Expert: Ramona Quilter - 8/8/2006

Question
I had a miscarriage on Friday, I started the patch on Tuesday and I had unprotected sex on Tuesday, was I protected from pregnancy from the patch or should I have waited to have intercourse.  I read some of the side effects of the patch, but what I am experiencing seems like pregnancy systoms I am tired, and hungry and my stomache feels a little woozy at times.  Please help me.

Answer
If you just had the miscarriage, I would imagine your body is still recovering from the pregnancy you lost.  I don't think it is unreasonable to be tired, hungry and woozy after a miscarriage.  It takes a while to get back to normal.  

So, in addition to the miscarriage recovery, you are possibly dealing with side effects from the patch.  And, no, you are not protected from pregnancy the day you put the patch on for the first time.  It's not like a condom.  However, it would be most unlikely that you could get pregnant if you just had a miscarriage.  

It will take a month or more for your body to get back in sync.  However, if you remain using the patch during this recovery time from the miscarriage, I can't answer how that will proceed.  It sounds problematic to me, but I'm not a medical person.