Do I need to take birth control at the same time everyday ?!


Question: Do I need to take birth control at the same time everyday ?
Sometimes I have trouble remembering . I usually take it at 8:30 every night . But sometimes I take it at 9 and the other day it was at 10:30 . Does anything like 2 hours away from your origanal time matter ?

Answers:

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The insert should tell you, but if it's retarded like mine it may not. I had to ask a similar question a little while ago because the booklet for ocella does not specify what "about the same time everyday" means. Don't get me wrong I do love my birth control itself just.. Gah that was frustrating. But I did a lot of research on this to try to figure it out for myself and everything I read said that being an hour or two off doesn't affect it at all, especially if the brand is monophasic (same dose of hormones in every pill all month) If you're like me, It's probably best for you to just set an alarm on your phone or watch, alarm clock, whatever because it is easier for me to remember it if I just am used to taking it at exactly the same time every day. I take it at 6:45 every morning because it's easier to just do it first thing and not worry about it for the rest of the day, I've never been late or missed one ever. The only time I messed up even a little was when I accidentally took it at 5:30am because I had to be up earlier one day and I'm just so used to taking it at the sound of the alarm, but because that was only about an hour early it didn't mess anything up.

So basically no. If it's within like two or three hours of when you took it before you'll be fine. But in my experience I find it a lot easier to just always take it at a specific time so it's a perfect habit. It also makes me feel more secure too for some reason, like since I'm always taking it exactly 24 hours apart I just feel much better about it working and preventing pregnancy, kind of like when you use measuring cups for a recipe instead or eyeballing it.

That does NOT apply if it's a progestin only pill, or the mini pill though. Those things are very temperamental and the effectiveness is compromised even if it's only an hour or two off because the hormones already don't quite last the full twenty four hours in most women. So with that you really will need to be perfect if that's what you're on. Most are combination pills though, but if you're not sure double check.

Here's some of the websites I found, they all say essentially the same thing. But look in the package insert to be sure.

http://contraception.about.com/od/thepil…

http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice…



I think it depends on the kind of birth control you're taking, but typically it should be taken at the same time every day (or night). If you don't, you may not be as well protected and you could become pregnant if you're not using other protection.

It's best to talk to refer to the information you get with your specific birth control medication, and you can either look for it online or talk to you pharmacist or doctor.

Yahoo! has a health site with prescription drug information, so you can try searching for the particular brand name there:

http://health.yahoo.net/

Look for a "Dosage and Administration" section on the specific drug page.

If your birth control requires that you take it at the same time, and you don't, then you should probably use extra protection if you have sex.



You're supposed to take it the same time every night so your body regularly receives the hormone. I would definitely try to take it around the same time but if your off by a few hours I wouldn't pull your hair out over it.
I usually have like a 2hr window every morning when I take it, and I've never gotten pregnant.



If its a combined pill; no If its a progesterone only pill; yes




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