Plan B is an emergency contraceptive pill containing levonorgestrel, a hormone that can be used for emergency contraception. Levonorgestrel can prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. People sometimes call it the “morning-after pill.” But you don’t have to wait until the morning after sex to take it. In fact, Plan B is more effective the sooner you take it. It is a one-dose regimen: you take one pill.
The FDA states that there are no safety concerns that preclude the use of Plan B in women generally, and continue to believe that all women, regardless of how much they weigh, can use these products to prevent unintended pregnancy following unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. The most important factor affecting how well emergency contraception works is how quickly it is taken.
When emergency contraception is taken as directed within 72 hours after unprotected sex or birth control failure, it can significantly decrease the chance that a woman will get pregnant. In fact, the earlier the product is taken after unprotected intercourse, the better it works. Emergency contraception is not 100% effective, which is why it is critical that women have a “Plan A” (regular) birth control method or start one if they don’t have one.
In this article, we will be sharing the stories of many women who were looking for signs that Plan B didn’t work only to find out it did.
Averie has this to say about how she found out Plan B works “I know there are women on here that are stressing and I’m here to lighten up your anxiety. I had sex two days before my suspected ovulation day. he never finished in me, He just wiped off the sperm and we went again in the same hour. I’ve done some research and it says that plan b is less than 50% effective 1-2 days before ovulation, and I was panicking. I literally took the pill less than an hour after we did the deed. The best time is to take the pill less than 24 hours after sex. It will be 95% effective and success drops a lot after the first day. My side effects were stomach cramps, insomnia, nausea, fatigue, and backaches. The pill made my period come 11 days earlier. Yes, that’s good news, but your period will be harder and heavier. But it is better than an unplanned pregnancy trust me. Sis, stress will not help. Do not look up your symptoms because the first thing that will come up is pregnancy. This is a lesson learned big time. You will be okay, I promise.”
Celine shared her experience with Plan B Like this “I had sex on my ovulation day and took plan B 24 hours after. I am not on birth control too. He thought he pulled out but being that we had sex a few times we weren’t really sure. I was petrified. I cried for 2 weeks. On day 10 after taking it I started spotting just like what implantation bleeding looks like. I talked to every person under the sun looking for answers and advice, but I still had to wait it out for the period. The spotting happened for 4 days straight, where it then turned into a period. I was scared to death. I took 3 pregnancy tests, all negative, and still didn’t believe it. Stay off doing internet searches, PMS, plan b side effects, and pregnancy side effects are all the same. Stay off your computer and phone don’t do all the internet searching and don’t spend $45 extra dollars on a pregnancy test. Take one the day of your missed period. Plan b is expensive for a reason, it works”
Another plan B user had this to say about the contraceptive pill, “On May 20, I had unprotected sex, but there was only pre cum involved. So I bought plan B, approximately 40 mins after and I was ovulating during that time. About 5-7 days after I took the plan B, I spotted for about 4 days. Weeks after I was convinced that I was pregnant by all the symptoms I had. I remember taking 2 pregnancy tests about a week before my period was supposed to come ( don’t do that) it was literally a waste of money. Then I took a pregnancy test after a week of my period being late and it came out negative. I know I took about 6 pregnancy tests all came back negative. Overall, my period was 38 DAYS LATE literally almost 2 months late. Thank goodness, I got my period today July 19 after having my last period on May 13. I pray for all of you ladies who are currently going through the scary situation I went through to stay strong and have faith that your period will come. I truly hope this helps someone.”
An initially scared lady living with her parents had this to say “First take a breath and relax you are OK. I had sex on June 25 the day after my ovulation day ( Flo app) and the condom broke and he came in me. I’m young and still live with my parents so pregnancy was a no. So he got me a Plan B which I took an hour later. However, I decided to google the success rate and it says it didn’t work if you are ovulating so I literally almost cried, my OBGYN said that it still works, and everyone around me kept saying you should be fine so I decided to stop worrying but I still looked on this page every day for about two weeks and the stories help a lot. I did take a pregnancy test my doctor gave me a few days before my period started and it was negative. Symptoms were nausea an hour after the pill and then mild cramps which were on and off; closer to my cycle I got sore nipples and cramping. It is now July 10 and I got my period a day late. Have faith ladies the pill works it’s true what they say don’t stress or stop your life for this.”
Sidney wrote “Feb 21st the day after my ovulation day but still in my fertile window my BF fully came in me after the condom broke. He bought the Plan B 45 minutes later and I immediately took it. I’m not even close to the age that I want to have kids so I was scared for my life. I did an internet search on EVERYTHING. Reading these reviews helped me but did not stop me from stressing. I experience a little bit of nausea after taking it but I think that was just me overthinking. I also had all my PMS symptoms like sore boobs, back fatigue, and mild cramps. Then just yesterday, I had spotting similar to implantation bleeding and I was freaking out but today, the flow is heavier and it’ll probably get heavier as the week goes. I just wanted to say don’t stress, don’t put a stop to your daily life. And PRAY! even if you’re not religious just believe in something 🙂 hope this helps someone.”
Lady A said “I was very dumb and was not using condoms or BC. On my day of ovulation, I was convinced he didn’t pull out efficiently. The next morning, I took plan B. The initial effects were not bad at all. My stomach felt a little off but barely noticeable. 5 days later, I started spotting brown which then was red for about 6 days. I knew this was not my period and apparently, this is common. My stomach was bloated all month and I had really weird cramping all month. This pill creates similar side effects to as if you were pregnant so really try not to think about it because it’s going to freak you out. After 2 weeks of not getting my period, I got a negative pregnancy test but my period still wasn’t there. My period ended up coming 21 DAYS LATE. My best advice is to trust this pill and try not to google anything. Your mind will really get the best of you and convince you your pregnant.”
Linda with an irregular period wrote, “So we had unprotected sex on the last day of my period and 3 days after period. He came in me both times. I have irregular periods that could happen 18-28 days in random and I never had a late period in my whole life, they are always less than 28 days. So I started to getting nervous since google told me irregular period time could cause early ovulation too. I took plan b 40 hours after yea I know it’s late. Some spotting showed up a week later. My period didn’t arrive on the expected day and I already said I never had a late period so by the time 28 days came around without a period I was totally freaking out. Guys, I know my body and I know how it reacts. I always get breakouts on my face and like lower back pain but none of those signs showed up. I found these comments really helpful so I relaxed and a week later, I finally got my period. No pain but I did notice a larger amount of flow. My advice is don’t google anything. You are just freaking yourself out. Just give it time and patience.”
Aisha wrote “I just wanted to share my experience with this Plan B pill. This was my first time taking Plan B, took Ella previously and didn’t have any side effects. But since it was the weekend and I couldn’t get Ella, I decided to take Plan B. I was in my fertile days, first day of the days leading to ovulation. Started freaking out and decided to take Plan B 18 hours later to make sure everything was ok. I started bleeding exactly 7 days after taking the pill, it looked like a light period that lasted 6 days. 3 days later my actual period started, a week earlier than it was supposed to. The only thing that is different it looks like the pill made my period lighter and not as painful as usual. No major side effects besides bleeding, and some nausea just for one day. Trust the pill and relax! DON’T freak out and don’t google any symptoms. Listen to your body. And girls….take care of your body! No one else will do that for you. I’m definitely not taking this again tho. Good luck ladies”
Note
Plan B only stays in your body for a short amount of time. It doesn’t provide long‑term protection against future pregnancy; when taken as directed, it works to help prevent pregnancy after only one incident of unprotected sex. If you are sexually active, even occasionally, see your healthcare professional or visit a family planning center/clinic to find a regular method of birth control that suits you.
