Do you have to take the last week of your birthcontrol, the "reminder" pills, or is there nothing in those pills that prevent you from getttin pregnant.
2007-01-21 06:26:08 · 8 answers · asked by meg 3 in Health ➔ Women's Health
"Missing any of the last 7 pills of a 28-day package will not raise your risk of pregnancy. Skip the pills you missed, but be sure you start your next pack on time." (From the first link. See Sources.)
You don't need to take them. There is no medicine in them, they are just for people who are more comfortable at remembering to take their pills when they take a pill every day, all month long. Some brands come in 21 day packs and 28 day packs - the only difference is that the 7 placebo pills aren't included in the 21 day pack, and the user is instructed to wait seven days before starting the next pack.
Some women skip their periods by starting a fresh pack as soon as they finish taking the active pills in the old pack.
2007-01-21 06:42:34 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you have a pill pack that has 21 pills, be sure to take all of them, as they all contain active ingredients. If you have a pack that has 28 and 7 are a different color, you do not need to take those. Those are placebos with no active ingredients and are only there to keep you on a regular pill-taking schedule. It's a good idea to take them ONLY so that you don't get out of the routine of taking a daily pill.
2007-01-21 06:36:24 · answer #2 · answered by chrissy25 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is correct, those reminder pills are just placebos to help guide you with the timing. I found that out while I was in Canada for a 7-month internship, because in Europe the pills we get don't have those 7 reminder-thingys at all. A pack just contains the 21 tablets, then we are trusted to be able to count to 7 and start a new pack all by ourselves...
2007-01-21 06:35:47 · answer #3 · answered by kiara_niniel 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Those pills are placebo or sugar pills. They do not need to be taken. There is no increased risk for pregnancy if you don't take them. The key is to make sure you start the "real" pills when they are supposed by started. The sugar pills help peolpe stay on track.
2007-01-21 06:31:46 · answer #4 · answered by Matthew M 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The idea of the "control pills" is to keep you in the habit of taking your birth control pills on a routine basis. There is no ingredient in those particular pills that will prevent pregnancy. Don't take a chance on pregnancy during that time frame - use protection of some sort such as condoms. Better safe than sorry!
2007-01-21 06:34:07 · answer #5 · answered by moekittykitty 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I've been on Ortho Tricyclen for 6 years now. I dont take the sugar pills anymore. I used to, to help keep me on track with taking them. But after so long Its implanted in my brain when to take my pills. So nothing will happen if you dont take them because their placebos.
2007-01-21 06:45:00 · answer #6 · answered by summers_angel_84 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You don't have to take them. They are just there to help you keep up with when to start the others again. It is actually o.k. to continue taking the active bc pills and skip periods. They are not "real" periods and serve no purpose.
Here is an article about that:
http://www.ynhh.org/healthlink/womens/womens_8_00.html
2007-01-21 06:32:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. They are usually just sugar pills. But hey, you might as well take them, they wont hurt anything!
2007-01-21 06:31:09 · answer #8 · answered by MichelleLynn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋