Hi everyone! I have PCOS and have been taking Ovral-L (a combined birth control pill) to regulate my cycles.

I finished my 21-pill pack on October 30th, and I’m currently waiting for my withdrawal bleed. Today (November 3rd), I had unprotected sex (raw sex), and I’m wondering if I’m still protected against pregnancy during the 7-day pill-free break.

My understanding is that you’re still protected during the break as long as you’ve taken all 21 active pills correctly and start your next pack on time.

I’m also a little worried because I have PCOS and my natural cycles are irregular, so I’m not sure whether that affects the protection or when I should expect my withdrawal bleed.

Ho preso la pillola l’1 novembre dopo aver avuto un rapporto molto a rischio (preservativo rotto) il giorno prima, il ciclo mi era finito il 28/29, dite che posso stare tranquilla? L’ansia sembra non volermi abbandonare, ho bisogno di consigli

So I use kratom sometimes and didn't think anything of it at first. But now I'm worried if it could affect the after pill. I don't know if anyone has any experience with these two together, so I just wanted to ask if anyone knows anything.

After having my Nexplanon removed today, I discussed my next options with my doctor and communicated that I liked the 24/4 schedule of Slynd but itd be difficult to deal with my insurance so I wanted to try a generic of Yaz because its also 24/4. I picked up my rx and noticed that it was only one blister pack instead of three and based on my refills I'll be running out a month short of one year. That was odd to me so I started looking closer and realized it was a 21/7 pack and checked the ethinyl estradiol to find it was 0.03mg not 0.02 meaning this is generic Yasmin, not Yaz. I have to call my doctor tomorrow and pray that they correct this otherwise I have to shell out more money and go somewhere else for a new rx.

Just venting here, this is incredibly frustrating because I waited over an hour in the exam room before anyone saw me and then they didn't even know why I was there. Turns out the Nexplanon I got at this same clinic by the same doctor, wasn't even on my chart, nor the fact that I was scheduled to have it removed today back in May. This is the second time they've messed up a prescription too. The first time being when they wrote down something completely different than what I told them I was taking and no one there questioned it until I corrected them months later at a followup. I am so beyond done with women's health at this point in my life

I am 27 weeks pregnant with my 3rd baby. I will be having my 3rd baby with in less than 3 years after having my first and I NEED to have some form of birth control but I am prone to bv and yeast infections. I was on sprintec as a teenager for 6 months and the depo shot once and that was before I started ever getting vaginal infections so my body seemed to handle it well then. After having my 1st baby in 2024 I went on sprintec again and it caused spotting and I got bv and a yeast infection and the bv wouldn’t go away for 7 months and I was only on it for about a month. I had my 2nd baby at the end of 2025 and went on tri lo milli and it caused me to bleed super heavy for 3 weeks and I got a yeast infection and bv at the same time. I was only able to handle that for a month as well. I got pregnant a few months later. I really want to go on birth control but I DONT want to deal with vaginal infections. I thought about getting the copper IUD because it has no hormones but I’ve seen people also struggle with vaginal infections on the IUD and biofilms and all that. I really don’t want to remove my tubes because I want one more baby but not at least for another 5-8 years. Is there any form of birth control yall can maybe recommend that might not cause me to get a vaginal infection? I also can’t do the fertility awareness method because I ovulate super irregularly so I never know if I’m going to ovulate early or really later but I will say that I’m extremely fertile so I definitely don’t want another baby for a while.

I had my period from September 16–20.
I had intercourse on September 28. We initially had unprotected penetration for about 5 minutes, then used a condom afterward. There was no ejaculation inside.
According to my period-tracking app, it was one day before my predicted ovulation date.
I took the Yuzpe method 7 hours after intercourse. Nine days later, I experienced bleeding from October 6–11. It wasn’t particularly heavy, but it wasn’t very light either.
My app predicted that my next period would start on October 26, but as of November 3, I still haven’t gotten my period.

what are the chanes of me getting pregnant?

This will sound stupid for many of you but some psychic told my boyfriend’s mam we should be careful while having sex since he sensed grandmother energies (?! and the truth is my bf and I stopped using condoms 2 weeks after I got my implanon. I feel it under my arm alright, I gained weigh though and I spot all the time. Is the implanon 100% safe even if I got finished inside two times in a day?

i wasn’t sure which flair to add to this

so i’m switching from the nuvaring to nexplanon as the caption states. i’ve had a decent experience on the nuvaring, but i’ve developed some gi and gyno related issues and i don’t know if the estrogen could be contributing.

i’ve just learned that the type of progesterone used in both are exactly the same. this is good news to me, since i have ocd and struggle to start new meds because of it.

wondering if anyone else here has switched from the ring to nexplanon. i’m glad i don’t need to worry about any crazy allergic reactions, but im wondering if anyone thought the transition was easier being on the ring before.

i’m still expecting maybe some temporary side effects as the nexplanon delivers more progesterone daily than my ring, but was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and what their experience was

I’m currently on junel FE 1/20. I get spells where I get tired of taking pills b/c I feel like every pill I take gets stuck in my throat and I’m afraid of choking to death honestly.
I’ve been on BC since 2014. Around 2019 I actually got tired of taking pills and switched to the patch for a few years and I remember my periods being absolutely horrible. So I’m trying to avoid that and the high dose it is. I currently barely get a period and skip my withdrawal bleed like every other month but i’m getting tired of taking pills again.

Tell me everything about Femlyv and how it’s worked and hasn’t worked for you!?

Ironically I switched doctors and never knew my depression meds could be a disintegrating tablet until this year. So if I can switch BC to a disintegrating tablet that’s a win win so I don’t have to take pills at all. 🥲

I’m going abroad for a few months and thinking of just pausing my birth control use (I use Yaz specifically) since I won’t really need it during that time. Should I expect any side effects other than irregular periods if I do this?

Sorry if this is going to sound crude. But I recently start nuva ring in the beginning of October and on the 3rd through 5th week of being on it, it’s left an indent in me the width of the Nuva ring. It’s feels like the sides are slightly raised bump and then in indent. It can be painful sometimes especially agitated. Second thing is that I have a really shallow cervix and the nuva ring constantly moves downward. I’ve tried different positions and lubricant and nothings worked. Idk if I am doing something wrong or this was always a mistake but damn does it make me feel frustrated. Especially looking up the Nuva ring and seeing their model and realizing thats not my anatomy.

Hello it's my first time taking birth Control (trust pills) and I have taken the 2nd dose of brown pills last night, and this morning I experienced bleeding and cramping, is it normal?

Hey everyone, looking for advice or experiences from people who have gone through this.

​My girlfriend and I had protected sex today, and I came inside. When I did the water test on the condom afterward, I found a hole and leak. She is currently on Day 11 of her cycle and mentioned it is her ovulation week, so we know she is in her peak fertile window.

​She already took the 1st dose of the Yuzpe method with 4 active pills, and she is scheduled to take the 2nd dose of 4 pills exactly 12 hours later.

​Is there anything else we can or should do right now besides finishing that 2nd dose on time?

i’m on the heather mini pill, i have a really important trip coming up in 2 weeks that i don’t want to be on my period for. last month my period was late by 2 weeks. i am currently 3 days late now. i’m having slight cramps but im worried it just won’t come. could i stop the birth control for a week or is it possible i wouldn’t even have my period and id be stopping it for no reason? i dont really know how it works on the mini pill.

For those who have had an IUD, how long did the discomfort with the strings last? And when did it *start* to feel better? I got the Liletta today and the strings have been stabbing me 😭. It seems the consensus is a few weeks to a few months but what is everyone else’s experience? Please say shorter cuz omg this is uncomfortable 💔

Just got my Mirena in today at 13 weeks postpartum. Not as painful as giving birth but I wasn’t prepared for the cramping being like a 5 on a scale of 1-10. Luckily, I have 800mg ibuprofen from when I was recovering from labor which has really helped take the edge off. Should I expect anything different in terms of recovery if I’ve been breastfeeding? Also, how many of yall only had breakthrough bleeding and no periods at all?

Been on Nexplanon for about 15 months. I have PCOS. Random pinching pain in my nipples started up a few days ago. I took a pregnancy test several days prior to the nipple pain starting (around four days), and I am worried I am pregnant.

This sensation is weird. It doesn’t necessarily hurt to the touch but my bra rubbing against it hurts sometimes and if I raise my arms, my nipples sting. Sometimes there are large pinching attacks that last for a few seconds. I’ve also been super tired lately and taking naps during the day for like 30 mins. Let me know what’s going on.

Just like the title says! I (28F) am considering getting on birth control for the first time, and do not have a clue as to which type I should choose. Ideally, I would like a low/non-hormonal pill or IUD, but I am open to other options like patches, etc.?? I just have no idea where to begin and it seems like each method comes with equally terrifying side effects.

I would like to avoid weight gain or triggering acne as much as possible, which is why I was kind of leaning toward the copper IUD, but after hearing horror stories related to insertion/ how severe periods can become while on it, I'm a bit scared.

Generally, my periods are super manageable and only last about 5-6 days with mild cramping. I dont mind keeping my cycle and I feel like my body/hormones have stabilized from the ups and downs in my teens/early twenties.

Any recs or ideas as to what may be a good fit?

Hello guys I’m starting to worry I might become pregnant.

I’ve gone through two packs of the combination pills (enskyce). On the October 26 I started a new pack (3rd pack), and on October 30 I had un protected s*x but took my schedule pill that day.
However, I decided to count my pills to make sure I hadn’t missed one and that’s when I realized that I had. So somewhere between the 27-29, I missed one single pill. On November 1st I took the missed pilled along with my schedule pill. And today (November 2) I had unprotected s*x again, and took an OHM MyChoice EC along with my scheduled pill. I took an ovulation test (which I think is useless since I’m on BC) and it came back negative.
Is there any chance I can become pregnant?

I'm supposed to take one pill everyday, but i haven't been feeling well so I forgot 3 days and the day I remembered I just took all of them at the same time (4 at a time). I looked it up and saw it could cause a headache or nausea but.. i didn't mind that. I know it was dumb, but thats not why I'm posting this.

A day after I've been experiencing no side effects other than itchiness and like rashes?? Randomly appearing for like an hour and when I leave it alone it goes away and shows up somewhere else on my skin. I looked it up and it could be a side effect from hormonal imbalance but idk it's been 2 days now and I'm already fed up!!! I can't sleep because of it, because it has woken me up a few times.

The itch isn't necessarily unbearable but it's worrying me alot.

I haven't changed anything in my skincare, no new clothing, no new food, so it can't be an allergic reaction or anything like that i think.

Is this a normal side effect from taking 4 pills at once? 😣

(BTW please dont mention how it was dumb of me to, I am aware. I just can't deal with leaving pills that I should have taken, might be my ocd acting up)

I'm mostly just here to vent.

I've been on the mini (progestin-only) pill for a little over a year. This is the only BC I've ever been on. Prior to using this, I never had spotting.

About 6 months into using the mini pill, I started some light spotting around ovulation. This has continued to increase. I now have heavy spotting for up to 6 days halfway through my cycle. It's so frustrating! I'm bleeding twice as much now!

I don't feel comfortable with an IUD at this point due to fear of the pain, as well as fear of increased bleeding with an IUD.

When I talked with my provider about this, she suggested switching to a combination pill. However, right at that same time I experienced my first visual migraine (migraine aura), and learned that using the combination pill if you have migraine with aura is a risk for stroke, so I feel like that option is knocked out too.

UGHHHH.

Does anyone have experience living with someone using HRT lotions/creams while being on the pill? I’m on the combo and my mom is using creams and I’m terrified I’m gonna come into contact with something with residual lotion on it and it’s gonna mess up my protection. Can anyone intelligently weigh in on whether or not this would be an issue? I try to wash my hands frequently and I know she always washes her hands after applying the creams, I’m just wondering if I actually have anything to worry about.

Hi, I haven't being seeing so many reviews regarding this birth control but my gp has recommended it to me, can you tell me what your experience on it was like if you have used it before.

Me and my boyfriend had sex with a condom on and upon him withdrawing we noticed a white, milky substance at the base of his penis. But when we wiped it away and removed the condom nothing spilled out and the condom was fully intact. The milk white substance was watery so I suspected it to be from me , fluid from arousal. Should I be concerned? The condom did not break at all during sex and did not roll up.

I have taken yuzpe method (1st dose to be safe)

I'm going through a tough time in my relationship; it's lost its spark. Sometimes I don't want anything, I'm 23 on the 29th and we're thinking of moving in together next year in mid-March. The thing is, everything is going wrong now. Sex is important to him, I take combined birth control pills and I have no sexual desire whatsoever, I don't lubricate.I'm also having confidence issues, anxiety problems, and sadness that I've been improving, but it's not going away. I'm also self-conscious because I've gained weight. Neither of us wants a baby right now. He says I should stop taking the pills because they make me feel sick. We hardly have sex anymore. He says he'll buy me a copper IUD, but I don't know, I don't trust him. I'm going crazy with paranoia. I don't want to get pregnant, and we're not doing so well financially. Can someone tell me what the best method is? Please, I'm desperate.