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question about the pill

oh pants. i feel a right plonker asking this but im not sure of the answer.

im on the microgynon pill and have 21 pills to take each month then i have a 7 day break. just realised after getting my shower that i forgot to take my pill yesterday and it was the last pill of the packet.

i know if you miss one of two pills in the packet, you are most likely to be ok but what if its the last pill? are you still protected in your 7 day break? ive just taken the last pill now but its 24 hours late.

another question about the pill - is there a max amount of time you should take it for? reason i ask is because ive been on the pill for 7/8 years now. can it effect your chances of pregnancy if you are on it for a long time? my fella asked me the other day when i mentionned how long i'd been on it and its got me wondering now! i dont want kids for a few years yet but you know...

thanks!
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Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    well when i went on the pill they always recomended being on there for 5yrs, im not quite sure why that is... but ive read people been on the pill for 10-11 yrs and they are fine

    the doctors generally say as long as u take it asap when u remember, it should be ok.. so 24 hrs late should be alright


    not quite sure if this helps at all but i didnt wanna read and run x
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think if you take any pill in the pack more than 12 hours late you should use extra protection for the next week so I would just to be safe.

    Not sure if the same rules apply for the last pill though.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You won't reliably be protected for the full 7 days after you should have taken the last pill, but you will be for 7 days from the last one you took properly.

    So, if you should have taken your last one on Saturday but forgot, then you get 7 days from Friday.

    Or, to put it another way, start your next packet a day early and you're sorted.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    .
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My daughter was the result of ONE missed pill, and so is my current pregnancy. Be very, very careful.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thanks for your replies guys.

    ive decided to just use protection for a while. not worth the risk! me and my fella dont want to have babies for a few years, lol.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    another question about the pill - is there a max amount of time you should take it for? reason i ask is because ive been on the pill for 7/8 years now. can it effect your chances of pregnancy if you are on it for a long time?

    In a word, no.

    Taking the pill has zero effect on your fertility. The reason that some doctors say you shouldn't take it for long periods is because it very, very slightly increases your risk of getting breast cancer (plus other things like blood clots and what have you). That said, the increased risk is barely anything, and it actually protects against other female cancers, so you have to weigh it up. Pretty sure all the info is in the leaftets you get with them if you fancy a read.

    One thing the pill can do, though, is mask symptoms of diseases which do affect your fertility, so when you come off, those symptoms rear their ugly heads and the pill gets blamed when really the underlying disease was there all along.

    I wouldn't worry. I'd been on the combined pill for 12 years, just came off a couple of months ago and my cycle has gone straight back to normal. :thumb:
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