Took Plan B and Had Sex Again
Common mistakes that make Plan B less effective and what you can exercise virtually information technology
This commodity was medically reviewed past Lauren Demosthenes, Dr., OB-GYN, senior medical managing director at Babyscripts.
- Plan B is 95% effective if you take it within 24 hours and 89% effective within 72 hours.
- Only information technology might exist less constructive if you are ovulating, or have unprotected sex afterwards taking Plan B.
- Information technology 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.
Plan B has a 95% chance of preventing pregnancy if you take it within 24 hours. If you take it within 72 hours, your chances reduce to 89%.
"Plan B is FDA approved for use up to 72 hours later on unprotected sex. It can exist used up to 120 hours after, but the further out from intercourse, the less effective it will become," Nicole M. Bender, MD, an OB-GYN at Keck School of Medicine of USC.
So, for max protection, accept the pill as quickly equally you can get it.
How Plan B works
The active ingredient in Plan B that prevents pregnancy is a hormone chosen levonorgestrel, which is a synthetic version of progesterone.
Aileen Gariepy, MD, OB-GYN at Yale Medicine and associate professor at Yale School of Medicine says that levonorgestrel works to forestall pregnancy by:
- 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 so that they don't meet.
- Stopping a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus past thinning the uterine lining.
Plan B won't work if a pregnancy has already been established, says Gariepy. The only way to know for sure if you lot're meaning is to take a pregnancy test. Yet, you can also look out for early pregnancy symptoms similar a missed flow, nausea, vomiting, or sore breasts.
Additionally, if you've ovulated recently, some research indicates that Plan B does not work besides.
Ovulation typically occurs right in the middle of your menstrual bike, such as on day 14 if you take a 28 mean solar day wheel. You might also find articulate and stretchy vaginal discharge. To be extra sure, you can buy over-the-counter ovulation strips to decide if you're ovulating.
How long is Program B effective
Plan B starts working soon after taking the pill. Peak levels of Programme B in your bloodstream volition occur about one.7 hours after taking the pill.
Depending on where yous are in your cycle, Program B will probable filibuster ovulation for a few days, says Gariepy. And the levonorgestrel should go out your system after about a week or so, depending on how fast your metabolism is, Gariepy says.
All the same, it'southward important to notation that program B only works for the episode of unprotected sex you accept already had. If y'all have unprotected sex shortly after taking plan B — similar later on that day or the following twenty-four hour period — and then yous volition need to take another dose of plan B to preclude pregnancy.
Side effects of Plan B
Programme B may cause side effects, which Gariepy says are well-nigh likely to occur within a few hours of taking the pill, since the peak levels in your blood volition be around ane.7 hours afterwards. Side effects will usually resolve within 24 hours and include:
- Nausea
- Airsickness
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Breast tenderness
- Vaginal bleeding
4 things that make Plan B less effective
Be aware that there is a run a risk Plan B might non work for you lot if you fall into one of the following groups.
- People who throw up soon after taking the pill: You demand about 2 hours to blot the levonorgestrel, so if you throw upwardly within 2 hours later taking program B, take another dose to make certain it enters your system.
- People who are already ovulating: If y'all accept already ovulated (an egg has already been released), Plan B may not be every bit effective in preventing pregnancy, Gariepy says.
- People who have unprotected sexual practice correct after taking Program B: "If Programme B delays ovulation by a few days and then you have another act of unprotected sex a few days afterwards, you can still get significant," Bough says. Then, if you lot want to be safe, be sure to use protection the side by side time you accept sex.
- People above a certain weight: If you have a body mass index (BMI) of 26 or college, Plan B may be less effective, says Bender. A 2015 study found that as someone'south body weight went upward, the effectiveness of levonorgestrel went downwardly. In fact, the researchers reported that women who weighed 187 pounds, or more than, were equally at risk of getting pregnant after unprotected sex whether they used plan B, or not. A prescription emergency contraception chosen Ella, is more effective in women who weigh 155 pounds or more. Ella tin be used up to 120 hours later unprotected sex activity, though information technology'due south more than constructive the sooner you take it.
Insider's takeaway
Plan B is a type of emergency contraception that is very effective at preventing pregnancy if you take it within 24 hours of unprotected sex. The longer you wait to take it, the less effective it becomes.
Program B is not a substitute for birth command . It'due south meant for emergencies, not to be taken regularly. "Plan B is a great back-up programme — meaning information technology'southward not meant to exist someone's first 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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