breaking the rules
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breaking the rules
| Tue, 04-13-2004 - 9:45am |
I just got prescribed birth control pills yesterday. They told me, of course, to start them on the first Sunday after I started my period. My question is this: I'm in college right now. When school gets out in a month or so, I'm going back to my hometown and I won't see my boyfriend for the whole summer. I want to be able to have unprotected sex before then, without having to wait for my period. So I'm kind of "cheating:" I started taking the pills yesterday, even though my period isn't due for a week. I know this might screw with my cycles, but if I stop taking them for a while once I'm home, is there any harm in it? Will the pills still work to stop pregnancy if I start on a random day like this?

Even though you're supposed to be protected from pregnancy from your first pill if you start on the first day of your period, and after 7 days if you start on the first Sunday after your period starts, this board reccomends using backup (like condoms) for the whole first month so that you don't freak out when your first pill-period is different from the periods you've had in the past. If you didn't start your pills as directed, I'd say it is doubly important to use backup for the whole first month, in case you already ovulated for this cycle.
Stopping & starting pills isn't harmful. It just might be annoying & maybe even uncomfortable as your body trys to figure out what it is supposed to be doing hormonally.
Ditto everything that happyjusttwo said.
Starting them in mid-cycle won't guarantee you any significant measure of protection since the ball is probably already rolling on ovulation this month.
Since then I have kept track of my cycles (and have used an IUD for the past four years) and have found I naturally ovulate early in my cycle and have short cycles (about 21 days). So that might have something to do with it- someone who does not ovulate until later may have better protection from the pill because it's had longer to kick in.
I personally wouldn't chance it.
Andrea