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Dear Heather,
I forgot to take my birth control pill last week and now I’m really nervous about it. I’ve been on the pill for a few months and so sometimes my boyfriend and I have sex without a condom. One day last week we had sex, then I completely forgot to take my pill, so I took two the next day. I’m supposed to get my period today or tomorrow and even though I’m not late yet, I’m really scared that I might get pregnant or something from forgetting about that one pill. Please help!!!
Try not to stress, girl! Every woman who is on the pill has most likely forgotten to take it at least once. Remembering to take these pills at the same time every single day can be tough, especially when you haven’t been on them that long. This stuff happens and while it’s not ideal, it also doesn’t mean that you’re now guaranteed to get pregnant.
You did the right thing by doubling up on your pills the day after. Whenever you forget to take your pill at your designated pill-taking time, take it as soon as you remember. It doesn’t matter if it’s one hour later or 24 hours later – take it right away when you realize you forgot about it. This should usually put you back on schedule.
It’s too late to change this now, but just so you know for the future, you always need backup protection whenever you forget or skip a pill. So if you usually have sex without a condom and then you forget to take your pill one day, you need to start using condoms until the end of that pill pack. If you forget your pill and you don’t double up on protection when you have sex, you may want to seriously consider using the Plan B pill just in case – but remember, you can only take that up to 72 hours after you have sex and it’s more effective when you take it right away.
Forgetting to take just one pill isn’t a huge deal as long as you take it once you remember, continue on with taking the rest of your pills normally and double up on protection until the end of that pill pack. Things get a little tricky when you forget to take two or three pills. If that happens, get in touch with your doctor right away and he or she will let you know what to do.
For right now, all you can really do is to wait to see if you’ll get your period. If you know you’re supposed to get it within the next day or so and you don’t, take a pregnancy test and consider calling your doctor. But try not to freak out. Keep in mind that forgetting to take a pill can mess with your hormones a little bit, so you may get your period a day later. It’s also important not to stress because too much stress can actually delay your period even more and that can quickly turn into an endless cycle. And remember this ordeal for the future – if you need help taking your pill, check out these tips and remember that if it happens again, double up on your protection.
take care,
Heather
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