Can You Take Plan B And Birth Control

Can You Take Plan B And Birth Control
Can I Take Plan B While Taking Birth Control? July 30, 2020 by The Ginger-U Team
© 2022 Ginger-U, LLC ® . All rights reserved.
If you forgot to take your birth control pill and had unprotected sex, what do you do now? You've probably heard of Plan B, the alternative birth control method when other means of birth control fail. But is it safe to take if you're on the pill? The answer is yes, but there are few things to keep in mind when it comes to taking the morning-after pill on birth control.
Levonorgestrel morning-after pills, like Plan B One-Step, Take Action, and My Way are sold over the counter. Regardless of your age or gender, you don’t have to show an ID or have a prescription from a doctor to buy the morning-after pill.
How Plan B Interacts With The Birth Control Pill:
Plan B pills are an emergency contraceptive containing the hormone levonorgestrel - this hormone prevents ovulation and blocks fertilization. If you choose to take the Plan B pill, you must continue to take your birth control pills as usual - unless a doctor advises otherwise. The Plan B pill often has higher doses of hormones than your regular birth control pills, so when you take them simultaneously, you may experience some side effects.
What To Expect After Taking Plan B While On Birth Control:
While everyone will react differently (you could be one of the lucky girls without any side effects), some women may experience potential side effects, including:
While many women tolerate the hormones in Plan B well, it's good to know the potential side effects. Nevertheless, contact your doctor if you are unsure about how you feel.
Plan B is considered to be safe for most women and has shown no long-term consequences. If you're taking Plan B because you skipped or missed one (or more) doses of your birth control pill, get back on track asap - Ginger-U can help make sure you never miss a pill again , by the way!
Most gynos recommend using additional backup birth control, like condoms, for the next week after you take Plan B. Even if you've resumed taking your birth control pills as scheduled, you can never be too cautious!
The morning after pill could delay your period by up to a week. If you don’t get your period within seven days after expecting, take a pregnancy test.

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When you need to take emergency contraception like Plan B , it's usually just that — an emergency. Maybe a condom broke, for instance. Or maybe you were taking a hormonal birth control pill , but after having sex realized you'd missed a few days that month, and chose to take Plan B for extra security. This is a total valid and common experience — but, in that case, you might wonder whether it's safe to take Plan B on birth control. Does Plan B cancel out birth control, meaning you should stop taking the pill for the rest of the month? Or should you keep taking your regular birth control as usual, and just use a backup method of birth control (like condoms) until you start a fresh pack? And what about if you took a different type of emergency contraceptive, like the prescription-only Ella?
These are all common questions, which is why POPSUGAR spoke with two OB-GYNs. They answered all our most pressing concerns and queries about Plan B and birth control. More about whether it's safe to take Plan B while taking birth control, whether you should keep taking birth control after taking Plan B, and how long you need a backup method of birth control after taking a morning after pill, ahead.
First, some background. Plan B works by interfering with ovulation so fertilization can't occur, thereby preventing pregnancy. It contains progestin, a synthetic form of the sex hormone progesterone, and should be taken within three days of unprotected sex . You can buy it over the counter, and it sometimes causes side effects such as nausea, abdominal pain, and irregular bleeding. Worth noting: Depending on what morning-after pill you take, if you are over a certain BMI, there's a chance it may not be as effective , though the FDA says evidence for this is limited .

The Plan B website states, "Plan B does not impact the effectiveness of any regular birth control methods, so you can continue your regular birth control right away — or start one, if you don't have a regular method." The same goes for other progestin-only morning-after pills . This is the case whether you're taking a progestin-only birth control , or a combination pill, which contains both estrogen and progestin (and is the more widely prescribed type in the US). "You can take both [Plan B and birth control] at the same time because it really is just like additional ovulation blocking. It's not something that is working by a completely different mechanism," explains Wendy Goodall McDonald , MD. "What confuses [people] is they feel like Plan B truly is a substitute for the birth-control pill, and they'll stop taking their pill pack, which is not what we want them to do," adds Natalie Crawford, MD, a board-certified ob-gyn and fertility physician. Dr. McDonald suggests resuming your birth control once a day from where you left off. (That being said, consulting your ob-gyn, who's familiar with your personal health history and medication, is always a good idea.)
Plan B is OTC, but there is a prescription morning-after pill, ulipristal acetate (UPA), which is most commonly sold under the brand name Ella . It can be taken up to five days after unprotected sex. And unlike Plan B, you cannot begin taking birth control immediately after taking this type of morning-after pill. Ella is a hormone blocker, and can keep a hormonal oral contraceptive from working effectively, according to Healthline . So it's suggested that you wait at least five days before you start back up on your regular birth control (or begin birth control for the first time). As always, though, talk to your doctor for specific guidance when taking this drug.
After taking Plan B, UPA, or another type of emergency contraceptive, you may need to use a backup method of birth control when having sex, like condoms, to effectively prevent pregnancy. Dr. McDonald advises that you use backup contraception for at least a week after starting up on birth control again after taking an emergency contraceptive (and remember that if you took UPA, you also have to wait at least five days before taking the pill again). Dr McDonald says that seven days is "a good general window for preventing ovulation going forward," but it's still a good idea to ask your doctor for advice specific to you, your situation, and the pill you take, to be on the safe side. (Are you sensing a theme? When it comes to safeguarding your reproductive health, it's always a good idea to talk to a healthcare professional you trust so you can get advice specific to you, especially now .)
Condoms are important; you can't count on a morning after pill to protect you from pregnancy resulting from unprotected sex you have immediately after taking the emergency contraception. "The effectiveness of either Plan B or UPA is really preventing pregnancy from an encounter that could have occurred three [with Plan B] to five days [with UPA] ago, but that's not necessarily preventing pregnancy for a future encounter," Dr. McDonald says. And Dr. Crawford stresses that birth control does not protect against STIs , so condoms are crucial in that sense as well. (You may want to get screened for STIs if you are taking an emergency contraceptive because your usual barrier method of birth control, like a condom, broke, slipped off, or failed.)
Dr. Crawford said she'll see some patients become concerned that their birth control isn't working after using Plan B because the morning-after pill can interfere with your period . She typically has to tell patients before they use Plan B that they should expect an abnormal period afterward due to the high dose of progestin, which could trigger menstruation. But if you're concerned the emergency contraceptive didn't work, your best bet is taking a pregnancy test. Planned Parenthood suggests taking one if you haven't gotten a period within three weeks of taking a morning after pill . But, again, you can also ask your doctor about the best time to take a pregnancy test.

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As a responsible adult, you will know that an important part of a safe sexual relationship is the use of effective contraception. Your doctor or medical professional can provide you with the contraceptive pill, which is a simple and effective method of preventing unwanted or unplanned pregnancies. All you need to do is to remember to take a pill each day. But what if you're not actually on the pill, or have only just started taking it? What if you forget to take it one day? In these situations, you need a backup, and that's where you need the added protection of "plan B.”
In case you were thinking can you take plan B while on birth control pills, the answer is yes. However, plan B should not replace regular birth control. You can, and should, take your regular birth control pill the same day as you take plan B.
What does plan B do, and can you take plan B while on birth control pills?
Also known as the morning after pill, plan B is your second line of defense against an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy. Like the other contraceptive pills, plan B is simply a pill that you take orally and which serves as a barrier to contraception.
Both plan B and the standard contraceptive pill contain the hormone levonorgestrel. This is a type of progestin which slows ovulation and thickens the entrance of the cervix, thereby preventing sperm from entering. Health professionals have been asked "Should I take plan B if I'm on birth control?” and the answer is yes. However, it is important to note that plan B is not a primary birth control methods. It is right there in the name: plan B should not be your go-to method of birth control, but merely the one that you use if you think your standard method may have failed or is at risk for any reason.
As you probably know, during ovulation a woman's ovary releases an egg. If this egg is fertilized by sperm, generally during a sexual encounter, the egg implants in the uterus, leading to pregnancy. If the process is interrupted at any stage – for example, if the sperm cannot reach the egg (which is generally the case when a condom is used during sex), or if the egg is not released in time or fails to implant, fertilization doesn't occur, and therefore neither does pregnancy. Both plan B and birth control pills are designed to interrupt the fertilization process.
Plan B is relatively simple to obtain, and you may be able to get it without a prescription or an appointment. Otherwise, your doctor or health professional can prescribe plan B for you. The pill itself is taken orally, preferably with food, and is most effective when taken no later than 72 hours after unprotected sex, or when you think you are at an increased risk of pregnancy.
Like the pill, plan B is not 100% effective as protection against pregnancy. However, studies show that when plan B is used correctly, the egg fails to fertilize or fails to implant in the cases it does fertilize, in 91-99% of cases.
There is a reason why plan B is called the "morning after” pill. It is crucial that you take plan B as early as possible after you think you might need it. The longer it is before you take it, the more likely fertilization and implantation will occur, and once this happens, all bets are off.
Oral contraception is one of the safest and most effective methods of birth control available. It has been used for over fifty years by millions of women, and problems are rare. However, you should always consult your doctor or medical professional before taking any type of birth control, as there may be health issues particular to you.
There are some side effects from taking plan B, the main ones being the following:
Your best and safest protection against unwanted pregnancy is a regular, effective method of birth control. However, it's worth remembering that you can take plan B while on birth control pills. So if you have any doubt or worries about your regular method of birth control, at least you have a backup plan.
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