*Angad, 27, is a marketing executive from Pune.
Mutual pleasure
The first time I had sex with Samaira, we used a condom. One day we thought of making out without the condom to see whether it felt any different.
It felt so good we both decided to ditch the condom after that day. How come we never had this realisation before, we said to ourselves!
To avoid any risk, I gave Samaira an emergency oral contraceptive pill (ECP) that I had seen on television advertisements - the i-pill. Then we said bye to each other and she went back home.
The side effects
Samaira had taken the i-pill for the first time. The next morning when she woke up, she called me and said she felt terribly nauseated. She could not go to her office in such a scenario and had to work from home.
Throughout the day a disgusting taste persisted in her mouth and she could not eat anything until dinner. She just drank orange juice. I was with her on phone almost all day, listening to her troubles.
Her mother became suspicious but she convinced her it was menstrual sickness and nothing much to worry about. Also, she was fine the next day and resumed office too.
The routine
For the next few months, Samaira and I always had unprotected sex. We were loving the raw sensation of pleasure. Swallowing the i-pill after sex eventually became our thing. Samaira also got used to the post-pill sickness. We still did not know what that little pill was doing to her.
One day there was a sharp pain in her belly and she bled all day. It was not even time for her periods. It continued the next day and the pain worsened. We decided to rush to the doctor.
The gynaecologist inquired about her past menstrual cycles and she told her that this issue of pain, cramps and irregular periods had come up recently. She then asked Samaira about her sex life. Samaira told the doctor that she was sexually active. The gynaecologist wanted to know about the contraceptive methods we were using and she told her about the i-pill.
Also check out what our Auntyji has to say about taking Morning-after pills instead of condoms. Read here.
No shortcuts
Looking at Samaira in shock, the doctor put down her pen and asked her if she was joking. She told her that it was a huge mistake to consume emergency oral contraceptive pills on such a frequent basis.
There are no shortcuts for contraception with pills. They are not a form of regular contraception but an emergency one. You can become infertile if you consume them for an extended period of time, said the doctor.
She was advised to stop using i-pill immediately and switch to condoms. The doctor also gave her a medicine to stop the bleeding and asked her to get checked for STDs. Those pills prevent pregnancy but not STDs said the doctor.
She also explained Samaira about birth control pills but that can be used later because first, her periods have to resume to normal.
I didn’t want Samaira’s health to suffer at cost of our sex life. She was just 24 and wanted to have kids in the future. Fortunately, she was safe from venereal diseases when the reports came.
We have decided to resort to using condoms for now. We experiment with condoms to keep it fun but more than that I am mentally relieved that it is safe for her as well as my health.
Editor's Note: There is no limit as to how many times you can use the emergency-pill in a year. However, the ECP does have short-term side effects. That means it should not be used as a normal form of contraception, but only in case of emergency. Look for a form of long-term contraception that suits you here.
*To protect the identity, names have been changed and the person/s in the picture is/are models.
Have you also ever used i-pill as a replacement for condoms? Comment below or share with Love Matters (LM) on our Facebook page. If you have a specific question, please ask LM experts on our discussion forum.
About the author: Arpit Chhikara loves to read, write, draw and take long walks while listening to podcasts. Besides writing on various themes related to SRHR, he also works in the alternative education domain. When not at home, you can find him living in lesser-known places in India. You can check him on Instagram.