Expert: Drea Jean H. - 4/25/2006

Question
ive been on birth control for about 5 months now and ive never had a problem. i have two questions regarding the effectiveness of birth control. firstly, is the pill just as effective in the first or second day of the month as it is at the end of the month? secondly, within the first few days of this month, ive been taking a lot of echinacea for a cold. will this decrease the effectiveness of my pill? the only reason that im worried is that my body feels really strange this month, and i dont know what it feels like to be pregnant, or if you even can feel it this early, but my stomach feels very strange.  

Answer
Hi Anna,

First, let me sat I am not a Dr., so I don't know all of the things, like medications, that will affect birth control, but internet searches have been very helpful in the past, and I have been able to find info on some that do and some that don't. Having said that, I did a search for echinacea, and didn't find anything that said it would interact. It is not a medication, nor anti-biotic, but rather a natural herb product. I don't believe it lowers the effectivness of birth control, so it is perfectly safe for you to be taking it.

And yes, the pills are effective the very first day of a pack, all the way through until the next pack. You can even have sex on the inactive pill week, as well as on your period if you choose to, so no problems there. As long as you don't miss more than one, you are protected all month long without needing a back-up method.

A small number of women (less than 1% of women on the pill) will become pregnant on the pill. But that is a very very small number, so the chance of becoming pregnant is very low, but it can happen.

Now, if your like me, and a little afraid of being pregnant, you may jump to that conclusion, without considering other things. I know I do. So, take some time and think of some other things that may be causing the strange way you feel. You mentioned you had a cold, that may be the cause to some of the things you are noticing. Colds seem harmless, but they can make you very tired, cause loss of appetite, or even make you eat more than you usually. Also, what other things may have changed recently. Have there been changes to your diet or activity level? Are you stressed, or more worried than usual about something? There could be other things that may be contributing to the way you feel.

And remeber, you've only been on the pill for 5 months. Pill manufacturers will say you may have side effects for the first 3 months, but after that they will decrease and stop. Remember, everyones body is diffrent, so maybe your body is just starting to expierience some of the side effects. And it may continue next month, or you may find this to be the only "strange" month, and be fine the next ones. I still expierience side effects once in a while, and I've been taking it for 2 years.

And, pregnancy symptoms, such as morning sickness, tiredness, breast swelling and tenderness, starting to feel like your abdomen is full, are not usually things that show up until well into the 2nd and 3rd month of pregnancy.

In short, the echinacea is safe, and the birth control is effective all month long, so you should be fine.

Hope that answers some of your questions, and Good Luck to you.

Thanks!!

Drea Jean

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