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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Does Taking Birth Control At Different Times Affect Its Effectiveness?

ive recently begun taking taking birth control. im on week 5 on a 3 moth supply. sporadically, ive been taking them within a 5 hour window. my set time to take it is 8:30 but occasionally it gets taken at 10:30. it does get taken everyday, but seemingly different times about 2 or 3 times a week. i have sex every Monday and Friday & my appetite has increased greatly, could i be pregnant?
Tue, 13 Dec 2016
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OBGYN 's  Response
Hi there,
After reading your query, my opinion is that:
1) As long as you take birth control pills everyday, it is ok. 2 or 3 hour delay is not going to make a difference.
2) It normally does not cause pregnancy if you are taking the pills regularly.
3) However, every form of birth control has its failure rates, and sometimes can fail. Failure rate of birth control pills, if taken regularly without skipping doses, is 0.03%, so is very efficient.
4) Just increased appetite is not a cause of worry and is not a sign of pregnancy.
5) My suggestion is that you wait for your periods and in case you miss them, you can get a urine pregnancy test done or even a blood test called serum beta HCG.

I hope this was helpful,
Regards,
Dr. Shikha Shah
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Does Taking Birth Control At Different Times Affect Its Effectiveness?

Hi there, After reading your query, my opinion is that: 1) As long as you take birth control pills everyday, it is ok. 2 or 3 hour delay is not going to make a difference. 2) It normally does not cause pregnancy if you are taking the pills regularly. 3) However, every form of birth control has its failure rates, and sometimes can fail. Failure rate of birth control pills, if taken regularly without skipping doses, is 0.03%, so is very efficient. 4) Just increased appetite is not a cause of worry and is not a sign of pregnancy. 5) My suggestion is that you wait for your periods and in case you miss them, you can get a urine pregnancy test done or even a blood test called serum beta HCG. I hope this was helpful, Regards, Dr. Shikha Shah