Can't remember pill.

Avatar for apett78
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-23-2004
Can't remember pill.
2
Thu, 09-23-2004 - 12:00am

I have been on the pill for about 2 months now, and this is like the 5th or 6th time I have forgotten to take the pill.

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"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on!"
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Thu, 09-23-2004 - 7:40am
Has anybody talked to you about Nuvaring or Ortho Evra? They're a lot harder to screw up than the pill! Nuvaring is a flexible plastic ring that is worn in the vagina and secretes hormones continuously. It's removed after three weeks and a new ring is inserted after the fourth week. Ortho Evra is a weekly patch, one patch is worn each week for three weeks and then left off for one week. Both of these methods are as effective as the pill but a lot easier to remember! I've been using Nuvaring for almost two years and I'm a big fan.

As far as the pill, if you miss pills, you can't "catch up", really, the extra pills that you take are mostly to get you back on schedule, they don't help protect you from the miss. If you do miss two, I think you're supposed to take your today pill with one missed pill today, then take the next missed pill with tomorrow's pill. If you miss three pills, I think you're supposed to throw out the pack and start over with a new one. In any case, it's very very important to use backup protection if you miss even ONE pill until you've taken seven active pills on time. One thing that might help is to get an inexpensive sports watch and set the alarm to you pill time. Keep that watch with you in your purse or whereever you're supposed to be at pill time and you'll wonder why that darned watch is beeping....

Good luck! If you're still having trouble with remembering the pill, check out the ring and the patch!

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-11-2004
Thu, 09-23-2004 - 10:29am
You definitely shouldn't be on the pill if you can't remember. They aren't effective at all if you're missing days, and every time you miss 2 days, you need to use backup for the next week. You need something you don't have to think about daily, like the patch or the Nuva Ring.

An IUD is a small device that is put inside the uterus, but an IUD isn't something you should consider unless you need very long term birth control. They last either for 5 years for Mirena or 10 years for Paragard. It's too expensive if you only need something until next summer.