Emergency Contraception & Post-Pill Symptoms: What To Do

Question
I had recently started taking birth control. I had taken it for a total of 4 days before having sex. It was unprotected and it happened in a total of 3 times. About a week after having done that I started having headaches, cramping, and was getting sick. I thought it was the birth control so I stopped taking it to see if it was it. I still had all the symptoms. Well, 4 days after I had stopped the pills I started what I thought was my period but it was only 3 days and all I did was spot. My question is, is there a possibly that I might be pregnant or is it all in my head. Thanks a lot, pamela

Answer
Dear Pamela,

The symptoms you are describing are hormonal and could be related to the BCPs or to a pregnancy. However, if you started taking the BCPs when you typically do (either the 1st day of a period of the Sunday after a period begins), the chances of conceiving a pregnancy at that time of a cycle would be low.

Nonetheless, anytime you have unprotected sex you cannot dismiss the chance of a pregnancy occurring.  You will need to test for pregnancy to know for sure. Although some tests claim accuracy on the first day of a missed period, I usually suggest that women wait until the week after a missed or spotty period before testing for pregnancy. This tends to minimize the incidence of false negative results and also avoids wasting money on a test for a simple delay of a period by a few days. When/if you test make sure to use 1st morning urine to get a concentrated sample for the most accurate results.

I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well and apologize for the delay - unfortunately, I am dealing with a personal family crisis.

Brenda