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I have missed a pill – what do I need to do?

I have missed a pill – what do I need to do?

If you forget to take your pill at the right time you may need to take extra steps to avoid getting pregnant, such as using emergency contraception or condoms. 

Being sick (vomiting) or having diarrhoea, is like missing a pill because the medication will not have been properly taken in by your body. If this happens within 4 hours of taking a pill, you should consider this a ‘missed pill’.

When you miss a pill, what you’ll need to do depends on:
  • the type of pill you’re taking: combined pill, or progesterone-only pill (mini pill)
  • when you last had unprotected sex
  • when you last took a pill (or when you got sick)
  • how many pills you’ve taken from the pack 
If it’s been more than 48 hours since you took a pill and you’re not sure what to do, we suggest that you speak to your GP or a pharmacist as soon as possible.

Last reviewed: 28/5/2020 by Dr Simran Deo

Contents

I’m taking the combined pill

If you’re taking the combined pill and you usually take a 7 day break, you can follow the advice here. If your pill has different doses of active ingredients on different days, or you’re not taking the pill with the usual 7 day break, it’s best to speak to your GP or a pharmacist about what to do next.

If you're less than 24 hours late taking your pill

  1. Take the missed pill as soon as you remember 
  2. Take the next pill at your normal time. This might mean you take two pills very close to each other or at the same time
If your pack ends within the next 6 days, you should skip your 7 day break and continue with the next pack instead.

You do not need to use any extra contraception (such as condoms) or use emergency contraception (such as the morning after pill).

If you’re between 24 and 48 hours late taking your pill 

As long as you’ve taken the 1st pill of the pack after your 7 day break you can follow the same advice as above. If you’ve missed the 1st pill of your pack, please see What should I do if I forget to restart the pill after the 7 day break?

If you're between 48 and 72 hours late taking your pill

If it’s been more than 48 hours (but less than 72 hours) since you took a pill, you need to check how many pills in the pack you’ve already taken. 

If you’ve taken between 1 and 7 pills in your pack:
  1. Take a pill as soon as you remember
  2. Take the next pill at your normal time
If you’ve missed the 1st pill of the pack, see What should I do if I forget to restart the pill after the 7 day break? below.

If you’ve not missed the 1st pill of the pack and have taken the pill every day at the same time in the week before your 7 day break, you do not need to use additional contraception (such as condoms) or emergency contraception.

If you’ve taken between 8 and 21 pills in your pack:
  1. Take a pill as soon as you remember
  2. Take the next pill at your usual time
You do not need to use any other contraception, such as condoms.

If you’ve not missed any other pills in the 7 days before you missed a pill, you do not need emergency contraception. 

If you’re more than 72 hours late taking your pill

If it’s been more than 72 hours since you took a pill, you need to check how many pills in the pack you’ve already taken. 

If you’ve taken between 1 and 7 pills in your pack and you’ve not missed the 1st pill:
  1. Take 1 pill as soon as you remember
  2. Take the next pill at your usual time
  3. Use additional contraception such as condoms until you have taken 1 pill every day for 7 days in a row
  4. Take a pregnancy test 3 weeks after you last had unprotected sex
If you had unprotected sex in the 7 day break or in the 7 days after the break, you’ll also need to use emergency contraception.

If you have missed 1 or more pills from the beginning of the pack, see What should I do if I forget to restart the pill after the 7 day break? below.

If you’ve taken between 8 and 21 pills in your pack:
  1. Take 1 pill as soon as you remember 
  2. Take the next pill at your usual time
  3. Use additional contraception such as condoms until you have taken 1 pill every day for 7 days in a row
You do not need an emergency contraceptive unless you started the pill pack late and/or missed any pills earlier in the pack.

If you’ve taken more than 14 pills continue straight on to the next pack and do not take a 7 day break.

What should I do if I forget to restart the pill after the 7 day break? 

If you’ve had unprotected sex during the 7 day break, or in the days after the 7 day break, you should use emergency contraception. You should also:
  1. Start your new pill pack as soon as you remember
  2. Use condoms until you have taken 1 pill every day for 7 days in a row
  3. Take a pregnancy test 3 weeks after the last time you had unprotected sex

What should I do if I forget to take the pill for more than 7 days in a row? 

If you have had unprotected sex during this period, you should take an emergency contraceptive. 

You should also:
  1. Take a pregnancy test immediately
  2. Restart taking your pill
  3. Continue straight on to the next pack and not take a break
  4. Use condoms until you have taken 1 pill every day for 7 days in a row
  5. Re-take a pregnancy test 3 weeks after the episode of unprotected sex

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I'm taking the mini pill

Mini pills must be taken daily within a specific timeframe. You’ll find this timeframe in the patient information leaflet for your pill. It’s usually 3 hours but can be up to 12 hours.

If you’ve forgotten to take your pill at your normal time but you’re still within the timeframe, you will not need to use any additional contraception and you will not need an emergency contraceptive.

If you’ve forgotten to take your pill at your normal time and it’s not within the timeframe for your pill, you should:
  1. Take the missed pill as soon as you remember
  2. Continue with the next pill at the usual time (even if it means taking 2 pills on the same day or at the same time)
  3. Use additional contraception such as condoms for the next 48 hours
If you’ve had unprotected sex in the 2 days before you missed a pill, you’ll need to use emergency contraception.

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How to remember to take your pill

  1. Take the pill at the exact same time every day, using a daily marker (such as brushing your teeth).

  2. Set an alarm or use a diary to remind you when your pill break ends.

  3. Keep your pill pack somewhere easy to find, so you do not have to search for it.

  4. Make sure you get a new pack with plenty of time before the current one runs out.

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