BC question

[Kitty]

How important is it to take your BC pill at the exact same time everyday? I read through my BC instructions meticulously and I don't see anywhere that it says you have to take it at the EXACT same time everyday for it to be effective. Do doctors just recommend you do that so that you get into a routine?

For the most part I do take mine at the same time everday, but there are times when I'm like 30 minutes to an hour late.

[coll214]

I've heard once you've been on it awhile there's about a 2 hour window either way.

[SmilesSoSweet]

How important is it to take your BC pill at the exact same time everyday? I read through my BC instructions meticulously and I don't see anywhere that it says you have to take it at the EXACT same time everyday for it to be effective. Do doctors just recommend you do that so that you get into a routine?

For the most part I do take mine at the same time everday, but there are times when I'm like 30 minutes to an hour late.

I asked my doctor about this. She told me that around the same time should be okay (I think like +/- an hour). On my BCPs there's a warning label that says I should be taking the pills around the same time every day. I have other meds that require the same thing so I just take all of them at once.

[weary]

i think it's just around the same time to you can have the same amount of the med in your body fairly regularly. like, if you take your pill every morning with breakfast @ 7am but then one day skip breakfast and forget to take it until say, bed time @ 11pm...that would probably be bad b/c it's damn near like missing a whole day. but 30 mins to 1 hour off - i don't think that's such a big deal.

[embrassezla]

by "the same time", drug companies mean every 24hrs plus or minus 15mins. but doctors are okay with advising plus or minus 1hr. so as long as you are within an hour, you are good to go.

yay for having a pharmacist mother.

[Winter Storm]

You should consider the Nuvaring. You only have to worry about it once a month. I love it!

[Kitty]

You should consider the Nuvaring. You only have to worry about it once a month. I love it!

I'm just so freakin' sensitive to the hormones and this is the only pill I've found that doesn't make me throw up repeatedly.

I'm scared the Nuvaring would be too much..

[wordsmith]

Depends on the pill.

Many are designed to only stay in your system 24 hours. So if you go, say, 26 hours in between pills, that gives you a window of time left unprotected, during which time you could conceivably ovulate rather than have ovulation suppressed.

But not all pills work by suppressing ovulation, either.

[Illuminous]

I used ot think ti was every day. I did some research, and no, jsut once a day, esp for the ones that are, like words said, designed to stay in your body 24 hours.

WHen i was on the patch, I had a one-day window. and it's the same hormones that's in the pill.

[NoWomanNoCry]

Taking the pill at the same time everyday also ensures that any side effects will be minimal. On my pill, if I am off by an hour I will sometimes experience break-through bleeding, or get a few nice pimples. I think it's all about having a steady level of the hormones in your body.