HELP PLEASE, I'm freaking out!
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| Sat, 07-24-2004 - 1:10am |
Last year, I became pregnant after using a condom as protection. I went through an abortion using the RU486 method. My husband and I were freaked out about sex, even with protection after that. We actually did not have sex for 4 months, I think. And even now, it is hard to relax about it. I did go on Ortho Tri-Cyclen in the beginning of June 2004. I did a first day start. My husband and I only had sex twice during this period and both times we used a condom just to be safe. Tonight is the first time we had unprotected sex while I have been on the pill. I just read an article here on ivillage.com, something titled Secrets your Gyno doesn't tell you about birth control. One of the things was that birth control doesn't always work in "bigger" girls. I weight approximately 235 lbs. (please, don't judge....and no 235 pounds isn't birth control enough....weak attempt at humor...) The weight issue is the reason that I did not go on the patch, even though my OB/GYN told me that weight wasn't an issue even after I pointed out to her in the packet that it wasn't sure of the effectiveness of the patch for girls above 183 lbs. I asked her point blank, does Ortho Tri-Cyclen work if you are my size? She told me I would have no problem and nothing about weight was listed in the info packet that comes with the pills.
I do take the pill on time ever day, or atleast in that 2 hour window. I have only once been out of that window, but it was only by 15 minutes, and it was last week. I have never missed a pill for a whole day, or had to double up on pills. I am concerned about the effectiveness of this pill. My first period on the pill was wonderful! Which is very different from previous periods, which led me to believe that the pills were working for me. My flow was light, usually it was so heavy I would become anemic, and I had absolutely no cramps! I thought that this was enough proof that the hormones were working in my system. Was I correct to assume that?
Lastly, if the pill isn't working for me, when would I ovulate? Would it be like normal, the 12-15 day mark? I started my period on July 6 (so day 1) and that would make today July 24 day 18. That makes me safe right? I am seriously freaking out, and I have no vaild proof that I'm even at risk.
I just cannot go through being pregnant again, and it's not like I am being irresponsible regarding sex. I appreciate it if you have made it this far! Thank you for your advice. (Hopefully it will be what I want to hear so I can sleep!)
~Marlene
"Worried in NY"

You might want to contact the Ortho Customer Care Center at 1-877-323-2200 and ask your question about the possibility of weight reducing the effectiveness of OTC, and see what they say. I don’t think there have been any clinical studies that show oral contraceptives to be less effective for women above a certain weight.
Lighter and shorter periods are one of the signs that you are cycling under control of your pills. If your pill did not suppress ovulation you probably wouldn’t know when ovulation occurred (you can not count on it occurring mid cycle) unless you are charting your basal body temperature. An excellent book that tells you how to chart is Toni Weschler’s Taking Charge of Your Fertility. Some women use a second method in addition to oral contraceptives, just for peace of mind. You might want to consider doing that. If condoms aren’t at the top of your list you could use a contraceptive sponge, diaphragm or cervical cap. Or, you might want to consider having an IUD inserted. An IUD is very effective, very low maintenance and long term method.
I think you are probably ok, but you should be scrupulous about taking your pills correctly. You might want to read “Taking your pills correctly” and “Information about the IUD” in the FAQ folder at the top of the board. Let us know how you’re doing, ok?
Good luck,
Jill
Cosmo wouldn't be my first choice as a birth control reference. ;) I'm a regular subscriber and when I read that article I got really frustrated because they do "this" to us on a yearly basis (scare women with just a little information without the whole story and then we clean up the mess).
There was one study done, perhaps two, that may (MAY) indicate that for some women above a certain weight or body mass, the effectiveness of the pill may be reduced from 99% down to about 94% or 95%. The likelihood of this reduction may be higher with very low dose pills (20mcg of estrogen or less), but Ortho Tri Cyclen has 35mcg of estrogen. So in this case, at least until you can get some reassurance from Ortho McNeil, your pill is higher in estrogen and if you're really diligent about taking it, it should still be more effective than average condom use.
One reason I don't like the study that was done that picked a particular weight is that it wasn't a birth control study. The intent was not to determine at what weight birth control becomes less effective. But after surveying participants in the study, a statistical analysis was performed that pointed to that one number, without regard to how well the women were taking the pill.
Good luck, I hope you can gain some measure of reassurance! Charting your basal body temperature may reassure you, that's what I did when I started Nuvaring to see if things were going well (and they were). It's not hard to do, if you want a little help, just holler (but Toni Weschler's book is a really good reference)!
Co-cl for Birth Control
Thank you again for the responses ladies, you did give me some piece of mind. My period is due next week, I'll let you know if all turns out well.
~Marlene