Expert: Lyndsay Mercier - 6/12/2008

Question
I have been on Orthotricyclen-Lo for six months and I have always started my period on Tuesday night/Wednesday mornings or early afternoon.  It is now Thursday morning and I have not started yet.  I am pretty religious about taking my pill on time but I may have been a little late in take one or two, but I can not remember properly.  I am having terrible cramps.  My boyfriend and I ALWAYS use a condom without fail, and we've only started having sex about three weeks ago after not having sex for over a month because of a yeast infection.  Should I be worried about pregnancy?

Answer
Susie,

Since you have always been good about taking your pill every day on time, and you and your boyfriend are also using condoms, I would say that you probably don't need to worry about being pregnant.

Right now, you're still in a sort of gray area since your period is only one day late. My period is always at the same time too, but just last month it was a day late for no reason. I got a little worried myself! But the truth is that periods can be unpredictable even when they are usually predictable. Even being stressed about a late period can make your period late! Also, you mentioned having cramps...that is usually a sure-fire sign that your period is about to arrive. Thats what happens to me, anyway. Cramps also aren't typically a symptom of pregnancy.

All in all, I would bet that you're in the clear, mostly because you have made the wise decision to use a combination method of birth control (using a hormonal method AND a backup barrier method). Keep it up!

Hope I could help,
Lyndsay