If I Took Plan B and Then Had Sex Again
Common mistakes that brand Plan B less effective and what y'all can do virtually information technology
This article was medically reviewed by Lauren Demosthenes, Medico, OB-GYN, senior medical director at Babyscripts.
- Program B is 95% constructive if you take it within 24 hours and 89% effective within 72 hours.
- Just it might be less effective if yous are ovulating, or accept unprotected sex after taking Program B.
- It is also less effective for women over 155 pounds — if this is the case, try a pill like Ella.
- Visit Insider's Health Reference library for more advice.
Programme B has a 95% take a chance of preventing pregnancy if you take it inside 24 hours. If you lot take it within 72 hours, your chances reduce to 89%.
"Plan B is FDA approved for utilise up to 72 hours after unprotected sexual activity. It tin be used upward to 120 hours after, but the further out from intercourse, the less effective information technology volition become," Nicole M. Bough, MD, an OB-GYN at Keck Schoolhouse of Medicine of USC.
So, for max protection, have the pill as quickly as you tin can get it.
How Plan B works
The active ingredient in Plan B that prevents pregnancy is a hormone called levonorgestrel, which is a synthetic version of progesterone.
Aileen Gariepy, Medico, OB-GYN at Yale Medicine and associate professor at Yale School of Medicine says that levonorgestrel works to prevent pregnancy past:
- Delaying or stopping ovulation, which is when an egg gets released from the ovary.
- Preventing fertilization by slowing down the path of the egg or sperm and then that they don't see.
- Stopping a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus past thinning the uterine lining.
Program B won't piece of work if a pregnancy has already been established, says Gariepy. The only manner to know for sure if you're pregnant is to take a pregnancy examination. However, you tin also look out for early pregnancy symptoms like a missed period, nausea, vomiting, or sore breasts.
Additionally, if y'all've ovulated recently, some inquiry indicates that Program B does not work as well.
Ovulation typically occurs correct in the centre of your menstrual cycle, such as on day 14 if you have a 28 day cycle. Yous might too notice articulate and stretchy vaginal discharge. To be extra sure, you tin can purchase over-the-counter ovulation strips to determine if you're ovulating.
How long is Plan B effective
Plan B starts working soon subsequently taking the pill. Peak levels of Plan B in your bloodstream will occur about 1.seven hours later taking the pill.
Depending on where you are in your cycle, Plan B volition likely delay ovulation for a few days, says Gariepy. And the levonorgestrel should leave your system afterwards most a week or so, depending on how fast your metabolism is, Gariepy says.
However, it's important to annotation that plan B only works for the episode of unprotected sex activity yous have already had. If you have unprotected sexual activity presently subsequently taking plan B — like later on that day or the following day — so you will demand to have some other dose of plan B to prevent pregnancy.
Side effects of Plan B
Program B may cause side effects, which Gariepy says are well-nigh likely to occur within a few hours of taking the pill, since the elevation levels in your blood volition be around i.7 hours later. Side effects will usually resolve within 24 hours and include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Breast tenderness
- Vaginal bleeding
iv things that make Plan B less constructive
Be enlightened that there is a take chances Program B might non work for you if you fall into one of the following groups.
- People who throw up shortly afterward taking the pill: You need about 2 hours to absorb the levonorgestrel, and so if you throw upward within two hours after taking plan B, have another dose to brand sure it enters your arrangement.
- People who are already ovulating: If you lot have already ovulated (an egg has already been released), Plan B may not be as constructive in preventing pregnancy, Gariepy says.
- People who have unprotected sex activity correct after taking Program B: "If Programme B delays ovulation by a few days and and then you lot have some other act of unprotected sexual activity a few days later, you can still get pregnant," Bender says. Then, if you want to be safety, be certain to use protection the next time you lot accept sex.
- People above a sure weight: If you accept a torso mass alphabetize (BMI) of 26 or higher, Plan B may be less effective, says Bough. A 2015 study found that as someone's torso weight went up, the effectiveness of levonorgestrel went down. In fact, the researchers reported that women who weighed 187 pounds, or more, were every bit at run a risk of getting significant after unprotected sex whether they used programme B, or not. A prescription emergency contraception called Ella, is more effective in women who weigh 155 pounds or more. Ella tin can be used up to 120 hours later on unprotected sexual practice, though it's more effective the sooner y'all take it.
Insider's takeaway
Plan B is a type of emergency contraception that is very constructive at preventing pregnancy if you take it within 24 hours of unprotected sex activity. The longer you await to take it, the less effective it becomes.
Plan B is not a substitute for birth command . It's meant for emergencies, not to be taken regularly. "Plan B is a great back-up plan — meaning it'southward not meant to exist someone'south start line of defense against pregnancy," says Gariepy.
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Source: https://www.insider.com/how-effective-is-plan-b
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