Okay so, I got the pill (Mononessa, which has a week of placebo pills) about 5 months ago. I got it solely to control my very, very irregular week to two week long periods, heavy, heavy bleeding, and painful cramps. I wasn't sexually active.

At first, I did take it everyday, including the full week of placebo pills, so I'm assuming I was protected if I were to have intercourse.

However, now I'm sexually active within the past 2 months (just oral, grinding), and every now and then I forget to take my pill, or don't take it at the same time every day (I usually take it at 2 pm with my Paxil)--- sometimes I don't take it until midnight!

Also, with my last pack, I finished the hormone pills, but realized I was going to be on vacation, so I went ahead and started the next pack of hormone pills, took just a week's worth, and am now almost through waiting through the placebo days (I don't take the placebo pills since aren't they just iron?)

So, my real questions are:

How can I ensure I'm protected, do I take it at the same exact time everyday, including the placebo pills?

Do I wait through the full week of placebo pills to start the next pack?

Does taking an extra week worth of pills mess up your cycle/health horribly?

Finally, how many pills after the placebo period do you need to actually be protected?