Hey Jon
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1. If a girl is on the pill, how concerned should I be with using a condom when I\'m w/ her? I enjoy the comfort of knowing I\'m strapped, but if she\'s on the pill (and taking them correctly); should I really have anything to worry about?
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Ok, first off I feel the need to say that the only form of birth control that is 100% effective is abstinence. Now obviously that\'s not too much help to you [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img], but you should keep in mind that there is *ALWAYS* a risk, with any other form. As far as the pill, it is not one of my preferred methods- too much room for human error. However, *if* she\'s taking it correctly it has a relatively high rate of effectiveness, so if you\'re using condoms and she\'s on the pill (again, taking it correctly) then you probably don\'t have anything to worry about. I don\'t recommend *not* using condoms with a girl who\'s on the pill, b/c you\'re taking an awful big chance...
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2. This one\'s regarding what happens if she doesn\'t take it for a day or two... I.E. She is on it regularly, but forgets or doesn\'t take it for a day or two...or doesn\'t take it on time. How long should we wait to have sex before we know it will be effective? I mean, if she\'s been taking it for weeks/months, but doesn\'t take it like today and maybe tomorrow, how bad is this going to screw things up?
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To take the pill correctly she needs to pretty much be religious about it. I mean, she needs to be taking it at the same exact time everyday without fail. Most women don\'t get that detailed though and don\'t seem to have problems with it. It\'s ok to miss a day every once in a while (sometimes it\'s ok to miss a few days)- she can always double up on the pills for the day she missed. Say she misses Monday, well then Tuesday she can take one in the morning and one in the afternoon and resume her regular schedule on Wednesday. I\'d be extra careful during Monday and Tuesday, but it should be alright, especially if you\'re using a second form as backup.
I had a close call with the pill, so I now use Depo Provera. For some reason I ended up taking the placebo pills for about a week instead of taking the regular ones, and my boyfriend and I were NOT using condoms during that time. I *freaked* when I realized it and ended up going to Planned Parenthood for a \"morning after\" kit. Turned out ok, but that was scary enough to get me looking for more fool-proof methods (this is one of the reasons not to go without a condom with girls on the pill- I did not realize I was taking the placebos). The morning after kit *is* available if you need it, but it is not a pleasant experience, and it\'s best if you can avoid that altogether. I decided on Depo b/c it\'s 99% effective and there\'s really no room for human error. It\'s a shot she gets every 3 months or so that is immediately effective (oh, I forgot to mention that it\'s recommended that women wait at least a month after going on the pill before expecting it to be completely effective), and many women stop having a period while they\'re on it. There\'s some controversy over it b/c of that, but IMHO it\'s a godsend, especially for women who get bad PMS. I feel much more comfortable being with a guy without a condom when I\'m on Depo than the pill. Anyway, get her to check into Depo if you\'re really worried about it (and you\'re certainly right to be)- the cost is comparable to the pill.
Here\'s a link to the Planned Parenthood site (specifically the page that explains the different methods). If I find any other good ones, I\'ll post them here. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] HTH
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/bc/cchoices.html
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