Next Choice Side Effects? Two Packs in less than two weeks.

by Allyssa
(Jacksonville, FL)

A few weeks back I had sex with my boyfriend 24 hours after my last birth control pill. The condom broke and he pulled out, but to be sure we would be o.k., two days later we purchased the Next Choice (2 step) Emergency Contraception. I took it as directed. About three days after taking the Next Choice, I began to bleed heavily. According to what I read from the Next Choice and other websites this was to be expected.

The bleeding continued for about 5 days and then just stopped. Not a trace of bleeding at all. My boyfriend and I kept up with the condoms with no problems for a few more days. On the day that was exactly two weeks after the first incident, I took a pregnancy test just to be sure, and it came back negative. That same day, we had another condom break, and he pulled out before ejaculation. We went that night and purchased another Next Choice Emergency Contraception. I took those pills as directed also. This time is different. There was no bleeding at all. It has been 4 days, and still no bleeding like before, but I feel nauseated, really warm (but not a fever), and my actual stomach hurts. Please note; I am not experiencing pain in my lower abdomen like I do during my menstrual cramps. This is pain from my stomach. I do have to pee more than usual, once every 45 minutes to an hour. I am having headaches, and I am tired. I took another pregnancy test just to make sure the first one wasn’t inaccurate, but it was negative. Is this just my body’s reaction to taking the Next Choice pills so close together?

Medication history:

I am 19 years old.

I was on Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo for 11 months. I took the last pill 24 hours before the first condom breaking incident.

A week and a half before my last Ortho pill I had taken Antibiotics for a UTI. I took these pills twice a day for 5 days.

I have an allergy to latex and have switched to polyurethane condoms. We feel that this is the reason why our condoms keep breaking. We never had a problem with breakage when we used the latex brands.

As of today, I will have been experiencing my symptoms for 3 days. This is a total of 5 days since taking the second round of Next Choice pills.

Please help me. Today I felt a little better, but I just want to make sure I have not done severe damage to my system or just wait this out.

Answer:

Thanks for getting in touch. Its possible you may still have a UTI, particularly with the urine symptoms you are getting. This would also make you feel warm and nauseated. UTI’s can also cause headaches too. As for the periods, you bled heavily initially, but havent bled since. This might be because the 1st emergency contraception was so effective and your uterine lining hasn’t had a cycle to reform. I suspect if you wait it out, it is likely to settle.
You do need to be checked though to see if you have a UTI as you are likely to require further antibiotics.


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