I think that you can safely assume that you aren't pregnant. Because you abstained from sex for 9 days after you missed your pills and then you used condoms, there is little chance that you could have conceived.
Even when people do miss two pills, the advice is to use another form of contraception for just 7 days. You abstained for 9. Most likely, that 9 days got you through any possibility of ovulation, but even if it didn't, the condoms would have protected you. And by that time, the pills would have kicked back in. So not only did you do the right thing, you did the right thing twice.
You should be able to take a home pregnancy test now, if you still want to. Most HPTs are accurate by the time you would have been late for your period. And here's what the Mayo Clinic says about the accuracy of HPTs when you're taking the pill:
"You can get accurate results from a pregnancy test while you're on the pill. Pregnancy tests work by measuring a specific pregnancy-related hormone — human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) — in your blood or urine. The active ingredients in birth control pills don't affect how a pregnancy test measures the level of HCG in your system."
Here's more of that page, which is really informative:
It sounds like you're up to speed now on what's recommended when you miss a pill. Just to be sure, though:
-- when you miss one pill, take it as soon as you remember, even though that may mean taking two in one day.
-- when you miss two pills, take two pills two days in a row. In other words, if you miss Monday's and Tuesday's pills, then on Wednesday take two pills (for Mon and Tue) and on Thursday take two pills (for Wed and Thur). Then you are back to just one pill on Friday. If this happens in the second week, use backup contraception methods for a week. If this happens in the third week, begin backup contraception, take one pill a day until Sunday, and on Sunday, begin a new pack.
-- when you miss three or more pills in a row, start backup contraception immediately. Use it for two weeks. Continue taking one pill a day until Sunday, and on Sunday, begin a new pack.
Here are more details:
http://www.birth-control-comparison.info/thepill.htm#missed-pills
I hope this helps alleviate some of your worry. Please do take an HPT if that would help even more.
Comment Reply
Anon,
I think that you can safely assume that you aren't pregnant. Because you abstained from sex for 9 days after you missed your pills and then you used condoms, there is little chance that you could have conceived.
Even when people do miss two pills, the advice is to use another form of contraception for just 7 days. You abstained for 9. Most likely, that 9 days got you through any possibility of ovulation, but even if it didn't, the condoms would have protected you. And by that time, the pills would have kicked back in. So not only did you do the right thing, you did the right thing twice.
You should be able to take a home pregnancy test now, if you still want to. Most HPTs are accurate by the time you would have been late for your period. And here's what the Mayo Clinic says about the accuracy of HPTs when you're taking the pill:
"You can get accurate results from a pregnancy test while you're on the pill. Pregnancy tests work by measuring a specific pregnancy-related hormone — human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) — in your blood or urine. The active ingredients in birth control pills don't affect how a pregnancy test measures the level of HCG in your system."
Here's more of that page, which is really informative:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/birth-control-pill/WO00098
It sounds like you're up to speed now on what's recommended when you miss a pill. Just to be sure, though:
-- when you miss one pill, take it as soon as you remember, even though that may mean taking two in one day.
-- when you miss two pills, take two pills two days in a row. In other words, if you miss Monday's and Tuesday's pills, then on Wednesday take two pills (for Mon and Tue) and on Thursday take two pills (for Wed and Thur). Then you are back to just one pill on Friday. If this happens in the second week, use backup contraception methods for a week. If this happens in the third week, begin backup contraception, take one pill a day until Sunday, and on Sunday, begin a new pack.
-- when you miss three or more pills in a row, start backup contraception immediately. Use it for two weeks. Continue taking one pill a day until Sunday, and on Sunday, begin a new pack.
Here are more details:
http://www.birth-control-comparison.info/thepill.htm#missed-pills
I hope this helps alleviate some of your worry. Please do take an HPT if that would help even more.
January 28, 2010 - 9:53amThis Comment
Reply