Do You Feel Safe with Just Using the Pill?

No I don't. My first was conceived while I was on the pill and I took it religiously at 9 pm every night. And I never missed a pill!

I have used the Pill as my only form of birth control for about 10 years. My only pregnancy was planned so I had gone off the Pill several months before I got pregnant and was able to get pregnant easily. I take the Pill every day, but not at the exact same time- J. around the same time (before bed). We never use back-up, even if I forget a pill or am on antibiotics. We are not ready for another child yet, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if I were to get pregnant, so we don't worry much about it.

when taking the pill correctly it is 99.9% effective. there is no reason to take anything else. you do not ovulate when you take the pill so there should be no bad times. I was on the pill alone for many years and never had any issues. If you do not want a kid any time soon you can also do the mirena iud which lasts up to five years. good luck.

You should not feel safe J. using the pill. I have a granddaughter thanks to the pill, lol. I have known so many woman over the years that have gotten pregnant while on the pill. You must be so diligently on time daily with these things or it can drop the percentage of protection, and even done to the minute daily it is still not 100%. In the past I used a condom as well with spermicide. Nothing is 100% except abstinence so if you don't want a baby don't have sex. If you have sex be prepared that the chance of a baby is possible. SEX = BABY! You can only guess what times are "bad" or more apt to get pregnant. Ovulation is not an exact science. Your partner should use his protection while you use yours and you should insist on his protection. If not, don't have sex or accept the consequences.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

I have not been on the Pill for many, many years. But when I took it I felt safe (But I probably shouldn't have, I wasn't the best at taking it on time). It is supposed to be pretty effective when taken "perfectly," and you are doing a good job with the things that you can control (timing), but J. pay attention and remember things like certain antibiotics, vomiting, diarrhea, etc, can make it less effective, and would require a back-up method. I imagine most women that get pregnant while taking it have had one of these types of issues around the time they conceived, but maybe didn't think about how it might affect the Pill.
To avoid any GI problems decreasing the effectiveness, have you considered the Ring? It is supposed to be a nice, steady, low dose, and eliminates some of those issues. Using the Pill and condoms together should be pretty darn effective. Of course the only way for a pre-menopausal woman with a uterus to avoid pregnancy 100% is abstinence, and who wants to do that? :)
I say look into all BC options/combinations available and find what makes you comfortable. If it takes using the Pill, condoms, spermicide and a diaphragm all together to make you feel "safe," then do it.

Well, I did, until I read the responses to your post.... :-)

I have been on the pill for about five or six years, and so far (knock on wood) it has worked. I am allergic to condoms and spermicide (I have really sensitive skin and lots of allergies) so I've been using the pill by itself. So far it has worked. Considering we used the withdrawl method before our first baby (oops!) and natural family planning before our second baby (oops again!), if I get pregnant while taking the pill, God and I will have to have a serious conversation about why I keep getting pregnant when I'm trying not to. :-)

I was, but my husband was not, so we used the pill plus condoms until we were ready to conceive our son.

I do however know 3 people who got pregnant while on the pill, one of them had it happen twice. You never know if you are one of those people whose hormones are a little different and it might not work.

Yes. I have used it since age 19 and only got pregnant while off it. You are good to take it consistently each day. You should be fine!

I used the pill by itself with no problems for 15 years.
Never occurred to M. to use anything more.

The pill is as effective as you can get if you take it correctly so yes, I'm comfortable only using that.

If you want foolproof, no sex for you!

I have always used the pill by itself (24 years). No pregnancy. I got pregnant (planned) the first cycle after stopping.. Used correctly fewer than 1 woman in 100 will get pregnant each year on the pill. Not using it religiously, up to 9 women in 100 will get pregnant each year.

Heck no. My sister got pregnant on the pill, my mom on an IUD and M. with condoms. So, I'm on the paragaurd IUD, but I'll admit, I STILL feel worried!

If you are really worried, there are a lot of methods that use your body science (and they are not J. guessing) to know when you are ovulating. We use a method of natural family planning that measures the hormones levels in my body. It tests my urine for the presence of the hormone. One time a month it peaks and we avoid that time. It has helped M. become more confident because I truly know when my body is ovulating and when it is not. I can now tell you when I don't even test for the hormone because I've learned my signs (which can vary from person to person). It sounds like you are aware, but it's an easy method to add and doesn't add another "med" to your routine or the risks associated with them.

I took the pill consistently for 4 years and never had any problems. We used only that for birth control. We stopped using it so we could get pregnant and it worked. I know it does happen that people get pregnant on the pill but it is usually fine as the only means of birth control.

One of the things about the Pill a lot of women don't know is that it is only highly effective in women who weigh less than 150 pounds-- which,obviously, a lot of American women don't. The efficacy rates go down substantially after that. If you absolutely-positively can't have another baby, you need to use back up birth control (or two) or switch to an IUC like Mirena (if you want another baby someday) or Essure or sterilization if you don't.

No way I don't! I am bad with taking it. I do take it every single day, but not the exact same time like you are supposed to. And my doctor says you really need to take it the same time every day. So we do the pill and the withdrawl method. Almost 6 years later and still no more kids :) Uh oh...better go knock on wood with that one!

No, I was terrified to the point of not enjoying sex. We used the pill plus condoms with spermicide anytime I was late taking the pill or I was on antibiotics.

You might want to check out the Natural Family Planning Method also.

Yes. I have been on the pill since I was 19 or 20. When I first stopped taking it, it took 2 years to get pregnant. We were not REALLY trying, but we were not preventing with a pill. Went back on and then off again for baby number 2. 3 years after baby number 2 arrived and we still use the pill only.

I haven't felt safe with J. the pill after my first son was conceived while on it. (I also used an alarm on my phone so I took it the same time every day without fail.) Any time I use the pill anymore, I make sure that my hubby has a condom on as well. Antibiotics, sickness, etc. can all change the effectiveness of the pill, and unless I was ready for another child, I wouldn't want to chance it! :)

I was on such a low dose my Dr. told M. I had to use condoms b/c the prevention rate was so low. So, it depends on the dose and how good you are at taking it. I decided to stop taking it since it wouldn't be effective in my case.

No. I take it daily near the same time. If I do happen to miss a day, we use condoms for 72 hours. Which I've done on a rare occasion.

I use a back up method if I have to take antibiotics. I research before taking a medication or supplement to verify it does not affect the pill.

I've never taken birth control, but my sister was using the pill alone very faithfully and got pregnant not once but three separate times. So, no, not necessarily safe to use alone. (As a side note, now that she has had her third, she is trying something else to prevent another surprise.)

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I got pregnant on the pill. Twice. Not because I didn't use it properly, but because I was taking antibiotics with it that weren't supposed to affect but did anyway. I was apparently one of the 3% that it can happen to.

I'm not up for that happening again but I also haven't been ready for doing something permanent yet so I'm on my second round with the Mirena IUD. The Mirena because it's only localized, very low-dose hormone and it's plastic (I'm allergic to the copper IUD). I don't double up. If we did get pregnant again it wouldn't be the end of the world although it would be a huge shock. I'm in a monogamous relationship and have been for about 18 years so STD's aren't a concern.