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I Am On Birth Control And I Had Very Moderate

Posted on Mon, 15 Oct 2018

Question: I am on birth control and I had very moderate diarreah yesterday so what happened was I ate some food that I believe made me sick the day before & I took my pill at 5pm & then the next day in the morning like 9 am I woke up with it & I probably had 3 watery stools during the day so the timeline on that would be starting with the day before, my BC pill at 5pm, 1st watery stool at 9am (next day), 2nd semi watery stool with soft stools 11:30 am, I took pepto Bismo for my upset stomach at 12 pm, birth control pill at 5pm, 3rd and last watery stool at 9:30 pm, and today I woke up way better with no signs of diarreah and more solid stool and less watery. Should I be concerned over my birth control's effectiveness?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (43 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
You need not be concerned...

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Hope you are better now. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.

Infections such as this or the diarrheal episode do not interfere with birth control pills. Similarly peptobismol also has not affects on BC pill actions. You can be rest assured, the birth control will be effective as usual.

Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if you need clarifications.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Prasad J (5 minutes later)

Thank you for your quick response I appreciate it. So basically will the pill have been absorbed before I even pooped? I was just concerned since I read online that diarreah can affect birth control

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (36 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Need not be worried....

Detailed Answer:
Sometimes with severe diarrhea where there are repeated episodes of watery stool (more than 10-15 times/day), intestinal transit time is affected. This in turn will interfere with gut absorption capabilities.

What you described is that you only had three episodes of diarrhea. In this instance, transit time is hardly affected; thereby preserving BC pill effectiveness.

Hope I am clear. Let me know if you need any more information.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Prasad J (5 minutes later)

Thank you that makes a lot of sense. I also heard that sometimes diarreah can flush the BC pill right out of your system? Is that true?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Not entirely accurate...

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

As I mentioned earlier recurrent and multiple diarrheal spells (more than 10-15) that reduce intestinal transit can flush pill before complete absorption. But mild ones as in your case, it won't be flushed away.

Hope this answered the question.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Prasad J (3 hours later)

amazing thank you! I feel better I was really worried about it.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (15 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Glad your worries are gone...

Detailed Answer:
Pleased to know your doubts are all cleared. If all your questions are answered, please close this discussion.

Good luck and good health to you!!

Note: Revert back with your gynae reports to get a clear medical analysis by our expert Gynecologic Oncologist. Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar