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I had protected sex, with a condom, when it slipped off while being withdrawn.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!
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Add a Comment288 Comments
I took plan b on a Friday it has now been 3 days, I haven't noticed any bleeding. but i have been extremely sleepy all i want to do is sleep, and my breast are crazy sore, and a lot of mood swings. Could these symptoms be caused by the pill?
September 11, 2017 - 6:35amThis Comment
I'm going through the same thing now. I took the pill on 9-20 and still have no bleeding. Bloated, hot flashes etc. took a pregnancy test 5 days till period and negative. Totally freaking out!!
September 25, 2017 - 5:50pmThis Comment
My period started on July 27 and lasted through the 31. I have a regular 28 day cycle . I had sex on the day after my period and the condom broke. I was unsure about taking a plan b but i went and got one rougly 50-60 hours later ( on august 4th ). I was showing no symtoms until 5 days (august 10th )after taking the pill , i started bleeding and it was medium to heavy flow with what looked to be uterine lining. This bleeding lasted 5 days just like my normal period . Was this bleeding caused by all the hormones from the pill or was it an early period ?
August 31, 2017 - 12:06amThis Comment
Hello Amy13457,
The bleeding was probably caused by taking Plan B.
It was proof that it was effective and you did not become pregnant.
Maryann
August 31, 2017 - 8:12amThis Comment
My boyfriend and I had anal sex and as we were stopping his tip slipped and hit my vagina. It didn't go fully inside of me but I was still very worried, he ran to the store and got me a Plan B after I cleaned myself the best I could. The next day the exact same thing happened and he went and got me another one. It has now been about a week and a half, I noticed I am bleeding. It is very light but there. I am now having very bad back pain, feeling very bloated, cramping, and have tender breasts. I play a lot of sports, so I'm not sure what to think. Could it be my change of diet recently or how much I'm excersizing a day? Any comments on if this is because of the pills, or what to do?
August 30, 2017 - 8:06pmThis Comment
Hello Elizabethjean,
You should not have taken anther dose the next day.
That could be why you are feeling this way. All that you can do now is wait until the hormones have been expelled from your body.
Maryann
August 31, 2017 - 8:08amThis Comment
Thank you so much for posting your experience, and all the details. I have taken Plan B (once years ago and recently twice in a week) and I had all the exact symptoms you described, which I had forgotten about until reading your post. The extremely sore breasts part was the most concerning, as was my 2nd period after coming around day 45. As I am now experiencing seriously tender breasts and awaiting my period, I am freaking out however after reading your post I do recall having this seriously tender breasts the last time I used Plan B, along with nausea and dizziness and fatigue (and was not pregnant) .... so I will stop stressing and do pregnancy test in a couple weeks if period does not come.
Thank you for discussing your symptoms after Plan B - I suspect the sore breasts, nausea, dizziness and late period is more common after Plan B than the 11% chance we are led to believe.
August 14, 2017 - 2:24pmThis Comment
Hello,
August 13, 2017 - 4:11pmI had unprotected sex on August 1st. It was a few thrusts and he didn't cum inside me. I took the plan b one step the next morning and didn't have any symptoms. There was dark brown discharge on August 3rd and then on the the 4th there was blood. It filled about half the pad. On the 5th, I had to change my pad twice. This went on until the 8th, when there was the dark brown discharge again. Since then, there has been a lighter brown discharge that is kinda of watery (it drips into the toilet) so I've been wearing a liner. It doesn't hurt when I pee and doesn't really itch or anything. How long will it last? Is this from the plan b or do I need to get checked out?
This Comment
Hello Anonymous,
This bleeding pattern could be the result of taking Plan B.
Maryann
August 14, 2017 - 9:09amThis Comment
Hello, so I took plan b less than 24 hours of having unprotected sex and a few days later had a normal period. But now my second period is a week late and I can feel soreness in my breasts and a lost of appetite and occasional bloating
August 6, 2017 - 5:18amThis Comment