If Your Forgot To Take a Pill
Many women forget to take 2 or 3 pills a month. Not that any guy on the planet could remember to take all of those pills, but this not good. It makes the pill less effective and will hopefully encourage you to consider switching to something like the NuvaRing, the patch, the Implanon implant, or an IUD.
If you forget to take your birth-control pill, check with your healthcare provider or your pharmacist. Also, your pill pack info should tell you how to make up for a missed pill or visit the pill's website. (We've provided some of the links at the bottom of this page.)
With most types of combination pill, if you missed only one pill, you will be told to take the pill you forgot right away and to take the next pill as scheduled. It would be wise to use a backup method such as a condom for at least a week. The exception is if the pill you forgot to take is during your week of placebo or sugar pills. In that case, no harm, no foul--get out of jail for free.
If you missed two pills but remember it on the day (or night) of your second missed pill, you might be told to take both of the forgotten pills right away, and to take the next day's pill when you would normally take it. For instance, if it's during final exams and you forget to take your pill Monday and Tuesday morning, but on Tuesday night some spare molecules of oxygen make it to your brain through all of the caffeine and you remember that you forgot to take your pills. So you take Monday's and Tuesday's pills Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning you take your next pill as you usually would. Use a backup method for at least a week.
If you missed pills on Monday and Tuesday but didn't remember them until Wednesday, your healthcare professional might tell you to double up on Wednesday and double up again on Thursday. Use a backup method for at least a week.
If you missed three pills, call your healthcare provider right away! Emergency contraception might be in order, in addition to prayer.
If you take EstroStep and missed a pill(s), don't blame us as you have to click on "patient insert" and scroll down to page 6. Talk about a seriously shabby website.
If you take Lybrel and missed a pill(s), scroll down to page 45.
If you use NuvaRing forgot to put in a new one.
If you use NuvaRing and it slips out.
If you take Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo and missed a pill(s).
If you use Ortho Evra (the patch) and forgot to change the patch.
If you take Seasonique and missed a pill(s).
If you take Yasmin and missed a pill(s), scroll down to page 2, second column.
If you take Yaz and missed a pill, scroll down to page 24.
This is nearly criminal that it is SO difficult to find info about what to do if you missed a pill on a number of these birth control pill websites!
