Confessions: Your most awkward morning-after pill story

The morning after pill, the saviour of many a drunken tryst. It has been around for years, and we all know what it is and how to get it. Yet there is a distinct lack of dialogue regarding it. Millions of women have taken it over the course of time that is has been available, yet nobody talks about it, and there’s still a definite stigma behind it. There shouldn’t be. We should all share in the awkward, heartwarming, expensive experience together. Here are your best and worst morning-after pill confessions.

Sarah

Kind of embarrassing I guess, but my most memorable morning after pill experience is having to buy it in Mexico, going out with the same guy that night and him paying me back for the pill in beers. It was so cheap for the morning after pill- one pill cost me 35 pesos (£1.50 ish) one time and like 90 pesos (£4.50) the second time”

Amber

“It was Valentine’s Eve, I had just started the contraceptive pill on the Monday and you’re supposed to take it for seven days before you’re protected, but me and my boyfriend got drunk on the Friday night and for some ridiculous reason I thought five days = seven days and we had unprotected sex. I woke up the day after and we both freaked out as I realised my mistake. We then proceeded to spend Valentine’s Day hungover wandering around the centre of town trying to find the sexual health clinic (we were in first year so this took a good few hours because we didn’t know the town well). Probably the most unromantic way any couple could spend Valentine’s Day. We did find it in the end though. Also, it went very smoothly once I’d taken it and I had no side effects. The nurse was very nice and told me my contraceptive pill would still come into effect the following Monday.

Rosie

My mate called me and was like, oh my god, I need your help and then she explained that we needed to collect the morning after pill so I was like let’s go to the local pharmacy it will be easy. Oh was I wrong, we spend over an hour driving round town trying to find the pill. At first we were trying to be discrete, but by the end we were just like please tell me you have the pill. Even after all that hassle we still had to pay a fortune to get it. It’s not fair how hard it is to get hold of, it should be so much easier and to be honest I could find illegal drugs easier than the pill.

Kate

I was in a town with a pharmacy, had a crazy night myself. Having breakfast with the ‘hook up’ and I get a phone call from a friend (in a small place with no pharmacy where we live) asking me to get the morning after pill for her. My guy chose not to come with me after breakfast for some reason…

Holly

I had a one night stand and we did use a condom, not only did he tell me “it’s best to leave now” right after he was done but he decided to text me right after telling me the condom broke and he finished in me and I should get the pill. I asked if he could get it because I was on campus and didn’t have a car and he said that’s not his job. My friend drove me and went inside with me. It was about $55. Not a great experience.

Lauren

I was inter-railing in Continental Europe and needed to get the morning after pill- only problem was that they don’t give out in pharmacies in Hungary (where I was). I had to wait 48 hours until we got on a train to Austria, finally ending up at 11.30pm in Vienna at a 24 hour pharmacy. Except 24 hour just meant that I had to speak through a tiny square hole in a door to a woman who only spoke German (as my friend who spoke relatively good German attempted to translate for me). So I was shouted at for not getting the pill sooner (which I couldn’t have done) for 20 minutes in German, getting only half a translation, before she relented and gave me the pill, but basically said I was stupid and shouldn’t rely on it etc. I then spent four days in a massive grump and feeling awful. It was like €20, and considering that I was running low on funds at this point I was very sad to part with that much money. Especially as you can get it for free in the UK.

Dawn

Mine was actually a really great experience (which is a little strange I suppose). My boyfriend and I used a condom, as always, but afterwards, we had a little scare. There was come on the bed, and we didn’t know when it had got there. I told him that it was fine because the condom didn’t break, but admittedly, I was a little nervous, and so was he. I couldn’t go pick up the Plan B myself, and I didn’t want him to bother with it, as it costs $50 here in the US, and he also lived 30 minutes away, and would have a hard time getting it to me. The next morning, he surprised me a 10am, Plan B and chocolate covered strawberries in hand. It was the sweetest surprise. I took it, and I’m still sure it was unnecessary. (I was surprised by how willing he was to do that, as a lot of guys don’t want to pay).

Lily

One time I was in my ex and he already thought I was irresponsible, and the next morning I needed Plan B so he bought me some and I dropped it in his car and we looked for it for over an hour. We then got into a huge argument and he left but I really needed Plan B so I sold my curling iron and some make-up to get some money and got another pill. And then my period after the pill lasted two weeks. So that was great.

Ellie

I went to the pharmacy the week before my job interview at said pharmacy. Guess who gave me the pill AND did the interview.

Madison

One time I took it with my hook up at the time because he thought we had had sex. He was drunk and didn’t remember and I was more sober and knew that we hadn’t . Somehow after all of the back and forth I decided I might as well just take it. He bought it for me (it cost him about $50) and brought it to me (I think just to make sure I actually took it). Later that night it gave me an awful reaction and I went to the bar with my friend and had maybe three drinks, slipped on the bathroom in my heels, hit my head and ended up having to go to the hospital for a concussion and “alcohol poisoning” (was really just the symptoms of my concussion mixed with the plan B causing me to throw up, because birth control makes me throw up when I drink for some odd reason). I have never taken it again.

@snazzlebazzle