Daylight Saving Time and the pill

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Daylight Saving Time and the pill
5
Thu, 03-30-2006 - 10:06am

Hi everyone,

The U.S. and Canada switch to Daylight Saving Time this coming Sunday, April second when our clocks are moved forward one hour. When moving your pill time by one hour if you are on a combined (estrogen/progestin) method there should be no need for back-up

For example, say your pill time is 7:00am. On the day of the time change, April second, there will be only 23 hours between the previous days (Saturday 4/1) pill at 7am Standard time and the pill taken on Sunday 4/2 at 7am Daylight Time.

For women using the progestin-only-pill (POP or mini-pill) there should be no need of back-up either because on the day of the time change there will be less than 24 hours between pills.

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-02-2006
Thu, 03-30-2006 - 2:36pm
I wasn't even thinking about DST... what about if I'm on Nuvaring, do I need to pull it out one later?
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Thu, 03-30-2006 - 4:13pm

Hi kt1004, welcome!

You could do that if you wanted to since the ring can be left in and is effective for as long as an additional week, up to 28 days total continuous use. With any combined (estrogen/progestin) method; pill, patch or ring you should be fine. For a combined method this board considers +/-2 hours of your regular pill time to be on-time so moving your time by one hour is no problem at all.

Thanks for stopping by. Keep in touch, ok?

Take care,

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-02-2006
Thu, 03-30-2006 - 4:34pm

Thank you... I appreciate your help. This isn't the first time I received aid from you.
Your contributions on the boards are very helpful, to me especially, but probably to many others as well.

Unfortunately, I'm still a little confused. So.. just to clear things up.

I CAN, technically, do nothing & and I'll still be alright?
Which means I will be technically taking out the ring an hour or so sooner than usual?

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Thu, 03-30-2006 - 7:47pm

>>I CAN, technically, do nothing & and I'll still be alright?
Which means I will be technically taking out the ring an hour or so sooner than usual?<<

Yes... If by 'doing nothing' you mean keeping the same pill-time (going from, say, 7 am standard to 7am DST) you would be taking your pill one hour earlier, sun time. That isn't a problem because on the day of the time change, April second, there will be only 23 hours between the previous days (Saturday 4/1) pill at 7am standard time and the pill taken on Sunday 4/2 at 7am Daylight time. Ok?

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 03-31-2006 - 6:16am

It doesn't hurt to leave it in an hour or even a day longer--I regularly shortened my inactive week to 5 or 6 days and didn't have a problem with it.

Judie Cl for Birth Control