship the moment I even tried to tell him I was a bit fearful of being pregnant. So lesson learned. If your partner is decent enough to stick around, bravo. I just wanted to share with him what I was going through and he did not even want to hear it.
Moving on though, so I sat with my negative pregnancy tests, being alone and scared, with no health insurance not knowing what my next move was. I have done the internet searches, I have read many of these message boards. So many girls in the same position as me, grasping for answers, yet they never seem to get one of people don't come back to tell their story after they have gone through something. So that's what I'm here for, I want to help others, because man I have been through the gauntlet with this Plan B.
So to wrap it up, here I sit, 45 days into my second cycle after taking plan b, which makes me roughly about two weeks late and I had the worst cramps, and I had mild spotting, but it looks like I have finally gotten my period and maybe now i can finally get my life back on track and focus on my life again instead of worrying about peeing on a stick.
So to recap -
Can Plan B bring on your period late or early?
Yes, after taking Plan B, I actually ended up bleeding fully two and a half weeks after taking it. I took it during the time I was ovulating and the day I got my period after taking Plan B was three days earlier than I would have expected.
Side effects?
I hate VERY sore breasts, alarmingly sore for almost three weeks, cramps, dizziness, very bad breakouts on my face which I'm still dealing with and some weight gain / bloating.
Second period after Plan B, showed almost no symptoms and more than two weeks late?
YES! My second period showed no signs it was even approaching, I drove myself nuts taking pregnancy tests, all negative, FINALLY i got my period after 45 days in between the time i bled after Plan B and now. The cramps are pretty bad I will admit. Stronger than I'm used to.
hope this helped someone out there! lesson learned for me, I'm glad as a female I have options like Plan B, very glad it's there, but wow it does work over your system pretty good so lesson learned and take caution!
All user-generated information on this site is the opinion of its author only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. Members and guests are responsible for their own posts and the potential consequences of those posts detailed in our Terms of Service.
Add a Comment288 Comments
Hi, I'm kind of in the same position here..how long did it take for your bloating to go down?
March 7, 2016 - 1:16pmThis Comment
Hi guys, my Red Robots came. It was only a day late. Came yesterday but by my calendar was meant to come on Jan 3.
It simply means I was either worrying for nothing and maybe he didn't even ejaculate in me like my conscience made me feel or the pill worked. Either way, I will try not to let this mistake repeat itself.
To all of you that are as worried as I was, I hope your Red Robots come too and reduce the stress of wishing you never did it in the first place. No use eating yourself out with worry. I felt the same symptoms you are feeling now but I have learnt a lot this past 3weeks- 1. have safe sex (or abstain when you're in your most fertile period), 2. Track your cycle (it will help with no. 1), 3. Educate your partner about your cycle 4. If an "accident" happens (try not to let it) use pill preferably within 24 hours, 4. You rarely get pregnancy symptoms few days after unprotected sex (the symptoms appear into your first trimester), so the symptoms you feel are mostly as a result of the pill.
January 5, 2016 - 5:38am5. If you don't want a baby yet, don't forget any of these lessons.
This Comment
"I am on birth control, but missed a pill in week 1 and in week 2. I took them both the next night as a makeup. Then, 3 days after my missed pill, on day 17 out of my 28 day cycle, I had unprotected sex. But he was only in for about 10 seconds or less unprotected. And he pulled out. Then, less than 24 hours later, I took plan b. What are the chances I am pregnant?"
January 1, 2016 - 2:39pmThis Comment
Good morning,
December 12, 2015 - 9:14amI was on birth control in the past and I just don't like the side effects I was experiencing so me and my doctor come up with an alternative but my boyfriend felt it was not going to work because my cycle can change. I have been tracking when I ovulate every month for almost a year now with first response ovulation kit and checking my cervical mucus it's pretty much the same every month 5 days after my period has ended the test shows a detection of LH and I see the clear stretchy discharge (egg like). So I know not to have sex 2 days before and during the 7 days I'm fertile. Well so far using this method i have been able to avoid pregnancy. However my boyfriend jinks me and I'm a bit nervous. The pharmacy I normally go to was out of the first response so I brought the clearblue ovulation test. First day I used it (December 7 first day after my period ended) I wasn't fertile we had sex multiple times. However December 8 (second day after my period ended) I took it when I first woke up it said I was at my peak fertility which scared us both because I'm not supposed to be fertile for another 3 days. My pharmacist stated the clearblue test (which is different from first response and other ovulation test that only detects LH) detects not only LH but also an increase in estrogen so if my estrogen levels raise a little it will tell me I'm fertile. My boyfriend thought the test might be defective so we got another one just to see and it said negative so we didn't freak out. Later that night we had sex again multiple times. December 9 I took both test to compare and both said fertile. We went to get take action (generic form of plan B). After taking it I did research on my own my pharmacist didn't have much answers on it and because I have never taken this before or didn't know much about it I wanted to ease my mind. After reading so many articles about plan B I started to worry because they basically stated if you already started ovulation it's less likely it can stop it and their is no way to tell if the egg already attached to the uterus. After reading about multiple women becoming pregnant cause plan B failed the company released a statement stating they only tested women who was 165 lbs and under with a BMI of 25 or under so if you are over 165 lbs and have a BMI over 25 (like me) then it is less effective and you are three times as likely to get pregnant (by the way they don't have the weight limit on the labels for plan B sold in the US they only have it labeled on the plan B sold in UK they are currently pushing for the FDA to get them to put the weight limit on the boxes sold in US) They recommend taking Ella which can be prescribed by your OB made for women over 190 lbs and a BMI of 30 or over. However it has a time limit and unfortunately I'm pass the time limit . After taking the pill I had a little nausea, mild cramping, felt bloating, had lots gas, experienced constipation for two days and an increase sex drive. After reading this post I feel a little better but I'm still kinda worried. At this point if it fails I'm going to be having my first child at 30 if it works then I can plan to have one in the future after I get married.
This Comment
Thank tou so much for this post! Feeling the exact same things! The worst part is the sore nipples/breasts, really killing me! Today it is two weeks since i took the pill. It is a bad-ass pill I would say...
Had a very big bleeding 5 days after taking the pill, the bleeding lasted 6 days, as my normal period. Then I felt releif, now I am very stressed out again. Hopefully I´m not pregnant, I have done one test already (maybe too early but I had to calm my nerves with something). In a couple of days I will go to the doctor and do another pregnancytest, I am so worried!! :(
December 8, 2015 - 5:39amThis Comment
So, I'm at a similar point where I am stressed and confused. I am not a mother, so I'm a little ignorant of when it becomes the proper time to test.
I had unprotected intercourse with my boyfriend two weeks ago from today. I typically ovulate a week before my period, and I was expecting my period around the 24th-25th. As of today still nothing. This past weekend I was experiencing nausea, vomiting, headaches, cramps, and exhaustion (more so than normal). I have had breast reduction surgery so I wouldn't be able to feel any soreness there.
Since it's only been two weeks I'm thinking it's too soon to really test? I did test a couple of days ago and it was an immediate negative. I received the result before I even had my pants up!
I know I need to wait to test, but does anyone know the best week post intercourse to test and feel confident in the result that you get back?
Thanks in advance!
November 30, 2015 - 10:02amThis Comment
In the same boat, 4 weeks post pill pop. brutal beyond belief. Thanks for your stories.
November 17, 2015 - 12:45amThis Comment
Hi there, your period will come but to be on the safe side you should go to the doctor. Plan b should not be over the counter it's the worst thing out there. Ever since I took it my whole body has been going crazy. Don't worry your period will come soon. It took me 2 months and I got my period. Please go to the doctor and complain. I feel like we should do something about this plan b shit Bc doctors seem to think it's nothing serious even though all of us r experiencing these feeling from plan b and the explanations on the pill do not state all the Simpsons we feel.
November 1, 2015 - 6:33amThis Comment
I took the pill at 10 am on September 7 after my guy ejaculated me early Sunday morning . Today is October 10th. Still no period. I started to get the pregnancy symptoms a week and a half to two weeks after taking the pill. I also had no bleeding or spotting whatsoever but the pill has me feeling horrible after 3 weeks. Took a hpt and it came out negative last Sunday. I can not take this anymore . I need help
October 10, 2015 - 8:36amThis Comment
Im in the same BOAT FML
November 15, 2015 - 2:28pmThis Comment