scared/paranoid
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scared/paranoid
| Wed, 06-16-2004 - 11:42am |
this is really 3 questions in one-- first of all how long does it take the pill to start suppressing ovulation etc.? i'm currently on my third pack of mircette and i'm almost positive on my first pack and possibly my second i ovulated. secondly- i had sex for the first time about a week ago- i bled pretty badly the first time and the times after that so far i've bled some and have been spotting afterwards- is that normal? and thirdly- i've been taking my bc fairly regularly only missed one or two days total, and sometimes miss by a few hours. we use a condom with spermicide in it everytime and about half the time he pulls out before he ejaculates. i'm really paranoid about getting pregnant, is there even a decent chance i could be? is there anything else i can use? for some reason i just dont believe the pill is working...

When you say you had sex the first time, do you mean ever, or just since you went on the pill? Bleeding is fairly common the first time a woman has sex. bleeding on subsequent times is a little odd, and may indicate that there could be something going on with your cervix. When was your last pap test? Was it normal?
In my experience, I've bled as a result of intercourse for a couple reasons. The most common for me is if I have sex too soon after my period, and it kind of disrupts my uterus and I spot for a couple hours. A long time ago, early in my sexually active life, I would bleed during sex if I had it too soon after my period, too. Now I just get the spotting afterwards. Had you recently had your period?
I totally understand being paranoid about getting pregnant, and it sounds like you and your SO are being pretty thorough. The pill is effective birth control on its own, condoms with spermicide are also very effective. Your chance of getting pregnant with this combination is extremely small, I'd say less than half a percent.
just for fun, let's break it down for "typical" use, not perfect use:
the pill has a 5% failure rate, condoms have a 12% failure rate, spermicides have a 21% failure rate and the withdrawal method has a 14% failure rate. Mind you, this is not perfect use, this is sort of the "worst case scenario."
12% of 5% is 0.6%. 21% of that is 0.13%. 14% of that is 0.018%. That means that approximate 2 women in 10,000 will get pregnant per year using those methods imperfectly all at once. Perfect use would be even smaller.
1 If you are taking your pills correctly and you are a first day start then you are protected immediately. If you are a Sunday start, you are protected after 7 days of correct pill use.
2 Bleeding after sex isn’t ‘normal’ although for the first few times if your hymen is torn there could be some bleeding, or if IC was just after your period the muscle movement in your pelvic area might cause a bit more bleeding.
3. There is very little chance that you are pg if you are on OCs, using condoms and he withdraws! However, you aren’t taking your pills correctly. One or two days of missing pills really isn’t a good thing. It can reduce the effectiveness of your pills. If you have trouble remembering set the alarm on a clock or watch, or a reminder message on your cell phone or computer.
If you want to verify that your pills are suppressing ovulation you can chart your fertile signs: basal body temp, cervical mucus and cervical position. If you get no temperature shift then you aren’t ovulating. A very good book about the menstrual cycle and charting is Toni Weschler’s Taking Charge Of Your Fertility. You can check it out from your local library or it’s about $30 U.S. at most book stores.
Good luck
Jill