What if I've lost a contraceptive pill?-Your contraception guide
If you've lost a contraceptive pill, you can replace it with another pill from the same packet, or one from a different packet.
How you do this depends on which type of contraceptive pill you take.
The types of pill include:
- the 21-daycombined pill, such as Microgynon 30. You take a pill each day for 21 days, followed by 7 days without pills, which is when you have your period
- the 28-day or every-day (ED) combined pill, such as Logynon ED. You take a pill every day. For 21 days you take an "active" pill each day. For the next 7 days you take an "inactive" (dummy or placebo) pill each day, which is when you have your period
- theprogestogen-only pill(POP), such as Norgeston. You take a pill every day
21-day combined pill
If you've lost one of these:
- take the last pill in the packet instead
- take the rest of the pills on their correct days
- you'll reach the end of your packet sooner, but this will not affect your contraception
Or, to avoid changing the day you start your next packet:
- take a pill from another packet to replace the pill that's missing
- take the remaining pills as normal on their correct days
- keep the packet you took the pill from as a spare, in case you lose any more pills
28-day or every-day (ED) pill
You need to know which pills are active and which pills are inactive (dummy or placebo).
If you've lost an active pill:
- take the last active pill in the packet instead
- take the remaining active pills as normal on their correct days
- you'll reach the inactive pills sooner, but this will not affect your contraception
Or, to avoid changing the day you start your next packet:
- take an active pill from another packet to replace the pill that's missing
- take all the remaining pills as normal on their correct days
- keep the packet you took the pill from as a spare, in case you lose any more pills
If you've lost an inactive pill:
- you do not need to replace it, just continue taking the remaining inactive pills on their correct days; your contraception will not be affected
- you'll start your next packet on the usual day
Progestogen-only pill (POP)
If you've lost a pill:
- take the last pill in the packet instead
- take the remaining pills on their correct days
- you'll reach the end of your packet sooner, but this will not affect your contraception
Or, to avoid changing the day you start your next packet:
- take a pill from another packet to replace the pill that's missing
- take the remaining pills as normal on their correct days
- keep the packet you took the pill from as a spare, in case you lose any more pills
Getting advice
If you're taking a phasic contraceptive pill, where the amount of hormones in the pills varies throughout the packet, or you're not sure what to do, you can get advice from:
- contraception clinics or sexual health clinics
- pharmacists
- NHS walk-in centres
- a GP
- NHS 111
Page last reviewed: 14 July 2020
Next review due: 14 July 2023