Thanks Jess. I was taking my pill everyday at the same time when I got pregnant. I don't want to worry you, though. I happened to be taking rather large doses of St. John's Wort at the time and didn't realize that it can interfere with the pill and make it ineffective. I found that out AFTERWARDS. That's why I recommended that you always talk to your doctor about any meds or herbal supplements you're taking in addition to you pill -- just to be safe.

I took the pill for many, many years before taking St. John's Wort and it was totally effective. It was effective AFTER I stopped taking St. John's Wort too.

Maven, I've read some research on the period thing you mentioned. I find the subject very interesting. The research I read was in regard to estrogen-related breast cancer. The researchers were examining a connection to the fact that most women in our culture today have more periods in a life-time than women in previous generations and women in some other cultures. We start puberty earlier, live longer and because of effective birth control, we don't get pregnant as often, so our bodies go through many more periods (and our breasts are subjected to more and higher doses of estrogen) during our lifetimes. I found it very interesting... and concerning. I'm considering using the Mirena progestin-releasing IUD. For most women, it makes periods much lighter and much less frequent -- plus (from what I have read) it seems to be an effective, safe method of birth control for someone my age.