emergency contraception
"Okay ladies, I have decided to share my experience with Plan B One Step to hopefully help ease even just a few minds, because I know just how bad this situation sucks and how you are searching high and low for some honest feedback. No matter what I say here, you will still be freaking out for a while and overthinking every little thing you feel within your body. Just try your best to be positive and keep busy. 



Alright, so here goes the story: On Apr. 9 I had sex with a male partner and the condom broke. We didn't notice until the deed was done. Immediately I thought "omg we are screwed". I had finished my last period on Apr. 4 (I was now dangerously close to ovulation). The next morning (approx 6-7 hrs later) we went to the pharmacy to get emergency contraception. I took the pill immediately WITH FOOD. The food part is very important. The pill can make you nauseous and if you vomit soon after taking it, it obviously will not work. The pill contains very high levels of Levonorgestrel, a synthetic version of the hormone Progestin (aka the pregnancy hormone). When you become pregnant, your body produces high levels of Progestin, which prevents your ovaries from releasing an egg (because you wouldn't want your body to be ovulating while you are already pregnant). So, in a sense, the pill tricks your body into thinking it is pregnant and therefore your ovaries do not release an egg for the sperm that is now inside of you to fertilize. 



The effectiveness of this all comes down to timing. The pill's job is to temporarily stop ovulation, so if you have already ovulated, the chances of it working are lowered. This doesn't mean you are totally screwed! There isn't much conclusive evidence (that I have been able to find) but it is said that even shortly after ovulation, the pill can help prevent a newly fertilized egg from implanting in the uterine wall. It is important to follow the advice to take the pill within 72hrs of the incident because sperm can live inside of you for approx 5 days and the longer you let it go, the closer you get to ovulating and the better chance those little suckers have of locating your egg! 



Back to the fact that the pill temporarily stops ovulation. This means that Plan B is NOT an abortion pill! So whether you are worried to take it because you are pro-life or you are thinking it will terminate an established pregnancy, it WILL NOT DO THIS! The pill's job is to take action before the sperm and egg ever meet.



Now onto the stuff that will literally exhaust you... The side effects. I'm going to be honest here and tell you that looking up your side effects is going to make you think you are pregnant for sure. Almost every possible side effect of Plan B mimics the signs of pregnancy. You could experience: nausea, abdominal cramping, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, vomiting, and spotting. If you are concerned about any of these side effects contact your doctor. They will be your best source of support through this. I experienced mild abdominal cramping (like period cramps) the next couple of days after taking the pill and "spotting" about a week later. The spotting was what concerned me. When I read that you "may experience some spotting" I thought a light little speck here and there, however for me it was almost exactly like one of my periods. My periods are generally quite light (lucky, I know) and my "spotting" was almost the exact same, just slightly lighter and lasted about 3-4 days. It started out fairly bright red and then by the last day turned to a darker red, almost brownish colour. I later found out that this is quite normal.



Throughout the duration of my worrisome experience, I took 3 home pregnancy tests to help ease my mind a bit. I took one 21 days after the incident, another 6 days later, and then one like 4 weeks after that (just because I was feeling particularly worried that day). All 3 read negative. This helped settle my mind somewhat.



Also, a little info that may be a bit TMI, but about 2 weeks after taking the pill I got a yeast infection (see, TMI). On top of worrying about everything else, I now had a painful and embarrassing infection to add to my list! I was freaking out because I wasn't sure what it was at first (painful urination, labia painful to the touch). Upon +++ research on my own, I found out that this is another possible side effect of the pill. The increased hormones in the pill can cause your body to produce an excessive amount of natural yeast. The same thing can happen to women during pregnancy due to the same reason. So if this happens to you, it's uncommon but not unheard of. 



The biggest worry I had throughout this entire experience was when in the world was I going to get my period?! The pill can and probably will mess with your cycle. It definitely did for me! I'm not sure if it had anything to do with my size, but I'm thinking that it might have. I am fairly petite (115lbs) and the pill is the same dosage for everyone. I ended up missing an entire period! Talk about going out of mind! Everywhere I read said that the pill could delay your period by a week or so, but nowhere could I find anything about it making you skip an entire period! Just as I was mustering up the plan to make a doctor's appointment, my period arrived! Exactly one month late. Again, I can't stress enough to talk to your doctor if something doesn't seem right!



I really hope you found some kind of relief in reading this. There is no sure shot way to know Plan B has worked unless you get a blood test from your doctor or are graced with your Aunt Flo so do your absolute best not to worry yourself sick. Remember, stress can have an effect on your cycle as well. I found it most helpful to confide what I was going through in one really good, trustworthy friend who helped bring me back to reality when my worry was spinning me out of control. I hope everything works out for you, and you share your experiences with others going through the same, terrifying experience. Good luck and think positive!"