Morning After Pill

[Concerned]

who agrees with me that this pill should be available for purchase at chemists etc? I feel it would be much more effective because if you have to go to a doctor you gotta wait until you can get an appointment and be free and actually physically get there if you dont have a car, I dunno if the girl has to go or what but it sounds pretty stupid.

[Pudding]

i think the way they do it now is perfectly fine.
if they were really easy to get then stupid teenagers would just use it as a contraceptive. its NOT meant for that purpose.

anyway its not that hard to get, if u know what ur doing. and they rarely make u wait for like 72 hrs :S

by stupid teenagers i mean irresponsible 'im drunk and horny' lets fuck i dun care if i get pregnant ill deal with it tomorrow sorta stereotypical people.

[BigJim]

the morning after pill is NOT a very nice pill to take. it's not the normal hormone pill like the everyday regular pill.

it's EMERGENCY contraception, and thus does a bit of hard-core work on your body to kill the egg and prevent pregnancy.

kuju, supe and other girls will be able to explain it more, but basically they can't give that pill to anyone. some people due to problems with their plumbing, or diseases or other medication can't use it.

just like you need a check-up before taking the prescrition pill, they have to make sure you're okay to take the emergency one. that's why it's at hospitals and PP places only.

all contraceptive pills shouldn't be available thru chemists and stores without prescription.

[hunny]

When I first went to Planned Parenthood to get a prescription for birth control pills, I did get a packet of morning after pills. I think there are 3 or 4 in the packet, I haven't looked at them in awhile, but they gave them to me in case of 'emergency' I guess. I kept the packet, never needed them, for a year. Then when I went back recently for my annual, they gave me a new packet and told me to throw the old ones away. I don't even think they had expired yet, but I threw them out, and now I have a new pack of emergency contraception.
Hmm, they also gave me a bag of like, 50 condoms, I don't know what they thought I was doing.Sheesh.
So yeah, your doctor or clinic can definitely give you some morning after pills but I guess they only do so if you are already under a doctor's care for birth control.

[Am I tight or not?]

this depends where you live. here (montreal, canada) it's pretty easy to get. when the condom broke we got the pill in less than 3 hours, which included going to the clinic using public transit, then wait at the clinic, then go to a second clinic for a heart check, then back to the first clinic for the pill.

pretty easy to get.

[Tootsie Pop]

the morning after pill is NOT a very nice pill to take.

That is true. The day before Christmas I was rushing around trying to find an opened Planned Parenthood that would give me morning after pills. It was a bad time bcause on Christmas it would be closed, and it closed on Christmas Eve... so I had to get them fast before it was too late..... But thats not the point. (sorry for straying)

I didnt need a doctor's appointment. Since Planned Parenthood was closed when i needed them, I called their hotline and talked to a nurse who asked me questions concerning allergies and typical nurse questions. She then called a local pharmacy and reserved morning after pills for me. They cost $31. (since the Planned parenthood was closed, I had to buy them over the counter at a pharmacy)

these pills defiantely SHOULD NOT be available without prescription. They alter your entire chemical make-up. For me it forced an irregular period 2 days after I took them, caused nausia, drowsiness, dizziness... pretty much every side-effect in the book (for me atleast). Those 2 little pills are pretty damn powerful. It was the worst pill I ever took in my entire life. They shouldnt be available in stores. Some people wont really know what they are embarking on if they can just buy them and dont have to talk to a nurse. If you REALLY need them... you will get them. Trust me. Just pray that no one else here ever has to take them. Baaaad baaaad memories...... ::shudders::

[SoSweetAngel]

I didn't ahve any after effects when I took the morning after pill - but they warned me that there might be.

It is available over the counter here, but it wasn't when I got it. I think that people are more likey to be irresponsible if they know that there is an "easy" way out - like pudding said.

I'd still go to the doctor because then it's free :)

[Tootsie Pop]

I didn't ahve any after effects when I took the morning after pill - but they warned me that there might be.
I received a chart of the percentages of side effects that women get. Naturally, with my luck, I got them all. One was 'light spotting' and the other was "heavy bleeding." Of course I got the heavy one...... Like i said, with my luck, if there is a possibility that it will be bad... oh, it will be. If anyone wants to know the other side effects, I will gladly run upstairs and type out the percentage chart. The pills i took were called "Plan B" (I dont remember the technical name).... Im not sure if there are different ones.....

[rcwant2be]

as far as availability, i know there are people who feel like every women should be armed with a prescription for emergency contraception, just in case. in instances like the one tootsie pop described, day before christmas, it would be a good thing. better than paranoia trying to find them after the fact. as far as nasty side effects, the way emergency contraception works is, it forces you to have your period thereby expelling the newly fertilized egg, terminating the pregnancy. it's definately not something to be taken lightly.

[kuju]

as practical as it may sound, there are just too many things that can go wrong. Some women actually CANNOT take birth control pills. They might not realize that that crosses over to the MAP as well.

and it is NOT fun. two little pills, taken a certain # of hours apart (can't remember how many). It forces a period, often heavy. Side-effect include HEAVY cramps, nausea, dizziness, etc.

People would just use it as contraception (although they'd have to be fucking stupid since it's much more expensive than the pill) but if it were so readily available, people would be lazy and more irresponsible.

[Sydney123456]

I read about that somewhere...but after what I'm hearing right now, OH MY GOD!!

I'm such a wuss when it comes to pain (especially CRAMPS)...so, I don't think that I'll be irresponsible and have to take it. I WON'T have to take them.

And...something tells me that it's easy access for here too. Although...there's no much talk about it.