[psychobeagle12]

ok i really do hate asking asking this but i have a problem. my fiance is on loestrin 24fe and the other day we had sex w/out a condom. which in itself is not a problem cuz she's been on the pill for a couple months now no problems. but we had sex in the evening and in the morning she was sick and i had to take her to the doctor who put her on an antibiotic. i got off inside her in the night and the next day she started taking the antibiotic. now the other day she bled all day and the next day she had a dark brown discharge. how do people feel about this one? am i in trouble?

[ItsASecret]

Antibiotics (I will assume your fiance is taking a simple amipicillin or penicillin family of antibiotics) may decrease the effectiveness of birth control pills. What the antibiotics are said to do is metabolize the estrogen in the liver to a greater extent than normal. However studies of common antibiotics have not completely confirmed this (with the exception of one drug that does cause significant decrease in effectiveness but it is for TB and I highly doubt your fiance has this). Any decrease in effectiveness, significant or not is obviously not what you want so doctors will say to take extra precaution, meaning using a condom at the very least. Since you already do this there is not much reason to worry a whole lot more than usual.

With loestren 24fe, and probably all other forms of birth control, there is something called breakthrough bleeding. This happens usually for about the first 1-4 months or so, because the body is getting used to the new pill. Basically it is bleeding before or after the regular period. If your fiance is on the placebo pills right now then she will be experiencing her regular period, so no biggie. The break through bleeding is nothing to be concerned about either, unless it persists for months and months with no stopping in which case she would probably have to go on a different pill.

The brown discharge is usually the uterine lining without a whole lot of blood. It can also be blood sitting there for awhile. Much like when you take off a band-aid that you have had there for a while and the blood is brown or black from sitting there...same dealio with the discharge your fiance has. Again nothing to worry about, it happens to every woman at some point.

[psychobeagle12]

well actually we dont use condoms since she started the pill so what do you think? we still ok or is there a big risk? im sorry we just moved into a new place and i cant afford a baby right now...

[ItsASecret]

You absolutely should use condoms while she is on the antibiotics, as that extra precaution. Better to be safe than sorry.

[psychobeagle12]

well now i think we're a little confused. we had sex the night before the antibiotics were started and not at all since that a few weeks ago (that actually really sucks for me). i got off inside her that night and the next day i took her to the doctor for what we thought was a chest cold but it turned out to be just a mild bacteria so she started antibiotics that day. we have not had sex or even any intimate contact since then. my question is could she have gotten pregnant since we had sex the night before? she has taken all of her pills on time and everything.

[Mes T]

You say it's been a few weeks since then (aww sorry buddy! )? In that case, have you tried taking a couple of home pregnancy tests? Did she have another period, and if not, when is she due?

You know, pregnancies like these CAN happen, but they're pretty rare. If I were in that situation, I really wouldn't worry. Did you guys mention that she was on birth control when filling out forms or whatever at the doctor's? If so, they must have taken that into consideration when deciding what to give her.

But in the future, do use condoms whenever she's taking another medication or if she's ill in general.

[psychobeagle12]

yeah they asked what meds she was on and she isnt due for her next period till the end of next week when she finishes this pack so its too early for a hpt. well she cant stand condoms so we dont use them so i guess im screwed there. oh well thats pretty typical of what happens to me. anyhow thanks for all the help all!

[ItsASecret]

Oh okay, there is obviously always a risk for pregnancy even while taking the pill. Is there a risk in your case? Not likely. Since she has been consistent with taking her pills like you said then the effectiveness of the pill at the time when you got off inside her would be about 98-99% (the expected effectiveness range). The bleeding though can still be because of the pill, which is not uncommon like previously mentioned. If she is done the antibiotics then you are free to resume the intimacy, if she is not yet finished the antibiotics you can still be intimate but just remember to wear a condom.

[Mes T]

She might be slightly allergic to latex, have you tried condoms from other materials? Can't remember the popular alternative... help me out ladies... but anyway it's generally a lot better, get much more sensation, and no allergies.

[kira]

If you've taken birth control for awhile then anything interrupting it usually just causes your period to happen. Bleeding happens on birth control because you stop the hormone for awhile not for the usual reasons of clearing out an egg and the lining to get ready for a new one. No egg is released or there to be impregnated or flushed out of the body when on hormonal birth control. I'd be more worried about sex after the bleeding stops while still taking or shortly after taking antibiotics. If the birth control pills are interfered with for a long enough time the body may take over again and start releasing eggs. So long as there is bleeding it means that hasn't happened yet.