T O P I C R E V I E W
TheWorrier
Member # 93180
posted 04-29-2012 12:39 PM
I seriously think I have clinical anxiety issues. As of right now, my anxiety revolves around pregnancy. It all started when I had one major pregnancy scare, about 7 months ago. Since then, everytime I've had sex, I've been deathly afraid of being pregnant. I thought that starting birth control and researching a bit about my fears would help, and it did--for a little while, anyways. Now, here I am, worrying again. I had sex on the fourth day into my third pack of pills. On top of using the pill, he pulled out. I have about 10 more days until my withdrawal bleed should start, but I'm freaking out. I really need some advice about how to deal with this.
-Firefly-
Member # 26516
posted 04-29-2012 01:13 PM
First, it doesn't sound like you've had a pregnancy risk from this. If you're using the pill properly (no missed pills, all taken on time), then you are protected from pregnancy. In addition, withdrawal (pulling out) is another method of birth control. If both methods are used together, they are 99.98% effective with perfect use and 97.84% effective with typical use. Check it out: The Buddy System: Effectiveness Rates for Backing Up Your Birth Control With a Second Method That being said, if you're experiencing so much anxiety around possible pregnancies, it may be your body telling you that you're moving too fast and that you're not quite ready for sexual activity that can pose a pregnancy risk. Have you considered slowing down, or even stopping sexual activity for a while? Here are a couple of articles that might be helpful:Pregnancy Scared? Whoa, There! How to Slow Down When You're Moving Too Fast Lastly, if you believe you are suffering from clinical anxiety issues, the best person to talk to would be your doctor, who could then refer you to a counsellor or psychiatrist. Alternatively, if you're in university, most of them have counselling services and you could start there. Hope this helps! [ 04-29-2012, 01:14 PM: Message edited by: -Firefly- ]
TheWorrier
Member # 93180
posted 04-29-2012 04:21 PM
Thank you so much for that! I have one question, though. Even if I technically don't have a cycle to track anymore, would it be safer to avoid having sex when I am in the middle of my pack? Just wondering.
Karybu
Member # 20094
posted 04-29-2012 05:26 PM
No. As long as you are taking your pills correctly, you are equally protected all the time: there are no "higher risk" days when you're taking the pill. The link in this thread does a really good job of explaining why: http://www.scarleteen.com/forum/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_topic/f/21/t/000351.html
TheWorrier
Member # 93180
posted 05-07-2012 10:27 AM
I'm sorry, but I have one more question. When taking the pill, it's best to take them within a 3 hour window, right? I'm having a little trouble clarifying what that means. For example, if I normally take my pill at 9 pm, would it be okay to take it at around 7 pm one day, and 11 pm the next? Or would that reduce the effectiveness?
Karybu
Member # 20094
posted 05-07-2012 08:06 PM
The three-hour window means that if you normally take your pill at 9 pm, you can take it as early as 6 pm or as late as midnight and it would still be proper use. (So taking it at 7 one day and 11 the next is totally fine.) Taking them at exactly the same time every day is ideal, but obviously that's not always possible, and a few hours either way isn't going to make a difference in terms of effectiveness. [ 05-07-2012, 08:10 PM: Message edited by: Karybu ]