<p>I will be leaving for Israel this Wednesday morning. That happens to be the day that I start my new pack of pills (loestrin). Does anyone know how I can adjust my schedule as I normally take the pill at 6PM EST in the US. That makes it 1AM Israel time and I don’t want to have to stay up that late every day that I am in Israel.</p>
<p>Assuming that you may have sex and don’t want to get pregnant, I suggest you get your information from the doctor who prescribed the birth control pills and not rely on the advice you will get on a message board.</p>
<p>Logic would say to gradually alter the times you take the pill in order to get on the schedule you want. However, if you are sexually active, I would advise you to call your provider and ask this question. You certainly do not want to risk an unwanted pregnancy.</p>
<p>You could also visit or call your pharmacy and ask the question of one of the pharmacists.</p>
<p>Often, pharmacists have information on details about drugs, like this one, and communicating with them is far easier than leaving a message at your doctor’s office and waiting for a call-back, which inevitably comes at a time when it is extremely inconvenient for you to take a phone call.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t assume your own random doctor has special knowledge beyond that of the collective views on a message board.</p>
<p>Of course, your doctor will be the best source of such advice. But if you can’t get a hold of him/her, the patient information insert has information about what to do in case you miss a pill. I would treat this time shift as if I missed one pill. 
if you do not have the insert, just google it - this info is freely available on the web.</p>
<p>What I was told when I traveled abroad was just to adjust it to what time I wanted when I started a new pack. If you’re using it for birth control, be sure to use a condom for the first few days just as a backup. You really should be using one already as the pill doesn’t protect against STDs, unless you’re with a single partner. </p>
<p>Have a great time in Israel :)</p>
<p>Wow, lots of people seem to have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Parent cafe is just the sort of place you can ask for informal advice based on experience. My doctor recommended as posted by a few others, just take the pill at the same time you would during your regular schedule, which puts it at most 6 hours off. However during my last international trip I kept one setting on my watch on ‘home’ time and took the pills as close to the usual time as possible, within reason. This meant the time was offset by only a few hours and I was taking them in the evening instead of morning. A lot depends on the type of pill you are taking. If it is very low dose you may have less leeway. </p>
<p>Have a great trip!</p>
<p>I still think it’s a good idea to talk to your pharmacist.</p>
<p>It may not be necessary for you to either (1) stay up until 1 a.m. to avoid taking the Pill at a different time of day or (2) use an additional form of birth control for a month. Then again, maybe it is. Your physician or pharmacist would be the ones who would know, and the pharmacist is easier to reach.</p>
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<p>How did you come to this conclusion? It seems to me that everyone is trying to be helpful, even if the advice differs.</p>
<p>Ok, not “lots”, but 2 out of 6 replies chide the op for asking this question on a message board.</p>
<p>Tell your spouse its his turn to deal with birth control.
:)</p>
<p>This is not difficult. Take the pill as if you were on Israeli time. When you get to Israel you will be all set.</p>
<p>^^Too late for that, she’s leaving in 2 days.</p>
<p>But this is an easy one, would be a no brainer for me. Take it at 6pm Israel time, or right before you go to bed, whatever works best for you. If you take it the first night at 6pm, and continue to do so thereafter, you really are only taking one pill out of sequence, 7 hours early, then the rest at normal intervals. And so what if you take one pill 7 hours early? Though honestly, it would be easier to take it right before going to bed, but whatever works for you. I travel all the time, and if you start taking one a little earlier than normal, no biggie. It’s when you take them later than usual, you generate an out of sequence period.</p>
<p>^^^I agree, but if she is sexually active, an out of sequence period is not the main issue. She hasn’t been back to address that, but I think most people are trying to err on the side of caution if preventing pregnancy is the real issue.</p>
<p>^^Yes, but the consequences of taking a pill just a little late, by a few hours, is not pregnancy. And you certainly don’t risk getting pregnant by taking one dose a little earlier than normal.</p>
<p>busdriver11–I understood that she would be starting a new pack of pills the same day she is leaving (Wednesday). So she should adjust the starting time accordingly for that first day.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies! The issue for me is not pregnancy. It is messing up my cycle and bleeding more than usual.</p>
<p>Is it true that taking the pill earlier is not an issue?</p>
<p>Plus I actually begin my new pack of pills on the day that I leave.</p>
<p>Since there’s a six hour time difference you could split the difference and have a day where you take the pill three hours early, before you switch to Israeli time.</p>