Family Planning Plus

Whenever you restart the pill, you can expect some side effects for the first few months until your body gets used to the new hormone levels again. These side effects include menstrual irregularities (bleeding or spotting in between periods, decreased bleeding, periods of shorter duration, a missed period), breast tenderness or soreness, nausea, fatigue, moodiness, etc). You may simply be experiencing these side effects.

 The pill becomes effective after you take a full week of pills, and remains effective as long as you are taking your pills on time. If you had sexual intercourse during the first week after you restarted the pills, you were not protected. Also, when you miss a pill, the risk of pregnancy increases. When used perfectly, the pill is 99% effective. Therefore, even if you have been taking your pills perfectly, you can still become pregnant. However, if you had sex during your first week of hormone pills or if you have missed pills, your risk is a bit higher.

 The only way to know for sure if you are pregnant is to take a pregnancy test. If you live near one of our offices, call us for an appointment. If you prefer, you can purchase a home pregnancy testing kit at a pharmacy. For best results, use first morning urine and follow the directions precisely. If you have difficulty remembering to take your pills, you may want to think about switching to  a different method.