Ipill and other morning after pills- effects and side effects

Contrary to popular perception,the ipill or unwanted 72 or other morning after pills are not a new drug,its not a new innovation,not even the new use of an old drug. For decades,synthetic progesterones has been used for contraception.Almost all oral contraceptive pills contain progesterones and estrogens.High dose progesterone is also used for abortion.

Now coming back to the ipill,ipill is a synthetic progesterone.Ipill contains 1.5mg of levonorgestrel, a synthetic progesterone.It is as simple as that.there is no secret ingredient in ipill.

So how does the ipill prevent you from becoming pregnant?

• Prevents egg from being released from the ovary.
• If the egg is released, ipill blocks the sperm from fertilisation.
• It prevents a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.

Progesterones including ipill dupe the body into believing that it is pregnant leading on to changes in the endometrium(lining of the uterus),the cervical mucus and the ovum.

Ipill will not prevent pregnancy if the ovum is already implanted in the uteru(6-12 days after sperm meets the ovum).,

So what other effects will progesterone cause in you other than its intended consequence?

1.Mild breast pain and fullness.

2.Change in cervical mucus,sometimes vaginal discharge.

3.Decrease in muscle spasm.

4.Increases core temperature,you may feel like having a mild fever.

5.It even prevents aging!!

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Now here is a specific direction.Use it before 72 hours after intercourse to be on the safe side.In some cases it can be effective even after the specified time,but the risk increases exponentially.It is absolutely of no benefit if used after implantation of ovum in the uterus (6 days),on the contrary it promotes pregnancy after that.

If you vomit within 3 hours after ipill ingestion you can retake it.

Now the ipill is effective in 95% to 99% of cases,based on different trials.You have to be incredibly unlucky to become pregnant with ipill use.It is more effective if used as early as possible.Use of ipill within 24 hours is as more effective than when used at 48 hours.So girls, do not hesitate.

What if it fails?

If you want to continue such an unintended pregnancy,it is absolutely safe.It will not harm your baby.It has been proven to be non teratogenic(no birth defects). In fact we give progesterone supplements for high risk pregnant females.

Ipill as such has very few side effects.Its just a single dose of a commonly used drug.Almost 90 percent of women somehow takes this drug once in their lifetime for a variety of problems. Do not worry too much about its side effects.

The common side effects you will see are -

1.Nausea and vomiting ( Every single drug in modern medicine cause it!!)

2.Some breast pain and a mild increase in body temperature.

3.Dizziness and headache occasionally ( self limiting)

There is no major long term side effects for the ipill.You can take ipill during lactation too.

Now the major side effect of ipill that can get you worried is the effect on periods.

Ipill can disturb your menstrual rhythm as it is essentially a synthetic hormone.The effcet on your cycle depends on the time when you take the ipill(first 14 days or second 14 days).It can delay your periods by up to 1 week( especially if you have taken it in the second half of your cycle). It can also cause increased bleeding during your periods.Sometimes it can also cause pain during your periods.

So dont panic if your periods do not knock on time.A delayed periods more than 7 days is an indication for a urine pregnancy test.

There are not much alternatives to the ipill( unwanted 72,all morning after pills). Mature women can use the copper T.Otherwise you do not have much of a choice.

Many of you may have read controversies about ipill,especially for use among teens.Well kindly remove it from your brain.these are meaningless jabs from people who have no job other than kicking up controversies. Ipill is a safe drug for anyone post puberty.