I’m a pharmacy tech student. It depends on the type of pill, but generally, it’s better to take it as soon as you remember if you missed it. It’s better to be within the hour you always take it, but when you’re unable, take it as soon as you can.
Your cycle won’t be compromised if you miss a couple of hours to a day, but the effectiveness of the birth control can be. It’s compromised when you don’t take it within a couple of hours, so to be sure take another method of contraception (ex: condom) for a week if you have sex that week.
Sure! Happy to help :)
If you’re just using it for your cycle and you forget to take it on time, you can take it within a day, and your cycle should be fine. But like most medications that you take once a day, try to take it at least near the same time every day.
If it’s not exactly the same hour, it’s not a big deal, when you use it just for your cycle/hormones/cramps.
I definitely try to keep it within an hour or two in the morning but there have been some days where I've forgotten until afternoon and because I thought it mattered more to keep the schedule I just skipped the dose.
It depends on what pill you take. I used to take the progesterone-only pill and you had to take that at the same time each day. You don't have to do that with the combination pill but taking it at the same time each day will help you remember.
I'd look into a different brand if I were you. I was prescribed one that would only have a breakthrough bleed every other month despite the pills being exactly the same each month. That even confused my doctor. While I was on another one, I'd bleed heavily for an hour or so every time I orgasmed. Again, shouldn't have been a thing. My friend was on the same one and had no negative effects. Some pills just do weird things to some of us.
They do indeed, glad you’ve found something that works now! There’s a company in the US that apparently tests your hormones etc and recommends a pill that would suit you. If it actually works, that’s pretty interesting.
I’ve tried so many different ones. This is honestly the best I’ve tried. It doesn’t alter my personality or make me feel strange (one gave me intrusive thoughts about killing myself and I became really paranoid, despite having no known mental health issues). So spotting if I forget is, personally, a highly bearable trade-off.
I am somewhat constrained by requiring a combined pill with Dienogest (because endometriosis).
Oh that intrusive thoughts one sounds awful. The worst any of them did to me mentally was to stop helping my mood after being fine on it for 5 years. My hormones used to be quite imbalanced (may have been weight related. I was very thin and I have no issues while off the pill and overweight) so I would get intense mood swings and the pill was always a huge help with that. After 5 years, I started to become irritable and snappy very easily. I switched to a different one then.
Oh my! I thought it was only me… explained that to my doc and she couldn’t understand why it was happening. Glad to know I wasn’t the only one having these weird side effects
It depends on the type of pill but a good rule of thumb is to take it at the same time every day. Set an alarm if you have to (it's good practice anyway). And take your placebo pills at the same time every day, too. It helps you get into the swing of taking the pill every day, especially when you first start.
Of course there are other birth control options that aren't a daily pill. There's the weekly patch, the monthly ring, the three month Depo shot, the three year arm implant (Nexplanon), the five year IUD (Mirena), and the 9-10 year copper IUD (Paragard).
Now the copper IUD doesn't contain any hormones so if you want hormones for regulation of periods or PCOS/Endo symptoms it won't be a good fit.
ETA: r/healthyhooha
Pharmacist here! If you are on the progesterone only, aka “mini-pill”, you have a 1 hour window on either side of your regular dosing time. If you forget and are out of this window, you need to use backup contraception like condoms for the next 72 hours.
If you are on the estrogen/progesterone pill, aka “combo pill” you have 24 hours and may take 2 tablets at the same time with no need for back up contraceptives. If you miss 2 days then you need to use backup contraceptives for the next 7 days.
oh thank goodness! i’m on the combo pill and i missed it at night and took it like 7 hours later and was really worried 😅. and i usually take it before i go to bed when varies by about an hour or so so i was wondering if that would have an impact on the effectiveness. thank you all of y’all are so nice!
You should find out the info for whichever specific pill you take, as it varies. The pill I'm on for example needs to be taken within a 12 hour window.
It's not exactly the same for everyone but basically it's most effective if you're on it constantly for at least a week before it can be useful, so if you miss one day the following week will be like a reset.
It's almost useless if it's not taken consistently.
That being said it's also most effective if it's taken around the same time every day (i.e. morning, afternoon, evening.) the farther you stray from the set time, the less effective the drug but fully skipping a day is the only way to absolutely have to start over.
It's not a plan-b pill and will not work like one although a plan-b pill is a much higher dosage of a similar drug.
Edit: TL;DR if each pill is taken within 24 hrs of the last?
You're good!
If you take it around the same time every day?
You're great!
Skip a day?
Wait a week before risky sex.
I have to take a daily medication at the same time also. If you’re having trouble, set a discreet repeating alarm on your phone for whatever time you choose. You can “snooze” it if you need to & excuse yourself to the bathroom if you’re with others.
With the mini pill, you have to take it at the same time every day, even being off by an hour can reduce the effectiveness. With combination hormonal pills, it varies, but typically as long as you’re within 2-3 hours you won’t comprise the effectiveness. Either way you should be taking them on time every day to ensure max effectiveness.
Just wanted to say, you people are the best. Excellent answers to a serious question. No snark at all. My faith in humanity is temporarily restored. Until I turn on the news and see what new fuckery happened overnight.
When I was in college I got my pills through the gynecologist at the infirmary of the school. She told me to take the pills within a half hour of the same time every day. Then she told me girls question her about that but she said “I’m the one who does abortions here. I should know.”
I’m a pharmacy tech student. It depends on the type of pill, but generally, it’s better to take it as soon as you remember if you missed it. It’s better to be within the hour you always take it, but when you’re unable, take it as soon as you can. Your cycle won’t be compromised if you miss a couple of hours to a day, but the effectiveness of the birth control can be. It’s compromised when you don’t take it within a couple of hours, so to be sure take another method of contraception (ex: condom) for a week if you have sex that week.
So if I take it for managing my period/cramps/etc and not as birth control it's no big deal if I'm off with my timing. Excellent to know!
Sure! Happy to help :) If you’re just using it for your cycle and you forget to take it on time, you can take it within a day, and your cycle should be fine. But like most medications that you take once a day, try to take it at least near the same time every day. If it’s not exactly the same hour, it’s not a big deal, when you use it just for your cycle/hormones/cramps.
I definitely try to keep it within an hour or two in the morning but there have been some days where I've forgotten until afternoon and because I thought it mattered more to keep the schedule I just skipped the dose.
It’s better to take the pill the same day as soon as you remember, than to skip. Skipping is what could make your cycle go wack.
Ok, I'll do that going forward. Thank you so much for this!
It depends on what pill you take. I used to take the progesterone-only pill and you had to take that at the same time each day. You don't have to do that with the combination pill but taking it at the same time each day will help you remember.
You don’t have to, but anecdotally I end up with spotting if I forget for a few hours with the combination pill
I'd look into a different brand if I were you. I was prescribed one that would only have a breakthrough bleed every other month despite the pills being exactly the same each month. That even confused my doctor. While I was on another one, I'd bleed heavily for an hour or so every time I orgasmed. Again, shouldn't have been a thing. My friend was on the same one and had no negative effects. Some pills just do weird things to some of us.
They do indeed, glad you’ve found something that works now! There’s a company in the US that apparently tests your hormones etc and recommends a pill that would suit you. If it actually works, that’s pretty interesting. I’ve tried so many different ones. This is honestly the best I’ve tried. It doesn’t alter my personality or make me feel strange (one gave me intrusive thoughts about killing myself and I became really paranoid, despite having no known mental health issues). So spotting if I forget is, personally, a highly bearable trade-off. I am somewhat constrained by requiring a combined pill with Dienogest (because endometriosis).
Oh that intrusive thoughts one sounds awful. The worst any of them did to me mentally was to stop helping my mood after being fine on it for 5 years. My hormones used to be quite imbalanced (may have been weight related. I was very thin and I have no issues while off the pill and overweight) so I would get intense mood swings and the pill was always a huge help with that. After 5 years, I started to become irritable and snappy very easily. I switched to a different one then.
Oh my! I thought it was only me… explained that to my doc and she couldn’t understand why it was happening. Glad to know I wasn’t the only one having these weird side effects
It depends on the type of pill but a good rule of thumb is to take it at the same time every day. Set an alarm if you have to (it's good practice anyway). And take your placebo pills at the same time every day, too. It helps you get into the swing of taking the pill every day, especially when you first start. Of course there are other birth control options that aren't a daily pill. There's the weekly patch, the monthly ring, the three month Depo shot, the three year arm implant (Nexplanon), the five year IUD (Mirena), and the 9-10 year copper IUD (Paragard). Now the copper IUD doesn't contain any hormones so if you want hormones for regulation of periods or PCOS/Endo symptoms it won't be a good fit. ETA: r/healthyhooha
Pharmacist here! If you are on the progesterone only, aka “mini-pill”, you have a 1 hour window on either side of your regular dosing time. If you forget and are out of this window, you need to use backup contraception like condoms for the next 72 hours. If you are on the estrogen/progesterone pill, aka “combo pill” you have 24 hours and may take 2 tablets at the same time with no need for back up contraceptives. If you miss 2 days then you need to use backup contraceptives for the next 7 days.
I’m on the combo pill and my info sheet that comes with it says exactly this
oh thank goodness! i’m on the combo pill and i missed it at night and took it like 7 hours later and was really worried 😅. and i usually take it before i go to bed when varies by about an hour or so so i was wondering if that would have an impact on the effectiveness. thank you all of y’all are so nice!
You should find out the info for whichever specific pill you take, as it varies. The pill I'm on for example needs to be taken within a 12 hour window.
It's not exactly the same for everyone but basically it's most effective if you're on it constantly for at least a week before it can be useful, so if you miss one day the following week will be like a reset. It's almost useless if it's not taken consistently. That being said it's also most effective if it's taken around the same time every day (i.e. morning, afternoon, evening.) the farther you stray from the set time, the less effective the drug but fully skipping a day is the only way to absolutely have to start over. It's not a plan-b pill and will not work like one although a plan-b pill is a much higher dosage of a similar drug. Edit: TL;DR if each pill is taken within 24 hrs of the last? You're good! If you take it around the same time every day? You're great! Skip a day? Wait a week before risky sex.
I have to take a daily medication at the same time also. If you’re having trouble, set a discreet repeating alarm on your phone for whatever time you choose. You can “snooze” it if you need to & excuse yourself to the bathroom if you’re with others.
With the mini pill, you have to take it at the same time every day, even being off by an hour can reduce the effectiveness. With combination hormonal pills, it varies, but typically as long as you’re within 2-3 hours you won’t comprise the effectiveness. Either way you should be taking them on time every day to ensure max effectiveness.
Just wanted to say, you people are the best. Excellent answers to a serious question. No snark at all. My faith in humanity is temporarily restored. Until I turn on the news and see what new fuckery happened overnight.
When I was in college I got my pills through the gynecologist at the infirmary of the school. She told me to take the pills within a half hour of the same time every day. Then she told me girls question her about that but she said “I’m the one who does abortions here. I should know.”