Why does Plan B Delay My Period?
Why does Plan B Delay My Period?
We all know that no matter how carefully we plan our daily life, there’s still a small chance of something going wrong. If something as big as life can throw us a curveball, there is no guarantee that the creation of another life wouldn’t be the next curveball thrown at you. If you are anything like most women, you carefully arrange your mornings around your birth control plan. However, there may be times where you might forget to take your daily birth control pill so you might opt to take a morning after pill, or what is commonly known as Plan B, whenever your partner and you aren’t confident about your birth control methods.
What is Plan B?
For those unfamiliar with the Plan B One-Step pill, it is an emergency contraception that is taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex. It is to be used as a backup plan in case your other birth control methods have failed. Most women commonly take it the morning after, hence the nickname. You may have noticed that after taking Plan B that it affects your menstrual cycle.
So, why does the morning after pill delay periods?
The answer lies in the fact that Plan B contains levonorgestel hormones. These are the same hormones found in the common birth control pill, but Plan B contains a higher dose of the levonorgestel hormone since you are only meant to take it once. This higher dosage of hormones causes prevention of egg implantation and fertilization by altering the lining of your uterus. The morning after pill also prevents ovulation. There may be many other reasons why your period has been delayed by the morning after pill but these are two of the most common causes.
It is fairly common for Plan B to alter your menstrual cycle and even the flow due to the large dose of hormones that you are taking, especially if you have been taking Plan B frequently. Your period may come later or earlier than you expected and you might experience a lighter or heavier flow than your normal flow, but there's no need to worry since Plan B is very safe to consume. You should wear period panties until your period does return so that you don't accidentally mess up your "fancy panties" with surprise spotting. PantyProp period underwear are specially designed to keep your pad in place so there's no chance of you having embarrassing leaks.
What can I expect when my period does return?
Once your period does return you may notice that there are other notable side effects; however, the side effects you may experience are fairly similar to the ones you would experience when you are on the normal daily birth control pill. You could also experience spotting right after taking it and there are also reported cases of dizziness, nausea, pain in the abdomen, tiredness, headache, and vomiting. However, despite the changes in your cycle, it is still fairly uncommon to have your menstrual cycle delayed by three weeks or more. If your menstrual cycle is delayed by 3 weeks or more, you might need to take a pregnancy test just to be sure that you are not pregnant.
In order to avoid another change in your menstrual cycle, you should avoid taking Plan B pills more than once during your cycle. If possible, practice safe sex each and every time to avoid any unwanted pregnancies. For women like us, the birth control methods available currently are luxuries that we should value, never misuse, and they should always be used to their full potential.
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