When you have unprotected sex and do not want to become pregnant, consider taking "The Plan B" pill within 72 hours of having a sexual intercourse. You can also use the emergency contraception, Plan B, after a birth control failure. Plan B is bascally Levonorgestrel – it is taken in two doses with 12 hours' time between the doses. You can buy Plan B without prescription if you are over 18 years of age. It means it is an accessible and safe option when taken occasionally, but is it okay to take Plan B multiple times?

Is It Bad to Take Plan B Multiple Times?

If you speak from a medical perspective, the answer is no. It means that it is quite safe to take Plan B multiple times. You can take emergency contraception more than once without having to worry too much about its side effects. The reason is that Plan B contains the same hormone that is found in the birth control pill – and naturally in your body as well.

What it means is that there will be no long-term ill effect of taking emergency contraception multiple times. Yes, your period may become a bit irregular and your bleeding patterns may change too, but there will be no effect on your fertility. In fact, many people do not know it but Plan B does nothing if you have already conceived.

However, you may want to consider other ways of contraception if you always find yourself taking emergency contraception. Emergency contraception is an effective option, but it is much less effective as compared to other birth control methods. Moreover, you need to bear in mind that even if emergency contraception prevents unwanted pregnancy, it does nothing to prevent transmission of STDs and HIV.

How to Take Plan B

Is it bad to take Plan B multiple times? No, it is not. However, it is important to take it properly to ensure that it works. Plan B is a great choice in case your condom broke in the middle of the act, you have had unprotected sex, you have missed a couple of birth control pills, or you have been raped. You have to take two pills – one as soon as possible and the other one after 12 hours of your first dose. You can take your second pill earlier than 12 hours if necessary; however, this may aggravate the side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, and menstrual irregularities.

You lower your risk of becoming pregnant by 89% if you take Plan B within 72 hours of having sex. It is 95% effective when taken within 24 hours of sex. Just keep in mind that Plan B does not reduce the risk of STDs, and it is substantially less effective as compared to other contraceptives, such as condoms or birth control pills.

Plan B Myth Busted

Is it bad to take Plan B multiple times? It is just one of many questions people have regarding the use of emergency contraception. As people do not ask an expert about Plan B, they often develop misconceptions. There are several myths associated with Plan B and its use. For instance:

Myth: Emergency contraception causes abortion.

This is not true. Emergency contraception does not cause abortion, abortion pills do. ECPs and abortion pills are two different things. Plan B and other ECPs contain levonorgestrel that does not affect an established pregnancy. These pills work by delaying ovulation, which means that the pills are no longer effective if you have already ovulated. Abortion pills work in a completely different way to end a pregnancy.

Myth: It is dangerous to take ECPs after partying all night long.

Again, that is not true because tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs do not reduce the effectiveness of ECPs. Even if there are complications, it is still better to take ECPs after unprotected sex because its benefits outweigh the risks by some margin. It should not cause any problem though because ECP is nothing but a higher dose of a hormone your body is already making naturally.

Myth: Taking ECPs today keeps you protected until the next day.

That is not true. You take Plan B to prevent unwanted pregnancy after having unprotected sex. It is for that one act only. It works by preventing ovulation for the time being. It means that if you take Plan B and have unprotected sex the next day, you are at an increased risk of becoming pregnant. There will be sperm in the fallopian tubes after having unprotected sex and they can stay there for several days after you have sex. Those sperms may find the egg and you may become pregnant even after taking one pill.