Contraceptives

Your perfect partner has been diagnosed with Chlamydiosis and thinks he is ‘doing the right thing’ by passing on a prescription for you from his doctor for an STI med- what he doesn’t know is that this medication may not be the perfect partner for your low dose birth control!  In cases where doctors believe that a patient’s partner will not or is unable to, seek treatment for an STI, they will provide EPT (Expedited partner therapy) along with some resource material for follow up and testing.  Don’t just take your partners word for it that all will be ’sweet’ if you just take the meds.

What is EPT ?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, define EPT as  “the practice of treating sex partners of patients with sexually transmitted diseases without an intervening medical evaluation or professional prevention counseling.” Not all states have the same regulations about EPT but each doctor should be aware of their own state’s ruling.

Using the same antibiotic medication as your partner for an STI can be effective if you have the same STI as your partner and DO NOT have a pelvic infection or another type of STI such as syphilis, trichomoniasis or HIV.  Additional treatment is available for these diseases but  it’s always smart to go to your doc or a clinic as soon as your partner tells you he’s infected with an STI.  Don’t let it get to the ‘confessional stage’ though before you get checked out anyway, especially if you have more than one sex partner.  If he does sheepishly slip you that prescription, it should come with some extra written information about allergies, Q&As and some guidance about other STIs - read it THEN go to the doctor  because…..
The ‘downside’ for you if your partner hands you an STI medication prescription is that, unless your partner is one in a million, he will not be able to tell his doctor about any of your food allergies, other meds you take or your medical history- any of which could prevent the STI medication from being prescribed for your use.  With the best intention in the world, your partner could be putting you both at risk- especially if you are taking a low dose birth control pill.
IF you are taking low dose birth control pills and you also take the doses of doxycycline that you got with that extra prescription your partner brought home for you AND you continue to be sexually active, you may become pregnant due to the interaction between the two medications- go see your doctor soon.

If you use the low dose birth control pill Yasmin, this pharmacy has by far the best price for the cheaper, generic version called Janya