Do i have to take the 7 'reminder' sugar pills when taking Birth Control Pills?

Question

I take birth control pills that come with 21 'active' pills and 7 'reminder' pills. Do i have to take the 7 'reminder' pills, or can i just continue on to a new pack starting with the 'active pills? If so, will i still get my period if i dont take the reminder pills? Can i skip the 'reminder' pills each month, or is it just in a while kind of thing? I am confused. I think taking the 'reminder' pills just screws things up and i would rather take the 'active' pills everyday.

Answer 1

No you don't. These are just a reminder as to when to start taking the others again. It is not good for you to go without a period. Birth control pills are used not only for birth control, but for cycle regulation. You may actually find that your periods become shorter and lighter. Read the following web page for more detailed information about what they do and how they do it.

Answer 2

You should take the pills as directed. Taking the 21 active pills, followed by the reminder pills.

If you skip the reminder pills, and just continue on to a new pack (I'm assuming that you were saying that you would take the active pills for 21 days, and the without skipping any days go take active pills for 21 days...), then you are not taking the birth control correctly.

For birth control to be effective, you should carefully and faithfully take the pills as prescribed.

Answer 3

usualy the reminder pills are nothing more than a sugar pill so you wont get out of the habit of taking a pill each day. some brands however do put chemicals into the reminder pills so you should still take them if youre not sure.

its ok to skip the week of your period and go straight from one pack of active pills to the next, but only every now and then. this means you wont have a period at all that month, but its not a good idea to do it for two months in a row.

Answer 4

The reminder pills are to take so you will stay in the habit and not skip your active pills. If you take active pills all the time your menstrual cycle will mess up and the birth control pills will not do the job they are intended to do. That is why there are instructions with medication. Follow the instructions, especially to cut down on your risk of pregnancy.

Answer 5

The jury is still out on whether or not you need to have a period... as a rule of thumb, don't skip more than three months of cycles. But no, the reminder pills need not be taken. I don't skip periods, but I don't take the sugar pills. They are there to remind you, and if you have no problems with forgetting them, then don't worry about it.

Answer 6

if you go from active pills right to active pills of another pack without skipping a week, then you probably will skip your period all together. if you mean you just dont want to take the placebo pills, then you can just do that. if you are wanting to skip periods, you can do it ONLY once and a while. the inner lining of the uterus does need to be shed at least 5-6 times per year. hope this helps

Answer 7

No you don't have to take them. You can move onto the active pills. You shouldn't get your period but you might have a little breakthrough bleeding especially if you just started taking them. I usually skip one row of nonactives then start a new pack. I don't get my period. But then the next pack I wait one week to start another one so I have my period. Some people can go through 4 packs of actives then have one week to bleed, but I tried to go through two and I had breakthrough bleeding. I'm too scared try that again! So I just do 2 packs in a row.

Answer 8

The "reminder" pills don't really do anything medically, they are there so that you can continue your routine of taking a pill each morning.

Answer 9

No, they're just placebos and their only purpose is to keep you in the habit of remembering to take your pill every day. You can skip them.

Answer 10

Call your doctor's nurse and ask her. These are not always "sugar pills".