I lost a pill.....oops!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
I lost a pill.....oops!
4
Sat, 07-03-2004 - 11:20pm
For whatever reason, I went to take my pill tonight while I was standing outside in the dark. I dropped the pill on some bricks and for the life of me I cannot find it. I stood outside with a flashlight for a good 15 minutes looking around for it! Being that I am on a monophasic pill, I just took tomorrow's pill. I know that's all fine and dandy. However, I will keep taking my pills a day ahead of time (because of the lost pill), so I will end up missing the last pill of my pack. How bad is that? I know that some pills are more important than others. I figure that since it is the last pill in the pack, it's probably not a huge deal. What do I need to do as far as back-up methods go? I will get my period a few days after my "missed pill", so do I just need to use back-up if I have sex during my placebo week? Or do I need to continue to use back-up throughout the first 7 days of my next pill pack? What do I do? Thanks in advance for the advice. I'll be more careful next time...... :)
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-2004
Sun, 07-04-2004 - 12:54am
Hey :)

Well, that sucks huh? I've had it happen to me too.

Actually, the most important pills in your pack, weather they are mono or tri-phasic, are the first and last few. So, since you'll be missing the last pill in your pack, your period will probably come one day earlier than normal and you're going to want to use back up during that placebo week as well as the first 7 days of your next pack. Better safe than sorry right?

Oh, I also thought I would point out that you should start your next pack of pills on the 7th day after your last pill rather than on your normal start day because then you would be 2 days behind on pills. Make sence?

Good Luck!

~*~Jenn~*~

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Sun, 07-04-2004 - 8:53am
Hi estakia, welcome back!

It could be a big deal if not handled correctly. You should go no more than 7 24-hour days before starting a new pack to retain your protection. So, since you will stop your actives a day early that will change your start day. If you want to retain your original start day (8 days without hormones) then you should use back-up for your placebo week and the first 7 days of correctly taken active pills of your next pack. What worked for me when I was on OCs was keeping a spare pack of pills to cover the occasional accident like this.

Good luck,

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 07-04-2004 - 1:24pm
Well, what if, instead of making the last pill in my pack the one I miss, I make today's pill the one I miss? I could just not take it at all. Then I would finish my pill pack on the same day I usually do, and theoretically get my period on the same day I usually do. Wouldn't this also reduce the amount of days I have to use back-up? If I do the aforementioned, I will finish my pack this coming Friday. Then I would just use back-up this entire week, and a few days into my placebo week (back-up for 7 days). Then, when I start my new pill pack, I wouldn't have to worry about back-up protection at all, right? Does this make sense, or seem logical to anyone????
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Sun, 07-04-2004 - 3:49pm
Hi estakia,

That should work. We went for years and years with the mfgs. telling us no back-up was needed if only one pill was missed. Apparently, since the FDA is now recommending that back-up be used when a single pill is missed, there is some slight lessening of effectiveness but using BU for 7 days you should be fine.

Good luck,

      Jill