I am currently taking Alesse 21 pills. They are all pink. Can I take them all out and put in one container so that it’s easier for me to bring around with me in my purse? Does each pill have the same dosage? Or do I must take it in the order it comes in?
When it comes to making sure your birth control pills work, they key is remembering to take one every single day. For some people, that means paying attention to the days of the week as they’re labeled on the package so that they know they haven’t forgotten any. For you, maybe what’s getting in the way is that you don’t like popping that birth control pill pack out of your purse in public (although there’s no shame!), or maybe you’re really into collecting vintage pill boxes. Either way, you still need to take that pill every day to make sure it works, so good on you for trying to make a plan!
It’s only safe to remove pills from the blister pack and put them into another container if you’re taking a certain kind of birth control pill called monophasic pills. With monophasic pills, all the active pills in the pack have the same combination of hormones in them and are identical. The other kind of birth control pill, called multiphasic (or bi-, tri-, or quadriphasic pills), have different amounts of hormones on different days and need to be taken in the right order, so don’t mix them all together in one container.
Talk with your doctor or nurse to find out if your pill is monophasic or multiphasic. If you do put them in a different container, read the storage requirements that come with your prescription to make sure you’re picking the right kind of container. In general, it will need to be something airtight that protects your pills from moisture.
If you want to keep your birth control somewhere no one can see it AND if you don’t want to have to worry about remembering to take a pill every day, you could switch methods. The IUD and implant are two super effective methods that last up to several years and are totally invisible.
-Emily at Planned Parenthood
Tags: birth control pills, how to use birth control pills, types of pills