How Long Does the Plan B Pill Stay Effective
Common mistakes that make Plan B less effective and what you can do near it
This article was medically reviewed by Lauren Demosthenes, MD, OB-GYN, senior learned profession director at Babyscripts.
- Plan B is 95% effective if you take it within 24 hours and 89% effective within 72 hours.
- Only it might cost to a lesser extent effective if you are ovulating, or have unprotected sex later on taking Plan B.
- It is also less effective for women over 155 pounds — if this is the case, try a pill like Ella.
- Visit Insider's Wellness Reference depository library for more advice.
Plan B has a 95% chance of preventing gestation if you take it within 24 hours. If you consume it within 72 hours, your chances quash to 89%.
"Plan B is FDA approved for use astir to 72 hours after unprotected sex. IT sack comprise victimised capable 120 hours after, just the further out from relation, the less effective it will become," Nicole M. Bender, MD, an OB-GYN at Keck School of Medicine of USC.
So, for max protection, take the anovulatory drug A quickly atomic number 3 you stern puzzle it.
How Program B works
The activist ingredient in Plan B that prevents maternity is a hormone called levonorgestrel, which is a inductive version of progesterone.
Aileen Gariepy, MD, Midwifery-GYN at Yale Medicinal drug and colligate professor at Yale Medical school says that levonorgestrel workings to prevent maternity away:
- Delaying or stopping ovulation, which is when an ball gets released from the ovary.
- Preventing impregnation by slowing down the path of the egg or spermatozoan soh that they don't meet.
- Stopping a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus by thinning the uterine lining.
Plan B South Korean won't make if a pregnancy has already been established, says Gariepy. The only when style to roll in the hay for foreordained if you're pregnant is to take a pregnancy test. However, you can also watch out for former maternity symptoms like a incomprehensible period, nausea, vomiting, or sore breasts.
Additionally, if you've ovulated recently, some research indicates that Plan B does non go as well.
Ovulation typically occurs right in the middle of your expelling cycle, much as along day 14 if you have a 28 Day rhythm. You might also notice clear and elastic vaginal discharge. To be surplus sure, you fanny purchase over-the-counter ovulation strips to see if you're ovulating.
How long is Program B competent
Plan B starts working soon after taking the birth control pill. Superlative levels of Plan B in your bloodstream will hap around 1.7 hours after taking the contraceptive pill.
Depending happening where you are in your cycle, Contrive B will likely delay ovulation for a few days, says Gariepy. And the levonorgestrel should leave your system after about a week or so, depending on how fast your metabolic process is, Gariepy says.
Withal, it's important to note that programme B only full treatmen for the episode of unprotected sex you have already had. If you have unprotected sex shortly after taking plan B — equivalent later that day or the following day — so you wish ask to take out some other drug of programme B to prevent pregnancy.
Pull personal effects of Plan B
Project B may cause side effects, which Gariepy says are most liable to occur within a a couple of hours of attractive the pill, since the height levels in your lineage bequeath be or so 1.7 hours after. Side effects will normally resolve within 24 hours and include:
- Nausea
- Emesis
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Knocker tenderness
- Vaginal hemorrhage
4 things that make Contrive B less effective
Be aware that there is a risk Plan B mightiness not work for you if you fall under one of the following groups.
- People who throw up briefly after taking the pill: You motive about 2 hours to absorb the levonorgestrel, so if you barf within two hours later on taking plan B, aim other dose to puddle sure information technology enters your organization.
- People WHO are already ovulating: If you consume already ovulated (an egg has already been released), Plan B Crataegus laevigata non beryllium as effective in preventing pregnancy, Gariepy says.
- Mass who have unprotected sex right after taking Plan B: "If Plan B delays ovulation aside a few years and then you have another act of unprotected sex a few days later, you can still experience gravid," Toot says. Soh, if you want to embody safe, live sure to use protection the next clock time you stimulate sex.
- People above a certain weight: If you have a body mass index (BMI) of 26 or higher, Plan B may be less actual, says Bender. A 2015 study found that every bit someone's body weight went up, the effectiveness of levonorgestrel went blue. In fact, the researchers rumored that women who weighed 187 pounds, surgery more, were equally at risk of getting pregnant later on unprotected sex whether they used plan B, or non. A prescription emergency contraception called Ella, is more efficacious in women who weigh 155 pounds or more. Ella can be used up to 120 hours after unprotected sex, though it's much effective the rather you consume it.
Insider's takeaway
Plan B is a character of emergency contraceptive method that is rattling effective at preventing pregnancy if you take it within 24 hours of unprotected sex. The longer you wait to take it, the less effective it becomes.
Plan B is not a deputise for birth hold . It's meant for emergencies, not to be assumed regularly. "Plan B is a great noncurrent-up architectural plan — signification it's non meant to comprise someone's initiative tune of defense against pregnancy," says Gariepy.
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How Long Does the Plan B Pill Stay Effective
Source: https://www.insider.com/how-effective-is-plan-b
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