Expert: Diane Cheryl - 4/8/2009

Question
I think I've made two big mistakes in taking my BC pills. I just noticed today, and I'm not sure which mistake happened first. So first of all, I somehow missed a day completely (again, not sure when or how), and second, I took my pills in the dark one time and accidentally went the other way (dark blue pill instead of the lighter ones). I believe I'm on ortho tri-cyclen. And I have a few questions...

What should I do about taking the rest of the pills?
What would happen if I had sex in the past week (most likely when the mistakes happened)?
Will I get pregnant because of this?
If this is my first time taking bc pills (first cycle, first everything), are my chances of pregnancy higher?
And finally, if I took a pregnancy test, would the bc pills have any weird effects on the outcome?

Thank you so much.

-Kristina

Answer
Hi Kristina,

Thanks for your question. If it's been a few days since you missed these, I don't know what will happen. If you had caught it soon after, you could have remedied the situation. I would recommend calling the pill provider or doctor (whoever prescribed the pills to you). There may be something that can be done or perhaps you will have to use another method of birth control right now if you are sexually active.

Sometimes, they suggest you start a new pack but I don't know what your doctor will say. You could get pregnant. You can get pregnant even taking the birth control pills. No birth control method is 100% safe to prevent pregnancy. Only abstinence is 100% safe.

Yes, if you just started taking pills, you would have more chance of getting pregnant, in my opinion. And no, the pills would not have an effect on the pregnancy test. If you miss your period or have any pregnancy symptoms, find a local pregnancy resource center and get a free test there. To find a local center, go to http://www.optionline.org or call 1-800-395-HELP. Or try this one
http://www.heartbeatinternational.org/worldwide_directory.asp

I don't recommend any kind of hormonal birth control. If you want, I can send you more information about risks and side effects. Just email me at DCHERYL51@yahoo.com and hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Diane Cheryl