Nervous about preg. and the patch
Find a Conversation
Nervous about preg. and the patch
| Tue, 10-19-2004 - 2:35pm |
I have recently gone on the patch as my sole protection against pregnacy and I'm nervous it won't work. Is there anyone who is on the patch and having consistant sex with one partner without back-up protection? Am I okay to have sex with my fiance and not worry about getting pregnant?

For women below 195lbs the patch is as effective as the pill and ring. If you have been using your patch correctly and used back-up for at least the first 7 days when you started wearing it you should be fine. Hormonal contraceptives are 98-99% effective. If you are comfortable with those odds then you don't need to use a supplemental method. If you are new to using hormones for contraception you might want to look at the posts in the FAQs about: how the pill works, common pill side effects, irregular bleeding and how to take your pills correctly. Thanks for posting. Let us know how you like the patch, ok?
Good luck,
Jill
I think you're just nervous 'cause you can't tell if it's NOT working like how you can with a condom when it breaks. I had the same worry. If you want, so you're not worrying the whole month, wait to have sex until you use your second set of patches next month. Once you see yourself bleed a few days after taking off your third patch this month, you'll be assured in your mind that your patch is working just the way it should.
Oh, as a side note, use back-up when you use antibiotics. In some women, they lower the effectiveness of the patch/pill/etc. It's been my experience that doctors and pharmacists neglect to tell patients this when prescribing antibiotics, and it's often left out of the prescription antibiotic information inserts.