[JJD]

I started on Generess Fe a little over two weeks ago. I try to take my pill at the same time everyday but I have a hectic schedule that keeps me from doing so. But I do take it everyday, just not at the same time. I just want to know if it's OK that I take it everyday or do I HAVE to take it at the same time everyday?

[ItsASecret]

You have roughly a 3 hour window for taking pills incase life gets in the way.

[Hugo-B]

You have roughly a 3 hour window for taking pills incase life gets in the way.

Is this true across the board or just applicable to this brand of pill?

[JJD]

You have roughly a 3 hour window for taking pills incase life gets in the way.

thanks

[ItsASecret]

Across the board. Doctors may say 4 hours or another time but for the most part it is that rough window, it is more important to be in that routine of taking the pill which is why they say same time every day. If one is in that routine then times are not really a concern but if one gets lazy and takes it at random times in the day then there is much more potential to miss pills altogether or to be susceptible to lesser effectiveness when the pill's dose diminishes. The way pills work is eventually there is less dose in the body (this is related to a pill's half-life), that is why you need to take another pill to "top off" the dose. There is enough pill in the body to deal with some late pill taking if it comes to that but once that window is surpassed you are in a state of lesser effectiveness (not talking 0 effectiveness or anything) until you take that next dose. This is why it is important to try and keep up with a proper pill taking schedule. However life does get in the way sometimes which is why there are listed precautionary measures on how to deal with taking pills if one for example misses a pill on a day.

[Hugo-B]

Which has a longer half life, estrogen or progesterone? I thought estrogen had a relatively long half life, at least long enough for there to be roughly an 8 hour window which it can be taken in. Is it relatively safe to take another pill to 'top up', and would it be advisable to not have unprotected sex for say 24 hours when you do?

Do you think a significant percentage of the accidental pregnancies which occur whilst girls are on the pill could be related to the user (for whatever reason) missing the 3/4 hour window?

[ItsASecret]

Which has a longer half life, estrogen or progesterone? I thought estrogen had a relatively long half life, at least long enough for there to be roughly an 8 hour window which it can be taken in. Is it relatively safe to take another pill to 'top up', and would it be advisable to not have unprotected sex for say 24 hours when you do?

One must take the pill itself into consideration for half-life not individual components. One must adhere to the way they are supposed to take pills, not deviate just because or take more pills just because. The instructions are there to be followed. If you are 5 hours late for a pill it is not that big of a deal you just take it when you remember. The issues arise when a person constantly messes up times, or constantly misses pills or misses several pills days in a row. That is when the issue is not when someone is late in traffic or at a friend's house. If you are late taking a pill you just take it when you can again and from there try to remember on other days so the same issue does not arise. As long as a woman has been taking her pills properly she can have sex at any point, missing a day by 5 or 6 hours does not mean she should abstain from sex for 24 hours just because she took it a few hours late. Abstaining should occur once there is an obvious issue such as missing 3 pills in a row and needing to restart a pack.

Do you think a significant percentage of the accidental pregnancies which occur whilst girls are on the pill could be related to the user (for whatever reason) missing the 3/4 hour window?

Not at all. It is not 3/4 hours late and you are in doom and gloom territory, nothing like that at all. If a woman has been taking her pills on schedule in a proper fashion and has a minor blip one day taking it late then the body is already so accustomed to the pill being there that effectiveness is not altered to an alarming amount. The issues with getting pregnant while being on birth control are simply because the pill is not 100% effective only about 98-99.xx% effective so there is room for error (just like any birth control method) and a woman could be in that 0.xx-2% error margin out of simple bad luck. The other reason for pregnancy while taking birth control pills is not taking them properly, missing too many pills, not staying on schedule, forgetting them, losing them, being on and off because they decide not to take the pills entirely one month and back on again the next and so forth. Just general inability to adhere to proper pill taking can result in pregnancy.

[Hugo-B]

Would regular use also promote more stable blood levels, which in turn could minimize side effects?

Is there a maximum length of time you should be on the pill for before a significant break is advised? I know 32 year old girls who've been on the pill since they were 13. surely this can't be good? Although it's arguably better than an unwanted pregnancy.

Returning back to the discussion we had the other day about the pill, if a woman finds a pill which 'agrees' with her, surely it would be safer, more convenient and more affordable if she could have a 90 day contraceptive injection based on the same pill? Is this possible? I'm not being 'anti pill' can you see how that would make sense? (if it is possible). From my perspective - and yes I do realize I have a limited understanding of BC methods which is why I'm trying to learn - it seems that the BC pill is often recommended when it may not be the optimum solution. I suppose this could be because it is the lesser of two evils and also because people like to stick with what they know and what works. I'm guessing from doctors' perspectives they wont want to pull a patient off of a particular type of BC if it is doing it's job and they're not reporting problems.

[ItsASecret]

Would regular use also promote more stable blood levels, which in turn could minimize side effects?

No. The pill is created to work the same pharmacological manner in each person such as release rate, half-life, which receptors it is going to work on, how it works with receptors etc that is the pharmacology of it and that does not change just like Advil works the same in any person that takes it because that is how it is designed to work. The differences in side effects are based entirely on each individual's biochemistry. Since every single person's biochemistry are different there is absolutely no way to predict how, when, if, or even which side effect will occur. Regular use only promotes the ability to stay in that 99% or so effectiveness range.

Is there a maximum length of time you should be on the pill for before a significant break is advised? I know 32 year old girls who've been on the pill since they were 13. surely this can't be good? Although it's arguably better than an unwanted pregnancy.

Up to an individual. If someone is terrified of potential risks they can by all means stop whenever they want. Honestly though there are more concerns in daily life like taking a deep breathe of outside city air, drinking tap water, or thinking their food is actually safe when it comes to health concerns.

surely it would be safer, more convenient and more affordable if she could have a 90 day contraceptive injection based on the same pill? Is this possible?

Doesn't work like that. You get the brand of pill or you get the brand of injection. It is not an interchangeable method of use. In depo-provera for example that is an injection of progesterone-like substance, of which is not the type of substance in the progesterone only birth control pill. If a woman happens to have no side effects with her particular brand of birth control pill then she should stay on that, there is no option of that pill in injection form. They are separate methods entirely.