[eniehaus]

I'm 17 years old. My boyfriend has came inside me 3 times this month. I am on birth control and have never missed a pill or even been 30 min late on taking it. Both of us are still worried that I'm pregnant. Every time he's came in me, I take 5 birth control pills because I've researched that doing so has the same effect as an emergency contraceptive. I worry that doing this somehow decreases the effectiveness of the pills. I'm concerned that I'm pregnant because I've had a lot of digestive issues this month (never vomiting, but frequent diarrhea) and I think that sometimes makes the pill leave the body before it can metabolize. I also had a minor UTI, and I never went to the doctor for it because Cystex and home remedies took care of it quickly (Cystex is an over the counter UTI relief). I know that antibiotics reduce the effectiveness of BC, but I don't know if Cystex is technically an antibiotic?

My period is supposed to come this week but I'm thinking I should stay on BC for a while longer since semen stays in the body for 5 days and the last time he came in me was 3 days ago. Also, arent BC periods fake periods?

[jns]

It is good that you are diligent about taking your birth control pills, however taking more than you should based on the advised dose could have side effects. Claret , atskitty2 , Ashlee T. , comments?

[Claret]

Do not take this many pills at once. These are hormone pills that can greatly upset your normal system and in fact could actually be detrimental to your health. What a birth control pill does is prepare your uterus in an unfriendly manner so that implantation cannot occur. I am going to suggest that you do some studying on how your body works, how the birth control pill works, what is in a birth control pill and how to prevent pregnancy. If you had been taking the BC pill regularly and as prescribed (one a day) then the percentage probability of you getting pregnant is only about 2% - extremely low. You do not need to double up. If you require extra protection for your own state of mind, then please just use a condom.

[Ashlee T.]

I do not think you are pregnant. I do, however, think you've thrown your body way out of whack by taking so many birth control pills. There is no need to ever do that. If you miss one day of pills you can take two the next day and maintain your protection, but beyond that you'd need to start a new pack. Don't ever take 5 at one time. I'm also concerned about where those 5 extra pills come from? And if you are just taking 5 pills in advance, are there 5 days you are not taking any at all?

I don't think Cystex interferes with birth control but you can always ask a pharmacist before you take something. Even just called a local pharmacy will work.

As Claret mentioned, birth control when taken correctly is over 98% effective. There is no need for emergency contraceptive in that case.

Order yourself a copy of "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler. Every woman (and man for that matter) should have a thorough knowledge of how their body works. It's very empowering. When you are NOT on birth control, you will ovulate each month usually (not always) sometime around 12-14 days since the beginning of your last period. When your period starts, that is day 1 of your new cycle. By day 12-14 you will ovulate. This is when an egg releases from your ovary and you are a fertile myrtle. Although you only ovulate one time, you are still considered fertile for 2-3 days before and after ovulation (due to sperm living in the body for several days). If the egg does not get fertilized, it will pass on through and now you enter what is called the "luteal phase". This phase usually lasts 12-14 days and ends your cycle when your period begins and you shed your uterine lining. If the egg does get fertilized, it can take up to two weeks to fully implant in the uterus.

When you ARE on birth control and taking it correctly, you do NOT ovulate. Therefore, you are never fertile and cannot get pregnant. That is the beauty of hormonal BC. Yes, you will still shed your uterine lining each month while on BC. Consider it a "uterus cleaning".

[atskitty2]

I agree with the others and strongly suggest you get more education on your medication, body and sex. It will benefit you greatly as you move forward.

[Texasred]

Claret, when you say the probability of getting pregnant while on the pill is "only 2%," you're saying that one of 50 times you have sex you'll get pregnant. For someone in her 20s or younger, when its very likely you'll have sex almost daily, this is saying that you'll get pregnant in a few months, a year at the outside.
Hopefully, this "statistic" is misleading at best, and completely untrue at worst.

[Claret]

I'm not a statistician but here is my take on things: If, you take the pill each day as prescribed, over the life-time of taking the pills -- you and all the rest of the number of people taking this pill (could be millions) will have less than a 2% of getting pregnant. The stats don't say that each person will get pregnant at some point because each person is unique in how and when they ovulate and how and when they have sex. Of those 2% some may have a physical hiccup one month and say double ovulate (the chance of which is quite low itself) feeds into those percentages.

[Texasred]

That's a 2% chance, one chance in fifty, of getting pregnant each time. It's like flipping a coin: there's a 50% chance of it being "heads" every time you flip it. Could you flip it 5 times or 10 times and have it come up tails every time? Maybe. Could you get 100 tails in a row? Not bloody likely.
But maybe you're saying that, of all the women taking the pill correctly as prescribed, 2 out of 100 will get pregnant at some point in spite of the pill, and the rest will never get pregnant while taking it?
Still not reassuring if you're one of those two...

[Claret]

Texasred, don't forget all the other variables that might happen. Certain medication and illnesses can affect the efficacy of any other drug. Major events can affect the body as well including hormone imbalances. The stars must all align in order for the pill to not work.

[jns]

Claret, when you say the probability of getting pregnant while on the pill is "only 2%," you're saying that one of 50 times you have sex you'll get pregnant. For someone in her 20s or younger, when its very likely you'll have sex almost daily, this is saying that you'll get pregnant in a few months, a year at the outside.
Hopefully, this "statistic" is misleading at best, and completely untrue at worst.

The 2% is actually over a year, otherwise having sex multiple times a day would almost guarantee pregnancy in a few months. Getting pregnant is not a sure thing even for those who use no contraception methods and have frequent sex to male ejaculation without withdrawal. In the best circumstances, the pill may be 99.7% effective. It is 98% effective for good use. It can be less effective than that for use that includes forgetting to take the pill on a daily basis at the same time or taking the wrong pills for the time of the cycle. Those statistics have to be for a perfectly fertile female with a perfectly fertile male. If either one has fertility problems, the odds get longer, sometimes to the point of statistically having a zero chance of getting pregnant. Having sex multiple times a day can lower male fertility although I don't know if it would seriously affect the odds since so many millions of sperm are produced. I would hope that the statistical 98% would include diminished capacity from some ordinary OTC medication.