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If I drank alcohol and had sex the same night is the Depo shot still effective? like is it 100% still protective?

Alcohol doesn’t change way the Depo Provera shot works. While the shot is never 100% effective at preventing pregnancy, it’s still 99% effective if you always get it on time. Drinking alcohol doesn’t change that.

Alcohol won’t affect IUDs, implants, the ring, or the patch either. Usually, it won’t change the effectiveness of the pill. The only time you would need to worry is if you drank so much alcohol that you vomited within two hours of taking your pill.

If that happens, take another pill as soon as possible and follow the steps on this page under “What Do I Do If I forget to take my pill” to figure out what you should do. Drinking that much alcohol can be dangerous, though, so try to avoid it.

Even though alcohol doesn’t mess with your birth control, mixing alcohol and sex can be no good. Alcohol can cloud your judgment and make you feel like doing things you wouldn’t do if you were sober, like not using condoms to protect yourself from STDs. And having sex while you’re sober with someone who’s very drunk is unacceptable — it’s actually rape.

It’s better to keep your sexy times sober times.

-Emily at Planned Parenthood

Tags: safer sex, birth control, consent, alcohol

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